MEET THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
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Parik Laxminarayan, Chief Executive Officer
With a passion for bringing alive and sharing the joy of personalized travel, Parik founded an experiential travel company, Enchanting Travels in 2004, which was acquired in 2019 by Travelopia, the parent company of Europe Express. Parik has an undergraduate degree in finance from the Ohio State University. Prior to his experience in the travel industry, Parik worked as a business consultant at a leading boutique consulting firm in Washington, DC before earning his MBA degree from INSEAD in France. Parik has lived in and traveled through multiple countries around the world. He is also a member of Travelopia's Executive Leadership Team and is based in Denver, Colorado.
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Île-de-France in France and Rome, Italy
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Nick Stramp, Chief Operating Officer
Nick grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He began his career in the travel industry working summers for Princess Tours in Anchorage while attending Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. After college, he spent two years teaching middle school math in the Phoenix area before moving to Seattle and beginning a full-time career in the cruise industry. Nick served as West Coast Operations Director for Metro Cruise Services, a vendor providing turnaround services to the cruise industry across the U.S. In this role, Nick worked with nine major cruise lines in ports up and down the west coast. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Amsterdam, Netherlands and Corfu, Greece
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Caroline Roberts, Chief Financial Officer
Born in Chicago to Swiss immigrants, Caroline took her first trip to Europe at the age of five months to meet her grandparents. She left the Midwest for the East Coast to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where she studied physics and rowed on the Connecticut River. After earning a master's degree in computer science, she spent several years in management consulting and then headed to France to obtain her MBA at INSEAD. From there she joined Siemens in Germany where she worked for two years before transferring to the US where she spent nearly a decade in progressive financial planning & analysis roles. She gained further experience as a senior finance partner in the technology organizations at commercial real estate companies WeWork and JLL prior to joining Europe Express. She now lives in the Portland, Oregon area with her husband and two young children who are already becoming travel pros!
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Zurich, Switzerland and Fontainebleau, France
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Katie Powers, Vice President of Inside Sales
Katie grew up in the suburbs of Chicago (go Bears!) and later moved to Las Vegas to begin her career in the travel industry. Starting out with America West Airlines as a gate agent, she was
quickly promoted to a Supervisor role in contract services. After too many years in the desert heat, Katie moved to sunny San Diego and began working in high-end resorts including the
historic Hotel del Coronado - where she served as the Reservation Manager - and the beautiful Loews Coronado Bay Resort. Katie happily moved to Seattle with her family to escape the perfect
weather of San Diego, and outside of work she enjoys hiking with her dogs, spending time with her family, cooking and traveling.
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Annecy, France and Killarney, Ireland
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Mark Yacker, Vice President of Outside Sales
Mark's passion for travel began during his post-college adventures across Europe. While there, he developed a love for connecting with locals and travelers while interacting with a variety of new cultures. He has 22 years of sales and partnership experience, working for a variety of experiential DMCs and tour operators like AmeriCan Adventures, Contiki, Travel Indochina, Insider Journeys, Trafalgar, and Brendan Vacations. He also spent four years living and working in England. As the Vice President of Outside Sales, Mark supports our sales team and consortia partners. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, skiing, and going to the park with his wife and daughter.
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Seville, Spain and Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Cristina Ferrero, Managing Director for Travel Services Europe
Raised in Turin, Italy, Cristina moved to Barcelona more than 15 years ago by "accident" and fell in love with the city so much, she left everything behind and changed
her career. Prior to joining Europe Express, Cristina had experience specializing in Professional Congress Organizers (PCO), Meeting and Incentive Travel (MICE), and
six years as an Operation Manager for Groups in a Destination Management Company (DMC). After four years as an Operation Manager for Groups at the DMC office for
Europe Express in Barcelona, Cristina now leads Travel Services Europe as the Managing Director. In her spare time, she enjoys a steady schedule at the gym and cooking
Italian cuisine.
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Paris, France and Santorini, Greece
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Denise Chavarria, Health, Safety, and Sustainability Lead
Born in Boston and living in Bogotá Colombia from the age of 8 to 18, Denise later became a West Coaster as a California resident in 2011. Her passion for travel was sparked while in college as an International Business major at Suffolk University, where she spent a semester abroad in the UK and backpacked through Europe. Serving in the travel industry for over two decades, Denise possesses 15-plus years of experience in Tour Operations that includes the school groups sector and now YMT's senior groups. As Director of Operations at YMT since 2018, Denise brings her expertise in overseas logistics and land services management which have consistently made a positive impact on our brand. Denise also serves as the Health & Safety Lead for our businesses, ensuring the safety of our guests and employees while working with our teams in performing due diligence on our partners and services. In her capacity as Sustainability Lead, Denise strives to measure our company's impact on the environment and communities we visit. Her goal is to find ways to offset our carbon footprint and help preserve the wonderful destinations and culture for future generations and travelers to experience. Denise continues to enjoy personal travel with her husband and son, and in her free time, she loves reading, watching movies, and hiking.
Favorite European vacation destinations:
Greek Islands and Prague, Czech Republic
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