Philip C. Wolf

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Philip C. Wolf (July 2, 1956 – March 16, 2021)[1][2] was an American entrepreneur and executive known for his work in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. The founder and former CEO of travel industry research firm PhoCusWright, Wolf served as board director and advisor to multiple travel and technology companies.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Wolf held a BA in public policy studies from Duke University and an MBA in finance from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.[3]

Wolf began his travel industry career in 1989 as vice president, travel agency operations for booking engine pioneer Travelmation.[4] In 1990 he became president and CEO.[5] During his tenure, Travelmation secured two intellectual property patents for its airfare pricing algorithms,[6][7] and, in 1991, the company introduced a travel booking engine application to clients including Macy's, Nestle and American National Can.[8] The following year, Travelmation was acquired by Rosenbluth International (now part of American Express).[9]

PhoCusWright Inc.[edit]

Following his departure from Travelmation, Wolf in 1994 founded PhoCusWright Inc., Fodor's and The New York Times were among the company's early clients.[5] In 1997, PhoCusWright held its first travel industry event, PhoCusWright Live, at which travel industry executives debated the future of online travel booking.[10] The following year, the company founded its research division.[5]

PhoCusWright has been described as one of the intellectual centers of the “travel technology revolution” and is credited with coining the term Travel 2.0.[8] In addition to conducting primary travel industry research in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, the company produces conferences including The PhoCusWright Conference and The Travel Innovation Summit.[8] In June 2011, PhoCusWright was acquired by Northstar Travel Group.[11] Following the acquisition, Wolf served as chairman until 2013.

Travel industry impact and board work[edit]

Wolf was a travel industry advisor and speaker.[12][13] As co-founder and chairman of Independent Travel Technology Association (ITTA), Wolf advocated for telecommunications legislation to foster travel industry competition and accelerate the development of advanced information networks.[14] In 2007, Travel Weekly named Wolf as one of the 33 most influential people in travel,[15] and Skift in 2014 included him among its Skift 30: Travel's Top Online Movers and Shakers, noting that he “defined online travel for a whole industry.”[16] He was a former adjunct professor at NYU's Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management and has been a distinguished lecturer at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.

In addition to the sale of PhoCusWright, Wolf was involved in the sale of Newtrade Technologies to Expedia (2002),[17] TravelJigsaw (now rentalcars.com) to Priceline (2010) and the IPO of MakeMyTrip on NASDAQ (2010).

He served as board director for travel and technology companies[3] including MakeMyTrip,[18] eDreams Odigeo,[19] Travel.ru (formerly Oktogo.ru),[20] Hopper,[21] and TrustYou.[22] He was also an investor in India's GlobalTHEN.[citation needed]

Wolf formerly served as chairman of QuickMobile[23] and board director for Wandrian, Spafinder,[24] VFM Interactive,[25] Newtrade Technologies,[26] Cruise411,[27] TravelJigsaw,[28] and Inntopia.[29]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Philip C. Wolf, 64, a Mentor and Inventor". The Provincetown Independent. 2021-03-24. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  2. ^ "Phocuswright Founder Philip Wolf Dies At 64". Hospitality.net. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Philip Wolf". "Forbes".
  4. ^ "Executive Changes". (May 16, 1989). The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b c Mitra, Sramana (July 26, 2011). "The 1M/1M Deal Radar 2011: PhoCusWright, New York and Connecticut". One Million by One Million.
  6. ^ US 5021953, Webber, David W. & Kangas, Sandra E., "Trip planner optimizing travel itinerary selection conforming to individualized travel policies", published 1991-06-04, assigned to Travelmation Corp. 
  7. ^ US 5331546, Webber, David W. & Kangas, Sandra E., "Trip planner optimizing travel itinerary selection conforming to individualized travel policies", published 1994-07-19, assigned to Rosenbluth International, Inc. 
  8. ^ a b c Schaal, Dennis (September 22, 2006). "PhoCusWright - Looking for the Next Big Thing". Travolution.
  9. ^ Fairlie, R. Rosenbluth Acquires Travelmation Auditing Firm. Travel Weekly vol. 51, no. 96, pp. 35-36.
  10. ^ Wada, Isae (November 17, 1997). "Focus Group Pans Online Services". Travel Weekly.
  11. ^ "NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP ACQUIRES PHOCUSWRIGHT" (Press release). Northstar Travel Group. June 9, 2011.
  12. ^ "ITB Asia Opening Keynote - "The Importance of Pivoting". (October 23, 2013). ITB Berlin News.
  13. ^ "BCD CEO Joop Dreschel and Industry Luminary Philip Wolf Take to the Stage for GBTA Europe" (Press release). London, England: GBTA. July 16, 2013.
  14. ^ "Electronic Frontier Foundation".
  15. ^ "Club 33: The Most Influential People in the Travel Industry". (November 20, 2007). Travel Weekly.
  16. ^ Ali, Rafat, Jason Clampet & Dennis Schaal. "Launching Skift30: Travel's Top Online Movers and Shakers". (May 12, 2014). Skift.
  17. ^ "Expedia Inc. to Acquire Newtrade Technologies" (Press release). Bellevue, Washington: Expedia Inc. October 15, 2002.
  18. ^ "Board of Directors". MakeMyTrip.
  19. ^ "Board of Directors". eDreams ODIGEO.
  20. ^ "Russian Online Travel Co Secures $10M". (March 20, 2012). Reuters PE Hub.
  21. ^ "PhoCusWright Founder Philip Wolf Elected to Hopper Board of Directors" (Press release). Montreal, Quebec: Hopper. July 20, 2011.
  22. ^ "PhoCusWright Founder Philip Wolf Joins TrustYou Board" (Press release). Dallas, Texas: TrustYou. April 4, 2013.
  23. ^ "PhoCusWright Founder Philip C. Wolf Named Chairman of the Board" (Press release). Vancouver, Canada: QuickMobile. January 10, 2012.
  24. ^ "PhoCusWright CEO Philip Wolf Joins Spa Finder, Inc. Board of Directors". Hospitality Net. October 14, 2005.
  25. ^ "VFM Interactive Expands Board of Directors Amid Record Growth; Appoints 20-Year Veteran Michael W. McCormick to New Seat" (Press release). Toronto, Canada: VFM Interactive. September 21, 2005.
  26. ^ "Philip C. Wolf is Elected to Board of Directors of Newtrade Technologies" (Press release). Montreal, Canada: Newtrade Technologies. September 24, 2001. Hospitality Net.
  27. ^ "Cruise411.com Names Philip C. Wolf to Board of Directors - Online Travel Pioneer to Advise the Internet's Leader for Cruise Service on Industry Trends and Strategies" (Press release). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Cruise411.com. September 5, 2001. Hospitality Net.
  28. ^ "Travel Jigsaw: Driving Online Car Rentals to International Success". ISIS Equity Partners.
  29. ^ "Inntopia Announced Today that it has Made Two Appointments to its Board of Directors". (November 8, 2012). Inntopia.
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