Gary Murphy is Vice President of National Accounts for AMA Waterways, a tour provider based in Chatsworth, California that is focused primarily on European River Cruising.  He was previously President of Brendan, one of the premier tour operators in the travel industry that was founded by his father, Jimmy Murphy, in 1968.   AMA Waterways owns and operates 11 ships and provides River Cruises all over Continental Europe, including Russia.

While attending college, Gary was a Reservations Agent at Brendan.  After completing his BA in Economics at California State University Northridge, he joined IBM’s International Marketing Division.   Realizing that the travel business was his true interest, Gary relocated to London as Travel Coordinator for Tourwise London, managing all ‘Meet and Greet’ services.

Gary returned to Brendan in 1986 as Sales Manager for San Diego County and soon was promoted to National Sales Manager, building Brendan’s Sales Team.   In 1994, Gary accepted the position of Vice President of Marketing and Sales for a startup airline in Miami.  After a successful tenure with Miami Air, Gary returned to Brendan as Vice President.  Gary was promoted to President and COO in 2000.