Carlson Wagonlit Appoints Worldwide CEO, Who Chooses N. American Prez
<B>Carlson Wagonlit Appoints Worldwide CEO, Who Chooses N. American Prez</B>
Carlson Wagonlit Travel has its first worldwide president and CEO from Europe, following the abrupt departure of Jon Madonna, who quit the travel management company on Oct. 18. Hervé Gourio takes the helm after 24 years with the company, originally with Wagonlit Travel, which merged with Carlson Travel Network in 1994.
Madonna left 22 months into a two-year contract with Carlson Wagonlit, having joined from outside the travel industry. His resignation comes at a time of intense speculation about the future of Carlson Wagonlit, heavily rumored to have been the subject of a proposed takeover by American Express.
Gourio would not comment directly on whether there had been talks with Amex, but said, "In the meeting I had with our Carlson and Accor shareholders last week, they stated two things to me: The first was that Carlson Wagonlit is not for sale. They are very supportive about its future." The second commitment was to allow Gourio to notch up the search for a tech partner, so the company can move faster down the IT route. Once this partner is found, it may be invited to take equity in Carlson Wagonlit.
As his first act as CEO, Gourio, who will retain his duties as president for Europe, has named a replacement for Madonna in his secondary role as president of North America. The appointment of Robin Schleien was announced late Friday, Oct. 27.
Toronto-based Schleien has been with Carlson Wagonlit for eight years and most recently held the position of president of Canada, responsible for overseeing operations at Carlson Wagonlit's 170 owned and franchised offices throughout Canada's 10 provinces. Schleien earlier this year received an additional appointment as COO of the digital business. In this capacity, Schleien has been responsible for determining the direction and strategy of the company's e-commerce initiatives.
Gourio has further plans to change the staff and structure at Carlson Wagonlit, but is not yet ready to reveal his hand. However, he has established a strategy committee, consisting of himself, Carlson Cos. COO Jim Ryan and Accor group Internet managing director Thierry Gaches.
Gourio also is pondering how Carlson can serve clients better. Although he does not yet have the answers, he especially perceives a need for a radical overhaul in the procurement models. "I have been talking to a lot of top corporate purchasers and they are not happy with the way they buy travel," he said. "It is clearly a seller's market and there are no real synergies or optimization of the travel process."
One option Gourio is considering is establishing an e-marketplace for travel, not unlike those developed more generally for procurement by the likes of Ariba and Commerce One. He forsees the creation of such a marketplace in collaboration with rival travel management companies. Gourio's thinking perhaps is influenced by the imminent arrival of Orbitz and other travel supplier portals, which he fears will remove transparency from the marketplace through not offering their full inventory in the way the GDSs do.
Gourio paid tribute to his predecessor Madonna, saying he had improved the focus of Carlson Wagonlit. Among Madonna's achievements, Gourio cited the definition and launch of Traveler Service System, the company's strategy to lower distribution costs through moving reservations to enhanced call centers. Asked why Madonna had quit, Gourio said: "Jon decided to retire and to live in the western U.S."
Madonna had operated out of New York and Minneapolis, but Gourio will remain based in Paris. He will maintain Madonna's policy of not having global headquarters. The personable, unassuming Gourio joined Wagonlit Travel in 1976 and became its international president in 1983, a post he still held at the time of the merger with Carlson in 1994.
Asked if CWT would adopt new philosophies as the result of having a European in charge, Gourio said: "The only one is that my perspective of globalization is different. The United States is the laboratory of capitalism, but good U.S. solutions do not always work in the rest of the world.