American Express Global Business Travel president Drew Crawley has succeeded Paul Abbott as CEO in what the company announced on Tuesday as a "planned leadership transition."
One week ago, AI-focused investment firm Long Lake Management completed its acquisition of Amex GBT, taking the travel management company private with plans to deploy Long Lake's Nexus AI platform across Amex GBT. Abbott, who has led Amex GBT for the past seven years, now is moving to the role of operating partner with Long Lake as Crawley takes the reins. The transition is effective immediately, according to the announcement.
New Amex GBT CEO Drew Crawley
In a LinkedIn post, Abbott said he will be "working with [Long Lake CEO] Alex Taubman and the team at Long Lake, supporting their growing portfolio of companies while creating space to explore new ideas and opportunities."
Crawley has worked at Amex GBT for nearly as long as Abbott has served as CEO, having joined in 2020 as chief commercial officer, and he was promoted to president in 2023. Crawley previously had a long career with British Airways and its parent company IAG, having led IAG's loyalty and cargo divisions as well as serving as British Airways' chief commercial officer.
"While today's announcement may feel sudden, I have been planning it for several months, and the closing of our transaction with Long Lake feels like a natural moment—the beginning of a new chapter for Amex GBT and me," Abbott said in his LinkedIn post. "Drew and I have worked closely together for six years. He knows our business, customers, people and industry exceptionally well, and I believe he is the right person to lead Amex GBT into its next chapter, supported by an outstanding leadership team."
Abbott has served as Amex GBT CEO since October 2019, succeeding Doug Anderson. He previously was on the payments side of American Express, having served as chief commercial officer for American Express Global Commercial Services, but he also worked in the corporate travel side of American Express for 18 years. American Express spun its travel division into what became Amex GBT in a 2014 joint venture, keeping a 50 percent ownership stake that it now has sold as part of the Long Lake acquisition.
During his tenure as CEO of Amex GBT, Abbott has overseen several milestones, including the company's acquisitions of CWT and Egencia and its move to a public company in 2022. He has been named as one of BTN's Top 25 Most Influential four times during his tenure, most recently last year for completing the CWT deal and embarking on the Complete partnership with SAP Concur.
"Paul has been instrumental to Amex GBT's success, and we're grateful his expertise will continue with us in his new role as operating partner with Long Lake," Taubman said in a statement. "Drew's leadership, deep industry expertise and trusted relationships with customers and partners have been central to that success, and we look forward to the future under his leadership."