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Michelle Peluso is not the type of leader who lets someone else reply to email she receives from customers. And she expects this adamant devotion to customer service from everyone on the Travelocity team. So committed is she to ensuring that Travelocity's customers have great travel experiences or customer championship, as it's known throughout the company, that in 2005 she led the rollout of The Travelocity Guarantee, a one-of-a-kind consumer proposition that puts these principles to the test everyday.
After joining Travelocity following the acquisition of Site59, a company she launched in 2000, she was named president and chief executive officer in December 2003 and has since led Travelocity's turnaround as well as its global expansion into Europe and Asia-Pacific, spearheading the acquisitions of lastminute.com and ZUJI, respectively.
A distinctive entrepreneurial spirit drives Peluso whether it's cultivating relationships with Travelocity's supplier and distribution partners, or exploring innovation opportunities with employees around the globe. Prior to her appointment as Travelocity's CEO, Peluso served as the company's chief operating officer and senior vice president of product strategy and distribution. She launched the company's innovative net rate hotel program and oversaw the build-out of the company's dynamic packaging engine, TotalTripSM.
The business and media worlds have taken notice. In 2005, Peluso was recognized by the National Italian American Foundation with the Special Achievement Award in Business and Fast Company Magazine named her a "customer-centered leader" in its annual Customer First Awards issue. Additionally, the Wall Street Journal in 2004 ranked Peluso #4 on it "50 Women to Watch list. Earlier in her career, she was named "Technology Person of the Year" by Travel Agent Magazine
Peluso received her master's degree in economics, philosophy and politics from Pembroke College at Oxford University where she was a Thoroun Scholar, and her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
A typical business day includes strategic brainstorming with a variety of Travelocity teams, staying in touch with customers, suppliers and partners, brown bag lunches with employees, and staying on top of the latest industry trends. But what Peluso loves most about the business is that there is no typical day.
Favorite travel moment:
"Participating in a military full-accounting mission over the jungles of Vietnam; dancing salsa until dawn in Oaxaca... and Barcelona... and Madrid... and Marbella... shall I go on?"
About Sabre Holdings Corporation
Sabre Holdings connects people with the world's greatest travel possibilities by retailing travel products and providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel industry. Sabre Holdings supports travelers, travel agents, corporations, government agencies and travel suppliers through its companies: Travelocity, Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Airline Solutions. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, the company has approximately 9,000 employees in 45 countries. More information is available at http://www.sabre-holdings.com. | 