American Express Global Business Travel president Philippe Chereque will leave the company on March 31, 2020—but Chereque won't be cutting ties with Amex GBT completely. After departing the travel management company, he will join Certares, the travel industry investment firm that leads a private equity group holding a 50 percent stake in Amex GBT. Certares was founded and is led by Amex GBT chairman Greg O'Hara.
Chereque joined Amex GBT as chief technology officer in 2014 and was elevated to president two years later. He led the company's 2016 acquisition of travel and expense technology provider KDS, among other achievements.
Upon Chereque's departure, Andrew Crawley will join Amex GBT in the newly created role of chief commercial officer, effective April 1, 2020. Based in London, Crawley serves as chairman and CEO of the Avios Group, the loyalty company owned by International Airlines Group, and is a member of IAG's management committee. He previously held leadership roles including CEO of IAG Cargo and chief commercial officer for British Airways.
Chereque's departure is the second shakeup among Amex GBT's top brass in the past few months. Paul Abbott on Oct. 1 took over as company CEO, replacing Doug Anderson, who had served in the role for three years. Abbott joined GBT from the corporate payments sector, where he served as chief commercial officer for American Express Global Commercial Services, the network's corporate card division.