CEO of Xanterra Travel Collection

Andrew N. Todd has been President & CEO of Xanterra Travel Collection since 1994, and serves as President of each of the brands within Xanterra including Windstar Cruises. As Senior Vice President of Portfolio Management for Chicago-based JMB Realty Corporation, he orchestrated the acquisition of TW Recreational Services, Inc. and their merger with JMB’s Parks & Resorts Division resulting in Xanterra becoming the largest park concessions management company in the United States.

Today, Xanterra operates hotels, lodges, retail stores, restaurants, campsites, and other hospitality and recreational facilities in seven national parks and memorials. Xanterra also owns and operates the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel in Williams, Arizona as well as The Oasis at Death Valley in California, The Grand Hotel in Tusayan, Arizona and Cedar Creek Lodge just outside of Glacier National Park. Xanterra also owns and operates small ship leader Windstar Cruises whose six yachts offer luxury cruises around the world. Xanterra has acquired adventure tour operators VBT Bicycling Vacations and Country Walkers, as well as traditional tours offered by Holiday Vacations.

Xanterra has become widely recognized for its progressive environmental stewardship and related innovations in the hospitality industry. Todd’s establishment of company-wide environmental standards has led to numerous industry and peer-reviewed awards for Xanterra. A native of Indiana, Todd began his career at KPMG soon after obtaining his degree in Accounting from Indiana University. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

President

"I create a culture where the team can perform its best in an environment they enjoy.”

Chris has firsthand knowledge that working aboard cruise ships is hard work. As a young 20-something, he called his dad to tell him he wasn’t cut out for his cruise line job as a waiter, but his dad told him he needed to follow it through. He did. And eventually he got in the groove and loved working as part of a crew. That he’s now president of the cruise line that owns that first ship he worked aboard is no surprise. With more than 20 years in the industry he knows the ins and outs of how a cruise line works.

Originally from Austria, Chris earned a bachelor’s degree from the Higher Tourism Institute in Austria along with several tourism and accounting certificates from US colleges. He enjoys the diversity of his job in tourism and holds himself to high standards. He joined Windstar in 2017 and loves the supportive family-like atmosphere. He’s a member of the Culinary Institute of America’s invitation-only Society of Fellows.

As a kid, he wanted to be a race car driver and then a pilot. For someone who wanted to get places fast, he’s pretty happy overseeing cruise ships – a relatively slow, relaxing pace of travel. To win a place in his heart, invite him to pull up a chair at the ice cream parlor for a cone and conversation about Formula One. If you’re looking for him aboard one of the ships, check near the ice cream station. Aside from testing out all the ice cream stores around, Chris enjoys running, spending time with family and choosing colorful, eye-catching specs at his favorite eyeglass store.

Travel memory: My daughter at a younger age thought it was really funny to change my passport with hers leading to a smiling airline agent saying, “That is a cute picture. Can I have your passport please?” It was an important trip, so I had to ask my wife to quickly drive my passport to the airport. I made it just in time – the plane door literally closed behind me.

Chief Commercial Officer

"Travel is truly a force of good in this world and allows us to meet new people, learn new cultures, and realize how similar we all are."

Cuban born and Miami raised, Janet Bava found her love for travel at a young age. She had her first taste of cruising at the age of 15 when she celebrated her quinceañera onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and never looked back. She describes herself as a cruise lifer and internationally travel driven — she even met her husband while traveling through Italy during her college years.

Prior to joining Windstar Cruises during the summer of 2023, Bava was most recently the Chief Marketing Officer for AmaWaterways River Cruises and she has spent upwards of 20 years working in the travel industry. Most notably, prior to AmaWaterways, Bava was the VP of Marketing (The Americas) for Silversea Cruises where she fell in love with small-ship luxury cruising. Graduated from Florida International University with her Marketing and International Business degree, she always dreamed of working for a global brand poised for expansion and that would allow her to focus on bringing people from all over the world closer together. As a member of Chief, she enjoys connecting and supporting women executive leaders and emerging future female leaders in the corporate world.

She prides herself on being a results-driven professional who is able to lead by example and set a clear vision for her team. Bava values collaboration, creativity and innovation. She sees the advantages of leveraging new emerging technologies to consistently deliver results and she looks forward to further elevating the Windstar experience ensuring every touch point with our guests can be 180 degrees from ordinary.

There's one thing Bava has that never expires — her passport. If she could, she would explore the whole world on a ship with her beloved colleagues, family & friends. With an already accomplished travel portfolio, Bava is most eager to experience Tahiti and the Middle East the Windstar way, on an intimate private-yacht style cruise delighting in the culinary experiences this award-winning global travel brand is renowned for.