FCM Travel appoints Mark McSpadden as Chief Product Officer to lead product and AI strategy
Mark McSpadden, a seasoned travel industry leader with over 15 years' experience, has been appointed as Chief Product Officer at FCM Travel to oversee the company's product and AI strategy, including the development and integration of its core capabilities.
FCM Travel, the flagship corporate travel arm of Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), has appointed Mark McSpadden as Chief Product Officer (CPO) as it steps up its investment in product, innovation and proprietary technology. McSpadden will own FCM's end-to-end product and AI strategy, including the development and future integration of its core capabilities.
The appointment is part of FCM's wider expansion of its proprietary technology and investment in experienced leaders to better serve multinational customers. McSpadden will oversee product development and lead the partnerships and integrations that connect with FCM's technology.
McSpadden will work alongside Melissa Elf, FCM's Global Managing Director, as part of the FCM leadership team, together with Jessica Dunderdale, FCM's Global Head of Product, who will continue to lead the work connecting product strategy with customer needs and ensuring the technology creates value. He will also join the FCTG technology management team and report to John Morhous, Chief Experience Officer across FCTG's corporate brands.
Melissa Elf said: "Our customers want technology that makes travel simpler for people and easier to manage for their travel teams.
“Mark brings deep product expertise from across travel and broader technology sectors, and he will help us move faster on the capabilities we build ourselves.
“Our technology and our people work as one, and Mark's focus on the experience of the travellers and travel managers using it will make that connection even stronger."
Morhous added: "Corporate travel technology is more crowded than it has ever been, and our customers need a partner who can cut through that and build what actually works.
“Mark has led product at global scale across travel and beyond, and he brings the experience to connect everything we offer and take it further. Working with the wider team, he gives FCM the product leadership to keep raising the bar for our customers."
McSpadden, based in Dallas, Texas, joins with more than 15 years' leadership in travel at the intersection of product, technology and innovation. He was Vice President of Global Product & UX at Amex GBT, guiding a portfolio of more than 20 products across the traveller and travel manager experience. Before that, he held several roles at Sabre including Vice President of Digital Experience for Sabre Hospitality and Vice President of Emerging Products & Technology, where he led Sabre Labs' exploration of the future of travel and technology. His background also spans e-commerce and technology roles in retail and financial services. Most recently, he was Head of Innovation at USAA Labs, a financial services company.
He said: "FCM has a unique opportunity to bring its proprietary technology, human expertise, and the latest developments in AI together into one connected experience for customers.
"I'm particularly excited to work on an elevated use of data to help travel managers and travellers get more value from the tools already available to them. I'm looking forward to leading the future vision of FCM's technology strategy and shaping it with our customers."