Last updated: 12:45 PM ET, Tue October 27, 2026
Sterling Wertanzl.
Bio
Sterling Wertanzl is a second-generation travel professional, raised by two seasoned travel professionals who met during the inaugural year of Crystal Cruises. Her dad went on to build a career in luxury cruising, while her mom founded Sterling Journeys, which she ran as a one-woman operation for 12 years before Wertanzl joined the family business in 2023 after earning her master’s degree in Communication. Together, she and her mom transformed Sterling Journeys into a mother-daughter team. In their first year together, they tripled their sales, and three years later, they are proudly a team of nine advisors. Today, Wertanzl combines her industry roots, strategic leadership, and passion for exceptional service to drive growth and shape the future of luxury travel.
She's made a difference in the travel community by creating a business model that addresses a growing challenge in the industry: how seasoned travel advisors can step back from the business without abandoning the clients and relationships they’ve spent decades building. Wertanzl was honored to be named to Luxury Travel Advisor’s 2024 30 Under 30 list, an early recognition of her leadership and contribution to the industry. Since then, she's continued to look for ways to use that experience to address challenges facing travel advisors across generations.
Through Sterling Journeys, Wertanzl has developed a transition model that allows seasoned advisors to join a larger agency with the infrastructure, team, and resources to support their evolving needs while maintaining their client relationships and production.
Most importantly, this model gives advisors the opportunity to remain relevant rather than feel like they are “aging out.” There is no arbitrary retirement timeline and no pressure to step away. They can create greater balance, continue doing what they love, and ultimately decide what their next chapter looks like, on their terms. At the same time, clients receive consistent, high-touch service and are introduced to the next generation of travel professionals. She believes this creates a more sustainable future for advisors, their clients, and the industry as a whole.
Wertanzl is 27 years old.
"Being named to TravelPulse’s 40 Under 40 is meaningful to me because it gives me a platform to help shape the future of our industry," said Wertanzl. "For decades, successful advisors were not deemed successful because of their access to technology. They were successful because they mastered what matters most, and always will: knowing their clients, anticipating their needs, building trust, and making people feel genuinely cared for. I want to honor those timeless lessons while embracing everything the future has to offer. I see my role as using the tools of tomorrow with the wisdom of yesterday to elevate what we do today. That is the mark I am making on our industry."
Industry References
"Sterling's story is especially compelling because it sits at the intersection of legacy and innovation. Travel is quite literally in her DNA. But Sterling has done far more than step into a family business. After completing graduate school, she was considering opportunities with marketing firms and even pursuing a PhD when she made the decision to join the travel industry. She brought with her a fresh perspective on marketing, technology, organizational design and operations, while also having tremendous respect for the decades of expertise surrounding her. That combination is rare," said Vanessa McGovern, Senior Vice President, Partner Product, Marketing & Events, Global Travel Collection.
"What impresses me most about Sterling is the way she thinks about the future of our industry. While so much conversation today centers on AI and technology, Sterling believes innovation is equally about talent, building stronger teams, developing young professional and creating opportunities for different generations to learn from one another. She understands that technology should amplify experience, training, relationships and service, not replace them," added McGovern.
"I know how rare it is to find someone who can plan demanding travel and then deliver it, again and again, in any part of the world. Sterling does that work with judgment, calm, and care for the client. Sterling's aim is clear: protect the standards that made Sterling Journeys trusted, deepen the value and delight those standards create for discerning travelers, and tighten operations so the firm can grow without losing its personal touch," said Douglas W. Adams, Retired Founder, CEO & World Traveler.
"Few people in business think this carefully; fewer still follow the thought with action. Sterling has taken in years of hard-won, industry-recognized wisdom from Lise-Marie and made it her own. She already leads with maturity beyond her years," added Adams.
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