Following the investment by ECI Partners (“ECI”), the UK mid-market private equity firm, in CarTrawler, the Dublin-based market leading provider of online car rental distribution systems, CarTrawler has made two new appointments to the senior executive team.

David Paterson, Chief Financial Officer CarTrawler, will be based out of the company’s Dublin headquarters. A qualified Chartered Management Accountant since 1998, David previously worked as Director of Product and Director of Finance for the online sector in TUI Travel PLC where he oversaw transaction volumes of over €2 billion. Prior to this, David was the Director of Strategy & Investor Relations for TUI Travel PLC, and led the successful development of the strategic planning and investor relations framework for the group following the merger between First Choice Holidays PLC and TUI AG Tourism Division in 2007. David has also held senior finance positions in Virgin Rail Group, Deutsche Bank and British Airways.

Michael Cunningham, Chief Operating Officer CarTrawler, brings with him 25 years of experience in IT and travel related industries. He has assumed responsibility for CarTrawler operations in Europe, Middle-East, Africa and Asia and CarTrawler’s global customer service operation. Prior to joining CarTrawler, Michael headed up SITA’s global sales operation for airline solutions. He previously served as Director of E-commerce strategy for SITA’s 100 airline customers and helped several airlines worldwide implement effective online strategies. Michael began his career in IT in the healthcare industry and holds a Bachelor of Education from the National University of Ireland and a degree in Information Systems from Trinity College Dublin.

CarTrawler CEO Mike McGearty welcomed the new additions to the CarTrawler Executive Team;

“There is an increasing demand for our market leading car rental distribution platform in developed and emerging markets all over the world. By supplementing an already highly experienced executive team and by investing in key departments across the business, we can continue to deliver managed growth while maintaining the highest standards of service for our existing partners.”

About CarTrawler
CarTrawler is the international travel technology company behind one of the most widely distributed car rental distribution platforms in the world. CarTrawler has over 30 years experience in travel industry technology and employs almost 200 staff in the USA, Ireland, the UK and Spain.

CarTrawler is not just a car rental booking engine; it is an ancillary revenue driver for the entire travel industry. CarTrawler connects some of the world’s largest airlines, online travel agents and accommodation suppliers with over 550 car rental brands at 30,000 locations in 171 different countries. The booking engine operates in more than 30 languages and quotes in multiple currencies enabling global distribution. By integrating the CarTrawler booking engine into a partner website, they gain the ability to sell car rental in addition to their core product or as a stand-alone service. CarTrawler helps to increase average spend per visit to a partner’s website while preserving the partners brand identity.

CarTrawler is exclusively a B2B supplier, working with partners to deliver tailored solutions that help them to maximise the revenue that they generate from car rental. Innovative sales tools such the open source iPhone app and car rental mapping are all part of the CarTrawler partner package.

CarTrawler Partners
CarTrawler is the largest provider of car rental booking systems to the airline industry in the world. Over 200 million airline passengers have access to a comprehensive range of car rental solutions that have been integrated into the website of their airline of choice. Airline partners include Hawaiian Airlines, bmi Baby, Norwegian, Virgin Blue Australia, Malaysian Airlines, Emirates, Fly Dubai, Air India, Span Air, South African Airways, Finn Air, Iceland Air and Gulf Air. CarTrawler also work with Datalex and SITA who resell their technology to the airline industry.

CarTrawler also provide car rental sales technology to lodgings (hotels, rented accommodation, hostels), online travel agents, information websites (media, tourist authorities, airports), travel and transportation (car rental, rail and ferry websites) and retail travel agents. Clients include Skyscanner, Ice Lolly, Teletext Holidays, The Trainline.com, Via Michelin, CheapoAir, Flightnetwork, DoHop, HolidayExtras, Air Canada Vacations and Flightcentre.

CarTrawler Suppliers
CarTrawler has negotiated global supply deals with industry leading car rental brands and key local suppliers including Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, National, Thrifty, Payless, Alamo, Dollar and SIXT.

For further information please contact:

Joe Farinella
Marketing Manager CarTrawler
E: [email protected]

Thank you.