Sabre has confirmed that Kurt Ekert, President,
will become CEO on 27 April 2023, succeeding Sean Menke, who is
the current CEO and Chair of Sabre’s Board.
Kurt has also been nominated as a director for
election at Sabre’s 2023 Annual Meeting, to be held on 26 April
2023.
Sean will remain as the company’s Executive Chair
of the Board and Gregg Saretsky will continue to serve as
independent lead director of the Board of Directors, providing a balance between strong strategic leadership and
oversight by independent directors.
“I know I speak on behalf of Sabre’s entire Board
of Directors when I say that Sean has been an incredibly strong
and successful leader over the last eight years, especially in
those unprecedented moments during the global pandemic. He leaves
behind a tremendous legacy, including an ambitious multi-year
strategy that the leadership team will continue to move forward.
We thank Sean for his outstanding leadership and service and are
pleased to continue to serve alongside him as executive chair,”
Gregg said. “We look forward to having Kurt join the Board as
he steps into the chief executive officer role at the company. He
is a strong, forward-focused leader with the experience,
operational and technical acumen and industry perspective to
successfully execute Sabre’s strategic plans.”
Kurt joined Sabre in January 2022 as President as
part of the company’s long term succession plans, as it split the
role of President and CEO.
Overseeing all aspects of the
company’s business and technology operations, Kurt has developed new growth strategies and successfully executed
against the company’s operating plans, including successfully
reorganizing its Travel Solutions business, implementing robust
operating principles to enable faster and more efficient
execution, and putting a refined leadership team in place.
“I am proud to be stepping into
the CEO role at Sabre and eager to continue to advance our
strategy while fostering a winning culture of empowerment,
innovation and performance,” Kurt said. “I look forward to leading this company
through its next chapter and am confident we have the ability to
meaningfully grow our business and deliver long-term shareholder
value.”
Sean joined Sabre in 2015 serving as president of
its largest business division, before being promoted to CEO in
late 2016.
Under his leadership, the company set out, and
executed against, bold plans to reimagine the future of travel
enabled by its technology transformation, key strategic
partnerships and building a leadership team to deliver that
vision.
“It has been an honor and privilege to
help lead Sabre over the last eight years,” Sean said. “I am proud of what our
teams have accomplished and how we’ve served our customers during
unprecedented times. It has been immensely gratifying to see the
dedication and success of our team, as Sabre continues to
transform itself to become the trusted, and preferred, technology
partner in travel. I look forward to transitioning into the role
of executive chair and welcome Kurt as our new chief executive
officer. He’s been a driving force at Sabre over the past fourteen
months and I am confident he will continue to successfully lead
this organization into the future.”
:
Travel Industry Interview with Kurt Ekert, President of Sabre (23 March 2022).
