Celestyal Cruises Names New Global CCO, Strengthens Sales Team in Greece

Celestyal Cruises on Thursday announced a new global chief commercial officer (CCO) and the appointment of a business development manager to its sales department in Greece.

As of February 20, Lee Haslett will take on the role of global CCO from Leslie Peden, who has been with the company for more than five years. Peden initially served as Celestyal’s vice president, North America and thereafter as the company’s CCO.

Lee Haslett

Haslett is a highly experienced travel executive, having had a wide range of experience with tour operations and airlines.

He joins Celestyal from Virgin, where he joined the Virgin Holidays team in 2008 leading the company’s holidays retail expansion before holding various roles across the business including head of retail and vice president, product and distribution.

Most recently, Lee has been vice president global sales for Virgin Atlantic.

At Celestyal Lee will oversee a global team of over 60 travel professionals covering the whole spectrum of Celestyal’s commercial activities including sales, strategic business development, marketing, commercial PR functions, contact centers as well as revenue management.

Haslett will report to Chris Theophilides, Celestyal’s CEO, and will be based in the U.K. but will also share his time amongst the US, the main European markets and Greece.

“Lee joins Celestyal at an exciting time, as we intensify our efforts and invest in substantially broadening Celestyal’s presence in key markets,” Theophilides said.

Celestyal strengthens its sales team in Greece

Charis Broussalian

Moreover, aiming to strengthen its sales department in Greece, Celestyal has appointed Charis Broussalian as business development manager.

Prior to joining Celestyal, he served as business development and marketing director at Best Western Hotel & Resorts in Greece; as sales and marketing manager of Greek Travel Pages (GTP), a leading English-language tourism guide in Greece; and as global accounts manager at Booking.com.

Broussalian will be responsible for developing Celestyal’s footprint in Southern Greece, as well as continuing to establish relationships with destination management companies (DMCs). He will report to Vassilis Karachalios, Country Manager, Sales Greece.

According to Theophilides, Broussalian’s experience will add value to Celestyal’s efforts towards the expansion of its network in the Greek market.

“We look forward to making additional exciting announcements in the near future, as we continue our journey of strengthening Celestyal’s position as the leading provider of the award-winning, multi-destination vacation experiences in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean that the company has fast become known for,” Theophilides added.