Sabre appoints Deborah Kerr to Chief Product and Technology Officer

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global travel technology provider, Sabre, has appointed Deborah Kerr to chief product and technology officer.  Formerly with HP and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she will lead the company's global technology organization, overseeing innovation, development and delivery of software for airlines, hotels, travel agencies, corporations and travelers.

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"Deborah's extensive technology experience, and proven record of bringing disruptive technology to the marketplace makes her a perfect choice for Sabre," said Sam Gilliland, chairman and CEO, Sabre Holdings.  "She will build on what we've already achieved with our revenue-generating and cost-saving technology, and embed emerging capabilities in areas such as mobile, big data and cloud capabilities, so our customers can stay ahead of the game in travel."

See what else Sam has to say about Deborah's appointment, and the technology initiatives and emerging trends she will lead at Sabre.

Kerr joins Sabre from Fair Isaac (FICO), where she was executive vice president and chief product and technology officer. Prior to that she spent four years at HP, where she was chief technology officer at HP Enterprise Services and also served as vice president of business technology optimization products at HP Software. Kerr also spent time at Peregrine Systems, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is an expert on SaaS solutions, technology issues and trends.

Kerr will lead Sabre's efforts to continuously innovate in all areas that Sabre serves its customers.  Kerr replaces Barry Vandevier, who left in late 2012 to pursue a new opportunity outside the travel industry.

Today, Sabre is the world's largest provider of SaaS solutions to the aviation industry, with its flagship reservations system used by fast growing global carriers including Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Etihad Airways, JetBlue, LAN, Virgin America and Virgin Australia. Many of the world's largest airlines in the world also use Sabre's IT solutions. In the last five years, Sabre expanded its SaaS model to hotels, and is now the fastest growing provider of property management, reservations and distribution software in the hotel industry. The company also operates the world's largest marketplace for travel buyers and suppliers, and owns online travel agencies, Travelocity.com and lastminute.com. It has large IT development centers in Southlake, Texas; Bangalore, India; Krakow, Poland, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

About Sabre
Sabre Holdings® is a global travel technology company, serving the world's largest industry – travel and tourism.  We provide software to travel agencies, corporations, travelers, airlines, hotels, car, rail, cruise and tour operator companies through our four businesses: Sabre Airline Solutions®, Sabre Hospitality Solutions®, Sabre Travel Network® and Travelocity® (including lastminute.com and Zuji).

By delivering innovative travel technology, we make the world a better place. Our innovative technology is used by more than a billion people around the world to plan, book and get to their destination at a time and price that's right for them. We work behind the scenes to make the world a better place, one journey at a time.

Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, Sabre has approximately 10,000 employees in 60 countries around the world. It has large development and customer care centers in the United States, Argentina, India, Philippines, Poland and Uruguay.  Sabre has won numerous awards for being a top employer and corporate citizen in Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, Peru, Poland, and the United States. Sabre is privately owned by Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Silver Lake Partners.

Media Contact:
Pam Wong
Sabre Holdings
Tel +44 (0) 208 538 8653
Mob: +44 (0)7 968 902 626
[email protected]

SOURCE Sabre