DiLeo Gets Top N.A. Post In Rosenbluth Restructuring

Rosenbluth International reorganized its global infrastructure in late September, promoting Ron DiLeo, formerly senior vice president of North America, to COO of Strategic Travel Solutions, a newly created division responsible for worldwide travel management operations. Rosenbluth folded all of its account management teams into STS, company officials said, to consolidate global client support and sales resources, and improve international processes.

Rosenbluth's creation of STS is a response to the increasingly global character of business travel management, said CEO Hal Rosenbluth. "When you look at roles within corporations, you're finding that more companies have global travel managers and global procurement departments. We want to match up with them, so we're creating a global structure within our company," Rosenbluth said. "Our clients want to have one central point where the decisions can be made and carried out."

As head of STS, DiLeo will provide international leadership and make decisions that will be carried out on a global basis, Rosenbluth said. "This gives us a better alignment with client companies."

Despite the soft economy and slumping travel volumes, according to Rosenbluth, the process of globalization continues unchecked. "What's happening," he said, "is that clients that were in three countries are now in 20, and those that were in 20 are now in 25." Around 70 percent of the corporations that contract with Rosenbluth use the agency's services in two or more countries.

DiLeo said that in his new role, the breadth of his responsibility has expanded, but its character has remained the same. "It's the job I had in North America, but now with the rest of the world included too," he said. "All of what it takes to run a corporate travel business is now under the STS umbrella: operations, client support, sales, finance and supplier relations."

DiLeo, a veteran in the travel management business with 25 years of experience at Rosenbluth, is excited about the chance to spread best practices across international borders.

"We'll be able to cross-pollinate regional best practices through STS," DiLeo said. For instance, "In Europe and Latin America, they have a system that brings consolidator tickets into the GDS. In Germany and France, I think we sell more consolidator tickets than straight tickets. So I'm looking at taking what they're doing there and applying it here in North America."

With the launch of STS, Rosenbluth has begun to consolidate its global human resources, financial and legal departments. Less than 1 percent of Rosenbluth's workforce of about 4,500 will be affected by the elimination of redundant jobs.

According to Rosenbluth president and COO Alex Wasilov, "There will be some economies generated, particularly in Western Europe, but none will affect the client interface."

At the same time it created Strategic Travel Solutions, Rosenbluth folded its Eclipse Advisors technology unit under corporate leadership, making Eclipse the jurisdiction of John Dabek, formerly CIO, now chief technology and solutions officer. Dabek's title change reflects the fact that, in addition to his responsibility for Eclipse and company IT, all new product development and GDS management now also are in his charge.