Sabre Corp. will promote one of its own to the top seat after CEO Tom Klein steps down on Dec. 31.
Sean Menke joined the Southlake-based travel software company in 2015 and currently serves as executive vice president of Sabre and president of Sabre Travel Network, the company’s largest line of business. Klein has served as Sabre’s CEO since 2013 and has worked at the company since 1994, when the company was still owned by AMR Corp. During his tenure, he took the company public and sold its online travel company Travelocity.com to Expedia for $280 million last year.
Menke’s appointment comes six months after Klein announced he would step down at the end of the year. The board conducted a formal search before unanimously reaching the conclusion to promote Menke.
Menke, former CEO of Frontier Airlines, has helped Sabre Travel Network grow its business opportunities, increase its global market share, and helped Sabre become the dominant player in the North American, Latin American, and Asia-Pacific markets. He also strengthened technology solutions that will be offered as a part of the new Sabre Red platform, which will launch next year. The Sabre Red Workspace is expected to provide travel consultants data-driven market insights to improve workflow.
In addition to serving at the top of Frontier, Menke also held senior executive leadership positions at Hawaiian Airlines, Air Canada, and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. He served as executive vice president of global technology company IHS in 2013.
“I know first-hand the critical and growing role technology plays for our customers,” Menke said in a released statement. “It’s a core investment for airlines, hotels, agencies and travel management organizations alike, and Sabre has unique capabilities to help our partners grow revenue and operate more efficiently. It’s an honor to succeed Tom and build on his strategic vision for Sabre and to lead such a talented team to capitalize on this opportunity.”
Sabre also name Larry Kellner executive chairman of the board. He will take his post Dec. 31, as well. The board also named Karl Peterson as lead independent director.
