Patrick Kennedy
Chair
Our Board
The CarTrawler Board comprises leading figures from across the travel and technology industry.
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Patrick Kennedy, Chair
Patrick Kennedy is Chairman of Bank of Ireland Group plc. He joined the board in 2010, and was previously Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Risk Committee. Patrick was Chief Executive of Paddy Power plc from 2006 to 2014. Prior to joining Paddy Power, Patrick worked at Greencore Group plc for seven years where he was Chief Financial Officer and also held a number of senior strategic and corporate development roles. He previously worked with McKinsey & Company and KPMG Corporate Finance. He was a non-executive Director of Elan Corporation plc from 2008 to 2013, and Paddy Power from 2004 to 2005.
Willie Walsh, Deputy Chair
Willie Walsh is the Director-General for the International Air Transport Association (IATA). His career spans over 40 years in the aviation industry, having held Chief Executive roles at IAG, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Futura. Willie was President of the London Chamber of Commerce from 2010 to 2013 and has represented the airline industry as Chairman of the Board of Governors of IATA, Chairman of Airlines for Europe (A4E) and President of the Association of European Airlines (AEA). He completed a Master of Science degree in Management and Business Administration at Dublin’s Trinity College in 1992.
Cormac Barry, Non Executive Director
Cormac Barry joined CarTrawler as Chief Executive Officer in April 2018 and also serves on the CarTrawler Board as Non-Executive Director. Prior to this, he held the position of CEO for 7 years at Sportsbet, the Australian division of Paddy Power Betfair. A veteran of the online gambling industry for 15-plus years, Cormac was part of the team that set up paddypower.com and made it one of the most successful online betting operations in the UK and Ireland. Cormac is a people focused leader who believes that if you create the right working environment and a culture that enables people to grow and develop, success will follow. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Cormac holds a BA in Economics and Politics.
David Cotter, Non Executive Director
David Cotter has been CarTrawler’s Chief Financial Officer since January 2018 and also serves on the CarTrawler board as Non-Executive Director. He joined the company in January 2017 and was previously responsible for Car rental, Mobility and Insurance Supply along with strategic projects for the company. Prior to joining CarTrawler, David worked for Paddy Power Betfair where he was Director of Corporate Development with responsibility for executing the global expansion strategy of the business along with all M&A activity. David has also worked at LivingBridge, a UK private equity fund, investing in SMEs across technology, consumer and business services sectors and spent a number of years investing in the hospitality sector in Latin America. David originally qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG, Dublin. David is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and is a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Fabrizio Ruggiero, Non Executive Director
Fabrizio Ruggiero joined the Edenred Group in September 2021 as CEO of Edenred Italy. Edenred is a leading digital platform for services and payments for people at work, and has over 50 million users and 850,000 corporate clients worldwide. Prior to joining Edenred Group, Fabrizio held the position of Deputy CEO of the Europcar Group from March 2015 to August 2021. Prior to his appointment as Deputy CEO, he held various roles within the Group including: Managing Director of Italy, Group Head of Mobility Solutions and Deputy CEO Sales, Marketing, Customers and Low Cost. Prior to these roles, Fabrizio worked for Leasys, Bain & Company Italy, and Accenture.
Conor Kehoe, Non Executive Director
Conor is a Senior Adviser and former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. He chairs the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) – a coalition of 70 organisations dedicated to improving ‘ESG’ reporting. He founded and co-leads McKinsey’s Board Intelligence Forum - bringing the latest management thinking to the boards of large companies. He founded McKinsey’s Private Equity/Investor Industry Practice and was also involved in board and owner governance and in Corporate Strategy. He was a founding member of the Executive Committee of McKinsey Solutions, a Venture Capital activity that invests in software tools for management decision support, and, originally a software engineer, has led McKinsey’s Tech and Telecom Practice in Europe. He was a member of McKinsey’s Global Risk Committee and is also adjunct lecturer at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Recently, he has refreshed his old software engineering skills– completing Stanford’s Machine Learning Course in May 2018. He joined McKinsey from the then FTSE100 Granada Group where he was a member of the Board Executive Committee and a Divisional Chairman.
David Barger, Non Executive Director
David Barger is an Operating Partner at Connor Capital located in Santa Barbara, CA. He is also Co-Chair Industry Specialists at Oaktree Transportation & Infrastructure Fund located in Los Angeles, CA, a $1.25B newly closed fund. In his airline career, he was part of the founding team of JetBlue Airways Corporation in 1998 as President & Chief Operating Officer and served as its Chief Executive Officer from May 2007 to February 2015 and was a member of JetBlue’s Board of Directors. From 1992 to 1998, he served in various management positions with Continental Airlines, including Vice President of the Newark hub. Dave held various Director level positions at Continental Airlines from 1988 to 1992 and was with New York Air from 1981 – 1988. Dave was awarded the 2016 L. Welch Pogue Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Aviation Club and was involved with many aviation organizations over his aviation career.
Gordon Holmes, Non Executive Director
Mr Holmes is a Managing Director of TowerBrook, where he also serves as Chief Investment Officer. His career has been spent in the private equity industry, where he was worked at firms in both London and New York prior to joining TowerBrook’s London office in 2010. At TowerBrook, Mr. Holmes has been responsible for investments in the media, financial services, healthcare, aerospace and industrial sectors. He earned his B.C.L. from University College Dublin in 1990 and received his M.B.A. from Stanford Business School in 1995. Mr. Holmes is a member of the Board of Trustees of Habitat for Humanity GB.
Sumit Dheir, Non Executive Director
Sumit Dheir is a Senior Principal at TowerBrook. Prior to joining TowerBrook, Sumit was a Principal in the London office of private equity firm Silverfleet Capital. Prior to joining Silverfleet in 2014, he spent four years in M&A at Greenhill & Co. Sumit holds a BSc. Economics from the University of Warwick.
Laura Merling, Non Executive Director
Laura Merling is Chief Transformation and Operations Officer at Arvest Bank. Laura is a business-outcomes focused executive known for delivering billion-dollar growth opportunities. She was a Chief Digital Officer at 3 Fortune 100 companies and has experience growing and leading a P&L. Her operational experience, along with her technology background, provide the foundation for her pragmatic approach in delivering on growth initiatives. She has over 20 years of global leadership experience defining products, services, and business models. She is adept at identifying and forecasting unique market opportunities; helping companies to leverage key strengths while shaping unknown markets. Prior to her role at Arvest Bank, Laura was Digital Transformation Officer at Google Cloud where she oversaw the Customer Experience for Automotive Strategic Accounts
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Willie Walsh
Deputy Chair
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Cormac Barry
Non Executive Director
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David Cotter
Non Executive Director
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Fabrizio Ruggiero
Non Executive Director
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Conor Kehoe
Non Executive Director
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David Barger
Non Executive Director
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Gordon Holmes
Non Executive Director
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Sumit Dheir
Non Executive Director
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Laura Merling
Non Executive Director
