Sabre Appoints Kurt Ekert as CEO

Dark/Light Mode (02/03/23)  Sabre has confirmed that Kurt Ekert, President, will become CEO on 27 April 2023, succeeding Sean Menke, who is the current CEO and Chair of Sabre’s Board.

Kurt has also been nominated as a director for election at Sabre’s 2023 Annual Meeting, to be held on 26 April 2023.

Kurt Ekert

Sean will remain as the company’s Executive Chair of the Board and Gregg Saretsky will continue to serve as independent lead director of the Board of Directors, providing a balance between strong strategic leadership and oversight by independent directors.

“I know I speak on behalf of Sabre’s entire Board of Directors when I say that Sean has been an incredibly strong and successful leader over the last eight years, especially in those unprecedented moments during the global pandemic. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy, including an ambitious multi-year strategy that the leadership team will continue to move forward. We thank Sean for his outstanding leadership and service and are pleased to continue to serve alongside him as executive chair,” Gregg said. “We look forward to having Kurt join the Board as he steps into the chief executive officer role at the company. He is a strong, forward-focused leader with the experience, operational and technical acumen and industry perspective to successfully execute Sabre’s strategic plans.”

Kurt joined Sabre in January 2022 as President as part of the company’s long term succession plans, as it split the role of President and CEO.

Overseeing all aspects of the company’s business and technology operations, Kurt has developed new growth strategies and successfully executed against the company’s operating plans, including successfully reorganizing its Travel Solutions business, implementing robust operating principles to enable faster and more efficient execution, and putting a refined leadership team in place.

“I am proud to be stepping into the CEO role at Sabre and eager to continue to advance our strategy while fostering a winning culture of empowerment, innovation and performance,” Kurt said. “I look forward to leading this company through its next chapter and am confident we have the ability to meaningfully grow our business and deliver long-term shareholder value.”

Sean joined Sabre in 2015 serving as president of its largest business division, before being promoted to CEO in late 2016.

Under his leadership, the company set out, and executed against, bold plans to reimagine the future of travel enabled by its technology transformation, key strategic partnerships and building a leadership team to deliver that vision.

“It has been an honor and privilege to help lead Sabre over the last eight years,” Sean said. “I am proud of what our teams have accomplished and how we’ve served our customers during unprecedented times. It has been immensely gratifying to see the dedication and success of our team, as Sabre continues to transform itself to become the trusted, and preferred, technology partner in travel. I look forward to transitioning into the role of executive chair and welcome Kurt as our new chief executive officer. He’s been a driving force at Sabre over the past fourteen months and I am confident he will continue to successfully lead this organization into the future.”

See also: Travel Industry Interview with Kurt Ekert, President of Sabre (23 March 2022).

Latest exclusive video interviews: Future of Air Travel - Interview with Sumesh Patel, President of SITA Asia Pacific; Miss International Queen 2024 (MIQ 2024) - Interview with Alisa Phanthusak, MD, Tiffany's Show Pattaya, Thailand; 16 HD Video Interviews from Routes Europe 2024 in Aarhus, Denmark; 9 HD Video Interviews from Routes Asia 2024 in Langkawi, Malaysia; Standard to Open Residences in Hua Hin and Phuket, Thailand; Video Interview with Amar Lalvani, Executive Chairman; 9 Exclusive Video Interviews from ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos; 8 NTO Press Conferences from ASEAN Tourism Forum 2024 in Vientiane, Laos; 13 HD Video Interviews from World Travel Market 2023 in London, England; 5 HD Video Interviews from APG World Connect 2023 in Monaco, France; and 15 HD Video Interviews from Routes World 2023 in Istanbul, Türkiye.