Grace Van Hollebeke, Tern (Photo Credit: Grace Van Hollebeke)
Bio
Grace Van Hollebeke has spent her career building things in travel, first her own companies, then at Tern. She founded Lucia, a marketplace connecting travel advisors with specialized experts, taking it through Techstars and a $1.2M raise before Tern acquired it in 2025. That acquisition brought her on as Head of Marketing, where she now shapes how a platform used by 12,000+ advisors booking $2B a year tells its story. Before founding Lucia, she ran operations at MilesAhead, a Virtuoso agency.
At Tern, she's stretched what "marketing" covers: running a live AI education series with Tern's own experts, producing the company's first in-person conference, and co-hosting an industry podcast, work most marketing leads leave to other teams. She also mentors early-stage founders as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell, staying close to the builder community she came from.
By 28, Van Hollebeke has earned a Techstars selection, an acquisition, the Virtuoso Startup Winner Award from the inaugural Virtuoso Travel Tech Summit, a spot on PhocusWire's Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2025, and marketing for a platform touching 12,000+ advisors and $2B in bookings to show for it.
Grace Van Hollebeke is 28 years old.
"I've dedicated my career to supporting travel advisors, first as a founder and now at Tern, so this recognition is incredibly meaningful to me,” said Van Hollebeke. “I've never been more optimistic about the value of this industry, and it's thrilling to be building with a company poised to lead it into its next chapter. I'm deeply thankful to TravelPulse for the acknowledgment and to the advisors everywhere who trust Tern to help grow your businesses."
Industry References
"Grace founded Lucia, the industry's first contractor marketplace, to help advisors find the people they need to grow,” said David Shull, CEO of Tern. “Tern acquired Lucia in large part because of how much we respected Grace as a founder. She has since led our marketing and community, and advisors know Tern today because of the brand she built around it. She is one of the most inventive leaders in travel."
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