Skift Take
A somewhat abrupt statement as Kurt Ekert steps down just days before the consultation of a new CEO. This news doesn’t bode well.
Matthew Parsons, Skift
Travel management giant CWT has quickly changed its CEO, with Kurt Ekert stepping down. Michelle McKinney Frymire, currently its president, technique and change, and its chief monetary officer, takes the helm on Might 1, 2021.
< img src="https://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Michelle-McKinney-Frymire-CWT-200x300.jpg"alt =" Michelle McKinney Frymire, becomes CEO of CWT on May 1, 2021. Photo: CWT"width =" 200 "height ="300"/ > Michelle McKinney Frymire, becomes CEO of CWT on May 1, 2021. Photo: CWT Frymire joined CWT in 2019, and was formerly primary financial officer at Starwood Getaway Ownership and Delta Innovation, in addition to Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines. She has actually also held senior executive positions at several personal equity firms.
Making the announcement, CWT said it had won $7 billion of brand-new organization over the previous 5 years, but more recently has actually been restructuring to balance out lower earnings due to the pandemic.
Frymire has actually been playing a role in establishing the company’s innovation technique, in specific rolling out its messaging platform in China.
“Our China myCWT launched in January 2020, and the adoption has actually been unbelievable because of its combination with WeChat and WeChat Pay,” she stated in an interview with Skift in January this year.
“I am pleased to invite Michelle to the role of leading our business into the next stage of our advancement, building on the successes of recent years *, and continuing to push us into achieving our true potential,” stated Rick Gage, Chair of CWT’s parent company, CTII Holdings, Inc. “As a natural development in our succession planning, I am also pleased that Kurt will remain an advisor to CWT, and I thank him for his leadership and effect.”