Swiftrank Bolsters Executive Team with New CEO and SVP
SINGAPORE - March 31, 2011 - Leading online global travel network Swiftrank has promoted Internet travel executive Sue Heilbronner to the role of Chief Executive Officer. The travel website firm has also appointed veteran travel technology executive Bryan Harwood, as its Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation. The duo will help oversee Swiftrank's rapidly expanding global network of over 12,000 location-based travel websites.
Sue Heilbronner Heilbronner most recently served as Swiftrank's Chief Marketing Officer and the President of Swiftrank North America, responsible for overseeing all marketing, business development, product development and sales for the company. She also opened the Company's U.S. office in April 2010 and quickly established key partnerships and clients in the global hospitality industry.
Prior to joining Swiftrank last year, Heilbronner helped launch two online startups, one in online education and the other in crowd-sourced book publishing. Previously, Heilbronner was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TIG Global, one of the hospitality industry's leading interactive marketing services providers. While at TIG Global, Heilbronner was a frequent industry speaker and author. In 2006, she was named one of HSMAI's Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing. Heilbronner holds a bachelor's degree in government from Oberlin College and both a law degree and a master's degree in public policy from Duke University. In accordance with her new role, Heilbronner will be moving to the company's Singapore headquarters office this summer.
Harwood joined Swiftrank in January after eight years with Travelport, where he was the chief technology architect, leading a team of enterprise architects in building the next-generation global distribution system. He also played a central role in the integration of online travel agencies and meta-search companies into Travelport's portfolio, developing a successful technology plan for the merger of Worldspan and Galileo GDS. Before joining Travelport, Harwood served as Enterprise Architect for Sun Microsystems Inc. and as an IT Architect for IBM. He holds a bachelor's degree in Information and Computer Science from University of California, Irvine.
“Sue's strategic vision has been an integral factor in the rapid global growth of our network so far, and we are thrilled that she will now ascend to the critical CEO role,” said David Leppan, Co-founder and Chairman of Swiftrank. “The success that we are experiencing has also allowed us to attract top-level travel technology talent like Bryan to the company. We are confident that this experienced team will help lay the groundwork for even more growth and expansion, as the global travel market continues to rebound.”
For more information on Swiftrank and their online global travel network, please visit www.swiftrank.com.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
