LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 24, 2006–Travelocity announces
that Ian McCaig has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of
lastminute.com, its European online travel and leisure group.
Ian, currently lastminute.com’s Chief Operating Officer, steps
into the role as Brent Hoberman, the company’s co-founder, becomes
part-time chairman of the group. Ian will report directly to Michelle
Peluso, President and Chief Executive officer of Travelocity.
Brent will play a key role in guiding and advising Ian on the
strategy and development of the group as well as the continuing
development of its marketing and technology programmes. Damon Tassone
remains as deputy CEO and will continue to be responsible for
group-wide strategy, business development and marketing. In addition
to his current responsibilities, he will oversee lastminute.com’s
operations in continental Europe.
Ian was appointed COO of lastminute.com in 2003 and has been
responsible for the group’s operations throughout Europe. Since
joining, he has worked closely with Brent on the growth and
development of lastminute.com and has successfully led the integration
with Travelocity since its acquisition in July.
Aged 40, Ian was previously Vice President of 3G operations at
Nokia and spent seven years overall in the telecommunications
industry.
Brent Hoberman commented: “I am delighted that Ian has agreed to
take on such a high profile and demanding role. He was always the
natural choice to succeed me ever since we hired him as COO three
years ago.
“This company has come a long way in the past eight years. It has
been a tremendous journey, but there remains much to be done to
consolidate and extend our position in Europe’s travel and leisure
industry. I am confident that Ian is the right person to lead the
business. I’m passionate about lastminute.com and its future success
and I believe my role as chairman will enable me to take a better
perspective of the business and its future strategic development as a
whole and support Ian as he takes the business forward.
“My move to chairman, meanwhile, will also enable me to spend more
time on a number of other business projects. Since I co-founded
lastminute.com in 1998, I haven’t seen much daylight and I feel it’s
time to broaden out a little.”
Ian McCaig said: “I’m naturally delighted to take on this
tremendous opportunity and it will be a privilege to continue working
with lastminute.com’s exceptional management team in my new role.
lastminute.com is a special business and has so much more that it can
do. We will continue to develop and innovate to ensure that our
customers get the very best value out of their free time.”
Michelle Peluso, president and CEO of Travelocity said: “Ian is a
very strong and seasoned leader and I’m delighted to have him assume
his new role. As we have gone through the integration process, it
became clear to Brent and me that Ian is the perfect choice as CEO. He
will do a great job leading the strong team we have in place in
Europe, and at the same time, Brent will continue to make an enormous
contribution to the development of the business and the brand as
chairman.”
About lastminute.com
lastminute.com is a part of Travelocity. Its portfolio of European
travel and leisure websites includes consumer brands lastminute.com,
travelocity.co.uk, holiday autos, holidayandmore.com,
onlinetravel.com, medhotels, eXhilaration, first option and
travel4less, as well as degriftour.com and travelprice in France,
resfeber.com in Scandinavia and lastminute.de in Germany.
About Travelocity
Travelocity(R) is committed to being the traveler’s champion –
before, during and after the trip – and guarantees everything about a
customer’s booking will be right. If it’s not, Travelocity will work
with its partners to make it right, right away. This customer-driven
focus, backed by live 24/7 phone support, great prices and powerful
shopping technology has made Travelocity the fifth largest travel
agency in the U.S. – booking $7.4 billion in travel worldwide in 2005.
Based in Southlake, Texas, Travelocity also owns and operates
Travelocity Business(SM) and GetThere(R) for corporate travelers,
lastminute.com, a leader in European online travel and ZUJI, a leader
in Asia-Pacific online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings
Corporation (NYSE: TSG), a world leader in travel commerce.
CONTACT: Travelocity
Dan Toporek, 415-932-1163 or Joel Frey, 682-605-2178
or
lastminute.com
Brent Hoberman, Ian McCaig, or Claire Williams
+44 (0) 207 866 4498
or
Maitland
Neil Bennett or Brian Hudspith
+44 (0) 207 379 5151
SOURCE: Travelocity