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Amadeus appoints Edwards to lead hotel division

Amadeus appoints Edwards to lead hotel division

Amadeus has announced the key strategic appointment of hotel industry veteran Jeff Edwards to head up its growing hotel business.

Edwards, formerly chief information officer and executive vice president distribution of Wyndham Worldwide, joins Amadeus with a clear brief to quickly expand its burgeoning hotel division; which incorporates both distribution and IT services.

Prior to Wyndham Worldwide, Edwards spent more than five years at Micros Systems where he held a variety of senior roles including president and chief executive officer – Micros Fidelio, as well as executive vice president-micros distribution for North America.

Both before and after his time at Micros Systems, Edwards was an entrepreneur who ran his own hotel and hospitality consulting business, creating numerous new enterprises whilst at the same time winning business from a wide range of leading hotel chains across the globe.

Francisco Pérez-Lozao, Amadeus’ senior vice president of new businesses said of Edwards’ appointment: “Jeff is quite simply a fantastic appointment for Amadeus and frankly speaking, his record speaks entirely for itself.

“However, what most attracted us to Jeff is his unique experience on both sides of the commercial fence. As well as holding a senior position in a major global hotel chain and leading one of the most important IT providers in the hotel industry, he has also spent time running his own consulting business, which shows his ability means he is able to understand and breach the divide between supplier and customer with ease.

“Moreover he brings to Amadeus an exceptional network, a deep understanding of the hospitality industry, and a strong track record of building and developing a new business.

“We are very excited for Jeff to get started”.

Edwards officially joined Amadeus on February 1st 2012 and will be based in Madrid, Spain.

With the addition of Jeff to the newly created New Business division in Amadeus, the company has completed the incorporation of three industry heavyweights – Thomas Drexler for Rail, John Jarrell for Airport IT and Jeff Edwards for Hotels - bringing unrivalled experience in the travel industry that will contribute to the company’s effort in diversifying the business.