Karryn Christopher’s path to the top of Signature Travel Network didn’t follow a straight line so much as a purpose-driven zigzag.
She built her own environmental studies major, cut her teeth in Washington, D.C.’s nonprofit world, and only landed in travel thanks to an old-school newspaper ad and a hunch from Signature leaders that she could help stand up a hotel and resort program. That combination of mission mindset plus builder’s grit now underpins her first chapter as Signature’s newly appointed president.
The timing is consequential. Signature has nearly doubled its headcount since the pandemic, growing from 49 employees at the low point to roughly 100 today. Revenue and profitability have climbed faster than staffing, which means the organization is catching up on capacity while trying to keep its collaborative culture intact. Christopher’s early priorities reflect that reality: Finish the near-term execution around Signature’s advisor conference; re-align teams so new hires land in the right seats; and initiate a measured, durable tech integration plan rather than chase headlines.
If there’s a single word for Christopher’s approach, it’s sequencing. She’s refreshingly candid that she’s not naturally patient, but she’s insisting on a thoughtful cadence: Identify immediate needs, hire against them and roll out technology in step with what advisors and partners can genuinely absorb.
“I am not, by nature, a patient person,” she admits. “But in this moment, we need to take a deep breath and exhale and really be thoughtful.”
(Signature Travel Network)
Near term, that means bringing in at least one dedicated leader to orchestrate data integration across departments, complementing open roles already posted in technology. In essence, she’s building the connective tissue that lets a bigger Signature act like a tighter one.
Technology is the gravitational center of the agenda, but not as an abstract talking point. On one side, partners across cruise, hotel and land are simultaneously upgrading booking platforms, many rethinking pre-pandemic roadmaps through the lens of AI. That creates a crowded change pipeline and a learning curve that no single consortium can control. On the other side, advisors need tools that shorten the distance between inspiration and booked business. Christopher’s mandate is to bridge those realities without overwhelming the field.
“If you’re not taking the time to integrate it, or at least start planning how you’ll integrate it, then you’re going to miss the integration boat,” she said.
Christopher’s definition of growth is similarly pragmatic. She doesn’t position Signature as an industry disruptor so much as a force multiplier for members. The mission remains clear: Provide training, technology and marketing that help advisors sell preferred partners. Where diversification is desired — say, a cruise-heavy agency wants to expand its hotel or custom land mix — Signature’s job is to make add-on selling feel native to existing workflows.
That platform thinking extends across blurring vertical lines. Hotels are tiptoeing into cruise-style programming and vice versa; Signature is structuring programs that make sense of those overlaps so advisors can present a unified experience instead of siloed pieces. It’s the same logic behind the co-op’s long-standing matchmaking role: Because Signature is member-owned and not consumer-facing, it can pair partners with the specific agencies best positioned to deliver results—without competing for the spotlight. Christopher sees that stance as a differentiator in a noisy marketplace.
“We are the silent brand,” she said.
Marketwise, she’s not Pollyanna. The near horizon looks mixed: Long-haul exotic destinations remain resilient while the Caribbean winter could be a slugfest as cruise capacity and resort demand collide. After several years of business largely walking in the door, many advisors will need to re-engage their outbound marketing muscle. That, in Christopher’s view, is precisely where Signature’s stack — training, data-driven marketing and story-first selling — earns its keep.
“One size fits none,” she said while noting the network’s job is to equip different agency models to grow on their own terms.
Purpose also remains part of Signature’s growth story going forward. Travel Elevates, the network’s philanthropic arm, has moved from passion project to organizational DNA.
For Christopher, whose career started in the nonprofit sector, the alignment is natural and increasingly essential for next-gen advisors and clients who expect both performance and purpose. Communications and Development Manager Vicky Gallion has been building a vetted “concierge” pipeline of community projects with partners and past grantees so advisors can drop authentic impact experiences into itineraries without weeks of research. It’s a strategic trifecta: culturally richer travel for clients, differentiated product for advisors and lasting support for destinations that host luxury travelers.
Internally, Christopher is also resetting roles with CEO Alex Sharpe to maximize reach without redundancy. Expect more shared webinars and targeted event coverage (“divide and conquer” in practice) rather than a perpetual two-person road show. The aim is to keep executive time pointed at the highest-leverage forums while operational teams push forward on integration and enablement.

(Signature Travel Network)
Sharpe’s lens on the current moment is blunt and useful: “This is where you prove your value.”
If you want a glimpse of Christopher’s north star, listen to how she talks about enduring luxury themes. Celebration travel isn’t “new” for her; it’s evergreen and a perfect canvas for advisors to prove their worth by choreographing complexity into ease. Wellness is similar: a growth lane where specialist agencies are reshaping their models to meet demand and where the right planning can keep clients traveling confidently through life’s inevitable health curveballs. The consistent refrain is service as advantage, amplified by technology, delivered through community.
In that co-operative context, her credo lands simply: “We all do better if we’re all rowing in the same direction.”
Christopher jokes that she hasn’t had much time to celebrate her own milestone birthday—she turned 50 and promptly turned a “solo trip” into member meetings. It fits. She came to Signature by chance; she stays for the community.
The president’s job, as she defines it, is less about being the loudest voice and more about making the orchestra sound better: tightening rhythm, tuning instruments and handing the right solos to the right players. Patience, in that frame, isn’t a pause. It’s tempo.
And that may be the signature of this next era at Signature: a patient accelerator leading a bigger, busier, still-collaborative network to move faster by moving in sequence — step by step, story by story, member by member.
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