Direct Travel Adds 2 New Executives

Direct Travel has named two new appointments to its executive team: Michelle Sitzman as Chief People Officer and Dave Breslin as Executive Vice President, Customer Experience, New Tech Stack.

Sitzman and Breslin are former executives of Talend and SAP Concur. 

Last month, Direct Travel announced its acquisition by Steve Singh, Concur’s founder, and a group of investment firms. As part of the deal, former Talend and Concur executive Christal Bemont took over as Direct Travel’s CEO.

“Our leadership team is vital to the ongoing success and evolution of Direct Travel. We are very pleased to have Michelle and Dave join us during a time of investment and growth as we look to set the global standard for The Perfect Trip,” said Christal Bemont, CEO, Direct Travel.  

Sitzman has 30 years of experience in human resources. Most recently, she served as Talend’s Chief People Officer from 2020 to 2023. 

“Having worked with Christal at Talend, I know firsthand her dedication to investing in people, as well as the business outcomes that investment achieves,” said Sitzman. “I look forward to growing our outstanding team and using my experience to continue Direct Travel’s reputation as a best place to work in travel.”

Breslin joins Direct Travel from SAP Concur, where he’s held several roles over the last two decades–most recently, senior vice president and head of customer service. 

“This team is pioneering a new era of integrated business travel that fully supports our customers’ needs, and I can’t wait to be a part of it,” said Breslin. 

Since the acquisition, Direct Travel has been expanding its leadership team with key hires. Todd Pelletier and Scott Schwisow–also Talend and SAP Concur alumni–joined the team last month as chief sales officer and senior vice president, respectively.