The Travel Institute has named Taylor Ruecking its new president following the retirement of Diane Petras.
Taylor Ruecking
Ruecking has been transitioning into the role with Petras' assistance since early December. Guida Botelho has been promoted to vice president.
Ruecking has been with the Travel Institute since 2014, most recently as its senior director of marketing and technology. He has led its back-office technology, ecommerce website and marketing efforts.
In his time at the institute, he has implemented an online learning management system, streamlined platforms, launched digital credentials and broadened the organization's ecommerce capabilities. Ruecking also led the technological specifications for the institute's new Education Hub.
Guida Botelho
He started in the industry working at a travel agency as a teenager, in support of his father, the late Scott Ahlsmith. He has also owned a full-service media and marketing production business for more than 17 years.
"Taylor has a proven ability to straddle strategic thinking and technical know-how to advance education for this industry," said Gary Pollard, chair of the institute's board and president and CEO of Ambassador Tours. "We took the time to get this right and the board is 100% aligned."
Botelho started with the institute in 1999. She spent 2007 to 2015 leading Atlas Travel's in-house training before returning to the institute. She was most recently its senior director of education and led the development of the 12th edition of Travel Career Development.
In her time at the institute, Botelho has developed course content for new and seasoned advisors, niche courses and scholarship programs. She has also led white-label efforts to share the Institute's content via in-house training programs.