Riviera Travel has announced that Will Sarson will replace Katja Hildebrandt, who is leaving the business after 16 years, as Head of Product River and Ocean Cruise.

Will is currently Head of Product Strategy and Long Haul at the river cruise and escorted tour specialist. 

Will becomes responsible for overseeing and scheduling Riviera’s river and ocean cruise itineraries, including planning new routes and developing current programmes.

He will continue to report to Chief Operating Officer Robin Shaw.

He enters a handover period for his new role from early September, before formally taking over from November, and will retain his current remit for overseeing Riviera’s long-haul product team.

Will has been at Riviera for the past eight years, and in his current role since 2020.

He has previously been responsible for launching new initiatives such as Riviera’s solo traveller proposition and Walk & Discover range.

Prior to this, he was head of product at Travelsphere and Just You.

As part of the move, Riviera’s capacity management team will change reporting lines from Will to Head of Aviation and Transport Neil Puffett from 1 September.

As part of the changes, Neil will now take responsibility for Riviera’s flight-buying and planning strategy across all product categories.