Olle A. Olsson, Founder & President
Olle is the visionary behind Explorica. He has a quarter-century experience in educational student travel, having worked as everything from a program consultant to the president of EF Educational Tours, an industry leader. He founded Explorica to combine the best of traditional student travel with top new technology to improve every aspect of your travel encounter-from researching, planning, and booking to actually taking the trip. Olle brings both his extensive background and his creative foresight to Explorica, helping ensure an unparalleled travel experience for you. A 15-year resident of the U.S. and a native of Sweden, Olle has also lived in England, France, and Switzerland. He's fluent in German, Swedish, English, French, and HTML (well, sort of).
Marc Mann, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Marc comes to Explorica with a passion for travel and over 20 years of experience working in leadership positions for companies like Nestle, Seagram’s, Campbell’s Soup and Kodak. His dedication to Explorica’s mission of creating innovative and immersive experiences for educational travelers, along with always providing exceptional customer service make Marc both an invaluable member and the trusted leader of Explorica’s sales and marketing teams. Marc’s career has given him the opportunity to travel the world and live in cities throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. During his many stops along the Continent, Marc says his best meals were had in Stuttgart, Paris and Geneva.
Susan Young, Chief Financial Officer
As the Chief Financial Officer for Explorica Inc, Susan holds management responsibilities for the company’s finances, overall accounting, financial reporting, price evaluation and treasury operations. Susan’s credentials include a long and successful professional career in multiple industries such as Kodak, Xerox, EDS, and Stryker. Susan brings to the company extensive global experience which includes a three year expat assignment in Europe living in both London and Geneva as well as managing operations in a China local. Susan’s strong management and leadership skills ensure that the company is positioned for growth and obtaining strategic objectives. Susan has an M.B.A. from Syracuse University and a B.S. in Finance from Clarkson University. Susan has a passion for travel and has visited all 7 continents (yes, including Antarctica!)
Dan Kellerd, Executive Vice President of Operations
For over 20 years, Dan has covered every aspect of student travel for major North American and European student travel companies. From resort management to tour directing throughout Europe, from negotiating the best hotel deals to designing the smoothest tour itineraries, Dan has provided educational opportunities for over a million North American and European students and teachers. His background in this field is second to none. Dan is using his extensive industry knowledge coupled with the latest technology to ensure that Explorica travelers get the best value and experience.
Stephane Cosse, Vice President of Air Operations
Stephane has over ten years of international experience in both the Consulting and Airline Operations fields. Prior to joining Explorica in 2002, he worked for Accenture Ltd. in Paris and Chicago, conducting process re-engineering and change management consulting services for airline clients. Stephane has a Masters in Strategy and Management from Paris-X University / H.E.C. Business School, France and attended a Masters in Business Administration-Exchange Program at Texas Tech University. At Explorica, he negotiates air contracts, develops close working relationships with major air carriers, and supervises the management of air operations for Explorica travelers. Delivering quality flight itineraries on-time and under budget is Stephane's ultimate goal.
Matt Wertz, Vice President of Technology
Since joining Explorica as an IT consultant six years ago and signing on as lead IT architect not long after, Matt has quickly become an integral part of Explorica's management team. In fact, as Vice President of Technology, Matt is responsible for all technology initiatives-from developing applications to support internal & external users to overseeing Explorica's telecommunications system. His missions are to provide customers with a seamless travel experience throughout their contact with Explorica, and to simplify and automate processes in order to lower costs and improve usability. Before partnering with Explorica, Matt worked as an e-commerce consultant and graduated Summa Cum Laude with B.S. Electrical engineering from Boston University.
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