The Most Powerful People in Travel – Skift Travel Podcast

The Skift Global Forum will feature the travel industry’s most powerful people, many of whom we profiled in our recent Skift Power Rankings. How did we determine which travel executives wield the most power?

Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit and Head of Research Seth Borko discussed power and influence in travel with Airlines Editor Gordon Smith and Senior Hospitality Editor Sean O’Neill in this episode of the Skift Travel Podcast.

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Key Points

Quantifying Power Is Challenging: Measuring power involves more than just looking at financial metrics like revenue or market cap, as many influential figures may not align with traditional business metrics.

Three Different Scores: The rankings were based on three main criteria: a financial score (based on company size and success), a company track record score (based on achievements and performance), and an industry authority score (based on influence, gravitas, and media coverage).

Intangible Qualities Matter: Intangible qualities like clout, gravitas, and charisma were recognized as significant factors in assessing power, acknowledging that some leaders hold influence in ways that are hard to quantify.

Collaboration Between Teams: The rankings were a collaboration between teams, using data analysis and journalistic expertise to weigh different factors and arrive at the final list.

Diverse Approaches to Power: The final ranking highlights that power comes in different forms and can be acquired and applied in various ways, showing diversity in leadership styles and influence.

Episode Summary

The discussion focuses on the methodology behind creating a power ranking list, emphasizing that it wasn’t just arbitrary but involved structured, data-driven analysis. The challenge was to quantify power, which is difficult because traditional metrics like revenue, market cap, or employee numbers don’t fully capture the influence of certain leaders.

Skift’s teams developed three key scores: financial (company success), company track record (organizational achievements), and industry authority (gravitas, media coverage). Intangible qualities like clout and presence were also crucial, especially when considering how leaders hold a room or influence those around them.

The collaboration between data analysts and journalists helped balance quantitative metrics with subjective insights from industry experts. While some factors were easy to measure, like revenue, others—such as achievements and gravitas—required more nuanced judgment. So the final ranking reflects a diverse approach to power, showing different leadership styles.