Collette CEO Dan Sullivan Photo Credit: Andrei Jackamets

During the 2017 Readers Choice Awards gala held last month at the Conrad New York, Travel Weekly honored Collette CEO Dan Sullivan with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sullivan has over 45 years in the travel industry and was a driving force in taking Collette from a regional tour operator to a global company and an industry leader.

He is a member of the USTOA and the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. He is the chairman of the Collette Foundation board, Collette's global nonprofit aimed at giving children opportunities to thrive through hunger and education initiatives.

He sits on the Charitable Foundation board for Bristol County Savings Bank; is the former chairman for Tourism Cares; serves as co-chairman of the Pawtucket Foundation, an organization committed to the continued economic development of Pawtucket, R.I., Collette's home city; and since 2005 has served on the board of the Fairfield University Center for Faith and Public Life.

Sullivan supports nonprofit causes including the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Hospice, Hasbro Children's Hospital and Amos House.

In 2007, Tourism Cares inducted Sullivan into the Tourism Hall of Fame for his contributions to the community, through philanthropic endeavors and significant contributions to the advancement of responsible tourism.

He holds a marketing degree from Fairfield University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Executive Owner/President Management program.

Sullivan's pastimes include traveling the world; relaxing at home with family, including his eight grandchildren; and listening to Bruce Springsteen, a fact noted by Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann when he presented Sullivan with the award.

Quoting Springsteen's 2012 song "Land of Hope and Dreams," Weissmann said of Sullivan: "To me, he is the very embodiment of the Boss' sentiment that 'dreams will not be thwarted, faith will be rewarded.'"