Travelport's New CEO Lays Out Bold Plan for a Tech Overhaul
Skift Take
Travelport CEO Greg Webb tells us that the travel distribution giant's private equity investors support a major technology overhaul and that it will involve minimal heartache for agencies. It'll be notable if Travelport's backers defy the reputation of private equity investors for mercilessly extracting value.
It's tough being the CEO of a public company. But holding the top job at a company owned by private equity investors can be tougher. Even harder is being the chief executive under Elliott Management, a firm that earned its rep as an activist investor with unrelenting scrutiny on its companies.
That's why many eyes are on Greg Webb, who last August became CEO of travel technology company Travelport.
Elliott Management's private equity arm Evergreen Coast Capital and buyout firm Siris Capital took Travelport private last year in a $4.4 billion deal. It used borrowed funds for part of the transaction and presumably will want to sell the company at a profit several years from now. It'll expect quick decisions and want tangible results toward a lucrative exit.
Travelport's private equity owners tapped Webb for the top job, poaching him from Oracle Hospitality, the global market leader in hotel property management systems. At that brand, Webb had led a turnaround effort that may have pulled it out of what was starting to look like a tailspin.
At Travelport, Webb will need to arrest some declines that began accumulating under his predecessor, longtime CEO Gordon Wilson. Analysts at Evercore ISI estimated that Travelport's share of the global distribution market for air travel fell from about 26 percent in 2014 to about 21 percent late last year. Market share claims by Amadeus and Sabre have painted a similar picture.
Webb can draw on having been chairman of Sabre, Travelport's larger U.S. rival. He also led Sabre's distribution unit for many years.
In his first six months, Webb's team achieved the most-publicized objective of the company's owners. Elliott had said it wanted to see Travelport sell its stake in eNett, a payments technology company. Last month, Travelport sold its stake in Enett to Wex in a $1.7 billion transaction.
In an interview Wednesday, his first with Skift since becoming CEO, Webb said Travelport's owners are committed to investing in the company's growth, including a significant technology overhaul.
Tech Overhaul
Travelport has long maintained three systems — Worldspan, Galileo, and Apollo — for airlines to distribute plane tickets to agencies. They're hangovers from pa
