Katina Athanasiou is leaving Silversea to join Celebrity Cruises as vice president of sales in the Americas, effective Jan. 3.
Celebrity and Silversea are both owned by Royal Caribbean Group.
Athanasiou will be responsible for driving Celebrity's sales strategy across booking channels and will report to Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales for the Americas.
Athanasiou is departing about a year after she was appointed senior vice president of sales at Silversea. She began at Silversea last December after stepping down as Norwegian Cruise Line's chief sales officer in June 2021 due to a decision to delay getting a Covid-19 vaccination that was a condition of employment.
She was a 14-year veteran of Norwegian Cruise Line.
Silversesa promotes Joe Leon
With Athanasiou's move to Celebrity Cruises, Joe Leon will lead Silversea's trade sales team in the Americas.
Leon joined Silversea as vice president of field sales in North America in 2016 and has more than 20 years of sales experience in travel. Among Leon's expanded responsibilities, he will oversee Silversea's national accounts team, field sales team, and expedition sales team.
Rachel Woodward, who has been with Silversea for almost 10 years, was promoted to senior director of field sales and will report to Leon.