The CEO of Travelocity, Michelle Peluso, has recently decided to pack her bags and is being replaced by Hugh Jones. Hugh was most recently the COO for Sabre Travel Network, and Sabre is Travelocity's parent company.
Peluso has been CEO of Travelocity for over 5 years, and has recently come under pressure due to the economy though travel related sites in general have been holding their own. It is difficult to say if that will continue to be the case as the recession moves deeper. Jones was formerly a financial controller for American Airlines, and was likely singled out to succeed Peluso because of his background.
It is still to be determined how Jones plans to develop Travelocity, though it is safe to say that controls and improvement of the current model are likely focus areas. Peluso drove significant growth for Travelocity by changing the business model when she cam onboard (through acquisition of her startup - Site59 - an internet based travel company). Travelocity was losing ground to Expedia when Peluso joined, because they were too reliant on airline travel while Expedia was well diversified. In response, Travelocity renegotiated third-party agreements, updated technology and reduced costs. They also launched an ad campaign and offered travel satisfaction gaurantees in addition to increasing their international presence through acquisitions. Ultimately her efforts paid off and put Travelocity in the green making it a valuable part of Sabre Holdings.
Though it is difficult to say for sure where Jones wants to take the company, he will for sure have big shoes to fill.
No comments:
Post a Comment