Executive Team Bios

James A. Wells – President

Jim Wells has provided leadership to World Travel since it’s inception in 1983.  The success of World Travel is a result of Jim’s dedication and commitment to nurturing very positive and productive relationships with our customers.  Jim’s years of travel experience and keen awareness of the changing landscape of travel has provided him with an industry acumen that is admired by many. He has led World Travel from the days of only 2 employees to now, when over 400 employees service our customers.

Liz Mandarino – Senior Vice President

Liz Mandarino has worked in the industry for 28 years, 18 of those with World Travel, Inc.  Liz has worked very closely with Jim Wells for the past 18 years overseeing day to day operation of the company and contributing to the sustained growth of the company.  She is also responsible for vendor relationships and contracts.  Liz has gone from her start at World Travel as a part-time after hours agent, to Manager of the Leisure office, to Managing Director, to Vice President and now Senior Vice President. All in all, if something is happening at World Travel, you can be sure that Liz is involved.  In fact, she still enjoys booking VIP leisure travel to this day. Liz attended both Northampton County Community College and The Boyd School in travel.

Debra M. Detterer, Vice President of Corporate Sales

Debra Detterer joined World Travel in 1988 as a corporate travel agent after graduating from Pacific Travel School and 8 years of previous agent experience. After one year with World Travel she became the Assistant to the President before accepting a position as an Account Executive in 1990. In 2007, Debra was promoted to VP of Corporate Sales in order to bring her years of experience, industry knowledge, and ability to create end-to-end client solutions to the entire World Travel sales force.

Peter Sonzogni, VP of Meeting and Incentive Sales

Peter Sonzogni has been in the travel field for over 22 years and in 2003 relocated from NYC to join the World Travel Team as Director of Sales. Peter has a strong background in corporate sales and over 12 years hotel experience.  In 2007,  Peter was promoted to Vice President of Meeting and Incentive Sales.  As a graduate from Johnson and Wales University, hospitality has always been in his blood and is able to bring a strong ROI to all of World Travel's clients.

Kim Schrader, Vice President of Client Services

After being in the industry for 13 years Kim Schrader joined World Travel, Inc. in 1993 as an agent and has held a variety of management positions in World Travel’s key departments. In 2007, Kim was appointed as the Vice President of Client Services due to her comprehensive industry knowledge and proven excellence within World Travel.  As Vice President, she is involved in the day-to-day activities of her account management team and closely oversees departmental operations nationwide.

Chris Stagg, VP of Operations

Chris has over 30 years of travel industry experience which includes corporate travel management, Airline GDS Systems and Meeting Planning. She joined World Travel 5 years ago and in her role as VP of Operations, oversees World Travel Reservation Centers, Training Department and our After Hours Service. Chris combines her operations expertise with her technical background in order to drive best practices within our organization towards the goal of exceeding our customer’s needs. Chris earned her Certified Travel Consultant designation (CTC) in 1985 and her passion for travel has taken her to 40 countries and 4 Continents…so far!

George Gadebusch, Chief Information Officer

George Gadebusch joined the World Travel team in 2002 as the Management Information Systems Director.  A California native and attendee of California State University, Sacramento, George came to World Travel with 15 years of experience managing the development and maintenance of large-scale systemic environments in the retail and distribution market space.  His varied experience and leadership have combined to create one of the most versatile and unique suites of technology offerings in the industry today.  In 2007, George was promoted to Chief Information Officer where he continues his visionary approach towards ensuring World Travel’s continued position as a leader in the provision of travel management technology.

Michael Farrell, VP of Leisure Sales and Corporate Marketing

Michael Farrell joined the World Travel team in 2007. Mike was charged with enhancing the Vacation sales of the company by applying his leisure travel experience and online expertise to an untapped audience of leisure customers.  Since his hire, Mike has assumed additional responsibilities in Marketing for the Corporate side of the company.  His prior travel experience comes from various positions he has held with AAA Mid Atlantic and Apple Vacations.  Mike has always lived in the Philadelphia area and is a 1991 graduate of Villanova University.