Ex-Continental chief to chair Cendant TDS
Fomrer Continental Airline CEO Gordon Bethune has been recruited as chairman of Cendant’s Travel Distribution Services division.
He has been taken on to help identify a CEO for the business which is to be spun off in the fourth quarter of this year.
Bethune, widely regarded as responsible for turning around the fortunes of Continental, will continue as non-executive chairman following the spin-off.
Cendant’s president and chief financial officer Ronald Nelson will continue as CEO and president of Galileo parent TDS on an interim basis.
The company’s chairman and CEO Henry Silverman described Bethune as a “strong, engaging leader whose tunraround of Continental was marked by his strategic mindset, sharp intellect and exceptional ability to attract and develop a world-class management team”.
He added: “Hence, it should come as no surprise that his first critical task near-term will be to help me identify and recruit a chief executive for TDS from the list of outstanding finalists that we have assembled.”
Bethune, who founded travel industry consulting firm GB1 Partners after leaving Continental, said:”I am encouraged that in the months and years ahead, the further vertical integration of these businesses will continue to prove the viability of the investment thesis.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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