Sabre’s Tech Chief Exits Shortly After Major Job Cuts

The chief technology officer of Sabre exited the company last month, the latest in a string of c-suite changes and major job cuts. 

David Moore exited the role in July after three years in the role and seven years with the company. That he would leave was laid out in a public filing on May 8, four days after the company announced it would be cutting 15% of its workforce, or roughly 1,100 employees.

Sabre provides operational software and distribution services to travel agencies, airlines, and hotels.

Moore confirmed his departure to Skift but declined to comment further for confidentiality reasons.

Kristin Hays, chief communications officer for Sabre, referred to public filings regarding executive departures, declining to comment further. The filing regarding Moore said that Garry Wiseman, Sabre’s chief product officer, would serve as interim chief technology officer.

The change comes as Sabre continues its biggest tech transformation ever, namely its transition to Google Cloud, which is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2025. Sabre said in May that it ended the first quarter of 2023 having completed about 69% of the transition from local servers to Google Cloud. The company said previously it is expected to reach 90% by the end of 2023.

Sabre declined to share more information about the other job cuts. According to individuals’ posts on Linkedin, the cuts included senior directors and other managers who had been with the company for more than two decades.

The cuts came shortly after Kurt Ekert, who had held role of president for Sabre, became president and CEO. Sean Menke, who had been CEO of the company since 2016, became executive chair of its board.

Executives said the 15% job cut was the result of an effort to streamline the layers of the company’s management and employees. The restructuring was expected to save $100 million in the second half of this year and $200 million annually beginning in 2024. 

“As a new CEO, it pains me to take these steps, especially so early in my time in the role,” Ekert said during a conference call in May. “I do not take this decision lightly, especially given the immense respect that I have for all of my Sabre colleagues around the world. However, I am confident that these actions will better position us for the future and put us on a direct path to achieving our financial and strategic targets.”

Moore’s departure is one of several c-suite changes at Sabre over the past year:

• Ann Bruder was appointed chief legal officer in early May. She replaced Chadwick Ho, who exited in March after six months in the role.
• Cem Tanyel, chief services officer, exited in September after two years in his role without an apparent replacement. 
• Garry Wiseman became chief product officer in early August 2022. He replaced Wade Jones, who “elected to depart the company” in late July 2022, according to Sabre, after five years in the role.
• Mike Randolfi joined as chief financial officer in late August 2022. He replaced Doug Barnett, who left in late October after five years in the role following a retirement announced from the company in late July 2022. 

Sabre said in its annual report released in February that it has ongoing financial concerns related to post-pandemic recovery as well as shifts in the way the industry operates. 

“We believe the ongoing effects of Covid-19 on our operations and global bookings will continue to have a material negative impact on our financial results and liquidity, and this negative impact may continue notwithstanding any ongoing recovery from the outbreak,” the report said. “We believe our cash position and the liquidity measures we have taken will provide additional flexibility as we manage through the industry’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Sabre had $2.5 billion in revenue in 2022, $1.4 billion less than in 2019. The company completed 499.1 million air bookings in 2022, a 52% decrease from 2019. Sabre stock is down nearly 37% this year.