Hopper is looking for a Global Director, Airline & Distribution Partnerships to lead our worldwide strategy and relationships across both airline and air distribution partners. You will own commercial strategy, partner performance, and revenue growth, ensuring strategic alignment between airline content, technology integration, and customer value delivery.
What You'll Do
- Define, develop, and execute a unified global strategy for airline and distribution partnerships.
- Drive commercial growth, profitability, and competitive advantage across all air content channels.
- Establish and maintain executive-level relationships with airlines, GDSs, and distribution partners.
- Represent the company externally at industry events, supplier summits, and trade associations.
- Negotiate major global contracts with airlines, GDSs, aggregators, and consolidators.
- Develop and oversee structured governance models (QBRs, SLAs, scorecards) to ensure accountability and performance.
- Drive co-innovation initiatives with partners to enhance customer experience, efficiency, and revenue opportunities.
- Manage and mentor a global team of Business Development Managers overseeing regional partnerships.
- Own the P&L for global airline and distribution partnerships.
- Track KPIs, partner performance, and revenue delivery, ensuring consistent value creation.
- Collaborate with Finance to forecast, report, and optimize commercial outcomes.
- Identify and implement opportunities for cost efficiency and margin expansion.
- Partner with Product and Technology teams to integrate NDC, API, and distribution platforms seamlessly.
- Evaluate emerging distribution technologies and recommend adoption strategies.
- Ensure distribution infrastructure delivers scalable, differentiated, and reliable airline content.
- Maintain a deep understanding of global airline distribution trends, including NDC adoption, GDS evolution, and direct connect dynamics.
- Provide insights to senior leadership on competitive shifts, risks, and opportunities.
- Develop region-specific strategies aligned with market conditions and partner landscapes.
What We're Looking For
- 10+ years in airline partnerships, air distribution, or travel technology sectors (OTA, TMC, GDS, airline).
- Experience leading teams and managing global partner portfolios.
- Proven record of negotiating complex global agreements with full P&L ownership.
- Familiarity with NDC, APIs, and airline distribution technologies.
- Ability to combine commercial, technical, and market intelligence into cohesive strategies.
- Strong executive presence with the ability to influence at senior levels internally and externally.
- Entrepreneurial, collaborative, and passionate about shaping the future of airline distribution.
