Charles Sylvia, ECC is Vice President of Trade Relations and Industry Special Envoy with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Charles has been an active CLIA member since 1994, when he embarked on his career in cruise sales and marketing as a front-line travel agent at a brick-and-mortar agency in his hometown near Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
After 16 years specializing in group cruises on the leisure side of the business, Charles moved to the corporate side, producing meetings, incentives, conferences, and events aboard cruise ships. In addition to being a lifelong cruise and maritime enthusiast, Charles is also interested in start-up ventures, serving as an advisor to graduate students in Brown University’s Program in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME). Charles is also a JFK scholar, a British Monarchy expert, and serves on the White House Historical Association’s James Hoban Circle. In his role at CLIA, Charles advocates for the interests of CLIA’s North America Travel Trade Membership, comprised of more than 62,800 travel agency owners and agents, and he serves as primary liaison for the CLIA Strategic Trade Advisory and Review Board (STARBoard) and the CLIA Trade Relations Committee.