Sabre CEO To Step Down At End Of Year

Tom Klein, who led Sabre through a successful initial public offering, plans to resign from his post as president and chief executive officer and from the board of directors on Dec. 31. 

He will continue to serve as CEO while the board searches for his successor.  

Klein’s career began at American Airlines 22 years ago, when both Sabre and the airline were units of AMR Corp.  

He joined Sabre, leading a joint venture in Mexico, and went on to serve in a number of executive roles. He was named president in 2010. 

His tenure as CEO began with the abrupt departure of his predecessor, Sam Gilliland, in 2013. Sabre described the move as “a carefully orchestrated succession process, led by Sam.” However, it occurred the day after Gilliland had been scheduled to talk with reporters about a new campaign. The event was canceled. 

The last few years of Gilliland’s leadership were somewhat turbulent, with American Airlines suing Sabre for antitrust violations. During the trial, e-mails in which Gilliland pondered how to “take American down” came to light. Sabre agreed to settle after five days.   

Klein took the helm as rumors of the IPO were circulating. Sabre filed its IPO registration statement in early 2014; the documents revealed several years of losses.  

In April, the IPO brought in less money than expected, but that situation reversed itself within a few days and the move was deemed a success.  

Under Klein’s leadership, Sabre regained a sound financial footing, made peace with American Airlines, worked with American on a near-flawless migration to a single passenger services system and grew its GDS market share. 

In a statement, Klein said, “It’s a tremendous honor to serve as president and CEO of Sabre and to work with our talented team around the globe. With our leading products and rapid technology innovation for the travel industry, we are doing more today than ever to help our customers succeed. We have transformed Sabre into a dynamic software company and the business is positioned for continued consistent growth, so my successor will have a strong hand to play.”