MSC Cruises USA has hired Bonnie Levengood as senior vice president of marketing, a new position, President Richard E. Sasso announced.

Levengood will lead the company’s consumer and travel industry marketing and digital activities. Sasso said the appointment is a critical piece of MSC Cruises’ recently announced “Serving You” initiatives to the travel agent community. The program includes the doubling of the company’s sales force as well as the recent hiring of Rick Cazzell, the new vice president of trade support and guest services as ways to increase “the human factor” and closer relationships with agents.

Levengood has nearly two decades of marketing and financial experience. Most recently, she ran her own marketing company but before that she headed up marketing and sales for nearly eight years for 1-800-PetMeds, a pet pharmacy, and created new marketing programs that included email, TV commercials and direct mail and catalog programs. She also has served as manager, director and interim vice president for American Express Financial and, on the agency side, ran the creative and customer service departments for First Marketing, A Taylor Company, servicing Fortune 100 clients nationwide.