Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CEO’ operating in the Travel space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Dylan Taylor
Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space Holdings
Dylan Taylor is a global business leader and philanthropist. He is an active pioneer in the space exploration industry as a CEO, investor, commercial astronaut thought leader and futurist. Currently, Dylan serves as Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space, a multi-national space exploration firm that acquires and integrates leading space exploration enterprises globally. Dylan has been cited by Harvard University, SpaceNews, the BBC, Pitchbook, CNBC, CNN and others as having played a seminal role in the growth of the private space industry. As an early-stage investor in more than 50 emerging ventures, including Accion, Kepler, York, Astrobotic, LeoLabs, Relativity, and Planet, Dylan is widely considered the most active private space investor in the world. On December 11th, 2021 Dylan became just the 606th human to go to space as part of the crew of Blue Origin’s NewShepard Mission 19. Accordingly, Dylan earned his commercial astronaut wings with the FAA. Dylan’s technical background, global business experience and unbridled passion for space make him a unique figure within his industry. He regularly speaks and writes about the future of the space economy and is sought after by the media for his expertise in the financial aspects of space investing as well as industry dynamics. As a writer and columnist, he has written several widely read pieces on the future of the space industry for SpaceNews, ROOM, The Space Review, Apogeo Spatial and Space.com. As a speaker, Dylan has keynoted many of the major space conferences around the world and has appeared regularly on Bloomberg, Fox Business, and CNBC. dylan-taylor-headshot-1 Dylan Taylor Chairman & CEO Voyager Space Dylan has extensive global business experience as both a board director and CEO. He previously served as a Director for UMB Bank, a Fortune 500 company based in Kansas City and as a mutual fund director for the Jackson Funds where he oversaw assets of $8B across 130 distinct funds. Dylan has been a Fortune 1000 CEO with P&L responsibility in excess of $3B and operations encompassing 16,000 employees in 60 countries. In addition, Dylan has participated in 4 IPOs over the course of his career. Dylan is a leading advocate of space manufacturing and the utilization of in-space resources to further space exploration and settlement. In 2017 he became the first private citizen to manufacturer an item in space when the gravity meter he co-designed and commissioned was 3D printed on the International Space Station. The historic item is now housed in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Dylan has also had an extensive philanthropic impact on the space industry. In 2017, Dylan founded the nonprofit and social movement, Space for Humanity, which seeks to democratize space exploration and develop solutions to global issues through the scope of human awareness to help solve the world’s most intractable problems. Additionally, Dylan is the Co-Founding Patron of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, which seeks to promote the growth of commercial space activity. Additionally Dylan serves as a strategic advisor for both the Archmission and the Human Spaceflight Program. Dylan is the founder and Chairman of Multiverse Media, parent company of the popular space philosophy website 2211.world as well as the Ad Astra Dinners, a Jeffersonian styled dinner series featuring some of the world’s leading influencers discussing the future of humanity in space. Another subsidiary of Multiverse Media, Multiverse Publishing, publishes books by leading authors including Frank White, Isaac Asimov and Gerard K. O’Neill. It is also the executive producer of the documentary film, The High Frontier. For his influence as a global leader and his commitment to creating a positive impact on the world, Dylan has been honored with numerous personal and professional accolades in recent years. The World Economic Forum recognized Dylan as a Young Global Leader in 2011 and he was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute in 2014. In 2020, Dylan was recognized by the Commercial Spaceflight Federation with their top honor for business and finance, following in the footsteps of 2019’s inaugural winner, the late Paul Allen. Dylan Taylor earned an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the Booth School of Business at University of Chicago and holds a BS in Engineering from the honors college at the University of Arizona, where he graduated Tau Beta Pi and in 2018 was named Alumnus of the year. In 2013, he attended the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century program at Harvard University. Dylan and his family live in Denver where he is active locally with Colorado Concern and the Colorado Spaceport. In his spare time, Dylan enjoys hiking, competing in triathlons and spending time outdoors. He is married to author Gabrielle V. Taylor and has two teenage daughters.
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About Big Think, Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Morgan Brook Capital, Piano Bar Partners, The Aspen Institute, The World Economic Forum, Voyager Space Holdings: Voyager Space Holding is an aviation and aerospace company that specializes in the space exploration industry.
Duke Chung
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of TravelBank
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About TravelBank: TravelBank is the modern all-in-one business travel and expense management platform.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Goop
Gwyneth Paltrow is one of today’s most prolific and celebrated actors in both television and film. Additionally, Paltrow continues to develop her lifestle brand: Goop; wellness advice, clean beauty, fashion & home. A testament to her undeniable acting talent is Paltrow’s role in Shakespeare in Love that catapulted her into awards stardom with Best Actress honors at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Academy Awards. In 2011. Gwyneth Paltrow was also honored with an Emmy Award for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as substitute teacher Holly Holiday on Fox’s smash-hit musical series Glee. In 2013, Paltrow published her second cookbook, It’s All Good, which joined her first-ever cookbook, My Father’s Daughter (published April 2011), on the New York Times Best Sellers list. She first established her credibility in the culinary field when she cowrote Spain, A Culinary Road Trip with acclaimed chef Mario Batali.
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About Goop: Goop is a lifestyle brand providing digital content and commerce.
Josh Giegel
CEO & Co-Founder of Virgin Hyperloop
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About Virgin Hyperloop: Virgin Hyperloop is a developer of a transportation technology used to deliver fast, direct, and sustainable transportation at scale.
Sunmeet Jolly
Founder & CEO of GROTU
Founder and Patent holder – GROTU mobile app @ 101 Islands LLC. Angel investor in 40 pre-IPO technology startups. Frequently invited by accelerators and angel forums to Judge startup competitions and discuss technology innovation. Former IT Consulting industry executive who sold hundreds of millions of dollars in consulting services to Fortune 500 companies working for Cap Gemini, HCL, L&T, NTT data.
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About GROTU: Patented GROTU app provides a much needed “private” collection of productivity and communication tools for friends and family social groups
Greg O’Hara
Chief Executive Officer of American Express Global Business Travel
Greg O’Hara, Chairman of the Board and Interim President of American Express Global Business Travel, is an investor with significant experience in the travel industry. He founded Certares and is currently its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. O’Hara is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Travel Leaders Group and has previously served on the boards of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Travelport, Worldspan Technologies and various other companies. Prior to founding Certares, he was the Chief Investment Officer at JPMorgan Chase’s Special Investments Group and was also a Managing Director at One Equity Partners. Earlier in his career, he served as an Executive Vice President of Corporate Planning and Development of Worldspan Technologies and Worldspan, a Senior Vice President of Sabre, Inc. and various other positions. He holds an M.B.A from Vanderbilt University.
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About American Express Global Business Travel: American Express Global Business Travel provides end-to-end corporate travel and meetings program management.
John Andrew Entwistle
Founder, CEO of Wander
John Andrew Entwistle is the Co-Founder and Board Member at Coder.
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About Wander: Wander is a short-term luxury rental company that provides smart home travel services.
Srikrishna Ramakarthikeyan
CEO of Hexaware Technologies
R Srikrishna, a Director at Xurmo Technologies, is also the CEO of Hexaware Technologies. He was previously President at HCL Technologies. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (Chennai) and Indian Institute of Management (Kolkata), Srikrishna is an accomplished business leader who has conceptualized and pioneered many hi-tech offerings in network infrastructure management. He is credited at HCL with having broken new ground for the company many times over, in introducing new technology products and services and in opening new billion-dollar markets. R Srikrishna was honoured as a Young Global Leader for 2011 at World Economic Forum at Davos.
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About Hexaware Technologies: Hexaware Technologies Limited is an information technology and business process outsourcing service provider company based in India.
P R Chandrasekar
CEO and Vice Chairman of Hexaware Technologies
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About Hexaware Technologies: Hexaware Technologies Limited is an information technology and business process outsourcing service provider company based in India.
Rick Blatstein
Founder & CEO of OTG
Rick Blatstein, founder and CEO of OTG Management, found his calling putting gourmet cuisine, swanky design and high-tech integrations into the drab world of airport terminals. OTG’s innovative approach to creating an “experience” is delighting travelers and catching the attention of airlines and airport operators.
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About OTG: OTG Management is a operator of airport food and beverage concessions
Sachin Kanodia
Founder and CEO of Rizort
Founder & CEO at Rizort.com.
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About Rizort: Rizort is a luxury vacation marketplace that brings immersive vacation planning and booking services for travelers.
David J. La Placa
Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Intellectus Partners, LLC
David J. La Placa is the Chief Executive Officer | Founder at Intellectus Partners, LLC.
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About Forbes San Francisco Business Council, HintBox.ai, Intellectus Partners, LLC, Orbital Insight: Intellectus is an exclusive, private MFO for Entrepreneurs offering Wealth Creation&Preservation,Investment Mgmt, Venture & startup Advisory
Ruzwana Bashir
Founder & CEO of Peek
Ruzwana Bashir is Co-founder & CEO of Peek.com. She is a travel junkie, having navigated her way through 40 countries. She previously worked at Gilt Groupe, Art.sy, the Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs. Ruzwana has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and a BA in Economics from Oxford University, where she was President of the Oxford Union.
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About Peek: Peek is a booking software and marketplace for delightful things to do such as wine tours, watersports, skydiving, and art classes.
Susan Ho
Founder & CEO of Journy
Susan has helped build some of the fastest growing companies in NYC, including Fab.com, DigitalOcean, Blue Apron, and LearnVest. Susan graduated from Wharton and was a consultant at BCG before startups. She met Leiti nearly a decade ago while dancing on speakers in Shanghai.
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About Journy: Journy is a personalized travel planning service that pairs travelers 1-on-1 with their own personal trip designer.
Jaxon Klein
CEO, Co-Founder of Keyo
Jaxon Klein is an American businessman, entrepreneur, investor and startup advisor. Klein is currently CEO of Keyo, Inc., where he is a co-founder and former CTO. Prior to his role at Keyo, Klein founded two companies in hosting technology and web services.
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About Keyo: We place people’s identities in the palm of their hands.
Herman DeBoard
CEO & Founder of Huvr Inc.
Successful Entrepreneur, built major technology projects working with Sony, Universal, Warner, EMI and more. Products have been distributed in Target, Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics and many more.
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About Huvr Inc.: Huvr is a global virtual marketplace that helps to connect human walkers to virtual travelers to explore the world in real-time.
Tyson Weihs
Co-Founder / CEO of ForeFlight
Tyson is a software entrepreneur and private pilot. His first venture was Atension, a dorm-room startup that was acquired by a public company in 1999. He then directed software engineering at BenefitFocus, where flying was part of the corporate DNA. Prior to ForeFlight, Tyson was a venture partner with SMH Private Equity Group. Tyson holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Business Administration from Trinity University and an MBA from Rice University.
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About ForeFlight: ForeFlight is a companion for pilots that packs rich airport information, search, and aviation weather imagery is a single package.
Jack Rimokh
Chairman and CEO of Signal Brands
As a highly respected industry leader, Jack Rimokh started Signal Brands and built one of the world’s largest handbag companies.
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About Signal Brands: Signal Brands is a manufacturer, distributor of licensed fashion handbags, small leather goods and luggage.
Corey Ashton Walters
Founder & CEO of Here
Corey Ashton Walters is the Founder & CEO of Here, a revolutionary online marketplace that enables anyone anywhere to invest in vacation rentals online and earn passive income—without ever lifting a finger. Prior to founding Here, Corey, a seasoned entrepreneur, brand builder, and college dropout, has founded multiple successful companies over the last 15 years. Most recently in 2017, Corey co-founded Homeworthy, a venture-backed first-of-its-kind fully remote home selling experience available to homeowners located in more than 900 cities across the Pacific Northwest.
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About Here: Here makes investing in vacation rentals as easy as buying stocks.
Bharat Lall
CEO of Pinnacle Hotels USA
At present, Bharat (Barry) Lall, M.D., acts as President and Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Hotels USA, which maintains headquarters in San Diego. Although the company has concentrated primarily on selling properties since 2006, it currently maintains nine hotels in various locations in California, Ohio, and Texas. Dr. Barry Lall and his colleagues uphold a commitment to providing first-rate service at every level of operations, and they have acquired and turned around dozens of properties over the years. Barry Lall, M.D., first embarked on a career as a business owner in the late 1980s. A successful physician practicing family medicine at Chula Vista, California’s Kaiser Hospital, he realized he wanted to do something different with his life. After securing a loan to purchase the $450,000 Holiday Motel, located in Coronado near a U.S. Navy base, he hired landscapers and painters to refurbish the property and then moved in to begin running it. During this time, he continued seeing patients during the day, sometimes quickly using midafternoon breaks to drive to the motel to do some cleaning and laundry. Continuing this impressive work ethic, Dr. Bharat (Barry) Lall formed a hotel firm with two friends in 1993. None of them had real experience in management or development, but together they began buying distressed properties across the western United States, many of which were facing foreclosure. By reenvisioning the potential of these hotels and taking a proactive approach to image and to customer service, he and his partners proved successful in their endeavors. Since that time, Bharat Lall, M.D., has grown Pinnacle Hotels into a firm with more than 400 employees and a yearly revenue of $40 million. A socially conscious person, Dr. Bharat Lall has shared this success with others by contributing financially to organizations such as San Diego State University, the Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship Trust Fund, and San Diego Public Library. He lives in La Jolla, California.
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About Pinnacle Hotels USA: Pinnacle Hotels USA is a hospitality company providing hotel acquisition and management services.
Michael Thomas
CEO of SmartFares
Michael Thomas is the Chairman/CEO of Travelation. Travelation is a leading online travel web site specializing in cheap flights, discount hotel rooms, cheap car rentals and wholesale cruises to the top travel destinations within the United States and the World
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About SmartFares, Travelation.com, Travelation.com: online travel discount airfare agents
Ric Elias
Co-Founder & CEO of Red Ventures
Ric attended Boston College and Harvard Business School before beginning his career as part of GE’s Financial Management program. Ric co-founded Red Ventures in 2000, just days before the dot-com bubble burst. The company weathered the storm and by 2007 it was ranked 4th on the Inc. 500 list. In 2009, Elias was a survivor of Flight 1549, an event which drastically changed his life and led to his widely viewed TED Talk “3 things I learned while my plane crashed.” Elias is cited as aspiring to create the “Google of the East Coast” within his company’s culture and facilities. Ric’s leadership style earned him noteworthy recognition in 2011, when he was named an Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year. His inspirational views on both business and family have been featured on CNN, TED Talks and MSNBC. Ric Elias is the co-founder and CEO of Red Ventures, a portfolio of digital companies headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. With over 3,000 employees in 10 US cities, Puerto Rico, the UK, and Brazil, Red Ventures’s digital platform spans across many industries, including home services, financial services, health services, education, and entertainment. Through its influential brands, strategic partnerships, and powerful technology platform, Red Ventures connects millions of people to premium content, intuitive digital experiences, and consumer advice to help make life’s most important decisions. Over the last decade, Red Ventures has compounded growth at over 30%. In 2010, General Atlantic made a strategic investment in the company, and in 2015 Silver Lake also joined as a shareholder. Ric has cultivated an award-winning and technology-centric company culture, ranking as one of Charlotte’s “Best Places to Work” for ten years in a row. A native of Puerto Rico, Ric graduated from Boston College and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He co-founded Red Ventures in 2000, months before the dot-com bubble burst. The company weathered the storm; by 2007 it was ranked 4th on the Inc. 500 list. Ric’s leadership style has earned him noteworthy recognition; in 2011, he was named an Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2016 he was inducted into the Carolinas Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. In 2009, Ric survived Flight 1549, also known as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” an event which changed his life and led to his widely viewed TED Talk “3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed.” In 2019, he launched a podcast, “3 Things with Ric Elias,” where he shares conversations and insights with top business leaders, athletes, and remarkable guests. In addition to being deeply committed to his family and Red Ventures, Ric is passionate about creating economic mobility opportunities for underserved groups who have the motivation and work ethic to succeed. In 2013, he founded and funded what is now Road to Hire, a 501(c)(3) that connects young adults with on-ramps to professional development and high-earning careers. Programs provided through the Road to Hire platform include career-readiness classes in Charlotte Mecklenberg Title 1 high schools, digital marketing courses at Johnson C. Smith University, on-the-job training and placement with top employers in Charlotte , and scholarships for high-performing undocumented students seeking college degrees. Additionally, in 2018 Ric launched Forward787, a $100M social enterprise committed to building digital businesses based in Puerto Rico. To date, the program has trained and supported more than 100 Puerto Rican professionals, fueling a new economic growth engine on the island.
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About Red Ventures: A portfolio of influential brands, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships that help people make life’s most important decisions.
Jim Cantrell
CEO & President of Phantom Space
Co Founder of Vector Space building launch and orbital platforms to enable non expert users to develop space apps using our reliable space transportation system and orbital platforms. Founder of StratSpace, a 50 person consulting firm headquartered in Tucson Arizona specializing in helping venture capital firms make profitable investments in the technology sectors and corporations grow and transition into successful acquisition targets. On founding team of SpaceX with internet pioneer Elon Musk developing technical concepts, markets and standing up the company including developing the overall corporate and product development strategy. Co-Founder of Phantom Space Corporation offering satellites, in space propulsion and launch vehicle technologies. Founder of Vintage Exotics Competition Engineering who develops products for vintage and modern race cars, restores vintage race cars and Italian exotics, provides engineering services to race teams and leads our own endurance race team which holds many awards and track records.
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About Phantom Space, Vintage Exotics Competition Engineering: Phantom Space focuses on space transportation technology including satellites, propulsion, and launch vehicles.
Jaclyn Baumgarten
CEO & Co-Founder of Boatsetter
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About Boatsetter, Mastercraft: Boatsetter is a boat rental community connecting boat owners, boat captains, and anyone who seeks a water-full experience.
Christopher Sopher
Co-Founder and CEO of WhereBy.Us
CEO at WhereBy.Us.
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About WhereBy.Us: A platform that enables creators to build a media business for their community.
Scott Kubly
Founder & CEO of Cabana
Scott Kubly is director of the Seattle Department of Transportation. Appointed by Mayor Ed Murray in July 2014, Scott oversees transportation policy, capital project delivery, transportation and maintenance operations, transit and mobility improvements, and management of the City’s right of way. He led the creation of the award winning Move Seattle Plan, which outlines Mayor Murray’s 10-year vision for transportation in Seattle, and delivers a comprehensive strategy for connecting and enhancing the city’s many ways to travel. Scott was also a lead architect of the voter-approved Levy to Move Seattle, which provides $930 million to improve safety, maintain streets and bridges, and invest in reliable, affordable travel options for a growing city. Scott additionally serves as the vice president of the National Association of City Transportation Officials.
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About Cabana: Cabana is a travel startup that turns vans into bookable mobile hotels.
Abhijeet Dwivedi
Co-founder & CEO of ZeroDown
Abhijeet Dwivedi is the co-founder and CEO of ZeroDown. Previously, Abhijeet was the COO and CSO at Zenefits. Prior to Zenefits he was with McKinsey. He holds a Masters in IT from University of Pennsylvania and Bachelors in Materials Engineering from IIT-Varanasi.
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About ZeroDown: ZeroDown is a real estate startup that focuses on providing an affordable homeownership solution.
Adam Harris
CEO and Co-Founder of Cloudbeds
Adam Harris is the Co-founder and CEO of Cloudbeds. Together with Co-founder Richard Castle, Adam has led Cloudbeds from a small startup to an award-winning company that powers over 20,000 properties in 135 countries worldwide.I have a diversified finance, transmedia marketing, and web technologies background ranging from being a technology investment banker, a technology consultant to emerging business, and the founder of numerous technology start-ups.
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About Cloudbeds: Cloudbeds is a vertical SaaS business that creates cloud-based hospitality management software.
Alejandro Reynal Ample
President, CEO of Apple Leisure Group
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About Apple Leisure Group: Apple Leisure Group is a vacation services company providing all inclusive vacation packages.
T.J. Clark
CEO and Co-Founder of TurnKey Vacation Rentals
T.J. Clark is an entrepreneur in travel/tech industry and his experiences include Limos.com, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Hotwire.com. Mr. Clark was the President & CEO of Limos.com from March 2008 to April 2012. Limos.com became the largest online marketplace for limo/car services and grew more than 50% each year under his leadership. The Company expanded globally and launched partnerships with Orbitz, Concur, Delta Airlines, LiveNation and OpenTable. In 2011 Limos.com was named in Forbes America’s Most Promising Companies as the Top Travel Brand. Mr. Clark was previously VP of Business Operations at IAC/InterActiveCorp, which consisted of over 65 internet brands with 20 million visitors per day (8th ranked worldwide), including Expedia, Ticketmaster, and Match.com. Mr. Clark was a member of the Hotwire.com start-up team since March 2000. Hotwire.com became the fourth-ranked U.S. online travel company within two years of operations, generating over $1B in travel bookings. Hotwire was acquired by IAC in 2004. Formerly Mr. Clark was a trial attorney in Chicago, most recently at Lord, Bissell & Brook. He holds a JD from Loyola Chicago School of Law and a BS from Notre Dame.
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About TurnKey Vacation Rentals: TurnKey Vacation Rentals markets and manages premier vacation rental homes in top U.S. destinations.
John Banczak
Co-founder &CEO of TurnKey Vacation Rentals
John left HomeAway in the spring of 2012 to help co-found TurnKey Vacation Rentals. He began his career after graduating with a BBA in Finance from Wisconsin in traditional travel at Northwest Airlines. He started in revenue management and was later tapped to work for the Amsterdam-based KLM/NWA alliance. After graduating with an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Banczak joined Accenture’s Strategic Services group in San Francisco, specializing in eCommerce and business strategy for clients such as Microsoft and FedEx. After working at the Bay Area based lodging start up Worldres.com, Banczak was recruited to Hotwire, where he ran the company’s Airline, GDS and Car Rental operations groups. Shortly after Hotwire was acquired by Expedia, Banczak moved to BedandBreakfast.com, eventually becoming President. Banczak helped dramatically grow the company’s revenues and managed the acquisition of the company by HomeAway in 2010. Subsequently, Banczak ran the HomeAway Software for Professionals groups, leading the post-merger acquisitions of Instant Software and Escapia.
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About TurnKey Vacation Rentals: TurnKey Vacation Rentals markets and manages premier vacation rental homes in top U.S. destinations.
Peter Kutis
Founder/CEO of OneTwoTrip
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About FinalPrice, OneTwoTrip: OneTwoTrip is a full scale b2c and b2b online travel service.
Andy Krantz
CEO and Co-Founder of Paravel
CEO and Co-Founder at Paravel.
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About Paravel: Paravel is a designer and manufacturer of luggage bags and travel accessories.
Steve Hafner
CEO of KAYAK
Steve Hafner is the CEO at KAYAK, Opentable.
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About KAYAK: KAYAK helps millions of travelers around the globe make confident travel decisions.
Ken Ma
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AreaHype
Ken Ma is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at AreaHype.
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About AreaHype: We connect small businesses with clients.
Joel Holland
CEO of Harvest Hosts
Joel Holland is the CEO at Harvest Hosts.
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About Harvest Hosts: Harvest Hosts provides membership network that invites self-contained RVers to stay overnight for free.
Siba Padhi
President & CEO of OrbitBeyond
Siba Padhi is a tech start-up professional with over 20 years of multi-functional experience. He has an extensive background as an executive of several multinational companies in the technology and telecommunications industries. He is the founder and ex-chief executive officer of Agnicient Technologies, a technology product and services firm that he successfully led to revenues of more than $100 million.
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About OrbitBeyond: OrbitBeyond is an American lunar transportation startup and a core infrastructure provider for all things beyond earth-orbit.
Jianxiong Xiao
Founder and CEO of AutoX
Jianxiong Xiao (a.k.a., Professor X) is the Founder and CEO of AutoX Inc., a high-tech company working on self-driving vehicles. AutoX’s mission is to democratize autonomy and enable autonomous driving to improve everyone’s life. Dr. Xiao has over ten years of research and engineering experience in Computer Vision, Autonomous Driving, and Robotics. In particular, he is a pioneer in the fields of 3D Deep Learning, RGB-D Recognition and Mapping, Big Data, Large-scale Crowdsourcing, and Deep Learning for Robotics. Jianxiong received a BEng. and MPhil. in Computer Science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2009. He received his Ph.D. from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2013. And he was an Assistant Professor at Princeton University and the founding director of the Princeton Computer Vision and Robotics Labs from 2013 to 2016. His work has received the Best Student Paper Award at the European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV) in 2012 and the Google Research Best Papers Award for 2012, and has appeared in the popular press. He was awarded the Google U.S./Canada Fellowship in Computer Vision in 2012, the MIT CSW Best Research Award in 2011, NSF/Intel VEC Research Award in 2016, and two Google Faculty Awards in 2014 and in 2015 respectively. He co-lead the MIT+Princeton joint team to participate in the Amazon Picking Challenge in 2016, and won the 3rd and 4th place worldwide. He was named to be one of the 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2017, and one of the 12 of the most promising entrepreneurs to keep an eye on in 2018 by Next Visionaries.
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About AutoX: AutoX is a self-driving car startup that offers AI drivers to enable universal access to transportation for the people.
Andrew Kitchell
CEO & Co-Founder of Lyric
Andrew Kitchell is a Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Lyric and Wheelhouse. He is a former CEO & Founder at Beyond Pricing and Founder, Product Design at 30 Words. Mr. Kitchell studied at Duke University.
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About Lyric, Wheelhouse: Lyric is a tech and data-powered real estate and lifestyle hospitality company for the modern business traveler.
Carey Cooper
Co-Founder & CEO of L3 Hospitality Group
Carey is our CEO Extraordinaire. His early success as president of Redi Cut Foods, the largest regional processor of vegetables, made him a supply chain expert. His entrepreneurial spirit has only grown since then and nothing has brought him as much professional joy as becoming a restaurateur. We refer to him as Mr. Positive. He’s the go-to guy in his community and at work… not to mention he can tell you the origin of an avocado by the way it spins on the table.
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About L3 Hospitality Group: L3 Hospitality Group is a restaurant operating company.
Miguel Ayala
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Exodus Space
Miguel Ayala, Exodus Chief Executive Officer, has more than 18 years of experience in engineering and leadership of multidisciplinary engineering teams developing aircraft, launch vehicles, spacecraft, and associated ground support equipment. Miguel is passionate about contributing to groundbreaking innovations in space exploration and aerospace transportation. With the intent of becoming an effective well-rounded leader, he has devoted his entire career to gaining a broad background in engineering and leadership, encompassing: small startups and large corporations; design, analysis, test and manufacturing; propulsion, structures, mechanisms and thermal fluid systems; technical leadership; project and people management. Previous programs include ULA Vulcan rocket at Belcan, Orion spacecraft and A2100 satellites at Lockheed Martin, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets at SpaceX, aircraft GNC at L3 Technologies, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 aircraft engines and ISS habitat module at Honeywell, and NASA Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster processing at Thiokol Propulsion (Northrop Grumman). Miguel holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA. He also holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University.
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About Exodus Space: Space Transportation
Kirk Posmantur
Founder & CEO of Axcess Worldwide
Kirk Posmantur is the Chairman & Founder of Axcess Worldwide, a partnership development company that creates inspired ideas and connects extraordinary brands and people. With over 20 years of experience generating hundreds of millions of dollars in contracted revenue for many of the world’s top brands in the luxury and lifestyle, consumer mass, and hospitality and travel sectors, Kirk is widely recognized as the pioneer and innovator of partnership development. Axcess currently represents over 50 of the world’s leading brands. Kirk is greatly involved in multiple charities and has served as the Chairman of the Board for the Atlanta chapter of After School All-Stars since 2000, raising over $20 million for his charity’s chapter. Kirk earned his undergraduate degree at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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About 25Madison, Axcess Worldwide: Axcess Worldwide are Axcess Worldwide, and Axcess Worldwide are the world’s first partnership development company.
Brian Carrico
Co Founder, CEO of The Guild
Brian Carrico is the Co-Founder of Chief Executive Officer of The Guild and a Partner at Alexa Management.
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About Alexa Management, The Guild: The Guild is a hospitality company that offers full-building managements and turns upscale apartments into tech-enabled hotel suites.
Sam Nasserian
Founder & CEO of Cozymeal
Founder & CEO at Cozymeal.
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About Cozymeal: Cozymeal is the #1 marketplace for culinary experiences from cooking classes to team building events with top-rated local chefs.
Scott Case
Co-founder / CEO of The Upside Travel Company
Timothy “Scott” Case (not related to Steve Case) is a technologist,entrepreneur and inventor and was founding CTO of Priceline, the “Name Your Own Price” company that was one of only a handful of startups in U.S. history to reach a billion dollars in annual sales in less than 24 months. As Chief Technology Officer, he was responsible for building the technology that enabled Priceline’s hyper-growth. T. Scott Case currently serves as the CEO of Upside.com Prior to joining the Startup America Partnership, Scott served as CEO of Malaria No More, where he worked to inspire individuals and institutions in the private sector to end deaths caused by malaria. Previously, Scott helped build a portfolio of intellectual property at the Walker Digital Invention Laboratory, and is a named inventor on dozens of U.S. patents including the underlying portfolio for Priceline. Scott also co-founded Precision Training Software, a software company that developed the world’s first PC-based simulated flight instructor and photo-realistic flight simulator.
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About Main Street Genome, Startup America Partnership, The Upside Travel Company, The Upside Travel Company: Upside is a business travel sales company.
Saritta Hines
CEO and Founder of TrustaBit
Holding over 13 years of experience in data analytics, Saritta Hines is a trusted leader at bridging strategic business initiatives with expert IT implementation. Saritta has successfully spearheaded projects in the tech world for industry leaders including Cymer, Allergan, Bank of Montreal, Novartis and Dow Agrosciences. Her expertise brings technical innovation and business teams together to transform the customer experience. Saritta is at the forefront of improving operational efficiency and testing new use cases through the use of blockchain technology. As the head of TrustaBit, Saritta has established a key utility for businesses to streamline the delivery of products and services to customers through smart contracts.
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About Cymer, TrustaBit: Flight disruption management solution to automate the notification and compensation process in the airline industry.
Renil Komitla
Founder & CEO of YatraGenie Services
Renil Komitla is a Founder & CEO at YatraGenie Services.
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About Terralogic, YatraGenie Services: Yatragenie.com is a travel portal and also widely called as Rural Travel Partner
Jonathan Hayes
Founder & CEO of RewardStock
Jonathan Hayes Founder & CEO of RewardStock.
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About RewardStock: RewardStock is a free web application that shows you how to to travel on points and miles.
Fahim Aziz
Founder & CEO of Backpack
Hacker at Backpack
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About Backpack, Kyokushin Wooster: Backpack is a website that connects travelers and shoppers globally.
Kenny Dichter
Co-Founder & CEO of Wheels Up
Kenny Dichter is Founder and CEO of Wheels Up, a revolutionary membership-based private aviation company that eliminates fixed costs and provides unparalleled flexibility. Wheels Up will commence full-service flight operations October 2013, appealing to new entrants as well as to individuals and corporations currently flying privately. Previously, Dichter Founded Marquis Jet in 2001 and introduced the first-ever fractional jet card program, which revitalized and democratized the private aviation industry. Led by Dichter, Marquis Jet generated over $4 billion in revenue, culminating in its sale to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway’s Net Jets in 2010. At that time, Dichter was named Vice Chairman of Net Jets. Dichter’s role enabled him to build lasting relationships with CEOs,entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes and tastemakers around the globe. An entrepreneur at heart, with a sociology major from the University of Wisconsin, Dichter is a self-proclaimed “man of the people.” Since his youth, he has been known for being a trend spotter and trendsetter, and has always had an innate knack for branding, marketing, public relations and advertising. Dichter’s successes prove that he can apply these skills to a variety of industries. As always, Dichter has his eye on early-stage businesses where he sees potential for hyper growth. He has an active role and has invested in Juice Press, a Manhattan-based, multi-location, grab-and-go organic, raw food and juice company; SportYapper, a global communications platform for talking sports; CYC, the first indoor cycling studio aimed at college students and young professionals at universities across the country; and Cirrus, a fitnesscompany that customizes premium exercise equipment. In 2010, Dichter co-founded Tequila Avion, an ultra-premium brand that in 30 months has positioned itself, through branding and distribution, as an emerging leader in its category. Paris-based Pernod Ricard, the world’s second largest premium wine and spirits company, purchased a minority stake in Tequila Avion in 2011, and has the worldwide distribution rights. In 2004, Dichter Founded MGX Lab, an independent, full-service, digital media, brand strategy, and business development company that serves as a think tank for companies such as Disney, Bayer, Patch, cambio.com and Muhammad Ali Enterprises. Dichter is also Founder and Chairman of Tour GCX Partners, Inc., a golf membership program providing cliententertainment solutions to corporations and individuals, through access to private country clubs. In 1996, Dichter co-founded Alphabet City, a sports marketing and music company, which was acquired by Robert FX Sillerman’s SFX Entertainment in 1998. Dichter is a regular guest on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” and sought by media outlets for his perspectives on the aviation industry, consumer brands, and the luxury goods and services sector. Dichter co-founded Action America, along with AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong, to unite and activate Americans everywhere to turn the events of 9/11 into positive action. He also chairs the Council of Advocates at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital for Dr. Ken Davis, Mount Sinai’s Chairman and CEO, and sits on the Board of the Jack Martin Fund, which currently works with the hospital’s cutting-edge pediatric oncology department. Also,Dichter is a major supporter of his alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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About Wheels Up: Wheels Up is a membership-based private aviation company that focuses on reducing upfront cost to fly privately.
Jon Staff
Founder & CEO of Getaway
Founder at Getaway
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About Favecast, Getaway: Getaway is a wellness hospitality company that offers cabin rentals in natural landscapes.
Elia Wallen
Founder & CEO of Hotel Engine
Elia Wallen is the founder & CEO of Hotel Engine.
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About Hotel Engine: Hotel Engine connects companies, travelers, and hotel partners to an exclusive membership platform.
Gaetano Crupi
Co-founder, CEO, and Board Member of Cabin
Gaetano Crupi is the Co-Founder and Board Member of Cabin Technologies.
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About Cabin, Prime Movers Lab: Cabin is the first hospitality transportation company on a mission to make the most of every waking and sleeping moment.
Greg Caplan
Founder and CEO of Remote Year
Greg Caplan started as a Founder-in-Residence with Lightbank in January, 2011. In August 2011 he co-founded oBaz.com, a e-commerce site focused on rethinking the way people shop online. oBaz uses personalization and social features to create a brand new shopping experience. Greg has a BBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
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About Fit Club, Groupon, Remote Year, Spot: Remote Year provides a foundation for professionals to travel and work remotely with interesting people.
Daniel Ruch
Founder & CEO of Rocketrip
Prior to joining Genacast Ventures, Daniel served as Vice President, Europe for Tremor Video, based in London, England. Prior to his European stint, Daniel was Senior Director of Business Development for Tremor Video US. Before Tremor, Daniel held several director and managerial level positions at TACODA where he was responsible for East Coast business development until TACODA’s sale to AOL. In this role, he identified and solicited key strategic publishers to join TACODA’s network. Prior to TACODA, Daniel worked in strategic media planning at GroupM’s agency Mindshare / MAXUS global, allocating spend by medium for brands such as HSBC, Lufthansa, and Church & Dwight. Daniel graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a BA in Psychology.
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About Rocketrip: Rocketrip helps businesses reduce travel spend by incentivizing employees to save when they travel for business.
Amanda Szabo
Founder & CEO of ResortPass
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About ResortPass: ResortPass is an online booking platform for access to resorts and hotels for the pool, spa, fitness, and amenities.
Sachin Narode
CEO, Founder of Xeniapp Inc
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About Xeniapp Inc: Operating System for Travel
Chris Kemp
Founder, Chairman and CEO of Astra
Chris is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Astra where he leads the overall company strategy and direction. Previously, Chris founded several tech start-ups and served as the Chief Technology Officer of NASA, where he introduced new technologies into America’s space program and founded OpenStack, the largest and fastest growing open source project in history. While at NASA, Chris worked at the White House to develop the cloud strategy for the United States. Chris has been recognized in the Silicon Valley Business Journal “40 under 40,” the CNBC Disruptor 50 list, and received the prestigious “Federal 100” award for his service at NASA.
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About Astra, OpenStack: Astra is a rocket launch startup that provides satellite delivery and launch services.
Larry De Shon
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Avis Budget Group
Larry D. De Shon is chief executive officer and chief operating officer of Avis Budget Group, Inc., a leading global provider of vehicle rental services. Prior to this position, he served as president and chief operating officer. Mr. De Shon was previously president, International, Avis Budget Group. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the Company’s Avis, Budget, Zipcar, Payless, Maggiore and Apex businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Mr. De Shon joined Avis Budget Group in 2006 and has previously overseen the Company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as president, EMEA and operations in the United States as executive vice president, domestic operations. Before joining Avis Budget Group, Mr. De Shon was senior vice president of airport operations at United Airlines, Inc. As the head of United’s worldwide airport operations, he oversaw ground operations, logistics, safety, security, customer processing and service, product development and internal communications, leading an organization of 23,000 employees in 29 countries. He began his 28-year career with the airline carrier as a customer service representative and advanced to hold numerous positions of increasing responsibility during his tenure. He received bachelor degrees in both communications and sociology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
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About Avis, Avis, Avis Budget Group: Avis Budget Group offers professionals and individuals with vehicle rental and sharing services.
Ravi Parikh
CEO / Founder of RoverPass
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About Code Galaxy, RoverPass, StoryBuilt: RoverPass develops a reservation management system software to make reservations online and track the availability of the site.
Geoff Cook
Co-Founder & CEO of MeetMe
If there is a gene for Internet entrepreneurship, then it must run in the Cook family. Geoff Cook, Dave and Catherine’s worldly wise older brother, already has one successful online venture under his belt. While a Harvard undergrad, he founded a set of online writing and editing services, EssayEdge.com and ResumeEdge.com, and he’s been using the lessons learned from those businesses to assist Dave and Catherine’s dreams of worldwide web domination. As his younger siblings can attest, when you’re starting a business online, it’s very helpful to have a close, personal relationship with someone who knows how to hire programmers in India, lease server space in New Jersey, and start conversations with venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. But Geoff’s not only the executive with the know-how, he’s still got the fire in his belly for another Internet success. Geoff trusts Dave and Catherine’s youth culture instincts and speaks passionately about the family plan to grow myYearbook.com into an online tool that will go way beyond banner advertising to accomplish some truly innovative things in the world of social networking. What more could two teenage founders want in an older brother?
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About MeetMe, ParshipMeet Group, The Meet Group, Inc.: MeetMe® is a social networking service providing members the opportunity to meet and interact with new people.
Jim Keravala
CEO & Cofounder of OffWorld
Jim is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of OffWorld, building an industrial robotic workforce to undertake mining, manufacturing and construction on planetary surfaces and in space. The robotic workforce forms a solar system platform that will enable the construction of space based solar power stations, propellant depots and entire settlements. He brings 30 years of experience and visionary leadership in innovation in multidisciplinary areas such as aerospace engineering, space systems, robotics and machine intelligence, manufacturing and construction, computer science, synthetic biology and molecularly precise control systems. Jim is a prolific technologist and an accomplished entrepreneur able to constantly identify new acceleration ramps in the technological landscape. Jim started his career in the space launch industry managing launch programs overseeing over a dozen successful orbital launches on Russian, European and US launch vehicles. Modular satellite design, integration engineering and program management were part of this process.
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About OffWorld: OffWorld is developing a learning robotic workforce for heavy industrial jobs on Earth, Moon, asteroids & Mars.
Scott Owens
Founder / CEO of DoStuff Media
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About DoStuff Media: DoStuff Media is a network of local media properties for people looking to do awesome stuff.
Eugenia Kuyda
Co-Founder & CEO of Luka (dba Replika)
Eugenia Kuyda, co-founder of the AI startup Luka, memorial bots are ‘the future.’
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About Luka (dba Replika): Luka is a software development company based in San Francisco, California
Glenn Fogel
President and CEO at Booking Holdings and CEO at Booking.com of Booking Holdings
As Booking.com’s Chief Executive Officer, Glenn D. Fogel is responsible for the global strategy and operations of Booking.com, including the management of all business units within the organisation. Glenn also serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com and other digital brands, a position he has held since January 2017. Prior to his current roles, Glenn served as Booking Holdings’ Head of Worldwide Strategy and Planning, where he led major strategic initiatives including the key acquisitions of Booking.com, KAYAK, OpenTable, RentalCars.com and Agoda.com. He also served as the Executive Vice President of the Corporate Development division, responsible for worldwide mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances. Prior to joining Booking Holdings in February 2000, Glenn was a trader at a global asset management firm and prior to that, he began his career as an investment banker specializing in the air transportation industry. Mr. Fogel is a retired member of the New York State Bar. Fogel is a graduate of Harvard Law School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
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About Booking Holdings, Booking.com: Booking Holdings provides online travel and travel-related reservation and services.
Tarun Upaday
Chief Executive Officer of Routespring
Tarun Upaday joined Routespring as Chief Executive Officer in 2020. Tarun Upaday is CEO and co-founder of Gallop. Previously Tarun Upaday is co-founder of hCentive. Before that he is co-founder of GlobalLogic, and Before that Tarun Upaday is co-founder of Pinelabs.
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About Blu Venture Investors, Routespring: Routespring : Travel and Expense for the Gig Economy
Eric Ingram
CEO of SCOUT
Eric Ingram is the Founder and CEO of SCOUT Inc., a company de-risking space operations with sensor suites that enable spacecraft to see and understand the area around them. Additionally, Eric currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Space Frontier Foundation, and is an Ambassador and Organizing Team member for Mission: AstroAccess. He was previously an Aerospace Engineer for the Licensing and Evaluation Division of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, where he gained expertise in the regulatory environment. Prior to this, Eric was an engineer for Deep Space Industries, where he designed cubesat subsystems for testbed missions. Outside of the space industry, Eric previously served as the President of the United States Wheelchair Rugby Association, leading the USWRA to its largest budget surplus in its 30+ year history. Eric has competed in the sport of wheelchair rugby for 15+ years, competing domestically for several club teams, and internationally with the US Developmental team. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Old Dominion University, most of a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston, a sport pilot certificate, and is working towards his SCUBA certification.
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About SCOUT, Scout: SCOUT is developing orbital products and services to enable a new era of space safety, transparency, and improved Space Domain Awareness.
Ben Lerer
Co-Founder and CEO of Thrillist Media Group
Ben Lerer is the co-founder & CEO of Thrillist Media Group, overseeing the growth of the company from a niche email newsletter to a disruptive media company, leading the charge in mingling content and commerce. Lerer was among Ernst & Young’s 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winners, Vanity Fair’s Next Establishments, Crain’s 40 under 40, Forbes list of Most Powerful CEOs Under 40, AdWeek’s Young Influentials, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 5 Entrepreneurs of the Year, and Silicon Alley Insider’s 100 Coolest People in Tech for six years running. Ben is also the Managing Director of Lerer Ventures, New York’s most active early-stage technology fund. He chairs the Board of Directors for the East River Development Alliance, a New York non-profit organization, and is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS). Lerer is an active mentor for NYC Venture Fellows, TechStars, and Enstitute.
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About Lerer Hippeau, Thrillist Media Group: Thrillist Media Group is obsessed with helping guys live fun lives and reaches over 9 million of them across the globe, every single day.
Avery Haskell
Founder & CEO of Shuttle
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About Shuttle, TransAstra: Shuttle is an outer space travel company that offers a commercial spaceflight booking platform.
Rob Wiesenthal
Co-Founder & CEO of BLADE
Until June 2012, Wiesenthal was Executive Vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Sony Corporation of America, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Sony Entertainment Inc., and Group Executive, Sony Corporation, leading corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions. From 2012 to June 2015, he was Chief Operating Officer of Warner Music Group. Wiesenthal now heads Blade, an aviation start-up. He incubated Blade in early 2014 as the first digitally powered short-distance aviation company. Since its inception, the company has remained asset light and utilizes a business model that crowdsources flights enabling fliers to set the departure point, time, destination and type of aircraft, and selling remaining seats to the Blade user community. Today Blade services 22 core routes in 7 states and maintains seven flier lounges in four states. Key routes include the New York City area, Eastern Long Island, the New Jersey Coast, Connecticut, the Cape (Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard), Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Orange County.
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About BLADE, Warner Music Group: BLADE is an application that provides short-distance flight management solutions to its clients.
Doug Parker
Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of American Airlines
Doug Parker is Founder, chairman and chief executive officer of American Airlines Group. Parker became CEO of American Airlines following the merger of US Airways and American Airlines in 2013. Previously, Parker was chairman and CEO of US Airways. Prior to the merger of US Airways and America West Airlines in 2005, he was chairman, president and chief executive officer of America West. Parker became the CEO at America West just 10 days before Sept. 11, 2001, and led the carrier through the crisis. Under Parker’s leadership, US Airways achieved record revenue growth and operational performance and profit margins that outpaced most industry peers. Parker has been one of the most vocal proponents of airline industry consolidation, which has provided a more stable and competitive industry for employees, customers, communities and stockholders. Parker’s experience prior to joining America West in 1995 includes four years with Northwest Airlines as vice president and assistant treasurer, and vice president of financial planning and analysis. From 1986 to 1991, he held a number of financial management positions with American Airlines. Parker received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Albion College in 1984 and a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University in 1986.
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About American Airlines, Callis Communications: American Airlines focuses on providing travel experience across the globe.
Daniel Nevius
Cofounder / CEO of Hedron
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About Hedron: Hedron is a satellite communications company based out of Boston that is leveraging hybrid RF-laser communications technology.
Sam Makaryan
CEO and Co-Founder of Hosteeva
Sam Makaryan is the chief executive officer and co-founder at Hosteeva.
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About Hosteeva: Vacation, Short Term Rental Management
Doug Knittle
CEO of Travoom
Doug Knittle is the chief executive officer and founder of OleOle. He oversees business operations as well as acquisitions. Doug founded the company in 2006 with a goal to build the world’s largest football platform and continues to drive OleOle’s business strategy and growth plans. Prior to starting OleOle, Doug served as chief executive officer and founder at Razorgator, the worldwide leading online ticket exchange agency specializing in hard-to-get tickets for events, concerts, and theatre. Doug founded the firm in 2001 and negotiated partnerships with Yahoo, MSN and Fox Sports. He helped Razorgator become the top Web destination for hard-to-get tickets to high-profile events such as the Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympics. With his help, the company raised USD $49.5k from KPCB, Oak Ventures and Steamboat Ventures and grew from concept to a USD $170+ million company. Doug is a successful serial entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the ticket industry.
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About Hotelcity, Travoom: Bucket List travel
Sascha Mornell
Co-Founder & CEO of GetMyBoat
Sascha Mornell is a serial entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder of GetMyBoat, ZigAir, and Phacil. Previously, he worked for register.com, where he served as SVP of Sales & Marketing. Mr. Mornell also worked at the National Basketball Association and Dreyer’s, Japan in Tokyo. Mr. Mornell has served as an advisor/investor to several small businesses, including Osmio (acquired by Aramark), Markmonitor, AW Media and others. Mr. Mornell graduated cum laude from UC Berkeley and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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About GetMyBoat, SaraGEO, ZigAir: GetMyBoat is the marketplace for boat rentals, yacht charters, and on-the-water experiences.
Nelson Nigel
Founder and CEO of Kidmoto Technologies LLC
Nelson Nigel is a serial immigrant entrepreneur. His family emigrated from Guyana to Corona, Queens NYC when he was young. In 2016 He founded Kidmoto Technologies, The Kidmoto app connects parents to a network of professionally trained drivers who provide secured child car seats for safe airport transportation.
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About Kidmoto Technologies LLC: Mobile app connecting families with young children seeking car seat taxi transportation with drivers providing installed child seats.
Michael Bloxton
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Nebula Compute
Michael Bloxton is the Chairman & CEO at Nebula Compute.
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About Nebula Compute, Nebula Compute: Space Technology Company
Bill Rinehart
Founder, Chairman & CEO of DUFL
Bill Rinehart A groundbreaking serial tech entrepreneur and leader, Bill Rinehart has built and orchestrated successful exits for 5 companies in 15 years, serving as the driving force behind startups and enterprises that have helped shape the Internet as we know it today. At DUFL, Bill drives overall strategy, managers operations and oversees commercial activities. Prior to founding DUFL, Bill was founder, chairman and CEO of Unicorn Media, a cloud video ad insertion technology that was acquired by Brightcove for $49M. Before that, he founded and led Limelight Networks, a global leader in digital content delivery that was backed by Goldman Sachs Capital, Oak Investment Partners and Palo Alto Investors to a successful IPO. Bill also founded and served as chairman of Octoblu, a real-time connections and communications management pioneer that was later acquired by Citrix. He has also held senior leadership roles at GlobalCenter, Critical Path and Genuity during his career. Bill built DUFL to put modern logistics networks to work for business travelers, who typically use those networks to move inventory and people from place to place but are still burdened with maintaining and manually hauling their personal belongings with them on business trips.
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About BOLD Carts, DUFL: DUFL simplifies business travel by shipping, cleaning and storing your business attire.
Mark Roboff
CEO & Co-Founder of SkyThread
As Vice President for Aerospace and Automotive at SparkCognition, Mark Roboff works across both industries to realize the potential of next-generation AI to solve critical problems and unlock new opportunities to save, pivot, and grow business worldwide. Roboff brings over fifteen years of software and AI leadership to SparkCognition, with a career split between startups and technology giants. Prior to joining SparkCognition in October 2017, Roboff was an early leader in IBM Watson Group, serving in global positions across technical sales, business development, and industry solution design. Most recently, Roboff served as IBM’s Global Solution Leader for Aerospace and Automotive, leading the design and go-to-market for transformative cognitive solutions in manufacturing and maintenance optimization. Roboff is a lifelong aviation geek and car lover, and lives to share his joint passions of flying, driving, and delivering next-generation AI.
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About SkyThread: SkyThread is an aviation consortium and technology ecosystem company enabling friction free transactions in the aviation industry.
Mike Putman
Founder & CEO of Custom Travel Solutions LLC
Mike Putman is the Founder of Custom Travel Solutions.
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About Custom Travel Solutions LLC, MikePutman, Trip-Smart.Com: Recruit and retain the right people with the world’s largest travel club builder.
Jonathan Murray
Co-Founder & CEO of MyVR
Co-Founder/CEO of MyVR. Co-Founder/CEO of Lift Media (acquired). Former GE manager and Six Sigma guru. Stanford MBA.
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About MyVR: MyVR, a Guesty company, is a cloud-based, multi-channel management platform for vacation rental businesses.
Mohak Nahta
Founder & CEO of Atlys
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About Atlys: Atlys makes it fast for anyone to get a visa.
Shawn Simpson
CEO of Boutique Air
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About Boutique Air, Siren Studios: Boutique Air offers regional scheduled flights and private charter in North America.
Jeffrey O’Neill
Founder/CEO of Zephyr Aerospace
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About flyClever, Zephyr Aerospace: Zephyr Aerospace designs affordable lie-flat seating solutions for transportation companies.
Jonathan Chou
Co-founder, CEO of Beenest
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About Beenest: Beenest is a home sharing platform for hosts to list their homes and for guests to find accommodations.
Eric Campbell
CEO of Gather
Founder & CEO Gather. Engineering Leader at multiple successful venture backed startups.
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About Gather, New Wave: The best way to plan trips with friends
Sean Reilly
CEO of Lamar Advertising Company
Sean E. Reilly is Chief Executive Officer of Lamar Advertising Company, since February 21, 2011. Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer, Sean Reilly had been Chief Operating Officer and President of the Company’s Outdoor Division, a position that he had held since November 2001. He began working with the Company as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions in 1987 and served in that capacity until 1994. He also served as a director of the Company from 1989 to 1996 and from 1999 until 2003. Sean Reilly was the Chief Executive Officer of Wireless One, Inc., a wireless cable television company, from 1994 to 1997, after which he rejoined the Company. Sean Reilly received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1984 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989.
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About Lamar Advertising Company: Lamar Advertising founded in 1902 is an out-of home advertising compan
Frank Huerta
CEO and Co-founder of TransLattice
Mr. Huerta is responsible for the vision and strategic direction of TransLattice. He started his career in engineering and product development at Hughes Aircraft Company, Santa Barbara Research Center. He then served in product management roles at Seagate Software as well as VeriFone, Inc. Mr. Huerta was the director of business development for Exodus Communications where he focused on mergers and acquisitions. He was a co-founder and the CEO of Recourse Technologies, where he raised nearly $40M from leading venture capitalists and corporations. Recourse was purchased by Symantec Corporation for $135M in cash, and Mr. Huerta then served as a vice president at Symantec for over a year. He serves on the board of the Arthritis Foundation of Northern California and Cate School Board of Trustees. Mr. Huerta has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an undergraduate degree in physics from Harvard University, graduating cum laude.
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About TransLattice: TransLattice is a geographically distributed database company providing data for enterprise, cloud and hybrid environments.
Sean Breuner
Founder & CEO of AvantStay
Serial entrepreneur, advisor and angel investor. Casper, Latch, Blast, AwayCo, Neighborly, Hippo Insurance, OpenToken, OTG Organics, Text IQ, Starcity, BarBend, Wandering Bear, Abstract VC, Mesh, Raden, OneLog
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About AvantStay: AvantStay is a technology-first hospitality brand for experiential group travel.
Jonathan Yaney
Founder & CEO of SpinLaunch
Jonathan Yaney is the founder and CEO of SpinLaunch.
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About SpinLaunch: SpinLaunch develops a kinetic launch system for sending satellites to low-Earth orbit.
Mike Volpe
CEO of Lola.com
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About Capital One, Lola.com: Lola.com is an easy-to-use travel management tool that makes managing corporate travel easy, fast, and agile.
Sarah McCrary
CEO of GasBuddy
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About GasBuddy: GasBuddy is a travel and navigation app that is used by more North American drivers to save money on gas.
Adrian Ghila
CEO of Luxe RV
Having built and sold a significant real estate developing company in Romania, Adrian Ghila has continued with his successful business interests in the U.S., as CEO of Los Angeles based Luxe RV, and founder of Earth Car Wash & loopVAN.com, and Proiect 3 Holdings (an investment company). Adrian’s entrepreneurial spirit, ethical business background, and corporate expertise continue to drive Luxe RV, as well as his other businesses, successfully forward. Adrian is an astute and savvy businessman and pushes himself to not only excel in all he does but especially to deliver the finest product possible to his customers. He now lives and breathes for this industry, every day thinking of new ways to improve the quality of service his company provides. Adrian Ghila is now looking at investing in small smart companies. Providing not only the investment itself but his knowledge and potentially relocating your company into one of his offices. All it matters in a business or business idea is the execution. Nothing else really matters. You can have the best ideas in the world, and all the money in the world, if you don’t have the “why?” and the execution, everything else will not matter. Adrian Ghila’s points of view: 01. EXECUTION. Your skills and drive will project your success. 02. IDEA. One of the most important things is that your idea fits into a very large market with large profits. 03. MARKETING. Get the message across as the solution to one’s problem. Lastly, my best advice for any and all aspiring entrepreneurs: – figure if you are actually an entrepreneur. You might be a very creative person or a great executive. Entrepreneurs are different than CEOs, keep that in mind. Different mindsets and definitely they should think different in the decision making process. Think MACRO Focus MICRO
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About Luxe RV: Luxe RV – Luxurious Mercedes RV rental
Felix Ejeckam
Co-Founder and CEO of Akash Systems
Felix Ejeckam, Ph.D. co-founded Akash Systems in January 2016. Felix is a seasoned entrepreneur, electrical engineer, and venture capitalist. Prior to Akash, Felix invented GaN-on-Diamond technology in 2003 at Group4 Labs, Inc. He was Co-founder/CEO of Group4 Labs until 2013 when he sold the business to a De Beers business unit (Element Six Technologies). Prior to Group4, Felix was co-founder/CEO of venture-backed Nova Crystals, Inc., a developer and maker of next-generation semiconductor lasers and detectors for Telecom/Datacom markets. Felix began his career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc. in 1997. He has published over 100 journal and conference papers, holding many patents. Felix holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University with a minor in Materials Science & Engineering.
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About Akash Systems: Akash Systems is focused on developing and supplying the next generation of communications gear for space satellites.
Ty Mitchell
Founder & CEO of Akash Systems
Ty Mitchell, Ph.D. co-founded Akash Systems in January 2016. Ty has been a leader in the fields of GaN and SiC materials, optoelectronics, and LED lighting with a long background in technology development, business development, and business leadership. Ty has grown and led public-company technology businesses from $10M to $500M+ in revenues. Ty started his career as an engineer at GE and IBM, before working as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company, a global management consulting firm, from 1993 to 1999. Prior to founding Akash, Ty was an executive with Cree, Inc., a $1.6B manufacturer of LED lights, LED components, and GaN and SiC RF and power devices and materials. Ty held several business leadership roles at Cree, including VP/GM of Cree’s Optoelectronic device and GaN/SiC materials businesses, and EVP/GM of Cree’s LED lighting business. Ty holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
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About Akash Systems: Akash Systems is focused on developing and supplying the next generation of communications gear for space satellites.
Polina Raygorodskaya
Co-Founder and CEO of Wanderu
Polina Raygorodskaya is the CEO of Wanderu, a Kayak-like ground travel search which helps consumers find and book inter-city buses and trains. Prior to Wanderu, Polina was the founder and President of Polina Fashion LLC, a fashion, beauty and luxury PR firm which she started when she was a sophomore at Babson College. Polina’s entrepreneurial endeavors have been recognized in BusinessWeek, FOX, TedX, LegalZoom, amongst others.
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About Polina Fashion, Wanderu: Wanderu is a developer of a travel meta-search engine used to book inter-city buses and trains.
Anthony Longo
Co-Founder & CEO of CO Everywhere
Anthony Longo is the VP of Marketing & Commercial Products at SIONYX.
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About CO Everywhere, CO Everywhere, Niche Collective, SiOnyx: CO Everywhere is a research and development lab and investment vehicle focused on building technology products and services.
Fatih Ozmen
Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Nevada Corporation
Fatih Ozmen was born and raised in Turkey, yet this dynamic entrepreneur has come to embody the American dream. Today, Fatih is the owner and CEO of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), one of America’s fastest growing private companies with a reputation for rapid, innovative and agile technology solutions. Fatih joined SNC in 1981 with a broad engineering background culminating with a M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno. With a strong vision for the future of SNC, Fatih Ozmen and his wife Eren Ozmen acquired the company in 1994 and set their plans in motion to expand and grow. With the Ozmens at the helm, SNC has grown from a small company of 20 employees, to a full-service systems integrator with over 3,000 personnel in 34 locations worldwide.
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About Ozmen Ventures, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Sierra Nevada Corporation: Sierra Nevada Corporation is a aerospace and space travel company.
Cory Siskind
Founder and CEO of Base Operations
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About Base Operations: Base Operations uses AI to aggregate and visualize threat data to help companies keep their people and operations safe around the world.
Roman Pedan
Founder and CEO of Kasa Living
Roman Pedan is the Founder & CEO of Kasa Living.
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About Kasa Living: Kasa Living is a hospitality company that offers flexible accommodations for business and leisure travelers.
Ippei Takahashi
President & CEO – Founder of RideGuru
Ippei has worked in web development and sales roles for over 15 years in the high-tech industry. Since founding Unleashed, LLC in 2007, he has designed products, developed strategy for the company, and led various initiatives as a project manager. As a passionate entrepreneur, he continues to build the vision for Unleashed, LLC and its future products.
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About RideGuru: RideGuru is the trusted resource, tool, and community for everyone engaged in ridehails, rideshares, limos, and taxis.
