Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has today announced that Kurt Ekert is replacing Douglas Anderson as President and CEO, with immediate effect. In this role, Kurt will report directly to the Carlson Board of Directors.
Under Douglas Anderson’s leadership, CWT became the industry leader in business travel and made significant advancement in technology, including the acquisition of WorldMate. The company also developed an effective organization with strong talent. Douglas is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Kurt Ekert most recently served as Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer of Travelport. During his five plus years in that role, the business transformed its product offerings and value propositions in all key channels and delivered consistent growth, highlighted by a successful IPO. Kurt also previously spent nine years at Travelport in a number of other executive roles, including Chief Operating Officer of European-based GTA. His experience prior to that includes six years at Continental Airlines.
About Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Companies and governments rely on us to keep their people connected. We provide their travelers with a consumer-grade travel experience, combining innovative technology with our vast experience. Every day we look after enough travelers to fill almost 200 Boeing 747s and around 100,000 hotel rooms, and handle 95 corporate events. We have more than 18,000 people in nearly 150 countries, and in 2016 posted a total transaction volume of US$ 23 billion.