After five years leading Olivia, the travel and lifestyle business that caters to lesbians, CEO Amy Errett has left the company.

A March 28 news release from Olivia founder Judy Dlugacz said that Lisa R. Henderson has joined the company as general manager. The statement mentioned nothing about the circumstances of Errett's departure. Errett's biography was still up on the company's Web site as of April 4.

"It is full steam ahead with Lisa and me at the helm," Dlugacz, 55, stated.

According to her publicist, Dlugacz was traveling on Olivia's Caribbean Escapes cruise last week. She did not respond to questions sent via e-mail through the publicist's office.

Errett, 49, told the Bay Area Reporter in an e-mail message that she left the company March 19 and is now focused on her next adventure.

"I'm not sure what that will be, but if I can combine my passion for this community with whatever talents I bring, that would be a terrific match," she said.

Errett declined to elaborate on her departure. "Why or how I left is less relevant than this: I have the utmost respect for Olivia. The company has an incredible mission and I believe in it in my bones. I remain a part-owner of the company and I expect and hope the company will continue to thrive."

During Errett's tenure, Olivia grew from $6 million in annual revenues to $20 million, and it projected revenues to reach $25 million by the close of 2007, she said.

"More importantly, we transformed Olivia from a solely travel business to a broader lifestyle company, and now lesbians turn to Olivia for so much more than their vacation plans," Errett wrote in her e-mail.

In her statement, Dlugacz noted that Henderson will run the day-to-day operations, "working with Dlugacz to realize the vision of the company." Henderson has more than 21 years of experience in brand franchise expansion, business optimization, and new technology launches with some of the top consumer and technology companies in the world, ranging from Nestle to Microsoft. According to the statement, Henderson has been a founding member of several start-up companies in digital media and Web-based applications.

"Olivia is almost 35 years old and in many ways it has just begun," Henderson said in the statement. "Our focus will be to deliver services relevant to the lesbian community that not only leverage our travel and entertainment expertise, but expand access to the Olivia experience via technology-based offerings."

This year Olivia launched its online community called Olivia Connect.

On Monday, it was announced that American Airlines was named the official airline of Olivia. American Airlines is offering Olivia members and customers airfare options for travel to Olivia cruises and resort destinations. American was named the nation's "gay-friendliest" airline in a Travel Industry Association study.

Before branching out into the travel business, Olivia was primarily known as an independent record label that specialized in women artists. Dlugacz has since parlayed her connections in the entertainment industry to bring top-name entertainment to the cruises. The company has sponsorship agreements with out athletes Sheryl Swoopes and Rosie Jones and its cruises have featured entertainers such as Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Etheridge, and cast members from Showtime's The L Word .

Prior to taking the job at Olivia, Errett was the founder and CEO of the Spectrem Group that grew to be a worldwide strategic consulting, information, and merger acquisition advisory firm. She sold Spectrem to Interpublic Group in the late 1990s and joined E*Trade as part of its senior management team. She has a master's degree in business administration and finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from the University of Connecticut.

Errett is chair of the board of Glide United Methodist Church, a position she said is one of the most "meaningful" volunteer jobs she's had. In March, she rotated off the national board of the Human Rights Campaign when her term expired. She said she's involved with her alma mater, Wharton, where she sits on Wharton West's advisory board and speaks at conferences on media and the gay market.