Nicolas Huss, CEO and board director of HBX Group, is retiring effective September 30. Current CFO Brendan Brennan will take over as interim CEO as of October 1.
Huss joined HBX in 2021 and led the company through an initial public offering in 2025.
“Leading HBX Group has been a great privilege,” Huss said. “I have been proud to work with the team to transform the business into one of the world’s leading B2B travel technology companies. Every milestone reached, from our ecosystem transformation to our public listing, has been the result of the incredibly talented people I have had the privilege to work alongside. I leave confident in the group’s strategy, its people and its long-term prospects.”
The board is conducting a search for a permanent CEO, and a selection is anticipated to be made by HBX’s next annual general meeting in February 2027. Both internal and external candidates are being considered, with guidance from Egon Zehnder, an external recruitment specialist.
“HBX Group has a strong leadership team, clear strategic priorities and positive business momentum,” the company said. “The board is confident that Brendan, together with the wider management team, will provide continuity and focus while the search for a permanent successor is completed.”
Huss also expressed his confidence in Brennan.
“As our CFO, he has played a central role in shaping and executing our strategy as a public company and is exceptionally well placed to provide stability and continuity throughout the transition period,” he said.
HBX Group also issued a trading update for the third quarter of 2026.
The company reported a 12% increase in total transaction value (TTV) alongside a 3% drop in revenue year over year. TTV reached €2.4 billion, while revenue was down to €177 million, “reflecting resilient leisure travel demand, targeted commercial actions and a gradual recovery in previously disrupted travel corridors.”
HBX Group highlighted its “disciplined capital allocation” as well, which includes the completed acquisition of Bridgify last May.
In a statement, Huss said that trading conditions in Q3 continued to be impacted by conflict in the Middle East, but there are signs of improvement.
“Encouragingly, leisure demand remained resilient, demand and booking trends improved as the quarter progressed and we saw early signs of recovery across several previously disrupted travel corridors,” Huss said.
“Our diversified footprint, strong partner relationships and agile commercial model enabled us to respond effectively, underpinning our confidence in delivering FY26 guidance.”
In light of improvements, the company raised its FY2026 guidance range for TTV growth from 11%-15% to 13%-15% and narrowed its revenue range from –4%-1% to -2%-0%.