London and New York, March 16, 2015 – American Express Global Business Travel (“GBT”) today announced that Philippe Chérèque has been appointed to expand his remit from Chief Technology Officer to Chief Commercial and Technology Officer. In addition, Steve Curts, who was Senior Vice President, Internal Business Systems, has been appointed to the newly-created role of Chief Strategy Officer. Both Mr. Chérèque and Mr. Curts will report to Bill Glenn, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Global Business Travel.
“These changes reflect our stated focus on creating differentiated value and driving connections for our customers and partners through technology, information and global scale,” said Mr. Glenn. “Philippe and Steve bring to their new roles proven expertise in overseeing high-growth, customer-centric businesses, gained from their respective careers to date, making them a perfect fit for our ambitious growth plans.”
As part of his newly expanded role, Mr. Chérèque will lead all of GBT’s customer-facing business divisions, including Sales and Client Management, Global Business Consulting, and Meetings & Events. Bringing customer-facing teams and activities under one leader will foster greater collaboration and enable deeper levels of customer and industry-specific insight across verticals and geographies.
As Chief Strategy Officer, Mr. Curts will lead the M&A group, expand and strengthen partnerships and centralize GBT’s data analytics and business intelligence function. Additionally, Mr. Curts will oversee the Company’s marketing and public relations activities.
Mr. Chérèque joined GBT as Chief Technology Officer in September 2014. He previously held the role of Executive Vice President of Commercial at Amadeus Technology Group SA, where he led the worldwide implementation of Amadeus Technology’s commercial strategy. Prior to that, Mr. Chérèque served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, responsible for driving and coordinating the company’s business development, marketing, technical architecture and product plan. He was one of the founders of Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S.A.
Mr. Curts joined GBT as Senior Vice President, Internal Business Systems in May 2014. He was previously Vice President, Dell Services, Services Delivery, at Dell. In his roles at Dell, Mr. Curts led strategic operations to revitalize Dell’s Infrastructure and Cloud Computing Healthcare Industry Group. Prior to that, he held several senior leadership positions within Perot Systems, including leading the Commercial Solutions Group.
About American Express Global Business Travel
Positioned at the intersection of commerce and travel, American Express Global Business Travel offers its customers a comprehensive network, service dependability, and deep insight to help move people and businesses forward. American Express Global Business Travel provides leading travel solutions, integrated consulting services, proprietary research, and end-to-end meetings and events capabilities. These innovative offerings enable clients to optimize the return on their travel and meetings investments. Learn more at www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com.
American Express Global Business Travel is part of one of the world’s largest travel agency networks with locations in nearly 140 countries worldwide.