Princess Cruises of Santa Clarita has named Brian O’Connor vice presidents of North American sales. He will serve the same function for Cunard Line, a sister company of Princess. O’Connor will oversee the development of programs to meet sales goals for both companies, and will manage the field sales team that represents both cruise lines to travel agents across the United States and Canada. He will also provide strategic marketing guidance to help agencies increase their cruise business. He is replacing Lee Robinson, who will retire at the end of March. O’Connor currently serves as director of marketing and public relations for Cunard Line. He joined Cunard in 2006 as director of public relations, overseeing public relations strategies, programs and policies, including managing media relations and special events for Queen Mary 2 and the launch of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. “Brian has been instrumental in increasing the awareness of Cunard in the North American market, particularly among travel agents,” Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president said in a statement. “His strong travel industry background, combined with his proven ability to design marketing programs to help agents sell more cruises, will be an asset to our sales program and our commitment to our travel partners.” O’Connor began his career in 1991 at Hilton Hotels Corporation with headquarters in Beverly Hills where he served for more than eight years in various roles, including senior brand manager responsible for the identity redesign and implementation of the Hilton brand globally. From 2004-2006 he served as public relations director for The Beverly Hilton, where he directed publicity and marketing communications programs for the iconic luxury hotel. Judy Temes
