“Our leadership team is vital to the ongoing success and evolution of Direct Travel. We are very pleased to have Michelle and Dave join us during a time of investment and growth as we look to set the global standard for The Perfect Trip,” said Christal Bemont, CEO, Direct Travel. “With Michelle and Dave on board, we can ensure our internal teams thrive and our customers continue to prosper.”
As Chief People Officer, Michelle will cultivate company culture and lead talent strategy and development at Direct Travel. Michelle brings 30 years of experience in human resources, most recently serving as Talend’s Chief People Officer, where she led global teams, culture and workplace strategies. Prior to Talend, Michelle was an HR leader at LinkedIn, where she held positions including Senior Director, Learning and Talent Development and Director, HR Business Partner.
“Having worked with Christal at Talend, I know firsthand her dedication to investing in people, as well as the business outcomes that investment achieves,” said Sitzman. “I look forward to growing our outstanding team and using my experience to continue Direct Travel’s reputation as a best place to work in travel.”
Dave is a consulting leader and cloud software executive with over 25 years of experience spanning global implementation, spend management, regulatory compliance, corporate travel and business transformation. He spent the last 20 years at SAP Concur, most recently serving as Senior Vice President and Head of Customer Service, where he was responsible for a global service delivery organization of more than 1,000 team members and led the implementation of all Concur solutions for enterprise customers. Dave will be integral in ensuring the success of Direct Travel’s new technology stack, working in tandem with the customer experience team to continue to deliver innovative client-driven solutions for Direct Travel’s operations, integrations and enterprise services.
“Direct Travel is a recognized and dedicated industry leader in customer service and success, and I am eager to work alongside Christal to transform the industry and improve the customer journey,” said Breslin. “This team is pioneering a new era of integrated business travel that fully supports our customers’ needs, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Direct Travel recently announced the appointment of Todd Pelletier to Chief Sales Officer and Scott Schwisow to Senior Vice President, Technology and Strategy. These additions are intended to accelerate the company’s new era of growth and innovation following the news of its acquisition by prominent venture capitalist Steve Singh and a leading group of investors.