Posted on: January 22, 2013
Mom-and-Pop Cruise Shop
Cruise Planners executives now own all of the home-based franchise travel company
From left: Vicky Garcia, Tom Kruszewski and Michelle Fee are the owners of Cruise Planners – American Express Travel. // © 2013
The executives of Cruise Planners - American express travel — Michelle Fee, CEO; Tom Kruszewski, CFO; and Vicky Garcia, executive vice president of sales and marketing — have purchased the company from Palm Beach Capital, a private equity investment firm that has been the majority owner since 2005.
“I am honored to say that I now have two of the best partners in the business,” said Fee, who co-founded the business 19 years ago and has always been an owner. “Cruise Planners has come a long way since its inception and much of our success comes as a result of the dedication and innovation of Tom and Vicky.”
Fee and Kruszewski will keep their current titles, while Garcia will take on the roll of COO, overseeing the overall strategic and operational responsibility for all business development and marketing programs.
“Cruise Planners is known for its family-business approach to servicing agents as well as clients, so it’s always felt like my family,” said Garcia. “Now we really are one big family, and we will continue to focus our attention on our agents.”