(Press Release) – San Francisco, CA (January 15, 2014) – Viator, Inc., the parent company of Viator.com, the leading resource for researching and booking tours and activities worldwide, today announced that Laura G. Saum has joined the company’s executive management team as Vice President and General Manager of Global Sales and Account Management.
Placed by Calibre One, Saum will lead a global team of market managers and maintain oversight of the company’s supplier management strategies. She will also be responsible for the company’s worldwide product acquisition strategy maintaining a strong focus on hand-selected tours and experiences – run by the most trusted local tour operators. Viator’s collection of destination experiences are available to travelers through multiple channels including the company’s flagship brand Viator.com, the Viator Tours & Activities App, multi-lingual mobile and web channels and more than 3,000 affiliate partnerships.
“Laura brings extremely relevant expertise in marketing, management and strategic development to Viator including more than a decade of working with one of the true pioneers in online travel, Travelocity,” said Ms. Barrie Seidenberg, president and CEO of Viator. “Her solid track record of sales growth, strategy development and partner relationships across both English and Spanish-language channels, coupled with her personal passion for travel, are sure to have a positive impact on Viator’s consumer-direct and B2B operations.”
“Having been in the online travel arena for some time, I’ve been very aware of Viator’s leading role in developing the tours and activities sector,” said Ms. Saum. “With the company’s focus on delivering authentic insider travel experiences, its ongoing international expansion and its innovative mobile and last-minute booking solutions, I am very excited to join this energized and dedicated team.”
Saum joins Viator from Travelocity where she spent more than 10 years focusing her expertise on partner and product marketing, merchandising and strategy development, as well as the launch of the company’s three Spanish-language Latin American websites. She most recently held the position of regional director, partner marketing, leading a team of more than 20 people who managed Travelocity’s hotel, destination and activity partnerships in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii and Canada. Earlier in her career, Saum held sales and marketing positions with America Online, Inc., Time Inc., and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. She was also a teacher with Inter-Com English Academy in Madrid, teaching English as a second language courses for children and adults.
A magna cum laude graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in social studies from Harvard University, Saum will be based in Viator’s San Francisco headquarters.