Commercial Reorganisation and Executive Appointments at Amadeus

Amadeus has reorganised its commercial operations, following the appointment this month of Philippe Chérèque as Executive Vice President, Commercial.

The commercial operations will now be divided into three functional areas which reflect Amadeus’ primary commercial opportunity and reinforce the company’s long-standing commitment to time-to-market and customer needs.

From 1 March, airline IT will be headed by Julia Sattel, formerly VP, Global Sales Development, EMEA and Latin America. Separating the division into a single area overseen by Julia Sattel, who has long been among Amadeus’ most senior executives, will give increased focus to this key growth area for Amadeus. In her new role, Julia will convert the strong pipeline of airline prospects into customers and expand the solutions portfolio in this area even further.

From 1 February, Ian Wheeler will take charge of Amadeus’ distribution business. Bringing all elements of distribution – including airlines, hotels, car rental, rail, ferry cruise and insurance – together into one unit will strengthen the company’s focus on this core area of Amadeus’ activities. Ian also retains overall responsibility for Amadeus’ global marketing and customer services.

Also beginning 1 February, the Amadeus division which develops travel agency IT solutions will be combined with the Multinational Customer Group (MCG) to form a new business unit, led by Claude Giafferri, formerly VP Travel Office Products & Solutions. This important new area offers tremendous opportunity for diversifying Amadeus’ IT solutions portfolio and strengthening its role as a long-term technology partner for national and multinational travel agency customers, and for corporations.

A new department has been created, headed by Bertrand Kientz, VP, Product and Software Development Strategy, which will work across the organisation to ensure that product and software development follows a coherent strategy which answers Amadeus’ customer’s needs at the same time as supporting the commercial objectives of the three business areas outlined above.

Geographically, Amadeus’ commercial operations will be divided into 3 regions; each regional organisation will mirror the corporate structure with dedicated units for Airline IT, Distribution, Travel IT & Multinational Customer Group and Regional Development, allowing Amadeus to react rapidly to the specific needs of local customers and markets.

- The Asia Pacific Regional organisation will continue to be led by David Brett. David was appointed Vice President, Amadeus Asia Pacific in January 2000.

- The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regional organisation will be led by Frédéric Spagnou from 1 March. Frédéric was formerly VP, Airline Business Group.

- From 1 February, North, South and Central America will be combined into a single organisation led by Philippe Chérèque in the interim until further notice. Reporting into Philippe will be Kay Urban, who remains President and CEO Amadeus North America, a role she was appointed to in 2004 and Christian von Thuemen, Director, Amadeus Latin America. Christian has been responsible for Latin America since 2006.

“As we head into a turbulent year for the travel industry, a geographic structure which places Amadeus’ expertise closer than ever to our customers is paramount, and a simplified central organisation will enable Amadeus to focus its full commercial momentum behind the biggest opportunities for us,” said Philippe Chérèque, Executive Vice President, Commercial, Amadeus, “I am excited to be embarking on the significant challenge of helping the travel industry find new efficiencies in an economically unstable environment with the support of the first class executive team we are announcing today.”

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