San Jose, Calif. – October 06, 2026 -- Classic Vacations has nearly tripled the size of its Sales organization since the start of 2026, completing 18 hires and actively recruiting five more positions to reach a team of 34 across seven units.
Classic Vacations expands Sales organization to 34 members across seven specialized teams
The luxury travel advisor resource restructured its Commercial organization into three regional Sales teams covering the Western, Central, and Eastern United States, led respectively by Sue Ferguson, Julia Jakkaraju, and Dimitri Andre. These teams deploy Strategic Account Managers to work directly with advisors on account strategy and growth opportunities.
Company creates dedicated units for groups, host agencies, and new business onboarding
Jeanne Flood, a 36-year Classic veteran, now oversees Groups Sales and Operations, managing contracted and non-contracted bookings including destination weddings and meetings and incentives. Carmen Gashnikov, with more than 15 years of industry experience, leads Host Agency Accounts, managing partnerships with host agency leadership and independent contractors. Both Flood and Gashnikov were promoted or appointed into these roles as part of the restructuring.
Tiffani Gilardi heads New Business Development, focused on onboarding and training new advisors, while Kathy Ellis runs Sales Support, managing events, agency registration, and advisor rewards programs.
Chief Commercial Officer frames the expansion as a shift toward a consultative growth-partner model
"We have nearly tripled our Sales organization because we want to be much more than a supplier to our customers," said Vijayeta James, Chief Commercial Officer of Classic Vacations. The company describes its approach as "hypercare," combining personalized advisor support with deeper account-specific market analysis to identify whitespace opportunities and convert them into bookings.
The investment extends a 50-year advisor-first positioning for Classic, which operates as a B2B2C luxury travel company under owner TBO, maintaining ties with consortia including Signature, Travel Leaders Network, and Virtuoso.