Michael J. Harrison Joins Grand Circle Corporation as President and Chief Operating Officer

BOSTON, Aug, 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael J. Harrison, a former executive at Timberland and Proctor & Gamble, has joined Grand Circle Corporation as its President and Chief Operating Officer, announced Grand Circle Chairman Alan E. Lewis today.  Established in 1958, $600 million Grand Circle Corporation serves more than 110,000 American travelers aged 50 and older annually through its brands Overseas Adventure Travel, Grand Circle Cruise Line, and Grand Circle Travel.  

"We are delighted to bring Michael's extensive leadership and organizational and consumer marketing experience to Grand Circle as we expand our business of providing life-enhancing, international travel experiences to Americans over 50," said Mr. Lewis.  "I believe that with Michael's help, we will be able to serve our travelers with excellence at every point of contact and create a stronger, world class organization that will take Grand Circle to the next level."

Michael Harrison is a consumer marketing executive with more than 30 years of experience.  Most recently, he was at Timberland, where he held various positions, including Co-President and Chief Brand Officer, for close to a decade.  Earlier, he worked in several executive capacities at Proctor & Gamble in the U.S., Australia, Japan, and England, including Vice President, Western Europe Cosmetics & Skin Care, President and General Manager, Max Factor KK Japan, and various marketing roles.  

At Grand Circle, Mr. Harrison will oversee the company's operations and financial performance, drive its 2017 plan and beyond, and help to build a world class, traveler-centric organization.  He will also lead Grand Circle's Executive Operating Group, which oversees a worldwide organization headquartered in Boston with more than 30 regional, overseas offices, and more than 3,000 employees, guides, and ship nautical and hospitality crew. 

"Grand Circle has a reputation for fostering extreme loyalty among its travelers through its excellent itineraries and exceptional guides who connect travelers to local people and cultures," said Mr. Harrison.  "I look forward to helping Grand Circle continue to grow by strengthening and developing the leadership of our worldwide organization and by improving the way we market to and communicate with our travelers."

Mr. Harrison received an MBA from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and received a BA/MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University in England.  An extensive traveler, he has lived and worked in the UK, the U.S., Asia, and Australia.  He and his wife have two grown sons and will relocate to the Boston area next month.

For more information, please contact Priscilla O'Reilly, VP, Public Relations at (617) 346-6841.

About Grand Circle Corporation
Grand Circle Corporation serves Americans aged 50 and older through its travel entities Grand Circle Travel (est. 1958), Overseas Adventure Travel (est. 1978) and Grand Circle cruise Line (est. 1998) Together, the travel companies offer more than 100 vacation choices—and hundreds of pre-and-post trip optional extensions worldwide and have served more than two million Americans to-date.  Based in Boston, Mass., Grand Circle has more than 30 offices worldwide and approximately 3,500 associates, guides, and crew serving more than 100,000 travelers per year.  In 1992, owners Alan and Harriet Lewis established the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation to support communities in which Grand Circle works and travels, including some 300 humanitarian, cultural, and educational endeavors worldwide—among them, 100 schools, in 50 countries.  The Foundation is an entity of the Lewis Family Foundation, which has pledged or donated more than $164 million since 1981.    

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SOURCE Grand Circle Corporation