Gary Murphy, president of Brendan Vacations, is leaving the company his father Jimmy Murphy helped found 40 years ago to join his father at AMA Waterways.
Gary Murphy’s departure from Brendan, where he has been president since taking over that role from his father in 2000, will take place on Oct. 15. He will be replaced on Oct. 19 by Don Cooper, who has been managing director for nine years at New Horizons Holidays, a TravCorp brand in Australia.
The news comes three months after Jimmy Murphy officially retired from Brendan on June 12 to focus full-time on AMA Waterways, the river cruise company of which he is chairman.
In 2006, tour operator conglomerate TravCorp acquired Brendan from the Murphy family. After that, Gary Murphy remained president and Jimmy Murphy stayed on in a consulting role until June. But now the Murphy family is stepping away from Brendan entirely.
"The relationships that have developed among the Murphys, Tollmans and the TravCorp family will last a lifetime," Gary Murphy said in a statement. "I have learned so much and am grateful for that opportunity. … I know Brendan is in very good hands and I am looking forward to joining the team at AMA Waterways."
Murphy said he’ll be working with the sales team at AMA to develop additional business for the river cruise operator.
In June, Brendan launched iNavigate, an online FIT booking system that allows agents to quote and make bookings from live inventory. The launch of iNavigate marked the first time agents could book all Brendan products online, including escorted tours.
"It’s a very exciting time because we are introducing our technology, which is based on a platform we’ve used in Australia," Cooper said. "I’m very much interested in offering our travel agent partners the best technology we can find."