Despite having a number of corporate travel startup investments and exits under his belt, Steve Singh is nowhere near done.
The co-founder of Concur, a business he sold to SAP in 2014, is currently CEO of Spotnana, an investor in and executive chairman of Center, Direct Travel, Otto, Spotnana and Troop and continues to build out his vision for the perfect trip.
Speaking during a Center Stage session at The Phocuswright Conference 2024, Singh said he's still learning, he's still having fun and feels "energized" by what emerging technology can do for corporate travel.
His view is that change is already happening with technologies such as the cloud and artificial intelligence able to really improve the traveler experience as well as drive efficiency and reduce cost across corporate travel booking and expense management.
Singh also discussed the need to work with open systems enabling many parties to innovate further and create additional value.
"Part of the reason why we actually invested in Spotnana and worked on building out the Spotnana platform is that the system of record for travel is archaic," he said.
"There's not a lot you can do with the existing system of record. It's not extensible in any way, shape or form. So we looked at this and said 'Can we come up with a modern version or modern system of record, make it completely extensible by anybody adding value to the trip or anybody adding value to the traveler.'"
Singh went on to discuss what the corporate travel booking journey might look like 10 years from now and where and how AI agents might replace human travel agents and technology intermediaries including online booking tools and global distribution players.
He also shared how his leadership style has changed over the years, an investment he wishes he'd made and what he still wants to achieve.
Watch the full session below with PhocusWire executive editor Linda Fox.
Executive Interview: Upending Corporate Travel (Again)!