Travelport has announced the appointment of Derek Sharp as president and managing director for the Americas region, with immediate effect.

In this senior leadership role, Sharp will take responsibility for enhancing Travelport’s business relationships with travel agency and supplier customers and technology partners.

He will also hold overall accountability for the performance of the region.

In addition, Sharp will continue to maintain responsibility for Travelport’s Airline IT Solutions Business, a role he has held since late 2010.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, he will report to Kurt Ekert, chief commercial officer for Travelport.

Before joining Travelport, a leading provider of critical transaction processing for the global travel industry, Sharp was with Electronic Data Systems / HP Enterprise Services for most of the past ten years, serving in numerous executive roles in sales, major account management, business development and operations, most recently as senior director, Applications.

While at HP/EDS, Sharp successfully led significant elements of the company’s airline portfolio, large teams engaged in strategic sales initiatives and sales and business development teams across Asia.

Commenting on the appointment, Ekert said: “Derek has a strong international background, broad executive experience, and deep expertise leveraging technology to drive value to partners. 

“Since joining Travelport, Derek has had a considerable impact on the airline side of the business, and I look forward to the many contributions he will make in this new role.”

Sharp has an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College and a BA in Political Science from Texas A&M University.