The Wanderlust Group Strengthens Leadership with Announcement of Three New Executive Appointments

NEWPORT, R.I., May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wanderlust Group (TWG), a technology company that builds online marketplaces to connect outdoor adventurers to destinations and services, today announced three new executive appointments across its Product, Engineering and Revenue teams. The team expansion is coming at a time of immense brand growth. Dockwa, one of its marketplaces, has seen more than 3.6 million nights booked already in 2022, a 58% increase from last year. The leadership expansion will be instrumental in scaling The Wanderlust Group's operations domestically and globally. 

"For the second year in a row, first-time boat ownership has surpassed 415,000 according to the NMMA. This significant influx of first-time boat-owners is certainly translating to growth we're experiencing at The Wanderlust Group," said Mike Melillo, CEO of The Wanderlust Group. "We're thrilled to expand our team, especially with such skilled leaders, to meet this demand and to help expand our offering." 

Shirley Versen named Chief Revenue Officer
Joining from Full Harvest, Versen has two decades of experience in strategically scaling revenue and operations for leading global brands, including TravelZoo, Yelp and Walmart Marketplace. Versen's appointment will enable The Wanderlust Group's Co-Founder and current CRO Matt Fradette to develop a new role in the company of Chief Business Officer, focused on strategic partnerships, potential acquisitions and new enterprise offerings.

In her role, Versen will be responsible for overseeing the sales and customer success teams that make up the marina experience on Marinas.com and Dockwa.

Eamon Bisson-Donahue named VP of Engineering
Bisson-Donahue brings over a decade of engineering experience to his new role, having previously served as VP of Engineering for Splash Engineering and iHeartRadio. Particularly experienced in scaling engineering organizations that combine physical engagement with technology, Bisson-Donahue previously served as Engineering Manager at Uber where he founded, managed, and grew a team of three engineers to over 40 engineers and three managers, across seven teams in under two years. 

In his new role, Bisson-Donahue will oversee The Wanderlust Group's engineering team, helping to scale our software to meet the evolving needs of our marinas and boaters today, as well as exploring new areas of product development for the larger company.

Nathan Kollett named VP of Product
Kollet brings with him extensive experience in B2B and consumer product strategy having held previous positions at Indigo, ezCater, and Wayfair. As VP of Product, he will be focused exclusively on the boater experience across TWG's Dockwa and Marinas.com platforms.

In his new role, Kollet will be responsible for leading product development for our boaters, deepening the value we can offer to them across our product lines.

This January, after a record-breaking 2021,The Wanderlust Group announced it had closed a $30 million Series C funding round led by Thursday Ventures. As part of the funding round, Thursday Ventures joined the brand's board and cap table, with particular focus on helping the company build out its executive and engineering teams as it moves into the next phase of global growth.

About The Wanderlust Group
Founded in 2014, The Wanderlust Group builds marketplaces that connect outdoor adventurers to destinations and technology platforms that help those destinations grow. The company's products include Dockwa, Marinas.com and the forthcoming Campouts.com. Rooted in the belief that the world is a better place when people are able to spend time outdoors, connected to nature and each other, The Wanderlust Group supports hundreds of thousands of adventurers and tens of thousands of locations across its product portfolio.

For more information, visit https://thewanderlustgroup.com/

SOURCE The Wanderlust Group