American Express Global Business Travel has named Paul Abbott as its next CEO, effective Oct. 1. Abbott will take the reins from Doug Anderson, who is stepping down after three years. Abbott joins from the corporate payments sector, where he serves as chief commercial officer for American Express Global Commercial Services, the network's corporate card division. American Express spun off its travel division into Amex GBT in a 2014 joint venture, retaining a 50 percent ownership stake in GBT, which operates as a separate company. Abbott also has a wealth of travel experience, having started his career with British Airways and having worked in the corporate travel business of American Express for 18 years before GBT spun off. He also has served on the board of Amex GBT for the past four years. Abbott's experience across both sectors was a key in choosing him to head GBT, the travel management company said.