SiteMinder Appoints New Chiefs of Data, Tech to Unlock the Power of AI, Machine Learning for Hotels

SiteMinder, an ASX 200 company and the world’s leading hotel distribution and revenue platform, has made two new appointments within its executive leadership team to capitalize on the opportunities opened up by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for the global hotel industry.

One of the appointments involves SiteMinder’s co-founder, Mike Rogers, whose role will evolve from Chief Technology Officer to Chief Data Officer to lead the company’s global data strategy and further its data science capabilities. A disrupter and two-time CIO50, Mike is a technology veteran, having pushed the boundaries of cloud computing since its earliest days and driven innovation to significantly advance the technological capabilities of the then-non-digitalized hotel industry. It is under his technical leadership that SiteMinder pioneered a Software-as-a-Service-based distribution platform for hotels in 2006. SiteMinder’s platform has since evolved to become the most widely-adopted hotel distribution and revenue platform, used by more than 47,000 hotels in more than 150 countries to process more than 125 million online reservations each year. In his new role, Mike will use SiteMinder’s rich data set to drive new innovations.

Another two-time CIO50, Tomas Varsavsky, will join SiteMinder as Chief Technology Officer. Tom has more than 25 years’ experience in technology, including 10 years at REA Group, a property marketing company on the ASX 100. As their Chief Technology and Data Officer, Tom was responsible for providing the technology and data platforms underpinning REA’s products, services and operations. Other businesses he has worked or consulted for include Catch, ThoughtWorks, LonelyPlanet, Insignia, ANZ, National Australia Bank, Cbus Super, and Sensis & Ericsson. As CTO at SiteMinder, Tom will lead and build SiteMinder’s high-performance engineering team, ensuring it has the scale, leadership and skills to continue delivering SiteMinder’s transformative products.

The two appointments come at a pivotal time for SiteMinder, as the company transforms its technology stack into a ‘Smart Platform’, designed to introduce intelligence and automation capabilities to the highly-fragmented hotel industry. In 2023, SiteMinder also embarked on a new mission, to  make sophisticated revenue management accessible to every hotel in the world, as the industry grappled with the increasing complexities of the travel sector.

“Mike and Tom’s appointments are a direct response to the convergence we are seeing in technology and data. Ultimately, we know that, today, the most powerful technology in the world, including AI and machine learning, is built off vast amounts of data – which have underpinned SiteMinder’s success to date,” says Sankar Narayan, CEO and Managing Director at SiteMinder. “Mike and Tom will bring our data engineering and tech teams more closely together, to unlock the potential of using one of our most unique and significant assets – our data, the breadth and depth of which is unmatched in our industry. Importantly, they will open new opportunities for innovation and efficiency for hoteliers who lack the time and expertise to drive these capabilities, themselves.”

Media enquiries

Maria Cricchiola
+61 2 9056 7415
media@siteminder.com

Investor information

Paul Wong
+61 411 889 876
investor.relations@siteminder.com

About SiteMinder

SiteMinder Limited (ASX:SDR) is the name behind SiteMinder, the world’s leading hotel distribution and revenue platform, and Little Hotelier, an all-in-one hotel management software that makes the lives of small accommodation providers easier. The global company is headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangalore, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London, Manila and Mexico City. Through its technology and the largest partner ecosystem in the global hotel industry, SiteMinder generates more than 125 million reservations worth over US$50 billion in revenue for its hotel customers each year. For more information, visit siteminder.com.