Amadeus has announced a reorganisation of its commercial organisation, following the appointment of Philippe Chérèque as executive vice president, commercial.

Published: 29 Jan 2009

Amadeus has announced a reorganisation of its commercial organisation, following the appointment of Philippe Chérèque as executive vice president, commercial.

The Commercial organisation will now be divided into three functional areas.

From March onwards, airline IT will be headed by Julia Sattel, formerly VP, Global Sales Development, EMEA and Latin America.

From February onwards, Ian Wheeler will take charge of Amadeus' distribution business. He also retains overall responsibility for Amadeus' global marketing and customer services.

Also beginning February, the Amadeus division which develops travel agency IT solutions will be combined with the Multinational Customer Group (MCG) to form a new business unit, led by Claude Giafferri, formerly VP Travel Office Products & Solutions.

A new department has been created, headed by Bertrand Kientz, VP, Product and Software Development Strategy, which will work across the organisation to ensure that product and software development follows a coherent strategy which answers Amadeus' customer's needs at the same time as supporting the commercial objectives of the three business areas.

Senior executives

Geographically, Amadeus' commercial organisation will be divided into three regions; each regional organisation will mirror the corporate structure with dedicated units for Airline IT, Distribution, Travel IT & Multinational Customer Group and Regional Development, allowing Amadeus to react rapidly to the specific needs of local customers and markets.

"As we head into a turbulent year for the travel industry, a geographic structure which places Amadeus' expertise closer than ever to our customers is paramount, and a simplified central organisation will enable Amadeus to focus its full commercial momentum behind the biggest opportunities for us," said Chérèque.

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