Celestyal Names New Global Chief Commercial Officer

WHY IT RATES: Lee Haslett brings a variety of key experience as a well-versed travel executive having worked in tour operations and airlines.—Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior Editor

Celestyal, the award-winning, number one choice for travelers to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, has announced the appointment of Lee Haslett to take on the role of global chief commercial officer (CCO) as of February 20, 2023.

Haslett takes over from Leslie Peden, who has been with the company for more than five years, initially as vice president, North America and thereafter serving as the company’s CCO.

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 holidays retail expansion before holding various roles across the business including head of retail and vice president, product and distribution.

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Most recently, Lee has been vice president global sales for Virgin Atlantic where he led the sales transformation plan, focused on key North American and European markets, and has played an important role in the company’s commercial leadership team. Haslett will report to Chris Theophilides, Celestyal’s CEO, and will be based in the UK but will also share his time amongst the US, the main European markets and Greece.

“As we pivot Celestyal to reinforce our brand proposition of destination-rich, immersive travel experiences, we continue to develop our commercial team to meet new challenges,” said Chris Theophilides. “I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to Leslie for his significant contributions to position Celestyal for future success. He has been an integral part of the company’s senior leadership, and we wholeheartedly wish him all the best in his new endeavors.”

“I’m delighted to announce Lee’s appointment and welcome him to Celestyal. Lee joins Celestyal at an exciting time, as we intensify our efforts and invest in substantially broadening Celestyal’s presence in key markets. Fresh on the heels of Celestyal significantly growing our trade facing commercial team, 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. 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,” added Theophilides.

SOURCE: Celestyal press release.