FAIRFIELD, CT — Travel industry veteran Barbara Sargent has joined the ranks at Riviera River Cruises as its new Regional Sales Director for the western U.S. and Canada.

Based in Southern California, Sargent has been brought in to help the cruise line expand its North American presence. Prior to her new role, she served as Sales Manager at Insight Vacations from November 2009 to February 2016, Business Development Manager at Norwegian Cruise Line for five years before that, and as Business Development Director at Trafalgar Tours from 1993-2003.

With Riviera, Sargent will cover B.C. as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington in the U.S.

“I’m excited to join Riviera and to share their European river cruises with the agency community out west,” she said. “River cruising is a highly competitive marketplace and Riviera has a great product at a great price, it will be a pleasure to represent them.”

Marilyn Conroy, Riviera River Cruises’ Vice President Sales and Marketing, North America, added: “Barbara is a seasoned and well-respected salesperson, and we’re pleased that she’s joining our growing sales team. At Riviera, we pride ourselves on our relationships with travel professionals and the addition of Barbara allows us to extend those relations west across North America.”

Sargent joins a team that also includes Regional Sales Directors David Holmwood and Bruce Metzendorf. She currently resides in Indio, California.