ATPCO CEO Rolf Purzer will retire from the airline-owned corporation on Dec. 31.
He will be replaced by Orbitz founder Alex Zoghlin, who more recently served as Hyatt's global head of data, innovation and business transformation.
Purzer joined ATPCO in 1996 and took over the company's top post in 2017. He has aggressively expanded ATPCO's role in the travel industry ecosystem beyond its long-standing position as the depository of airline fare filings. Under Purzer, ATPCO has also become a technology company, one which is focused on making it easier for airlines to display their entire suite of fare and ancillary products.
Rolf Purzer
Under Purzer's watch in 2018, ATPCO made its first-ever acquisition, buying the airline merchandising platform Routehappy, which helps airlines develop rich flight-shopping content displays, including the placement of photographs and other media, for OTAs and other distribution channels.
Purzer also led ATPCO's 2017 launch of the NDC Exchange platform, an aggregator New Distribution Capability-supported direct connection between airlines and travel agencies.
ATPCO has also developed technical solutions under Purzer's watch, including this past June, when the company unveiled an automated solution enabling airlines to override existing fare rules and waive change fees within the GDSs. ATPCO pushed out the tool as agencies struggled to handle voluminous change fee waivers and ticket validity extensions due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Zoghlin will join ATPCO on Nov. 1 and will work alongside Purzer during a two-month transition.
"It has been a privilege to work at ATPCO for the last quarter century and serve as ATPCO's CEO for the last four years," Purzer said. "I will be leaving ATPCO in the capable hands of dedicated staff and with the board's full blessing. I know Alex will be a leader that can continue to move ATPCO into the next chapter."