Custom Research: Analyst Bios

Ram Badrinathan
Senior Director, Research
As senior director, research, Mr. Badrinathan is currently focused on the changing travel distribution markets across Asia Pacific in conjunction with the team of analysts based in India, China and Japan. Ram will also be developing regular market updates (e.g. New Zealand, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore) in 2008 in addition to India. Ram has authored several PhoCusWright reports: Asia Pacific Online Travel Marketplace: Tapping a Complex Market, Asia Pacific Online Travel Marketplace Second Edition, Australia/New Zealand Online Travel Overview, European Online Travel Marketplace: Focus on the United Kingdom, The Emerging Online Travel Marketplace in India, India Offshoring and the Virtual Business Offering and co-authored Corporate Travel Distribution: Key Markets. Ram has participated in strategic consulting engagements for global travel management companies, GDS market leaders and transaction services companies in Europe, North America and Asia and has moderated the APAC panel at The PhoCusWright Conference for three years. Well-known publications often quote Ram (including The Wall Street Journal, Straits Times Singapore, and Time) and he is frequently invited to address audiences at travel industry conferences. Ram holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surat, India and an MBA from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Julien Beresford
Senior Research Analyst
Mr. Beresford brings over 25 years of executive marketing experience in a broad array of fields ranging from travel, tourism and hospitality to consumer packaged goods, financial services, and computer hardware and software. Julien is also president of Beresford Research, which provides research services primarily to consulting firms such as Booz Allen, Towers Perrin and Saugatuck Technology in addition to PhoCusWright. Julien also served as senior director of research at Peppers+Rogers Group, where he built and led a team of 15 who developed thought leadership studies and executed client assignments.

Joseph Buhler
Senior Destination Marketing Analyst
Mr. Buhler possesses wide-ranging, global experience in destination marketing, the airline industry, retail travel and wholesale tour operations as well as online travel. Prior to joining PhoCusWright, Joe was executive vice president, business development and strategic alliances of EuroVacations.com. He also worked for Switzerland Tourism, and was responsible for their operations in North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Canada, and Japan and southeast Asia, establishing the first presence of the DMO in that region. Joe was project manager for the development and realization of MySwitzerland.com, the country’s award winning tourism portal introduced to the market in 1999. Other positions he has held: chairman, market operations groups, European Travel Commission (both in the United States and in Japan); vice chairman, Alliance of Canadian Travel Agencies; founder and board member, Swiss-Japan Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo; and member of the board, Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce and chairman, Swiss Center.

William Carroll, Ph.D.
Senior Hotel and Lodging Analyst
Dr. Carroll consults with PhoCusWright on topics including yield and revenue management, business planning and modeling, distribution and pricing analysis. He has presented numerous papers for PhoCusWright and other organizations in the hospitality market. Bill co-authored PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Overview Seventh Edition and authored PhoCusWright's Hotel and Lodging Commerce 2002-2005: Distribution Strategies and Market Forecasts. He is a faculty member at Cornell University's Hotel School and has over 25 years of experience in the travel industry. Prior to PhoCusWright, Bill served as vice president, global marketing for Reed Elsevier's Travel Group; vice president, global market planning for Hertz; and economist for AT&T. He holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Penn State University.

Daniel Connolly, Ph.D.
Senior Hotel and Lodging Analyst
Dr. Connolly is an associate professor of information technology and electronic commerce at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business with a dual appointment in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management and the Department of Information Technology and Electronic Commerce. Dan serves as an advisor to the Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) association, an organization he helped found in 2002, and is a member of the American Hotel and Lodging Association's Technology Committee. He also sits on the HITEC Advisory Council. Dan has authored or co-authored numerous publications and routinely presents his work at industry and professional conferences and symposiums around the world.

Jesus Salgado Criado
Market Analyst, Spain
Based in Madrid, Mr. Criado is founder and general director of QueryTek, an online market research company focused on the Spanish travel industry. He was formerly senior manager for new distribution technologies with Amadeus and participated in their major online projects. Combining enterprise consultancy activity with academy lectures on tourism marketing and marketing research, Jesus is a professor for the Carlos III University in Madrid. He is an industrial engineer with an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa and IESE.

Mona Faraj
Research Analyst, Middle East
Ms. Faraj brings over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry to her post as a PhoCusWright analyst. Her career spans all divisions of sales, marketing, channel and distribution management divisions in the Middle East and Gulf. Mona started her career with Hilton International, then joined Rotana Hotels (newly established when she began in 1997 and now the leading regional hotel management company). Mona is currently holding the position of CMO for onetoone Hospitality, an upcoming hospitality company in the Middle East region that will manage and own properties as well as managing other B2B hospitality-related services. She holds a degree in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut.

Daniel Krisch
Market Analyst, Europe
Mr. Krisch has several years of experience in hospitality distribution and search engine marketing/optimization gained from different hotel chains and projects that he worked on at h2c consulting. He holds a hotel management degree and an additional MBA in Global Business Leadership from Johnson & Wales University. Daniel is project manager at h2c consulting and has worked for various research projects since 2005.

John Melchior
European Corporate Travel Analyst
A career consisting of senior-level management, sales and marketing positions in the global arena for airlines, hotel and travel management companies, and corporate buyers has distinguished Mr. Melchior as an innovative leader and expert in the travel industry. As an analyst for PhoCusWright Europe, John will be focusing on corporate travel distribution trends and the European marketplace. His successful career as a senior leader includes company and product launches as well as large budget and staff responsibility with companies including RADIUS, Birmingham European Airways and Maersk Travel and has enabled John to understand the European travel market from many perspectives while building numerous relationships in the industry both in the United Kingdom and on the Continent. John is now managing director of JME Enterprises and Consulting Ltd., a firm that works on strategic and business development for companies from all sectors of the travel industry mainly in Europe and the United States. Educated in Denmark and now based in the United Kingdom, he has taken a number of general management courses through Insead, France, and various courses including the Advanced Management Program at Wharton School of Management in the United States. John is a frequently used speaker on the European travel conference scene.

Ralph Merten
Market Analyst, Europe
Mr. Merten has authored several travel industry reports for PhoCusWright's Research Subscription: European Edition, including Spotlights on European online travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and car rentals. Ralph is vice president, business development at h2c consulting. He coordinates all aspects of PhoCusWright’s European research including The European Online Travel Overview and has numerous years of experience in strategic marketing functions. He holds a degree in Aircraft and Aerospace Technology from the Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

Peter O'Connor, Ph.D.
Market Analyst, U.K. and France
Dr. O'Connor is professor of information systems at Essec Business School France where he also serves as academic director of Institute de Management Hotelier International (IMHI), Europe’s leading MBA program in international hospitality management. Peter's research, teaching and consulting interests focus on distribution, e-commerce and electronic marketing in hospitality and tourism. He has authored two leading textbooks: "Using Computers in Hospitality" (Cassell, United Kingdom - now in its third edition) and "Electronic Information Distribution in Hospitality and Tourism Industries" (CABI, United Kingdom) as well as countless articles in both the academic and trade press. Peter was one of the authors of the PhoCusWright report European Hotels: Managing Hospitality Distribution. He currently serves as a market analyst for PhoCusWright covering the United Kingdom and France.

Bob Offutt
Senior Technology and Airline Analyst
Mr. Offutt brings over 20 years of experience in information technology, IT management and travel industry dynamics to PhoCusWright. He was most recently the chief architect and senior vice president for Sabre Holdings where he defined the strategy and plan to migrate from a monolithic Mainframe environment to Distributed Open Systems and a Service Oriented Architecture. Prior to being Sabre's chief architect, Bob founded and led Sabre Labs, a technology incubator that made Sabre the industry leader in new online products and services. Before Sabre, he spent 26 years in the United States Coast Guard, where he led the agency's information technology unit. Bob has also served on the faculty of the University of Puget Sound, George Washington University and the University of Southern California. His education includes a BS in Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Masters Degree in Management Science from the U. S. Navy Postgraduate School.

Michaela Papenhoff
Senior Market Analyst
Ms. Papenhoff's expertise in electronic booking systems and performance optimization for multi-channel distribution networks has gained her considerable recognition among European-based hotel chains. Michaela has significant experience in numerous hospitality functions over a 20 year career with a focus over the last decade on electronic marketing, e-distribution solutions, revenue management, implementation effectiveness and strategy development. Michaela started her professional career in 1985 at Accor Hotels in Bonn, Germany. Subsequently, she expanded her knowledge with several years of experience at Ramada Renaissance and Hilton International. She joined TOP International Hotels in Duesseldorf, a voluntary European hotel chain with 220 member hotels, in 1991 as a sales manager. In 1992 she was appointed director GDS and reservations which subsequently led to the position of director, electronic marketing. Founding h2c consulting in January 2001 represented a culmination of hotel and hospitality experience during a critical time of change in the marketplace.

Douglas Quinby
Senior Director, Research
Mr. Quinby is a travel industry veteran who enhances PhoCusWright's research team with his keen insights, diligent analysis and industry relationships. As senior director, research, he is a key contributor to The Global Edition, Special Reports, and more. Douglas has been contributing to PhoCusWright research as leisure travel analyst for many years, including PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Overview Seventh Edition, PhoCusWright's Canadian Online Travel Overview and PhoCusWright's Travel Agency Distribution Landscape. In addition to providing research and analysis, media relations and marketing services to leading travel technology companies, Douglas has served as director of marketing and communications for Atinera and as packaged travel and technology editor for Leisure Travel News. His articles have appeared in Travel Weekly, ASTA Agency Management, and Travel Counselor magazines. Douglas also conceived and oversaw Travel Technology News, a supplement to Leisure Travel News devoted to technology and the Internet in the leisure travel industry.

Norman L. Rose
Senior Corporate and Technology Analyst
Mr. Rose is a 25-year travel industry veteran with an extensive background in both the corporate and leisure travel markets. As an analyst and consultant for the past 13 years, Norm's focus has been on emerging technologies and how they impact business practices in the travel industry. From 1982-1988, he held sales and marketing management positions at United Airlines and from 1989 to 1995, Norm was corporate travel manager for Sun Microsystems. At Sun, he worked with a number of third-party developers creating client/server software for the business travel market. This included early prototypes of self-booking tools and expense management systems. In September 1995, Norm founded Travel Tech Consulting, a firm that specializes in developing e-commerce and procurement strategies for travel and technology companies. Norm has been an analyst with PhoCusWright since 1999 and is the author of numerous publications and articles including Corporate Travel Technologies: Today and Tomorrow (September 2007) and Selling Complex Leisure Travel Online: Focus on Dynamic Packaging Technology (December 2004).

Carroll Rheem
Director, Research
Ms. Rheem contributes in-depth market reports, survey findings, and analysis for The PhoCusWright Subscription: Global Edition, Special Reports and custom client needs in her role as director, research. Prior to joining the team, Carroll spent six years working for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide in various positions encompassing hotel operations, sales and online distribution. She holds a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University and a BA in Economics from New York University.

Cathy Schetzina
Technology Analyst
Ms. Schetzina oversees The PhoCusWright Research Subscription: Technology Edition and has contributed to a range of PhoCusWright research efforts as editor, author and analyst, including The PhoCusWright Travel 2.0 Consumer Technology Survey and PhoCusWright’s U.S. Online Travel Overview Seventh Edition. Her areas of interest include consumer behavior, distribution strategy and industry trends, with a particular focus on emerging technologies. Cathy gained travel technology expertise as editor of the trade newsletter Travel Distribution Report, where she produced news and analysis on travel distribution and technology. She is a cum laude graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her MA in English from North Carolina State University, where her research focused on technology and culture.

Lorraine Sileo
Vice President, Research
Ms. Sileo joined PhoCusWright in 1998 to launch its research and information services practice. After several years of in-depth field work, industry relationship building and critical analysis, Lorraine now ensures that PhoCusWright is referenced, cited and quoted for its exclusive data and unique perspectives on the Internet travel industry. She is quoted frequently in consumer and trade media, and has authored numerous publications (including PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Overview Seventh Edition). Lorraine has testified at hearings held by the National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry, charged by Congress to examine the impact of online distribution on the travel industry. Lorraine is an adjunct professor at New York University's Graduate Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management and has been analyzing the business and consumer electronics marketplace for over 15 years. Prior to PhoCusWright, she was senior analyst and director of consulting services at Simba Information where she developed new media strategies for publishers and service providers.

Susan Steinbrink
Senior Research and Corporate Market Analyst
Ms. Steinbrink specializes in consumer research development and corporate travel. Susan has authored and co-authored numerous publications for PhoCusWright, including numerous editions of PhoCusWright’s Consumer Travel Trends Survey, Corporate Travel Update: Key Markets, PhoCusWright's Online Corporate Travel 2001-2003: Market Share, Strategy, Forecasts and Commentary as well as holding responsibility for the corporate research for Groups and Meetings: Market Opportunity Redefined. She is also president of Market Architext, which helps its clients develop retail, travel and Internet strategies. Susan has 15 years of travel industry experience rooted in primary research, marketplace intelligence and customer feedback. Prior to founding Market Architext in 1998, she was director of worldwide marketing, research and strategic planning for Rosenbluth International. Susan holds a BS in Marketing from the University of Delaware.

Tommy Tian Shu Bo
China Analyst
Mr. Tian has fifteen years of experience in marketing research and consulting in China. His expertise includes market assessment, market sizing, market opportunity identification; distribution analysis; pricing; competitive intelligence. Prior to becoming a market research analyst, Tommy was manager, research department, GCiS (Beijing); GM assistant, Swahaw Trade Co.; and general manager, Swahaw Resources Co. He has a Bachelor of Technology Diploma in Industrial Management Engineering, South China University of Technology (1992) and is fluent in Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Shantou Dialect) and English.