ORLANDO, Fla. -- As the merger of its component companies neared
finalization, Carlson Wagonlit Travel said it plans to establish
its headquarters office in Miami.
The company said the last formalities of the merger of Carlson
Travel and Wagonlit Travel are imminent, and it unveiled a "global
organization" in which Travis Tanner will be president and chief
executive officer.
Carlson Cos. of Minneapolis, and Compagnie des Wagons Lits, of
the Paris-based Accor Group, said they are awaiting final
regulatory approvals of the merger in the U.S. and Europe and
expect to sign the final merger agreement within 60 days.
Carlson and Wagonlit have been operating as one agency for a few
years.
The announcements were made at a meeting here before 700
representatives of Carlson Wagonlit's company-owned offices and
international partners.
Tanner said the Miami office "will coordinate the activities of
the global regions so that, while we recognize the uniqueness of
different parts of the world, we maintain consistency in our
operations."
Because the merged company will be incorporated in the
Netherlands, Carlson Wagonlit also will have a small administrative
office in Amsterdam.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel said it has more than 4,100 locations in
138 countries and $13.3 billion in annual sales.
Tanner, previously copresident of Carlson Wagonlit, will have
overall responsibility for the company's operations around the
globe, with three world-region presidents reporting to him.
Herve Gourio, who has served as copresident and chief executive
officer of Carlson Wagonlit since 1994, will become president for
Europe, the Middle East and Africa, based in Paris.
Tanner and Gourio will serve as chairman and cochairman,
respectively, of a new worldwide executive committee.
Geoffrey Marshall, who previously was president and chief
operating officer for Carlson Wagonlit Development, will be
president for the Asia-Pacific region, working out of London.
Doug Ziemer, recently named Carlson Wagonlit's president for the
Americas, will remain in Minneapolis, maintaining responsibility
for Carlson Wagonlit's company-owned business operations in the
U.S., Canada and Central and South America.
Carlson Wagonlit executives said that although certain
centralized functions will be handled out of Miami, the new office
will be kept small.
Among the executive staff to be based there will be Olivier de
Surville, chief financial officer; Dick Smith, chief technology
officer, and Liliana Frigerio, senior vice president for global
sales and marketing.
Responsibility for many key agency functions, including other
sales activity, marketing, account management and operations, will
reside in the different regions headed by Gourio, Marshall and
Ziemer.
"We are going to run the business close to the customer," Tanner
said.
Carlson Wagonlit officials said Miami was picked for its Eastern
time zone location and its good international air service, among
other things.