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Ambassador creates two senior roles in commercial shake-up

Ambassador Cruise Line has unveiled an “important restructure” of its commercial division and the creation of two new senior leadership roles within the department.

However, the restructure means Lisa Jacobs, head of trade sales, “has decided to pursue new opportunities outside of the business”.

The start-up company began operating cruises with its first ship, Ambience, in April and its second ship, Ambition, is set to debut next year.

The British cruise line said the restructure “marks a key milestone” as Ambassador is “firmly transitioning out of start-up mode and looking forward to its long-term business future”.

The restructure is being led by Ambassador’s chief commercial officer, Phil Gardner, who aims to bring an “increased focus on inventory management” and aligning the company’s sales focus “to avoid channel-level silos”.

The shake-up also includes an increased focus on day-to-day trading, with a move to a more fluid pricing model for the cruise line.


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Gardner said: “The time is right for us to look at our commercial focus and make sure we are closely aligning to our ambitions for the future.

“Cruising is back in full swing with demand coming from both existing and new to cruise so we need to make sure Ambassador is ready to respond to the healthy interest from holidaymakers. This means the time is right to ensure we have a structure fit for purpose for the future.

“As part of the restructure, we are recruiting for a head of inventory and trading, and also for a head of distribution, a new sales function covering both the contact centre and trade sales.

“This will centralise both teams into a singular department meaning that our trade partners will now benefit from an end-to-end service under one roof, be it with calls into our contact centre or direct liaison with our trade sales team, both on the road and at head office.

“I am confident this new structure will give us a fantastic platform to build on with a team who can take us forward at an exciting time.”

He added: “We are very grateful for Lisa’s hard work during the beginning of Ambassador’s journey to establish itself in the market.”

Ambassador Cruise Line is the first new British cruise line to be launched since 2010, offering no-fly cruises to the UK market.

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