Spotlight on Bill Brindle: Promoting suppliers and clients’ shared success

Today, Spotnana’s VP of Content and Travel Operations Bill Brindle fearlessly leads our efforts to drive innovation with suppliers and support seamless traveler experiences. But it was over a cup of coffee in London that Bill first discovered that he and Spotnana Founder and CEO Sarosh Waghmar had similar dreams of building longer tables in travel that encourage industry-wide collaboration instead of higher walls that stifle it.

Bill has worked in the travel industry since 1980, holding various positions in distribution technology with British Caledonian Airways and Amadeus Global Travel Distribution before joining Hogg Robinson Group (HRG). He served for many years as Chief Operating Officer of HRG, where he led innovations in their technology, distribution, product development, and client data, as well as leading the growth and ultimate sale of its Fraedom payments business to Visa. Bill then served as Chief Operating Officer of American Express Global Business Travel, where he led the company’s global operational delivery teams. He joined Spotnana after then-client Johnny Thorsen, now Spotnana VP of Business Development for Content Distribution, introduced him to Sarosh.

Aligning with visionary leaders to promote universal collaboration

Throughout his career, Bill has explored solutions for evolving airline content distribution, so when he met Sarosh he quickly realized they had many things in common.

VP of Travel Operations Bill Brindle

“Sarosh’s visions for travel are very similar to what I want to achieve in this industry,” said Bill. “I even discovered that one of his travel management companies – WTMC – was among the first to develop an NDC connection to British Airways.”

Spotnana, built on a modern technology stack, offered Bill a new opportunity to simplify corporate travel alongside leaders who are committed to helping all industry parties win.  

“Sarosh and I want to change corporate travel for the better by taking all the confusion out of it and creating avenues for the client and supplier to work together,” said Bill. “Sarosh, Johnny, and I agree that this is the best time to bring these goals to fruition given what Spotnana has already developed.”

Leading a new era of distribution driven by personalization

Today’s buyers expect personalized retailing experiences that match how travelers prefer to shop. Bill’s learnings from his early industry experience have helped him identify what needs to be done to power these experiences.

“Travel is under the next phase of change right now, and travel distribution is in a paradigm shift,” said Bill. “It reminds me of when we put together high fault-tolerant, high value-based systems to manage transactions in the mid-80’s. Now, travel must adapt to meet the expectations for digital marketplaces.”

When Bill, Sarosh, and CTO Shikhar Agarwal were developing the Spotnana platform, they brainstormed ways to deliver value to clients beyond a traditional online booking tool or travel management company. 

“Early on at Spotnana we created our own order management system, effectively moving away from the PNR,” said Bill. “Soon, the next generation of airline Passenger Service Systems (PSSs) designed around orders and offers will emerge. Clients will look at our product as one that facilitates total platform delivery inside of the travel market.”

Additionally, Spotnana’s cloud-based technology enables companies to easily integrate, embed, and white label Spotnana. Bill was thrilled to create a new supplier booking site for Qantas, an airline he has collaborated with for over 20 years.

“Travel is built on relationships,” said Bill. “Through contacts at Qantas, we told the full story of what we are building and suggested ways to help them realize their vision for business travel. After earning their trust, we put together a plan to provide a whole new platform for selling Qantas Business Rewards travel.”

Imagining a new approach to travel

Bill knows that in order to realize a transformative new era in travel, Spotnana must continue to call upon the expertise of leaders from outside of our industry. 

“Alongside folks who have been in the industry for a while, we have a lot of people in the company who bring fresh perspectives as to how corporate travel should work,” said Bill. “I can explain why things work the way they do, and then the teams suggest ideas that derive from successful precedents in other industries and challenge the status quo in travel. This approach has enabled us to drive innovation across the industry.”

Whether he is brainstorming new ways to bring supplier content to customers or restructuring agent processes in a majority self-serve environment, Bill appreciates how Spotnana’s R&D-driven approach supports the flexibility to truly redefine travel for decades to come.

“At the end of the day, we’re not just selling what we know,” said Bill. “We’re all working to solve the unknown and constantly bring new solutions to market. Our rate of evolution at Spotnana is incredible, and I’ve really enjoyed taking next-generation leaps within the industry.”