Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Robert brings his entrepreneurial approach and strong leadership skills to both start-ups and large firms, with a career spanning from high-frequency trading to travel technology and the growth of online travel. After founding and growing his own fintech focussed Travel Technology OTA - Options Away (sold to Hopper), Rob joined Travelport in early 2018 to set up and lead the Global OTA team. With him came a passion for Online Travel and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities for travel agencies. In 2022 he added the Travelport Enterprise accounts to his remit and now manages a $400M segment of the company's global business. In 2023 Rob left Travelport and returned to his passion for entrepreneurship, joining Israeli-based Wenrix as Chief Strategy Officer. With customers spanning the globe, Wenrix is leading the space in B2B revenue optimization and fintech products for top-tier OTAs and TMCs. Rob is helping the company navigate its rapid growth through a mix of commercial, product, and industry strategic input. Rob continues to be very active in the travel industry at all levels, providing thought leadership and direct advisory assistance to a few key players.
Wenrix is the next generation of airfare prediction and optimization http://www.wenrix.com
Fuse Technologies is an embedded fintech solution that empowers creators and organizers to sell their tickets, hotel, and multi-day curated experience in a single transaction. The company raised $17.5M in seed capital led by QED, Launchpad, and Dream Ventures reaching a $120M valuation in less than a year from launching its product. Rob works with the CEO and Management team to leverage his experience and network in the Travel and Fintech areas, and to help Fuse continue to expand its business and offerings.
Travelport is a leading Global Distribution Service (GDS) providing technology solutions to travel agencies and providing access to airline, hotel and rental car content. Hired by the CEO to build out Travelport’s Online Travel Agency business (OTA) which expanded to include the largest offline TMC agencies. Currently manage a global team and have a full P&L responsibility for a $400M portfolio of business. • Built the Travelport Global OTA group and grew it to a $400M business consisting of 45 international agencies, covered by a 50-person cross-functional commercial and technical support team • Negotiated serveral deals valued in excess of $50M, including the largest new customer for Travelport in over a decade, growing the company’s global market share in the online space • Established a new “Enterprise Tier” with the mandate to provide enhanced service and ultra-engagement at the C-Level for Travelport’s largest and most strategic global customers and prospects • Consolidated key global requirements for tier-1 customers and proactively worked with the Product and Technology Divisions to deliver next-generation travel technology solutions for Enterprise customers • Integral part of the “Top-25” Travelport executive leadership team delivering company strategy and frequently representing Travelport at an industry level as a speaker and thought leader
Options Away leveraged the concepts of the financial industry to provide innovative solutions for travel agencies. Its TripLock solution allowed customers to lock in the price of a flight while they finalise their travel plans. The company was sold to Hopper in 2018 and now powers Hopper Price Freeze. • Founded Options Away and raised multiple rounds of venture funding to build a multi-lingual, multi-currency, cloud-based solution implemented across the US and six European countries • Created a set of complex algorithms to calculate the volatility of flight prices and to predict consumer behaviour within the travel planning process, leading to a set of Machine Learning, data science driven revenue management tools used by large Online Travel Agencies and Meta-Search travel companies • Built a team of 25 in Chicago and Barcelona and managed all aspects of the business including Product, Technology, Business Development, Marketing, Customer Service and Operations, while providing full P&L / financial reporting to the Options Away board and investors • Forged strategic partnerships and customer implementations with the largest industry players including American Airlines, Sabre, Amadeus, Expedia, Kayak, Berkshire Hathaway and eDreams Odigeo, reaching $5M in annualized revenues