Sabre appoints Rick Simonson as Chief Financial Officer

USA - English

• Latin America - español
• Brazil - Português

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global travel technology provider, Sabre, has appointed Rick Simonson as executive vice president (EVP) and chief financial officer (CFO).  Having served in similar roles at several technology companies, including Nokia Corporation, he will lead the company's global finance organization, responsible for all finance and controls, reporting, investor relations, and mergers and acquisitions.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130319/DA79781)

Simonson most recently served as CFO and president, business operations at Reardon Commerce.  Prior to that he spent nearly 10 years in several global roles at Nokia in Helsinki, Zurich and New York, including EVP and general manager of Nokia's Mobile Phones division, and EVP and CFO, which he held for over five years. He was also with Barclays Capital and Bank of America Securities serving the telecom, media, and technology industries.  He currently serves on the boards of Electronic Arts and Silver Spring Networks.

"Rick has a rare combination of extensive global finance, operational, and capital markets experience focused on technology sectors, and a proven track record as an executive and board member for numerous private and public companies.  This makes him an ideal fit for Sabre," said Sam Gilliland, chairman and CEO, Sabre Holdings.  "He is a strong and experienced leader who will build on our best-in-class finance and operational capabilities."

Simonson replaces CFO, Mark Miller, who is leaving the company to explore opportunities with other portfolio companies of TPG or Silver Lake, the two private equity firms that own Sabre.

"I'm hugely appreciative – and I know I speak for TPG and Silver Lake as well – of the tremendous leadership Mark has provided for our finance organization over his nearly four years as CFO, and during the 18 years he has been with Sabre.  We wish him the best," said Gilliland.

Sabre is the world's largest SaaS provider 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 solutions 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