FCM Travel has appointed Mark McSpadden as chief product officer as the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) corporate arm 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. He will also oversee product development and lead the partnerships and integrations that connect with FCM’s technology.
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 work alongside global managing director Melissa Elf and global head of product Jessica Dunderdale, who will continue to lead the work connecting product strategy with customer needs. He will also join the FCTG technology management team and report to John Morhous, chief experience officer across FCTG’s corporate brands.
“Our customers want technology that makes travel simpler for people and easier to manage for their travel teams,” Elf said. “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.”
Morhous said corporate travel technology was “more crowded than it has ever been”, and customers needed a partner who could “cut through that and build what actually works”.
Based in Dallas, Texas, McSpadden joins with more than 15 years’ leadership in travel at the intersection of product, technology and innovation. He was most recently head of innovation at USAA Labs, a financial services company.
Before that, he was vice president of global product and UX at Amex GBT, guiding a portfolio of more than 20 products across the traveller and travel manager experience. He also held several roles at Sabre, including vice president of digital experience for Sabre Hospitality and vice president of emerging products and 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.
“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,” McSpadden said. “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.”
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