Celebrity Cruises has promoted Claire Stirrup to director of sales and Kathy Barbrooke as director of guest and trade services, UK and Ireland.
Stirrup’s promotion follows the announcement earlier this month that commercial sales director for the UK and Ireland, Sarah Harraghy, will be leaving the company.
Harraghy is stepping down due to personal family reasons but will remain a consultant to Celebrity Cruises.
UK and Ireland managing director Jo Rzymowska has also had Asia added to her remit in the newly expanded role of vice president and managing director, UK and Ireland and Asia.
The new seniority of the UK and Ireland team coincides with confirmation that the cruise line will have its largest ever UK and Ireland deployment in 2018 offering sailings from Southampton and Dublin in the summer.
The addition of Asia to Rzymowska’s role will see the inclusion of China, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and Japan to her areas of responsibility, including a dedicated Celebrity Cruises team in Singapore.
Rzymowska said: “Providing exceptional support to our trade partners is a key part of our business and I’m thrilled that two members of our team are being promoted in recognition for the key role they play in our success and growth. It is a pivotal time for our business as we expand our investment into the UK and Ireland with an increase in deployment, and achieve our strongest ever market performance. These milestones are testament to our incredible team and I’m passionate about continuing to build on these great achievements.
“From a personal point of view I am excited to work as part of our global business to realise the growth potential that Asia brings. We know that our modern luxury holidays resonate strongly in the Far East and I will be working with our Asia team to grow the number of guests from this region.”
Stirrup will start her new role on January 1 when Harraghy steps down. Stirrup has been part of the Celebrity Cruises sales team since 2013 and was previously a commercial manager and regional sales manager for Tui.
Reporting to Rzymowska, she will lead the sales and business development team as well as a dedicated trade marketing and trade support function.
Barbrooke has led the guest and trade services team for five years. Prior to joining Celebrity, Barbrooke held a number of senior operations and customer service roles for AXA Insurance.
Gavin Smith, senior vice president, international, RCL Cruises Ltd, said: “The promotions in the UK and Ireland management team reflect the huge strategic significance of their achievements to our global business. The region remains one of our most important, and we continue to invest in our operations and people to support our growth.”