Sabre is separating the roles of president and CEO, effective Jan. 3.
Sean Menke, who currently holds both roles, will continue in the role of CEO. Kurt Ekert, most recently CWT's president and CEO, will assume the role of president.
Kurt Ekert
Ekert will oversee Sabre's business and technology operations, reporting to Menke. Menke will focus on executing Sabre's strategic plans.
Meanwhile, effective Jan. 1, Dave Shirk will step down as president of the Travel Solutions arm of the business. He will continue to serve as a senior advisor to Menke and Ekert through 2022.
Menke ascended to his leadership role in December 2016. He had previously been Sabre's executive vice president and president of its Sabre Travel Network business. He replaced Tom Klein, who had held the chief role at Sabre since 2013.
Sean Menke
Ekert was president and CEO of CWT (No. 5 on Travel Weekly's 2021 Power List) for five years. He previously was Travelport's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. Before that, he held executive roles at Gulliver's Travel Associates, Orbitz Worldwide, Cendant and Continental Airlines.
"We firmly believe in a broad, global recovery, across both corporate and leisure travel," Menke said in a statement. "We are focusing our strategic efforts to capitalize on post-pandemic opportunities and unlock shareholder value -- all with an eye toward achieving our bold vision to create a new marketplace for personalized travel.
"The appointment of Kurt as president -- with his extensive industry experience, especially in corporate travel management and global distribution -- is a critical step toward achieving that goal."