Swanton Leaves Carlson To Head Internet Travel

<H1> Swanton Leaves Carlson To Head Internet Travel</H1><I>Palo Alto, Calif. </I>- For a start-up company, "making it" often can be defined as the day investors step back from day-to-day management and hand over decision making to the full-time staff.

By that definition, Internet Travel Network last week moved from startup to establishment, as its venture capital companies turned over the corner office to ITN's first-ever permanent CEO, former Carlson Travel Network executive vice president Ken Swanton.

ITN, based in Palo Alto, Calif., offers online travel reservation services to individual travelers, corporations and agencies over its public Website (http://www.itn.net) or on private-labeled Internet and intranet sites.

Swanton replaces Dick Wilden, a member of The Contrarian Group, who has served as acting chief executive since the firm, headed by former baseball commissioner and Doubletree Hotels co-chairman Peter Ueberroth, invested in ITN in May <I>(BTN</I>, May 6).

A 14-year Carlson veteran, Swanton had a career that put him in touch with every conceivable customer group, from commercial to government to leisure to franchiser. But while he liked the variety, there was one thing missing in Curt Carlson's closely held domain: the chance to be an entrepreneur.

"I owned my own agency in Canada that I sold to Carlson, which is how I came to work for them in the first place," Swanton said. "I wasn't looking for a career change-I didn't have my resume on the street. But ITN presented me with an exciting opportunity to be a partial owner again, in a technology company with strong financial backing that I think is going to see explosive growth."

Said Swanton's former Carlson colleague, marketing vice president Brian Robb, "Over the years, Ken always used to joke that he was going to leave here and start a sheep farm, so he could be his own boss. I guess now he has gotten that opportunity, and I wish him the best of luck. But, personally, I'll miss Ken's incredible personal and professional integrity, which made working here very comfortable."

Swanton, meanwhile, said that while he has "specific ideas for the company, I am not prepared to share them with the industry before I have the opportunity to share them with my staff." But he did provide the details of the very first item on his agenda, as he moves from the quintessential corporate headquarters in Minneapolis to the rugged terrain of travel technology on the West Coast. "The first thing I'm going to do is sell all my ties," he said.