Ultra-luxury Silversea Cruises announced that it is expanding its executive team with the appointment of Tom Russell as its
new senior vice president of product development. He will join the company on October 14 and will be based in the Fort Lauderdale office.
His appointment follows on the heels of the line's recent purchase of the expedition ship World Discoverer. While Russell will coordinate a variety of major projects and initiatives across departments, his primary focus will be to oversee the establishment of the new luxury expeditionary cruise product, having responsibility for its design, deployment and itinerary development.
Russell is no stranger to Silversea. He was a member of the founding executive team in 1992 and over the years played a vital role in the conceptualization and development that positioned the company to become an award-winning innovator in the ultra-luxury cruise segment. A consummate veteran of the travel industry, he possesses wide-ranging cruise experience, having held various management positions with Sitmar, Princess, and Costa cruise lines. In 1996, he left Silversea and Florida to resettle in Seattle, Washington, where he worked with such companies as Cruise West, Society Expeditions, Holland America / Windstar Cruises. Most recently, Russell served as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Uniworld
Grand River Cruises.