This is a roundup of product news and announcements for travel people and businesses in May 2017.
Wednesday 31 May 2017:
Egencia tech boss relocates
- The corporate travel agency's chief technology officer Alex Kaluzny is moving to Paris from his original base of Seattle, US. The relocation is part of a reorganisation of the TMC as it opens more offices around the world, including Hong Kong and Singapore last year.
Tuesday 30 May 2017:Flyiin gets Amadeus distribution boss on-board
- Holger Taubmann joins the travel tech provider as an advisor, joining former Air Canada chief Montie Brewer. Taubmann was most recently senior vice president of distribution at Amadeus, having joined the company in 1997 from Lufthansa.
Wednesday 24 May 2017:Mezi hires new VP
- The personal travel assistant application has brought in Johnny Thorsen to becomes its vice president of travel strategy and partnerships. He has previously worked at SAP Mobile Services, ConTgo, Concur, GetThere and Travelport.
Thursday 18 May 2017:SilverRail taps Amadeus for rail specialist
- Thomas Drexler becomes vice president of rail strategy at the train distribution technology firm. He joins from Amadeus where led the rail and ground transportation business division for six years. He has also worked at Deutsche Bahn.
eNett C-level hires
- Ex-chief financial officer of Priceline, Bryan Lewis, joins the payment specialist as chief operating officer, whilst former-CEO of Kalixa, Edward Chandler, becomes chief commercial and partnerships officer. Lewis has also worked for Agoda, SAP and Lexmark, with Chandler having earlier stints with Barclaycard and Mastercard.
Wednesday 17 May 2017:SilverRail adds expertise
- Mike Lambrou has joined SilverRail as business development director, and is tasked with building up its client base of leisure and corporate distribution customers on a global basis. His CV includes stints at Eurostar and Trainline.
Tuesday 16 May 2017:Yatra signs Bollywood superstar
- Yatra.com is the latest Indian OTA to sign up a Bollywood superstar as its brand ambassador. Ranbir Kapoor is described by Yatra CEO Dhruv Shringi as "contemporary, youthful and technologically advanced" an ideal fit with Yatra's rebranding at the start of year.
Friday 12 May 2017:Sabre regional HQ for LatAm
- The travel giant has opened a headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay - placing it alongside London in Europe and Singapore in Asia-Pacific as a hub for regional operations. The centre will oversee Sabre's businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Thursday 11 May 2017:RedAwning appoints R&D chief
- Amitav Chakravartty becomes senior vice president of research and development at the vacation rental brand, responsible for data analytics and innovation. He was previously a co-founder at VaycayHero, which was acquired by RedAwning earlier this year.
Amadeus sets up in Indonesia
- The company will open offices in the capital Jakarta as part of plans to target the fourth most populous country in the world. It will take over distribution sales and customer service from its local rep company, MF Permadi, although the pair will continue work together on localising technoloy for the marketplace.
Wednesday 10 May 2017:ReviewPro steps up US presence
- Reputation management platform ReviewPro has named John Owens as vice president of sales for North America, based in its new Dallas office. He brings almost 30 years' experience to the role having worked for Pegasus, TravelClick, Hilton and Marriott, among others. Earlier this year Chinese hotel IT giant Shiji paid $28 million for an 80% in ReviewPro.
Tuesday 9 May 2017:Thor promotes Hall
- Trisha Hall has been named managing director of Travelport subsidiary Thor. Hall joined the company in 2004 and was most recently as marketing operations manager.
Monday 8 May 2017:TrustYou names US head of sales
- The guest feedback platform has named Jennifer Graziano as its new US head of sales, overseeing its business development and account management strategy. She has been in travel for 15 years, most recently as global business development manager at corporate housing and serviced apartment provider Oakwood Worldwide.
Wednesday 3 May 2017:CarTrawler brings in advisor
- Former-CEO of Star Alliance, Mark Schwab, will become a senior advisor at the car rental tech company. Schwab was CEO of the airline alliance from 2012 to 2016 and has previously held senior positions at American Airlines, United and US Airways.
HotelRez hires for North America
- Ursula Rhode becomes executive general manager for the region at the hotel representation and distribution service, based in Texas, US. She joins from Sabre, where she was executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Generes platform.
Tuesday 2 May 2017:Onyx CenterSource hires worldwide chief
- Mike Carlo joins the hotel payment tech provider as its global head of payments, joining from Transpay where he ran its travel division. He has previously worked at WEX as head of travel solutions, Ingenico ePayments and CleverChef.
Etihad nabs IAG's loyalty boss
- Etihad Aviation Group has named Gavin Halliday as managing director for Hala Group, the unit which covers its destination management business, Etihad Holidays and its loyalty scheme Etihad Guest. He joins from IAG where he was CEO of its Avios scheme. Etihad has plans for Etihad Guest to work more closely with the loyalty schemes of its partner airlines.
NB: Travel people image
via Pixabay.