HRS RAMPS UP IN NORTH AMERICA; NAMES WILL PINNELL TO SVP LEADERSHIP POSITION

HRS Ramping up North American Management Team; Appoints Travel Tech Executive Will Pinnell to Senior Vice President

Corporate Travel Procurement Expert Pauline Robin also Named VP for Procurement Consulting & Supplier Relations; Company Expanding NYC Office

Cologne, Germany & New York, NY – 9 August 2023 – HRS, the leading global corporate lodging and payment technology platform, today announced the hiring of two expert corporate travel executives to prominent roles as the company grows its business and adds resources in the Americas.

Will Pinnell, a respected executive with 13 years of experience developing and implementing an array of technology applications for Sabre and BCD Travel, joins HRS as the company’s new Senior Vice President for the Americas. Pauline Robin, an established procurement leader who spent six years in key roles overseeing global hotel supplier relations and procurement for CWT’s RoomIt consulting division, also joins HRS as Vice President, Procurement Consulting & Supplier Relations for the Americas.

HRS is also expanding its New York City regional headquarters, accommodating a growing staff of procurement consulting and customer-facing experts that help corporations enhance and transform their lodging program.

Two Leaders to Expedite Use of HRS’ Groundbreaking Lodging as a Service Platform in the Americas  

HRS’ industry-leading Lodging as a Service platform is redefining the impact of automation for global corporate hotel programs via its end-to-end solution. Powered by AI-driven predictive automation, HRS’ proprietary travel and financial technology gives travel leaders a broader scale of insight and ability to project anticipated scenarios for their travel programs. The appointment of these two innovative, proven executives will strengthen HRS’ senior leadership team as more organizations based in the Americas deploy HRS’ pioneering solution.  

“Will Pinnell brings a unique combination to the complex arena of managed travel – a balanced mix of entrepreneurial mindset with the product and commercial experience to grasp the speed and scope by which global companies implement and deploy new technologies,” said HRS CEO Tobias Ragge. “Pauline Robin is a global corporate lodging procurement expert, having worked in multiple international locations as well as many years in the USA. Her successful consulting career prior to this only enhances her understanding of the broader issues many travel procurement leaders face today.”

“They are joining at precisely the right time, as more travel programs in the Americas are moving on from legacy processes,” said Ragge. “As 2024 draws near, trailblazing companies are accessing and leveraging deeper data insights, seizing the expansive potential of our predictive AI-driven automation, and gaining from the efficiencies of synchronized procurement, booking, payment and data intelligence.”

With his past volunteer positions, which included serving on GBTA’s board of directors and on the GBTA Ladders leadership team, Mr. Pinnell is widely known in the global managed travel industry for his insights and contributions to many ideas and strategies GBTA adopted in service of its members. His entrepreneurial track record, which includes key roles in the development of Sabre’s leading-edge mobile applications and – most recently– global responsibility for BCD Travel’s customer-facing applications and booking technologies, aligns with the technology mindset HRS features in its global management team.

Mr. Pinnell worked in several leadership roles over the past decade with BCD Travel, including VP of Global Sales and Engineering and VP of Digital and Global Strategy. During his nearly five years at Sabre, Mr. Pinnell led the company’s mobile solution development as Director of Mobile Strategy and Traveler Solutions. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Marketing and Management from TCU, and has earned certificates in AI, robotics, machine learning and leadership from prominent institutions including Cornell’s SC Johnson School of Business and MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Pauline Robin comes to HRS after spending six years overseeing global supplier management and procurement teams for CWT’s RoomIt consulting unit. Before starting her career in business travel, she worked at PWC for nearly three years, focusing on global management consulting. Ms. Robin holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. 

About HRS 

HRS is reinventing how businesses and governments work, stay and pay in today’s evolving global marketplace. Our unique Lodging-as-a-Service platform brings together hotel procurement, booking, payment and reconciliation data to drive newfound transparency and savings for program management while making everyday business travel better for employees. HRS’ innovative platform approach to corporate lodging elevates hotel automation to new heights, while the company’s award-winning Green Stay Initiative technology helps companies achieve their climate targets. Find out more about why one-third of the Fortune 500 work with us today at www.hrs.com/enterprise and follow HRS on LinkedIn.