Our people take care of yours. The 18,000 people who work for CWT fill 260 Boeing 787s, and about 100,000 hotel rooms, with travellers every single day. They live and work in about 150 countries to help take care of you and your employees—wherever you are. Check out our career opportunities.
CWT’s executive team features leaders from all facets of travel and technology, with combined experience of more than 130 years in travel-related roles. They’ve set a winning strategy our clients and their employees count on to help them keep moving and deliver travel management services that drive bottom-line results.
Kurt Ekert
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kurt Ekert was appointed President & CEO of CWT in April 2016.
He has more than twenty years’ experience in global travel, tourism and technology, with leadership and governance positions at Cendant, Continental Airlines, eNett, GTA, Orbitz Worldwide, and Travelport. Kurt also serves as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel & Tourism Advisory Board, is a director of Carlson Inc., Passur Aerospace, the World Travel & Tourism Council, and the UNGA Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, and is an advisor to Freebird Inc.
He holds a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the University of South Carolina, and saw active duty as a US army officer.
Patrick Andersen
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy and Commerce Officer
Patrick Andersen is Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy and Commerce Officer. Based in Minneapolis, he reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the global Executive Leadership Team.
Patrick is responsible for enterprise strategy, marketing, revenue management, corporate communications, and our supplier customers, including airlines, car/ground service providers, GDSs, OBTs and other technology and distribution partners.
Patrick joined CWT in 2008 as Country Manager Denmark. In January 2009 he became Executive Vice President for Denmark and Sweden. In 2011 he extended his responsibilities to include Finland, when he led the acquisition and successful integration of Kaleva Travel. Later in 2011, he assumed additional responsibility for Eastern European countries. In February 2012, Patrick added UK & Ireland to his remit, becoming Executive Vice President UK & Ireland, Nordic and Eastern Europe. In September 2013, he moved to the US as President Americas.
Prior to CWT, Patrick worked for Deutsche Post Worldwide Network and DHL, holding numerous international positions in sales and marketing, operations and general management.
Born in the United States, Patrick is a dual citizen of the US and Denmark and has studied business management at the London Business School. He has also served as a Non-Executive Member of the Board at Qliro Group since 2013.
Lauren Aste
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Lauren Aste was appointed Executive Vice President & General Counsel of CWT in September 2014. Lauren has overall responsibility for all CWT legal and compliance functions on a global basis. Based in London, she reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the global Executive Leadership Team.
Lauren joined CWT in 2007 as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of CWT and was the primary legal liaison with CWT Finance overseeing compliance with our global finance arrangements and reporting to our bank syndicate and high yield noteholders. She also provided support in connection with strategic matters, including acquisitions, joint ventures, international securities offerings and other transactions with an emphasis on financing. In 2009, Lauren became Deputy General Counsel responsible for CWT’s EMEA and APAC based legal teams.
Prior to joining CWT, Lauren had a successful career in private practice with Dechert LLP in London and, prior to that, with Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York.
Lauren received her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and also holds a Master of Arts in French Studies from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and French from Wellesley College. She is admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of England and Wales and is a member of the New York and Connecticut State Bars.
She also serves on the board of the World Childhood Foundation USA (WCF).
Niklas Andréen
Executive Vice President & Chief Traveler Experience Officer
Niklas Andréen was appointed Executive Vice President & Chief Traveler Experience Officer in September 2018. Based in London, he reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the global Executive Leadership Team.
He has fifteen years’ experience in global travel, tourism and technology, with various leadership roles at Travelport. Prior to joining the travel industry, Niklas founded two businesses and held consulting positions with Accenture, Connecta and Monitor Company. He is a former Advisory Board Member of the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research.
He holds an MSc from the Stockholm School of Economics.
David Falter
President, RoomIt
Dave Falter is President of RoomIt, CWT’s hotel distribution division. Based in Chicago, he reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the Global Executive Leadership Team.
Dave's role is to grow CWT’s hotel business and perfect RoomIt’s digital and personalisation capabilities, and to ensure RoomIt's clients, suppliers, and travellers receive a differentiated value proposition.
Dave came to CWT from Antenna International, the global provider of electronic mobile interpretation services for the world’s most iconic cultural institutions, where he served as President & CEO from 2014 through 2017. In prior roles, he has successfully led companies ranging from $25 million USD to over $1 billion USD across numerous industries — online and offline corporate travel, electronic travel distribution, textiles and apparel, business services, consulting services, systems integration and software development, medical informatics, and cloud-based storage. Among his many high-profile roles, Dave served as the President of Galileo Americas in the 2000’s.
Dave holds degrees with honours from Miami University of Ohio (BA), the University of Virginia (MA), and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (MBA). He is currently a Director of BizPay, a trav/fintech startup in London.
Michelle Frymire
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Michelle Frymire was appointed Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer in December 2018. Based in Minneapolis, she reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the Global Executive Leadership Team.
She has 18 years’ travel industry experience, with CFO roles at Starwood Vacation Ownership and Delta Technology (a division of Delta Airlines), and financial leadership roles with Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines and American Airlines. In addition, she has held CFO positions at US Risk Insurance Group, LLC and Service King Collision Repair. Michelle has served on the advisory boards of the Salvation Army of the Mid-South and the Memphis Botanic Garden, and serves as a member of the Texas Women’s Foundation Economic Leadership Council and on the Board of Directors for Family Gateway, a non-profit organization focused on fighting family homelessness in the Dallas, Texas area.
She holds a bachelors degree, in economics, from Austin College, Texas and an MBA, in finance and accounting, from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas.
Andrew Jordan
Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer
Andrew Jordan joined CWT in April 2016 as Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. Based in the U.K., he reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the global Executive Leadership Team.
Andrew is responsible for ensuring the constant development of our technology and IT infrastructure to enable CWT to offer even more connected, mobile and personalised services to clients and travellers. He is also responsible for end-to-end product development lifecycle and innovation. This includes all customer facing offerings as well as Traveller Services tools and technologies.
Andrew has an extensive experience across leading B2C and B2B brands. Prior to joining CWT he was SVP, Technology and Operations, for NBC Universal International where he was leading the combined IT, Media Distribution and Business Operations functions supporting all business units that form the International division of NBCUniversal. He is also the founder of Media Labs, NBCUniversal's first innovation lab and business incubator. Previously he has held senior leadership positions within the technology functions at Citigroup, dunnhumby and Thomson Reuters.
A law graduate from the University of Nottingham, Andrew also holds an MBA from the University of Surrey.
Kelly L. Kuhn
Executive Vice President & Chief Customer Officer
Kelly L. Kuhn is CWT’s Chief Customer Officer. Based in London, she reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the global Executive Leadership Team.
Kelly is responsible for global sales, programme management and customer engagement. Her remit includes Global Program Solutions (GPS), our Sales Regions, Global Partners Network, Military & Government, Energy Resource & Marine (ERM), Meetings & Events, and Sales Operations.
Prior to assuming her current position, Kelly was President Europe, Middle East and Africa and Global Partners Network. Before that she had five successful years as President Asia Pacific. She improved levels of customer service, drove significant growth and built a strong organisation.
Before her role in EMEA and Asia Pacific she was the President of CWTSatoTravel, a U.S. Military & Government Markets division of CWT. Prior to the merger between CWT and Navigant, Kelly was President of SatoTravel, a Navigant International company. Within the span of 15 years, Kelly held increasingly senior positions at Navigant. Kelly, a U.S. citizen, graduated from Northwestern University in 1987 with a degree in music.
Prior to joining Navigant, she worked for various music and theatre organisations in the Chicago area as a developer and corporate fundraiser.
Catherine Maguire-Vielle
Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
Catherine Maguire-Vielle is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Based in Paris, she reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and is a member of the global Executive Leadership Team.
Catherine’s role is to oversee CWT’s Human Resources across the global organisation, including ensuring the company has the right culture and talent to enable CWT’s drive towards delivering a great user experience and increased value to our customers. Catherine also oversees Real Estate and Employee Communications.
Catherine gained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sheffield and completed her professional legal qualifications (LPC) at the College of Law, in York, England, before joining international law firm Clifford Chance in 1999, where she worked in both their London and Paris offices. She joined CWT as Director & Senior Corporate Counsel in 2006 and, immediately prior to her appointment as CHRO, she was the company’s Assistant General Counsel.
Chris Vukelich
Strategic Advisor
Chris Vukelich was appointed Strategic Advisor to the CWT Executive Leadership Team on 1 October, 2017. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, he reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer, and also acts as a mentor and advisor to leaders of strategic initiatives and select projects.
Chris has deep experience in travel, e-commerce and financial services, having held senior and executive leadership roles with British Airways, Hilton International, Travelport, eNett, First USA Bank, and Egencia.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management and Marketing from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.