Cendant Corp. today announced Jeff Clarke, a former senior executive with Computer Associates and Hewlett-Packard, will become CEO and president of its Travel Distribution Services division, due to be spun off this year, and also unveiled TDS's new name: Travelport, Inc. Clarke will join TDS on May 1.
Clarke previously served as COO of CA-formerly named Computer Associates-an Islandia, N.Y.-based information technology management software company and as head of global operations at Hewlett-Packard. Cendant chairman and CEO Henry Silverman said Clarke has been a technology leader for years and his background will strengthen TDS's position as a travel distribution service business.
"We have moved from the acquisition phase to the execution phase of TDS's development, and Jeff is an ideal choice to lead that effort," Silverman said in a statement. "His experiences at CA and HP will be extremely helpful in driving revenue and profit growth from our portfolio of brands and businesses."
Silverman added that Clarke's appointment, coupled with the recent announcement of former Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune as non-executive chairman of TDS
(BTN, April 3), completes the division's management team.
Meanwhile, Bethune said TDS taking on the Travelport name creates a "unifying" brand and allows the division to leverage Travelport's name recognition. Bethune added that the rebranded Travelport would continue to focus on improving operating systems and employing a more customer-focused approach. The name change is slated to take effect early this summer, once a logo and brand are established, the company said.