WTTC announces Greg O’Hara as its incoming Chair

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announces Greg O’Hara, founder and senior managing Director of Certares Management LLC (“Certares”), as its incoming new Chair.  

O’Hara, who will take over the position later this month, has been a member of WTTC’s Executive Committee since 2019, and Vice Chair since 2021.  

He will follow current Chairman, Arnold Donald, former President & CEO of Carnival Corporation, who has been in the position since the spring of 2021.  

Prior to forming Certares, one of the largest investment platforms dedicated to Travel & Tourism, O’Hara served as Chief Investment Officer of JPMorgan Chase's Special Investments Group. 

He is the Chairman of American Express Global Business Travel and serves on the Board of Directors of TripAdvisor.

O’Hara has previously served on the Boards of Directors of Worldspan, Hertz Global Holdings, Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Singer Vehicle Design, and the Innocence Project. 

Addressing delegates at the global tourism body’s 23^rd Global Summit in Kigali, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, thanked Arnold for his contribution to WTTC, along with his dedication and leadership during his tenure. 

Simpson shared:

“We now embark on a new chapter, and I am delighted to welcome Greg as our new Chairman. Greg will bring a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the Travel and tourism sector, and I believe that under his stewardship, WTTC will reach new heights in a sector that is growing faster than the global economy.”  

Donald shared: “It has been an honour to serve my fellow WTTC Members as Chair. Our Members’ collective efforts, facilitated through private and public partnerships, have proven critical to the recovery of our sector from the economic and human effects of COVID. We are now on a path of responsible and sustainable exceptional growth for Travel & Tourism worldwide." 

Donald pointed out that the progress achieved across all fronts would not have been possible without the strong foundation he inherited, Simpson's leadership, and the hard work of the WTTC staff. 

“As my term comes to an end, I am delighted to be passing the torch to Greg, a strong contributing WTTC Member and a distinguished global leader in the Travel & Tourism sector, " Donald concluded.

O’Hara said: “It is a great privilege to pick up the reins from Arnold Donald – a giant of our sector. I look forward to supporting our Members, WTTC and Julia, as the sector continues to go from strength to strength.”  

Under this new leadership, WTTC and its Members shared that it looks forward to steering the global Travel & Tourism sector towards a brighter and more sustainable future. 

Don't miss a single travel story: subscribe to PAX today!  Click here to follow PAX on Facebook.