RateGain has a new CEO in the form of serial merger and acquisition specialist Harmeet Singh, ending a 15-year reign at the top for founder Bhanu Chopra.
The arrival of Singh is being heralded as a significant appointment for the travel technology provider as it seeks to grow its presence in the U.S. and continue on its recent acquisition run.
Chopra is stepping aside to a chairman role and will assist Singh with strategy, product development and overall vision for the company.
Singh joins from J2 Global, where most recently he was president of its cloud services division. He was also an executive partner at MDP Telecom, Media and Technology Group.
He boasts an investment record of over 100 deals over the course of his career, which has also included positions art SingerLewak and Madison Dearborn Partners.
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RateGain says the transition to Singh will see a greater emphasis put on its recent expansion in the U.S., with the new CEO being based in Dallas, Texas.
In an interview with PhocusWire, Chopra says the time is right for him to step aside as the company embarks on the next stage of its journey.
Part of the strategy under Singh will be to secure "multiple acquisitions every year" as RateGain attempts to create as unified platform covering marketing, revenue management and distribution.
The company started with a sole focus on hotels but has gradually expanded its revenue management and business intelligence tools to cover airlines, online travel agencies, car rental and cruise.
Chopra says the areas in which it hopes to bring additional expertise in through such acquisitions are in "adjacent areas" to where it has concentrated on over the years and its more recent moves into distribution.
Two significant deals have already taken place in recent years: the company bought guest engagement platform BCV in June 2019 and distribution switch DHISCO in 2018, both for undisclosed fees.
The company has secured just one funding round in its history - an undisclosed but believed to be $48 million deal from TA Associates in 2015.
Singh says: "The travel and hospitality industry in the last ten years has undergone massive transformation creating new business models that have generated billions of dollars in revenue, helping with employment and powering economic growth across the world.
"As per a recent McKinsey study, hospitality ranks 19 out of 22 in the least digitized industries, and we at RateGain have a fantastic opportunity to be the digital transformation partners for forward looking enterprises helping create frictionless guest experiences."