-By Elena Malykhina

Orbitz Worldwide today appointed Jeffrey Davidoff as senior vp and CMO to lead offline and online marketing programs for travel company's global portfolio.

Davidoff will oversee such brands as Orbitz, CheapTickets and Away.com in the Americas; e-bookers in 13 countries across Europe and Scandinavia; and HotelClub in Sydney, Australia (which operates in 120 countries worldwide). Davidoff will be responsible for finding "synergies as they exist within our locally-run marketing programs, insights that can be leveraged globally," said Orbitz rep Brian Hoyt.

Davidoff replaces former CMO Randy Susan Wagner, who left the company in 2008. The new CMO role, however, has been expanded to include global responsibilities.

"The goal is to heighten awareness of our portfolio of brands and translate customer insights into products and services that make Orbitz Worldwide the best place globally for consumers to search for and book travel," said Hoyt.

Prior to joining Orbitz, Davidoff served as vp of brand marketing and communications at Whirlpool Corp., where he was in charge of brand positioning, consumer insight and integrated marketing, among other tasks, for the U.S. business.