– UK, Edimburgh – Leading global travel search company Skyscanner has appointed Margaret Rice-Jones as Chairman. She joined the Skyscanner board in November and will oversee the company’s continued global expansion. Skyscanner’s Chief Operating Officer, Mark Logan has also been appointed to the board as a Director.
Margaret brings over 25 years’ experience managing a wide range of technology companies as they have expanded across international markets. For the majority of her career, she has specialised in mobile technology as it has transformed from a high-end work tool to something that truly impacts how nearly all the world’s population lives their lives.
Margaret has held a number of Directorships. Margaret is Chairman of life sciences software company QUMAS and Non-Executive Director of telecoms software company Openet. Formerly she was Chairman of NewBay Software and oversaw their sale to BlackBerry. She is also a former Director of Psion PLC and CommProve Ltd. Her executive career also included senior positions at Motorola, Psion Computers and Aircom International.
Gareth Williams, Skyscanner’s Chief Executive and Co-Founder commented: “As a business we want to make travel booking and planning as easy for customers as buying a book online. Margaret is the perfect fit for Skyscanner as we look to tackle this challenge across our global markets to ensure that travellers around the world can plan and book their travel and however and whenever they choose. I also want to thank Ray Nolan for his three years of incredibly valuable leadership and insight in his role as Chairman.”
Margaret Rice-Jones commented: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining such an ambitious global business such as Skyscanner. As the recent investment by Sequoia Capital demonstrates, the company is on a high growth trajectory and is well-positioned to expand across its international markets over the coming years.
“Mobile is going to be an increasingly key part of the consumer travel journey – over 96% of the world’s population have seen the mobile internet change the way they live their lives, while in some developing countries, smartphones are going to be the only way in which consumers access the internet. We are only at the start of the mobile travel journey just now and my goal is to ensure that Skyscanner can really help the world’s travellers get the most out of their travel however they access the service.”
Outgoing Chairman Ray Nolan added: “It has been a privilege to play a small part in the phenomenal growth of the company over the past three years and to work alongside Gareth and his impressive management team. I believe the best is yet to come and I wish Margaret well on her arrival to the board of what is undoubtedly one of the world’s most exciting companies.”
Skyscanner is one of the world’s fastest growing international travel search companies and recent investment from Sequoia Capital valued the company at $800 million (£500 million). The highly rated flight app has been downloaded over 25 million times.
About Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a leading global travel search site offering a truly comprehensive, free flight search service as well as instant online comparisons for hotels and car hire.
Founded in 2003, Skyscanner receives over 25 million unique visitors each month.
Skyscanner is optimised worldwide and is available in 30 languages.
Skyscanner’s highly-rated free mobile apps are available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Windows 8 devices and have been downloaded over 25 million times.
The privately-owned company employs over 300 staff and has its global headquarters in Edinburgh with regional hubs in Singapore, Beijing, Barcelona and Miami.
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