At Brand g, we feel incredibly fortunate to have grown so much over the past 15 years. From one river cruise that Brian and Jeff alone began selling in 2011 to the 9 full-time and half a dozen part-time staff we have now (with more to come), it has been a great ride. And so much of it is due to our really wonderful guests who come back year after year.
But the other part of the equation, of course, is those staff members, who we absolutely couldn’t do this without. They are a truly exceptional group. But obviously, for anyone who has traveled with the company over the years, that group has been growing and changing quickly, particularly in the last several years.
So we wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the changes that have been going on.
Jeff Gundvaldson
First, let’s address the oh-so-handsome elephant in the room: Jeff Gundvaldson.
As some of you know, co-owner Jeff is now in semi-retirement. And because he was stepping back quietly, a lot of people seemed to think there was some epic drama going on behind the scenes.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We all adore Jeff, and he loves this company. He had just worked SO hard over the last 15 years building this company with Brian that he was exhausted, and he wanted to step back and let others take the day-to-day reins. Travel – especially 5-star travel with the crazy high level of service that we offer – can be all-consuming,
For those who don’t know, his husband Troy had a son very young, and Jeff and Troy have grandkids now, and they moved to Ohio to be closer to them. So this will give Jeff a chance to really enjoy the family. You’ll certainly still see him here and there, but he won’t be a figurehead of the company anymore. You won’t talk to him on the phone when you’re making a reservation, etc. He’s off living his best life now, and we all love him for it and wish him absolutely NOTHING but the best. He’s earned it!
Brian Van Wey
Many of you know our beloved other co-owner, Brian Van Wey, who’s been here from day one and continues to own and run the company. Who doesn’t adore Brian? He’s funny, he’s a chatty Cathy, he’s about as unflappable as they get, and he’s a truly fabulous boss.
He remains as our leader and we couldn’t be happier about it!
NEW EMPLOYEES
As I mentioned, in the past four years, we’ve gone from a staff of four (with additional part-timers) to a staff of nine – and that number continues to grow. And that was necessary, because the number of trips we offer has exploded. When I (Eric, the author of this blog) started with Brand g in 2016, we were offering five or six trips a year. For 2027, we have 27.
So, who are all these new employees?
James Mayo
Many of you know James Mayo, the big, handsome bald guy with the endearing smile, since he’s been with us for four years now. James hails from Salt Lake City, and he does reservations and hosts a lot of trips, sometimes with his husband Jeremy Takeda, who doesn’t work for Brand g, but who has been on many Brand g trips and has hosted with James probably half a dozen times. You will never see Jeremy without a smile. He’s one of those people who just exudes sweetness.
James is so genuine, and funny, and he’s one of those people who really CARES about his job and the company. He brought a lot of organization and processes to the company, so he’s been invaluable. Add to that his background in sound for theatrical productions, and he’s a godsend to our entertainers, who rely on him to ensure that the sound for their performances is on point.
Plus, our guests adore him as a host!
Mike Mumford
The next hire was the man who is now our general manager. Although he lives in Houston these days, Mike was a good friend of James Mayo’s, which is how he came to Jeff and Brian’s attention. And to be honest, I wasn’t too sure about this guy, because I could see they were grooming him for something larger. (I had worked here for years with just Jeff and Brian as my bosses, and did NOT relish the idea of another one.)
But it turns out, Mike is nice. REALLY nice. And he treats people with such respect. He began doing reservations and trip hosting, but as Jeff decided in 2024 that he wanted to slowly step back, they began to groom Mike to take over.
And he has, with stunning success. Guests love him, and Brand g’s employees do, too. Not only is he a fantastic human being, he’s just a great boss. Brian and Jeff couldn’t have chosen a better person to help lead this company as it grows.
Jeremy Brooks & Randy Juden
These two deserve their own individual blocks in this blog post, because they’re equally fantastic. I’ve only lumped them together here because they’re a couple.
They live in Denver, and have been with Brand g for two to three years now. Their tenure with the company came about because Randy has deep roots with Brian and Jeff, going back many years to their days as President and Marketing Director of RSVP in Minneapolis.
Jeremy came to us first, followed about a year later by Randy. They’ve both become beloved trip hosts and reservations dudes. Now, they bring very different energies to hosting. Jeremy is young and has a sort of “silly fun” demeanor that guests love, while still being very on top of all the details necessary in 5-star travel.
Randy is older (not old, of course, just a little closer to our guests age than Jeremy) and couldn’t be more delightful. He radiates warmth and is so incredibly genuine. You feel like nothing bad will happen when Randy’s around. And both he and Jeremy are ALL IN when it comes to costumes for a theme party, so how can you not love them?
Together, these two form a yin and yang approach to hosting that has made them guest favorites.
Eric Dillemuth
The next hire, who hails from San Diego and has been with us for about a year and a half, is also named Eric. I, the older Eric, refer to myself as Original Recipe Eric and Eric Dillemuth (who is considerably – sorry, I’m choking slightly on these words – younger and more handsome) as Extra Spicy Eric.
When I first met Extra Spicy, I thought that Brian and Jeff had hired him purely for the eye candy factor as a host; but nothing could be further from the truth. He has fantastic organizational abilities, and is not only super friendly and fun, he’s on top of every detail. My initial thought that he was probably snotty and aloof couldn’t have been more off base. He’s truly lovely.
Now that I’m listing his qualities, I’m thinking I should find an open well to push him into.
Finally, we have our two most recent hires, both of whom have only been with us for a year or so.
Jason Chow
The first is Jason Chow from Toronto, who is a former actor/singer/dancer who spent years making tween girls and gay guys moist as a performer on Disney cruise ships. Jason handles our sales strategy, forecasting, and reporting, as well as some reservations and trip hosting.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of traveling with Jason – he’s a tall, handsome, half-Asian guy, who I suspect lives inside a Planet Fitness – you will really enjoy it when you do. He’s very warm (do you see a pattern here in our hosts?) and so genuine. You can just see how much he wants our guests to enjoy themselves.
That Disney Prince thing he’s got going on doesn’t hurt. (I kinda wanna slap him.)
Personally, I want to hear him sing on a cruise!
Hilary St. Clair
Hilary – our sole non-LGBT+ employee – came to us from a big mainstream travel company. Now, don’t panic – no, she’s not gay but she is about as cool as they come. Hilary’s our Product Manager, meaning she handles a big part of putting the trips together – assembling the components, negotiating deals with cruise lines and hotels, that sort of thing. She’s also begun hosting trips as well, beginning with our Panama Canal luxury cruise in April and our Seine (France) river cruise in May.
You will love this woman. She’s young, she’s a freaking delight, and she’s completely unfazed by anything gay. You will want her to be your best girlfriend. Add to that the fact that she’s an organizational demon, and you’ve got a spectacular one-two punch!
Eric Poole
That’s me, the author of this blog. I’m the Director of Marketing and the longest-running employee, having joined the company in September of 2016. I came to to Brand g by winning one of our annual free cruise giveaways (a France river cruise from Burgundy to Provence), and I loved the experience so much I made them hire me.
When I’m on a Brand g trip (my 16th will be in October), I’m not working, so I get to enjoy these fabulous cruises and land tours like the guests do. Look out!
Our Part-Time Staff
We also have a contingent of part-time trip hosts who we adore, like Lee Gilbert, Les Porter, Kim Kuzma, Josh Osias (who goes by the name Josias) Preston Felts and more. These fabulous individuals add a ton of sparkle to various trips throughout the year, and we hope some of them will turn into full-time staffers any day now.
So there you have it – the current state of Brand g. We’re growing and changing to meet the needs of our trips and our guests, and we hope you love every one of these incredible individuals as much as we do!
