KDS in European Expansion
AUGUST 30, 2006. KDS is appointing Frank Fuellbeck as Sales Director and Thomas Debusmann as Sales Manager. Both will cover the German speaking region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
KDS is also opening of an office in the Frankfurt Westhafen Tower. "These moves are essential steps toward achieving KDS' goal of broadening our reach," said Yves Weisselberger, CEO of KDS. "With over ten years of experience in international deployment of online travel & expense solutions -- as well as a sturdy European base of expertise -- KDS is a perfect match for German based corporations implementing a world-wide travel program. We have full confidence that Frank and Thomas will make immediate contributions as KDS continues to grow."
Frank Fuellbeck joins KDS with over 15 years of experience in the Procurement, IT and Travel industries. Most recently, Frank was in charge of running the business in CEUR for Ariba. Prior to that, he led the Investment Banking division at a subsidiary of Commerzbank AG and spent more than eight years at Lufthansa AG in several sales roles.
Thomas Debusmann brings with him extensive IT experience. Before joining KDS, Thomas was regional sales manager for Aprisma's SPECTRUM software, a provider of business service intelligence solutions. Previous experience also includes Scala Business Solutions, where Thomas served as Managing Director; Orchestream Plc where he directed sales and DAZEL Corporation where he was Country Manager.
Frank and Thomas join Rade Mitrovic, Sales Manager who has been with KDS in Germany for almost 5 years. Before joining the sales team, Rade served our customers as a Project Manager in the Germany speaking region. His deep understanding of customer requirements will be an asset to the German sales team.
KDS has experienced consistent growth in the region and expects to substantially increase its client base in the region in the coming months. In order to meet this growth, the company is expanding its resources committed to the region through the hiring of sales executives and the opening of a new Frankfurt office. KDS also plans to appoint additional executives in the fourth quarter of this year. Presently, KDS assists leading companies in the region including Airbus, EADS, Henkel, Roche, Syngenta, Novartis and Unilever.
Optimizing travel and expense spend and gaining greater control over travel programmes are major issues facing companies today. Furthermore, as travel is often the second biggest cost item on a company's balance sheet (after payroll), total management of travel programmes has become a business critical issue. With experience grounded in the travel sector and a solid understanding of the specific needs of the corporate sector, KDS brings to the business travel market a unique perspective in developing solutions to meet the challenges of optimizing travel spend.
"We are very pleased to be expanding our presence in Germany. Clients in the region have been extremely receptive to our approach as we have supported their efforts to increase productivity, save costs and optimize travel spend," said Stephane Donders, KDS SVP Sales & Marketing. "Our expansion in the region represents another milestone for us as KDS continues to grow our overall business in terms of geographic reach, capabilities and senior executives."