New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
eRevMax
eRevMax International, has appointed Jyoti Kumar Saraf as chief financial officer to spearhead its international financial operations. Saraf joined the company as VP – finance in August this year and has now been promoted as chief financial officer following his performance over the last few months. Saraf will be overseeing all financial management and reporting, including corporate accounting for the company globally. Prior to joining eRevMax, Saraf was associated with Reliance Communications as assistant vice president, finance and commercial head. He has also worked with Usha Martin and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Saraf has completed chartered accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
HolidayIQ
HolidayIQ has appointed Vikas Rana as chief technical officer (CTO). He was previously the founder and CEO, Must See India. At HolidayIQ, Rana will strengthen the technology team, scale infrastructure and lead technological innovation. Rana, a computer science graduate from IIT Delhi, has worked for more than five years in ‘Trilogy’ in enterprise software.
MakeMyTrip
MakeMyTrip has announced the appointment of Deepak Tuli, former co-founder and COO, Goibibo, as senior vice-president – growth business. In his new role, he will focus on building and implementing strategies for growing new business lines in the accommodations segment for the company. He comes with over 10 years of experience in the e-commerce ecosystem, with expertise in diverse areas including mobile platforms, digital marketing, product management, P&L management and CRM among others. Prior to Goibibo, he was a part of the launch team at Yatra, where he setup the non-air business for the company. He has done PGDBA in airlines and travel related business management from Sky Line Business School and has also completed Naspers Harvard Executive Management Programme in General Management.
Paytm
Paytm has brought on board Myntra’s head of mobile and digital business, Abhishek Rajan to lead the vertical as vice president. Rajan, an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus will be based out of Bengaluru and will primarily focus on scaling this category. This is his second stint at Paytm where he had earlier played a critical role in setting up the digital payments and e-commerce business.
Kuoni Group
Zubin Karkaria, CEO, VFS Global, has been appointed as CEO, Kuoni Group – VFS Global’s parent company. Karkaria is the first Indian to be appointed as the head of the 109-year old travel services company, and will concurrently continue in his function as the CEO of VFS Global. He will continue to be based in Dubai, UAE. After exiting the tour operating business, Kuoni is aiming to accelerate the implementation of its new corporate strategy, and that will be one of Karkaria’s key priorities in his new role.
Bernard Martyris, chief of human resources, VFS Global, has been appointed as group chief human resources officer of Kuoni Group. In this role, Martyris will be responsible for the overall group’s HR strategy, leadership development, and talent and performance management. He joined VFS Global in 2004 and led the corporate HR function of Kuoni Group on an interim basis from 2013 till the beginning of 2015. He will be based in Dubai from where he will concurrently continue in his current VFS Global role. Martyris graduated from Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in 1976.
SkyTeam
SkyTeam has appointed Perry Cantarutti as chief executive officer and Michael Wisbrunas as chairman of the governing board. Cantarutti joins SkyTeam from Delta Air Lines where he held the position of senior vice president Europe, Middle East and Africa. During his five years in this role, Cantarutti was instrumental in maximising the profitability of the airline’s trans-Atlantic operations and identifying growth opportunities for its joint venture with Air France, KLM and Alitalia.
SITA
SITA has appointed Randy Pizzi as president – Americas. Pizzi will be responsible for developing and driving the strategic direction for SITA in the region and will be based at SITA’s America’s headquarters in Atlanta. Pizzi joins SITA from Rockwell Collins/ARINC where he held a number of key roles including the establishment, as managing director, of the Asia Pacific Division in Singapore. He then became VP of international business, based in London, where he was instrumental in expanding the company’s international airline communications and airport IT businesses.
STR
STR has appointed Elizabeth Randall Winkle as chief strategy officer. She is currently the managing director of London-based STR Global, and will begin her new role on January 1, 2016. She will be replaced at STR Global by Robin Rossmann, formerly a senior director at Deloitte London. As chief strategy officer, she will oversee STR’s strategic initiatives, including the launch of its research, development and education department. Her team will be responsible for formalising the company’s strategic planning processes and assessing whether strategic initiatives, at all levels of the organisation, are in line with the company’s standards and objectives. She will also continue her involvement in global business as she joins the STR Global board of directors as chair in the second quarter of 2016.
Nordic Aviation Capital
Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) has appointed Soren MOvergaard as chief executive officer, effective immediately. Overgaard has played a key role within NAC’s senior management team for the past three years, joining in 2012 as chief financial officer. He previously held senior positions with blue chip transportation company, the AP Moller Group, Maersk and Damco Europe.
Travelport
Travelport has appointed Stephen Shurrock as executive vice president and chief commercial officer, replacing Kurt Ekert who leaves the company at the end of the year, as the position relocates to the UK. Shurrock joins Travelport from Telefonica, where he is currently CEO of its consumer division, responsible for both the consumer business and digital divisions globally. Shurrock’s appointment will become effective on January 4, 2016. As chief commercial officer, Shurrock will lead Travelport’s customer-focused teams in air, agency, hospitality and digital media around the world, as well as have global responsibility for customer engagement, product strategy, marketing and market research. Based in Travelport’s global headquarters in Langley, UK, Shurrock will report directly into president and CEO, Gordon Wilson.