New president for Travelocity North America appointed

January 20, 2009 | Online Travel

With a continued emphasis on growing its business around the world, Travelocity Global has named Tracey Weber president of Travelocity North America. This appointment allows Travelocity Global president and CEO, Hugh Jones, to focus on the global businesses, including Travelocity, lastminute.com and ZUJI.

The company also announced that it has created a Global Media organization that includes media sales, as well as product, strategy, and execution. The group will report to Paul Nelson, who was today named president of Global Media and Partner Marketing. Both Weber and Nelson will report to Hugh Jones.

Weber has served as chief operating officer for Travelocity North America since September 2005. In that role, she was responsible for the day-to-day management of Travelocity’s North American flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruise lines of business and its Vacation Package and Last Minute Package products. Additionally, Weber led the Travelocity sales and customer care team and Travelocity.caSM.

�As we continue to strengthen our global position, it was clear that we needed a president dedicated just to North America, and a media group with global reach,� said Jones. �Tracey has been one of the key leaders at Travelocity, creating innovative products on the site and in customer service, as well as helping manage the business to profitability. She has a demonstrated commitment to our team, our customers and our partners.�

Jones added, �Our media business is proving to be a key area of growth, and it was clear we could provide more opportunities and even greater value to our partners by making that a global operation. Paul�s experience with partners makes him an excellent choice to lead this group.�

Weber came to Travelocity from Site59 when it was acquired by Travelocity in March 2002. She was a co-founder of Site59 and also served as the company’s chief operating officer. She earned her master’s of business administration from The Wharton School of Management and her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

In addition to managing the new global media organization, Nelson will continue to lead the Global Partner Marketing team, which manages supplier relationships worldwide. Nelson has held a variety of executive positions at leading travel companies, including U.S. Travel, Paradise Marketing and Hawaiian Adventures. He joined Preview Travel in 1991, enlisting with the Travelocity team after the companies merged in 2000. He earned his master of arts degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College. Nelson is also a decorated officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, having served in Vietnam.