Newsmaker: Radius Reorganizes, Wyndham Exec To Head Sales

Travel management company network Radius is reorganizing its executive sales leadership into three regions, responsible for growing agency membership, managing global sales and overseeing regional supplier relationships.

As part of the transition, the company has named former Wyndham Hotel Group senior vice president of global sales and distribution Gregory Land as senior vice president of the Americas. Former Radius vice president of global sales and service Kieran Hartwell, based in the United Kingdom, becomes senior vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Former Carlson Wagonlit Travel director of global strategic planning Alan Liu has been named vice president of Asia/Pacific, based in Singapore. All new regional heads report to Radius president and CEO Chris Vasiliou.

In the Americas, where Radius has about 25 member agencies, Land oversees sales, account management, supplier agreements, targeted marketing activities and corporate relationships in the Americas.

"Where we are in our growth in the three different parts of the world requires a different focus around whether it's a region where we are still growing our agency network or one where we've got representation everywhere. It's a heavy focus on growing the client base and focus on corporate sales and advancing the level of sophistication with how we are handling those clients in that region," said Land.

He said a more strategic approach would be taken on collaboration between member agencies to serve multinational clients, especially as an increasing number of companies reevaluate their travel management services.

"When it gets pulled under a procurement function, you'll have them looking at whether it makes sense to globalize this," he said. "Because we are the glue that binds together our agency network in the global marketplace, we provide that infrastructure to help agencies compete as more corporate travel departments move toward a global request for proposals for all aspects of their travel."

Last summer, Radius began embedding global sales personnel with its member agencies in the United States to help drive multinational account growth. Land said the tactic still is in "test mode" and it would be another four to six months before Radius decides whether to expand the program, currently in place at one U.K. and two U.S. travel management companies.