On Friday, June 13, co-CEOs Jeff and Michael Anderson departed Avoya Travel, marking the first time the agency is without an Anderson at the helm in its 60-year history.

The agency started as a tour company in Hawaii, purchased and run by Pat and the late Pal Anderson. It would evolve into Anderson Travel and Cruises before becoming Avoya Travel; along the way, Pat and Pal’s sons Van and Brad would run the agency for years, before handing the reins to Jeff and Michael.

Earlier this month, private equity firm Certares purchased the Anderson family’s stake in the agency. Marc Kazlauskas, currently the president of Frosch and managing director of parent company JP Morgan Chase, will take over as CEO Aug. 4.

“We’re going from strength to strength,” said Phil Cappelli, Avoya’s chief sales officer. “We’re grateful to the Andersons for 60-plus years of building a great company, and now it’s time to take it forward and to continue to invest and to make sure that we’re best in class.”

But while there are big changes at the top, Cappelli said, his key message to Avoya’s travel advisors (which Avoya refers to as independent agencies, or IAs) is that it will be business as usual at the host agency.

“Nothing changes for them right now from a day-to-day perspective,” Cappelli said. “All that they can look forward to is continue to work with the foundation that’s been built, make it better — make it better to be an Avoya advisor.”

The host agency is home to nearly 2,400 advisors.

Certares is no stranger to Avoya. It has held a stake in the agency since 2021.

Cappelli has been with the agency since 2023, working closely with Certares since then. He called them “a great partner” that understands the company and its mission well.

“They believe in what we’re doing,” he said. “They believe in the foundation of IAs first, leads, marketing, the way we handle supplier relations, all that. It’s kind of like a big boost to the company saying, ‘We believe in you guys and we’re going to make sure that you have what you need to succeed.'”

Avoya’s IAs will benefit from improvements in technology, an area that’s been a focus of the host agency for years. With Certares’ investment, Cappelli said, the agency can do even more with its tech stack to ensure it’s as up to date as possible.

“We’re happy with the network, we’re happy with the partnerships and we’re happy with tech,” Cappelli said. “We just want to make sure that we’ve got everything that we’re going to need for the next five to 10 years.”