JG Black Book, a leading luxury travel industry consulting firm, announced that Vice President of Industry and Media Relations, Alexandra Avila, will assume the role of President of JG Black Book, effective May 1, 2018. Current Founder, President and CEO, Jena Gardner, remains as CEO, increasing her involvement with the growth and diversification of the agency’s parent brand, JG Worldwide.
Alexandra started working with Gardner in 2009, returning in 2014 as a client when she was the Director of Sales and Marketing for Le Soleil D’Or, a luxury resort in the Caribbean. In 2015, she returned to her JG Black Book roots, where for the past three years Alexandra has been instrumental in bridging the agency’s assets in sales, marketing, branding, social media and public relations, offering clients increased ROI and added value in an increasingly competitive market where brands need a unified voice.
Alexandra has a strong background in the new integrated world of trade and public relations with experience that has combined partnership development, digital marketing and social media to maximize trade and consumer exposure. Her years of proven success has seen her implement creative marketing solutions to support brands within the travel, fashion and publishing industries, such as Travel + Leisure Magazine, the Guggenheim Museums, Ideeli and the Tod’s Group.
In her most recent position as Vice President of Industry and Media Relations, Alexandra led JG Black Book’s PR and Sales Representation departments, managing a team of 15, finding synergies between the services to identify efficiencies for clients which include some of the world’s leading properties, tour operators and tourism boards around the globe. Under her direction, revenue continued to increase and new partners include Delfin Amazon Cruises, Condor Travel, Al Bait Sharjah, Sheldon Chalet, The Giardino Group, Elewana, Global Community, Principal Hotel Company and The Stafford London.
As president, Alexandra will work closely with the executive team as the company continues to evolve as a fully integrated one-stop sales and marketing agency. The focus will be on growing new business, attracting fresh talent and maintaining superior client service, while building on the agency’s expertise and A-list contacts within the luxury hospitality industry in North America, Latin America and the United Kingdom.
Commenting on the announcement, Gardner says “Alexandra is widely recognized for her creative business-minded approach which is essential to the success of our partners as well as ours. She is committed to achieving operational excellence and innovation and I’m excited for the future of JG Black Book as she takes a lead on integrating our operations further”.
Avila added, “I’m excited to build on the highly reputable foundation we have established. We have a strong, passionate team with top connections in the industry and mediaplace, and are focused on achieving only the best results for our clients. We now have even more tools to work with and opportunities to deliver consolidated campaigns in a sector that is rapidly changing and needs to be more dynamic than ever before”.
Founded in 2002 by Gardner, JG Black Book’s mission is to champion independent travel brands to tell their stories, build new networks and increase sales. Over the last 15 years, the highly successful consulting firm has helped over 150 of the world’s most extraordinary travel providers increase their share of voice in a constantly changing marketplace.
This appointment announcement comes soon after Gardner’s recent acquisition of MERCURYcsc—a leading creative, advertising and digital agency which expands JG Worldwide’s portfolio of services to now include full brand development, content creation, digital and social campaigns, advertising and media planning. This perfectly complements the robust trade representation, public relations, marketing and strategic consulting services that JG Black Book and sister agency W!T are already known for.
