Serko Snaps Up Thorsen as It Readies for Travel Tech Showdown

New Zealand-based online booking technology provider Serko has appointed corporate travel technology veteran Johnny Thorsen vice president of strategic business development, effective immediately.

Thorsen will lead Serko’s strategic growth initiatives and enhance the company’s positioning as a market leader in business travel. His responsibilities include developing Serko’s network of travel management company partners through the commercialization of Serko’s growing platform ecosystem. Additionally, Thorsen will focus on enhancing Serko’s product offerings through innovation, building customer acquisition strategies and fostering partnerships to ensure long-term growth and leadership in the North American market.

Thorsen is an innovation expert named among BTN’s Most Influential in Business Travel in 2024, 2018 and 2010. He has held leadership roles at some of the highest profile travel tech startups in the last 15 years—most recently at Spotnana as VP business development for content distribution but also at one of the first AI-driven mobile booking platforms Mezi and his own mobile communications platform ConTgo acquired by Concur in 2013. He has served in advisory roles for such platforms as Troop and Thrust Carbon. His reputation as a corporate travel visionary brings a zest for tech transformation to the newly created role.  

Serko CEO Darrin Grafton noted in a statement Thorsen’s “ability to anticipate trends” in the travel industry, his passion for innovation and his skills that “bring transformative ideas to life.”

Growth in North America is a major focus for Serko, given its recent acquisition of GetThere and its strategic partnership with Sabre to accelerate innovation and coordinate sales and marketing efforts. In a November interview with BTN, Grafton outlined Serko’s road ahead in the region.

Thorson called out “significant opportunities to strengthen the brand” and “solidify [Serko’s] leadership in North America and beyond.”

Serko today provided an updated investment figure at US$100 million over the next three years to enhance its platform that now includes a number of entry points: GetThere, Zeno and Serko’s partnership with Booking.com to serve entry-level corporate travel booking technology.

Platform development will be critical as the business travel tech market in North America is heating up with players like Spotnana (and Direct Travel under Steve Singh’s leadership) and TravelPerk challenge the market with big acquisitions and rollouts last year. At the same time, business travel booking tech leader Concur has re-vamped its platform and is aggressively moving clients to the new tools. GetThere has been a relatively sedate player in the market and has been viewed—at least outwardly—as an aging workhorse.

Grafton told BTN in November the innovation ramp at GetThere looks different on the inside, where impressive modernization has already taken place.

While Thorsen’s reputation as an innovator precedes him, his 30-plus years in corporate travel leadership roles also includes legacy business travel players Concur and American Express. Even legacy players were one-time startups, and Thorsen was there. For five years starting in 1998—when one-time Internet Travel Network was acquired by Sabre and got its new name as GetThere—Thorsen led the charge as business development director for the EMEA market.