Clear Registered Traveler CEO Brill To Exit Helm

Steven Brill is stepping down from the CEO post at Verified Identity Pass, the company he founded five years ago to operate the Clear Registered Traveler program, as he pursues interests outside of the travel industry.

Brill in a memo to employees this week said, "My partners and I have agreed that effective as soon as we can work out a quick but smooth transition, I will become Vice Chairman of the company and work on a part-time basis providing input into strategy, public policy and our relationships with our key stakeholders. A new CEO, reporting to our board, will soon be named to provide overall supervision of all day to day operations." Brill in the memo said he would remain "a major shareholder" in the company.

A Clear spokesperson today said a new CEO has yet to be selected and noted there is no definite timeline to name a successor. Brill founded the company in 2003, launched service in 2005, and in the meantime helped shape the Registered Traveler industry, which offers fast-track security screening for travelers willing to pay a fee. The Clear Registered Traveler program now operates at about 20 airports in the United States.

Brill in the memo said he would pursue endeavors in "public service and journalism," which include teaching at Yale College and Law School, writing a new book and exploring "the ideas I've been tinkering with related to the business challenges facing quality journalism."