HOWZAT media

Hugo Burge
Hugo, joined Cheapflights in March 2000 as an investor in the management led buy-in. In May 2003 Hugo set up the Cheapflights Boston office and launched the USA website www.cheapflights.com. Whilst Hugo spends some of his time in the US he is Vice-Chairman of the Cheapflights Group and Head of International which is preparing for further international expansion.

Hugo was an entrepreneur with a background in property investment and consultancy. Graduating from Cambridge University with a Degree in Geography, Hugo has also qualified as a Company Secretary with ICSA. He is a member of the Royal Geographical Society and, predictably, has a passion for adventure and travel.

Hugo has provided travel industry commentary and insight to various media outlets (print, radio and broadcast) including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Frommers.com, Liberty Radio Broadcasting, Wall Street Journal, New York City morning radio show, Fox 5 News: Good Day New York, Bloomberg Radio, as well as keynote speaker at EyeforTravel events.

David Soskin
David Soskin joined Cheapflights as Chief Executive Officer upon the management buy-in in March 2000 from ABN AMRO Corporate Finance, where he was head of global media. He served as Chief Executive Officer until 2008 when he became a non-executive director. Under his leadership, Cheapflights grew from an attic-based operation into an international leader in online travel search reaching 8.4 million users in January 2008. During this period, Cheapflights won many industry awards and was included in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track of the UK's 100 fastest growing privately-owned technology companies for five years in a row. David was a Finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2006.

His previous entrepreneurial experience was gained at the Asquith Court Schools Group which he founded in 1989 and on whose board he sat until 2001, when the Company was successfully sold to West Private Equity. Asquith is today the UK's leading provider of premium childcare and education for the under-5s (www.asquithnurseries.com). In 1995, David's entrepreneurial achievements were honoured by the European Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research when he was named as one of Europe's 500 most dynamic entrepreneurs.

David also has worked in senior capacities both in industry (Redland Plc where he was Group Director of Corporate Planning) and government (Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Number 10 Policy Unit).

David graduated from the University of Oxford (First Class Honours in Modern History), where he was President of the Oxford Union, and from the Harvard Business School (MBA) where he was a Harkness Fellow. He appears regularly on TV and radio (Bloomberg, CNBC, Sky, BBC) talking about travel and the internet and is frequently invited as a speaker at travel and e-commerce conferences worldwide.

Jo Allen
Jo has specialised in the hospitality and travel industries for the last 9 years and in the M&A arena for 12 years. Prior to setting up Stellant Partners, an advisory firm providing M&A and strategic advice to companies in the internet and travel sectors, Jo was retained by WorldRes as an adviser to sell PlacesToStay.com (the B2C hotel platform) and then to sell the whole company, WorldRes.

Jo was previously employed by InterContinental Hotels Group plc, where she was a key member of the Global Mergers and Acquisitions team. Jo gained significant corporate finance experience whilst at Schroders (now Citigroup) in European M&A and at Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in Corporate Finance Deal Advisory. Jo is a Chartered Accountant and has a BSc in Economics and Accounting from Bristol University.

Sascha Hausmann
Sascha is a specialist in online distribution systems in Europe and the US. Prior to establishing StellantPartners, Sascha was CEO of WorldRes, having been appointed by the Board to take the company through the final six months of a complicated and difficult sales process. Previously, he ran the finance, support and HR functions at WorldRes and was instrumental in establishing European offices in key European countries.

Prior to WorldRes, Sascha was an auditor to mid-sized companies with European and international operations. Here he was mainly challenged with audits as well as consulting on corporate tax, company structure, reporting and the implementation of finance systems.

Sascha is a well-recognised figure in the European and US online travel industries, speaking at many high profile events and being a trusted advisor to various companies in the online marketplace.

The Cheapflights Team
More than 60 talented individuals work for Cheapflights based in London, UK and Boston, MA, USA. HOWZAT Media has the potential to access the expertise of the best in their field in PR, search engine marketing, sales, high volume newsletters, financial wizardry and more.

	Home Why HOWZAT About Us The Team Projects Contact us Blog THE TEAM Hugo Burge Hugo, joined Cheapflights in March 2000 as an investor in the management led buy-in. In May 2003 Hugo set up the Cheapflights Boston office and launched the USA website www.cheapflights.com. Whilst Hugo spends some of his time in the US he is Vice-Chairman of the Cheapflights Group and Head of International which is preparing for further international expansion. Hugo was an entrepreneur with a background in property investment and consultancy. Graduating from Cambridge University with a Degree in Geography, Hugo has also qualified as a Company Secretary with ICSA. He is a member of the Royal Geographical Society and, predictably, has a passion for adventure and travel. Hugo has provided travel industry commentary and insight to various media outlets (print, radio and broadcast) including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Frommers.com, Liberty Radio Broadcasting, Wall Street Journal, New York City morning radio show, Fox 5 News: Good Day New York, Bloomberg Radio, as well as keynote speaker at EyeforTravel events. David Soskin David Soskin joined Cheapflights as Chief Executive Officer upon the management buy-in in March 2000 from ABN AMRO Corporate Finance, where he was head of global media. He served as Chief Executive Officer until 2008 when he became a non-executive director. Under his leadership, Cheapflights grew from an attic-based operation into an international leader in online travel search reaching 8.4 million users in January 2008. During this period, Cheapflights won many industry awards and was included in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track of the UK's 100 fastest growing privately-owned technology companies for five years in a row. David was a Finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2006. His previous entrepreneurial experience was gained at the Asquith Court Schools Group which he founded in 1989 and on whose board he sat until 2001, when the Company was successfully sold to West Private Equity. Asquith is today the UK's leading provider of premium childcare and education for the under-5s (www.asquithnurseries.com). In 1995, David's entrepreneurial achievements were honoured by the European Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research when he was named as one of Europe's 500 most dynamic entrepreneurs. David also has worked in senior capacities both in industry (Redland Plc where he was Group Director of Corporate Planning) and government (Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Number 10 Policy Unit). David graduated from the University of Oxford (First Class Honours in Modern History), where he was President of the Oxford Union, and from the Harvard Business School (MBA) where he was a Harkness Fellow. He appears regularly on TV and radio (Bloomberg, CNBC, Sky, BBC) talking about travel and the internet and is frequently invited as a speaker at travel and e-commerce conferences worldwide. Jo Allen Jo has specialised in the hospitality and travel industries for the last 9 years and in the M&A arena for 12 years. Prior to setting up Stellant Partners, an advisory firm providing M&A and strategic advice to companies in the internet and travel sectors, Jo was retained by WorldRes as an adviser to sell PlacesToStay.com (the B2C hotel platform) and then to sell the whole company, WorldRes. Jo was previously employed by InterContinental Hotels Group plc, where she was a key member of the Global Mergers and Acquisitions team. Jo gained significant corporate finance experience whilst at Schroders (now Citigroup) in European M&A and at Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in Corporate Finance Deal Advisory. Jo is a Chartered Accountant and has a BSc in Economics and Accounting from Bristol University. Sascha Hausmann Sascha is a specialist in online distribution systems in Europe and the US. Prior to establishing StellantPartners, Sascha was CEO of WorldRes, having been appointed by the Board to take the company through the final six months of a complicated and difficult sales process. Previously, he ran the finance, support and HR functions at WorldRes and was instrumental in establishing European offices in key European countries. Prior to WorldRes, Sascha was an auditor to mid-sized companies with European and international operations. Here he was mainly challenged with audits as well as consulting on corporate tax, company structure, reporting and the implementation of finance systems. Sascha is a well-recognised figure in the European and US online travel industries, speaking at many high profile events and being a trusted advisor to various companies in the online marketplace. The Cheapflights Team More than 60 talented individuals work for Cheapflights based in London, UK and Boston, MA, USA. HOWZAT Media has the potential to access the expertise of the best in their field in PR, search engine marketing, sales, high volume newsletters, financial wizardry and more.
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