(See sidebar, "CEO Details BCD Plans.")The announcement by BCD Holdings earlier this month that CEO Joop Drechsel also will assume the title and responsibilities of CEO of BCD Travel on Jan. 1, 2008, emphasizes the expectations for the further growth of the travel management company, now the largest operation within the holding company's portfolio.
With the new year, current CEO Mike Buckman will become president of BCD Travel in Asia/Pacific. At the same time, John Snyder, current president and COO of the Americas, will become president and global COO of BCD Travel.
Drechsel, 52, plans to further align BCD Travel's businesses globally, strengthen its Asia/Pacific position, grow by acquisition in line with customer demand and develop further synergies between its operating companies.
Drechsel said the melding of CEO duties is a long-term strategy that will enable the streamlining of operations, because BCD Travel will not have to seek BCD Holdings' approval for executive decisions. "If you replace me up there with someone else, you will go back to the old structure for BCD Travel. That wouldn't be our intention," Drechsel told Business Travel News in an exclusive interview. "My vision for BCD Holdings will be very close to the vision for BCD Travel."
BCD Travel, he said, "is by far our biggest business." Combining the roles "allows me to concentrate a large part of my time on this huge business and the big objectives we have for that business," Drechsel said.
Immediate priorities, said Drechsel, are growing the client base by developing new client relationships and strengthening existing ones. Drechsel plans to continue to invest in technology, expand the travel management network, and grow organically and by acquisition.
Another focus is developing further synergy among operating companies, which include TRX and Park 'N Fly, he said.
Drechsel said the Asia/Pacific region that current CEO Buckman will lead is an area of fast growth for the company, which is working to close gaps in markets including Australia, China and India, where BCD Travel last week announced the acquisition of Hyderabad agency A.V. Tours and Travel, which had $7 million in total travel sales in 2006.
Drechsel said the TMC also plans to develop further agency partnerships in the region. "Asia/Pacific is an area where it is sometimes smart to not completely control a position, as sometimes you work in partnerships," Drechsel said. "Take a country like Japan or China. It would be dumb even if legally possible to own it 100 percent, because you want strong guidance and a good partnership with a local player."
Buckman, who has been CEO since October 2001, will be based in BCD's Singapore office. Drechsel described the transition as a "move that was planned for quite some time because we knew that he was going to step down as CEO of BCD Travel by the end of this year."
"We are all very pleased with where Mike has brought the company so far, but indeed Mike had his own ideas, which is important," said Drechsel. "Mike wanted to do something else and this was the logical step for us to take. It is a very strong sign on how serious we take the opportunities in Asia for our customers."
Meanwhile, in aligning BCD Travel's management team globally, Drechsel said he personally decided to promote Snyder to the global post based on Snyder's success in integrating acquisitions in the past 18 months and leading operations in the Americas. Snyder will remain head of the Americas until a replacement is named in the coming year.
Drechsel joined BCD Holdings in 2002 and became its CEO in 2003. Prior to joining BCD, Drechsel served as an executive board member for Royal Dutch Telecom, where his responsibilities included strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate client relations. During his three-year stint, it merged with Denver-based telecommunications company Qwest Communications. Prior to that, he worked in the oil industry for Royal Dutch Shell for 15 years in various management roles in Europe and Asia/Pacific.
Meanwhile, former treasurer and CFO of BCD Travel in the Americas Tom Barham has become executive vice president of mergers and acquisitions and treasury taking over the M&A duties from former president of global mergers and acquisitions Ralph Manaker.