Experiential and luxury travel specialist Virtuoso just announced changes within its senior leadership team, along with a strategic realignment designed to reflect its consistent focus on shaping the future of luxury travel.
Virtuoso continues to see record growth across the nine regions worldwide in which it operates, and the aforementioned changes will help serve the diverse needs of its rapidly expanding member and partner base.
Cheryl Cheney Bunker was named senior vice president, global memberships, and she will be responsible for setting the strategic direction and oversight of Virtuoso’s global membership.
At the same time, Virtuoso executive Cory Hagopian will evolve his role to senior vice president, global partnerships.
Virtuoso’s chief operating officer Brad Boutland said of the appointees: “As Virtuoso continues to expand, we are more committed than ever to ensuring the success of our members, advisors and partners, and developing the teams that will serve the needs of these diverse groups takes strong leadership. Cheryl’s full-time focus on the strategic growth of our global membership allows Cory to fully dedicate his attention to delivering even greater partner value, while elevating engagement and overall network satisfaction through operational excellence.”
Senior vice presidents are integral members of the executive team, and are referred to as the S-Team.
As such, they hold a unique and influential position that extends far beyond managing their individual verticals.
Virtuoso S-Team members have strong business knowledge across a range of functions and segments to provide exceptional strategic direction that is reflective of the organisation’s collective global position in luxury travel.
Meet Cheryl Bunker
An industry veteran with more than 25 years’ experience, Bunker has been with Virtuoso since 2007, heading up teams that work hand-in-hand with Virtuoso member agencies and advisors to maximise engagement and drive preferred partner sales.
Most recently, she served as vice president, global member relations, providing leadership, management and strategic direction for the team responsible for over 1,200 travel agency locations and more than 20,000 travel advisors in 58 countries across North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
In her new position, she will look to drive sustained growth, deepen member engagement and reinforce Virtuoso’s leading brand position across all regions by upholding and evolving Virtuoso’s rigorous membership standards.
Meet Cory Hagopian
Since joining the organisation in 2022, Hagopian has led both member and partner relationships worldwide.
He will now solely focus his efforts on driving Virtuoso’s global partner sales strategy and developing relationships across all product categories, including hotels and resorts, cruise lines, tourism boards, alliances, tour operators, air, car services and insurance as well as Virtuoso’s new Ultra-High-Net-Worth vertical.
This sales strategy will focus on increasing value to current global partners, while also developing new partnerships in emerging destinations.
As Virtuoso continues to expand its partnerships and product offerings, it remains committed to maintaining the highest quality and standards.
This move is part of a broader globalisation strategy aimed at establishing regional partnership teams to better engage with and support Virtuoso’s partners around the world.
