Hotel guest acquisition platform SiteMinder has appointed
its first CEO.
Sankar Narayan will assume that role beginning in January.
He joins SiteMinder after serving as chief operating officer of cloud
accounting software company Xero.
Narayan will work alongside SiteMinder founder Mike Ford,
who will remain as managing director and assume the new role of executive chairman
of the board with a focus on the company’s future strategy and product innovation.
“We are incredibly pleased with our global expansion and
significant leadership position to date,” Ford says.
“We are also equally ambitious and excited about the
opportunity that lies ahead of us, and the pivotal role we believe SiteMinder
can play in the increasingly connected travel ecosystem. Building extraordinary
things takes extraordinary talent, and we are committed to building a leadership
team that reflects that ambition. Sankar’s track record and outstanding
skillset positions him as the ideal person for me to bring on as a partner in
leading SiteMinder into the future.”
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Founded in 2006, SiteMinder now has 30,000 hotel clients in
160 countries and more than 600 employees at its Sydney headquarters
and in London, Dallas, Bangkok, Galway and Cape Town.
In the 12 months ending June 2018, SiteMinder says its
technology generated more than 80 million reservations worth $26.5 billion.
Narayan brings 20 years of experience across travel,
technology, media and telecommunications.
“Through innovation and strong execution, Mike Ford and the
team at SiteMinder have built a global footprint that cements SiteMinder as the
leading guest acquisition platform for hotels worldwide,” Narayan says.
“In partnership with Mike, I look forward to driving growth
and scale in the business to join the handful of globally focused Australian
technology giants. I am especially excited to be a part of an organization that
is set to transform the global travel industry as we know it.”