Changing of the guard today at Travelport with the widely expected promotion of Gordon Wilson to CEO and president, with incumbent Jeff Clarke moving upstairs to be executive chairman.
Langley, UK-based Wilson assumes the role from June 1 2011, after 18 months as CEO and president of Travelport GDS and deputy CEO to Clarke.
Clarke's move to a new role of executive chairman will take place simultaneously, ending five years at the top of the business, initially as president and CEO of Cendant's distribution business in early-2006 after joining from CA (Computer Associates).
He engineered the transition to Travelport after Cendant sold off the GDS division to the Blackstone private equity group a few months later for $4.3 billion.
Since then Clarke has overseen the acquisition of Worldspan to create the larger Travelport GDS (with Galileo), the spinning off of Orbitz (where he will retain his chairman role) and, more recently, the sale of the GTA hotel business to Kuoni in March 2011.
Talk of Wilson taking over the top job at Travelport has been around ever since he was appointed deputy CEO in November 2009.
He spoke of being the "anointed" successor to Clarke in early 2010 when Travelport announced its ill-fated IPO in London. The promotion was inevitably delayed after Travelport pulled the listing just a month later.
But with the sale of GTA and stated focus on the GDS business, speculation resurfaced in recent weeks that Wilson would soon find himself in the top job.
Wilson's current position of CEO of the GDS business will be absorbed into his new role. He is also expected to remain based in the UK.
As executive chairman, Clarke will be responsible for strategic mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate development, Travelport says.
The new Travelport board of directors, also effective from 1 June 2011, will comprise: Wilson, Clarke, current chairman Chip Schoor, Martin Brand of Blackstone, Will Griffith of fellow private equity firm and investor Technology Crossover Ventures and a representative from One Equity Partners, a name expected to be announced shortly.