Direct Travel acquired by Steve Singh, group of investors

Venture capitalist and founder of Concur, Steve Singh and a group of investors have acquired Direct Travel Inc.

The investors group includes Durable Capital Partners, Madrona Ventures, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Blackstone Credit & Insurance.

Singh will serve as executive chairman of Direct Travel, while Christal Bemont will assume the role of CEO.

About Direct Travel

Direct Travel is one of the world’s largest travel management companies, serving more than 4,500 mid-market and enterprise clients. It has built a reputation as a world class travel management company that delivers an unparalleled client experience.

Integrating its own AI innovations around client experience with a modern integrated travel technology stack from Spotnana (Travel-as-a-Service platform), Center (card-first expense management platform) and Troop (group meetings and events platform), the company sees an opportunity to set a global standard for the perfect trip.

Re-inventing the travel ecosystem

Commenting on the acquisition, Singh said: “Over the past few years, our investment group has sought out companies that are re-inventing key elements of the travel ecosystem with a goal of delivering a dramatically better value proposition to business travellers, the companies they work for, and the travel providers that serve them.”

“Spotnana, Center and Troop are re-inventing and dramatically improving core elements of the travel technology stack. Direct Travel sets the bar for customer experience. We are delighted to invest in and partner deeply with what we believe will be the market leading travel management company,” he added.

“We are honoured to serve thousands of clients across North America and the EU, ranging in size from thriving middle market businesses to some of the largest companies in the world. We will invest to meet our customers’ current needs, grow our customer base in each of the markets we serve, methodically expand the number of markets we serve, and the breadth of products we deliver to our clients.

CEO of Direct Travel announces retirement

As part of the acquisition, Direct Travel’s long-serving CEO Ed Adams, who founded the company in 2011 and helped establish it as a market leader, plans to retire.

Christal Bemont, the newly appointed CEO of Direct Travel, was formerly CEO of Talend, and before that she served as the CRO of SAP Concur.

Bemont has extensive travel industry experience, having spent over 15 years at SAP Concur, a multi-billion-dollar company operating in 90 countries.

“I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank Ed. He is an amazing person and accomplished leader who has developed a world-class organization with an unwavering commitment to customer success,” Bemont said. “I look forward to building on this tremendous foundation supporting our existing customers, and, alongside the talented leaders at Direct Travel and several former Concur executives, our goal is to build the most admired and innovative travel management company in the industry.”

Direct Travel’s newly appointed CEO observed: “Years ago, Steve laid out a vision for The Perfect Trip. Our announcement is a huge step toward making that vision a reality. Today the innovation begins as we embark on a new era of growth for the benefit of our customers. Together with our technology partners and extensive supplier network, we will continue to invest in proprietary technology around user experience and dynamic client services, all of which we plan to make available as a service to other travel management companies.”

Direct Travel has offices in more than 80 locations across North America and the U.K.

Visit www.dt.com for more.