Nexion Travel Group President Jackie Friedman Will Retire in Spring 2027

One of the travel agency industry’s longest standing leaders, Jackie Friedman, president of Nexion Travel Group, will retire in spring of 2027. Friedman will continue to lead Nexion until then, while Internova’s leadership looks for a replacement.

“A couple of months ago I made the decision that I was going to set a date for retirement,” Friedman said during a press briefing at this year’s CoNexion conference in Austin, Tex.

Friedman, who joined Nexion first as vice president of operations in 2004, has led the host agency as its president since 2007. Prior to joining Nexion, she spent 15 years with Sabre, serving in a variety of sales and leadership positions. Before that, she started in the industry working as a front-line agent and a travel agency manager in Toronto.

“I started with Nexion in 2004. At that time, it was a wholly-owned entity of Sabre, so I’ve seen it through many iterations. At the time, I think it was at 600 advisors. Now, we have well more than 10 times that.”

Friedman said the team that Nexion has built to lead its members is what made her comfortable with the decision to step away.

“We have a phenomenal team… A team to be really proud of, so it’s a really good time because Nexion is in a really good place.”

Though Friedman will transition away from working full time, she emphasized that she is not planning to leave the industry entirely.

“You never know, I might become an advisor,” she joked, adding “You can’t get out of this industry completely.”

In addition to her role as president of Nexion, Friedman has been active in the broader travel agency community. She served three terms on the ASTA Board of Directors, including as Vice Chair and Chair. She currently serves on the Travel Institute Board of Trustees, the CLIA STARBoard, The Professional Association of Travel Hosts (PATH) Board of Directors, and numerous supplier advisory boards.

She plans to remain on some of these boards including for The Travel Institute and AmaWaterways’ River Born Foundation. She will also join the board of the Family Bonds Foundation, an Internova-affiliated non-profit that she currently leads as president.

While Friedman said it is the right time to retire, she made it clear that the transition will not be an easy one.

“I’m not going to say it’s going to be easy, because it won’t be.”

“It has been an incredible honor to help Nexion become the best host agency in the travel industry,” Friedman said. “I am deeply proud of what we accomplished together and the thriving community we built.”

Friedman is a recipient of a World Travel & Tourism Council Outstanding Contribution Award (2021), the Barbara O’Hara Award for Advocacy (2015), and the Paul M. Ruden Industry Ambassador Award, among other industry honors and achievement awards. She is also the godmother of AmaWaterways’ ship AmaViola.

“While I am sad to see Jackie retire, I am grateful for the incredible work she has done for Nexion,” said J.D. O’Hara, CEO of Nexion’s parent company Internova Travel Group. “Her leadership transformed Nexion into one of the premier travel companies and most respected host in the industry. The strong sense of community that Nexion’s members, partners and team often site as one of the reasons they choose to be a part of it is due to her vision and unwavering belief in advocating for advisors. Her legacy will continue long past her retirement.”

Nexion Travel Group’s new president will be announced at a later date.