BCD Travel is the new name for all travel management companies under the former BCD Holdings umbrella, including those previously under the BTI and TQ3 flags, WorldTravel and The Travel Company, the mega travel management company announced today.
The company expects to begin doing business under its new name by March 30, when Mike Buckman, CEO of BCD Travel, expects the transaction with TUI AG, the previous owners of TQ3 Travel Solutions, to close. Buckman said the company has about 25 integration teams in place prioritizing plans so that most of the work will be done in a few months.
Once the transaction is complete, BCD Travel will operate in 96 countries on five continents, with sales of $12 billion and more than 12,000 employees worldwide. Buckman told BTN that BCD would build on its recent acquisitions, including TUI's former TQ3-branded travel management companies in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and growing operations in India, as well as its previous multinational holdings, including WorldTravel. Meanwhile, the company is focused on filling in the gaps left in Asia, Europe and Latin America after its split with Hogg Robinson and the breakup of BTI.
"We have a list of top 10 countries that we want to own in, and we're going in with the philosophy that we need to own in all the major markets, not just be a partner," Buckman said. "Our plan and expectation is that we will have all these other transactions completed in fairly short order so that we can say we own in every major market," he continued. "I had a call yesterday morning from a time zone that's far ahead of me, and we have a verbal agreement at least on the transaction that will be a good piece for a key market, so we're aren't going to waste time on waiting for this other closing before we get these other things done."
The newly branded company yesterday announced the makeup of its executive team as well as the founding of new headquarters in Amsterdam
(BTNonline, March 13). "It made sense not to be headquartered in locations where the existing companies are," Buckman said. "You want to have something new, that's not tied to one of the companies specifically. If anything, this one's tied more to our shareholder, and that's a positive. I think it's helpful, as you're trying to set a new mindset for your people, to be able to say this is new as well."