Sabre Corp. on Thursday
announced Sean Menke will serve as president and CEO, effective Dec. 31. He replaces
longtime Sabre vet Tom Klein, who surprised many this summer when he announced plans to resign at
the end of the year.
Menke
joined Sabre in October 2015 as president of Sabre
Travel Network, the company's core global distribution system business. He came
to Sabre by way of the airline industry, having served as CEO of Frontier
Airlines and having held other executive positions at Air Canada, Hawaiian Airlines and
others.
Sabre also announced that nonexecutive
chairman Larry Kellner will become executive chairman, effective Dec. 31.
Sabre had
looked at candidates outside the travel industry and with a technology
background in its CEO search, several sources indicated.
Yet,
the board found its next leader in one of its own. "After an extensive search of qualified
candidates, the board unanimously concluded that Sean is the right choice to
lead Sabre," Kellner commented.