Virgin Experience Days announces two senior appointments to accelerate US growth strategy

Feb. 7, 2023 - PRLog -- Virgin Experience Days (https://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/) today announces the appointment of two senior hires to accelerate the growth of the U.S. arm of the business. Carrie Keplinger is appointed as Chief Commercial Officer and Matt Luber as VP Marketing at Virgin Experience Gifts (https://www.virginexperiencegifts.com/).

Virgin Experience Days nearly doubled the revenues of Cloud 9 Living in the first year of ownership (since rebranded to Virgin Experience Gifts (https://www.virginexperiencegifts.com/)). The strategic acquisition acted as a springboard to further the business' growth into the US gift experience market. The two newly created roles will build on this success as the company consolidates its market leading position in the region.

Carrie will be responsible for expanding the current product offering of more than 5,000 experiences and building the commercial footprint of Virgin Experience Gifts in the US. Her established track record in market expansion and supply management will serve to accelerate the growth of Virgin Experience Gifts (https://www.virginexperiencegifts.com/) and bring a more diverse product portfolio to US based consumers.

Carrie joins from the multi-attraction pass company Go City (https://gocity.com/en-us) where she was Chief Operating Officer, before taking up the role of EVP Strategy. During her time there, Carrie forged partnerships with some of the world's greatest attractions and experiences. Carrie also serves as a founding board member and the Vice President of OCTO, an organization developed to create and maintain digital connectivity standards in the sector.

As VP Marketing, Virgin Experience Gifts (https://www.virginexperiencegifts.com/), Matt will be responsible for driving increased brand investment in the US. Matt brings over 15 years' experience to the business with a career spanning both agency and client-side roles, across sectors including consumer goods, healthcare, retail, quick-service restaurants, sports and technology.

Most recently, Matt delivered the digital marketing strategy for business and technology consultancy Slalom (https://www.slalom.com/). In this role, Matt led the in-house agency service, media and digital strategy offering for the consultancy.

Prior to this, Matt was employee number seven and the first marketing hire at sneaker, streetwear and collectibles marketplace StockX (https://stockx.com/es-us). Matt helped grow the team globally from 12 employees to almost 1,200.

Richard Hurd-Wood, CEO at Virgin Experience Days, comments: "As we continue to build the brand in the US market, the combined impact of expanding the breadth of the experiences we offer, while increasing brand investment, will drive the flywheel for growth. We are delighted to welcome Carrie and Matt to the business and look forward to the pivotal role they will play in helping achieve our ambitions."