TravelCLICK | Management Team

Robert Post, President and Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Bzdawka, Chief Operating Officer
Helen Wallace, Chief Financial Officer
Jan Tissera, President, TravelCLICK International
Chris Rockett, Executive Vice President, Sales, Americas
Esther Kantner, Vice President, Human Resources
Dave Mitzner, Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances
Paula Christy, Vice President-Corporate Client Sales, Americas
Paul Southey, Vice President, Asia Pacific
Klimis Messios, Vice President, Europe

Robert Post
President and Chief Executive Officer, drives TravelCLICK’s overall strategic direction. He is a business veteran with over 20 years of executive experience in the travel and hospitality industry, as well as in home security and defense electronics. Bob joined TravelCLICK as Chief Financial Officer in May 2004, where he contributed to TravelCLICK’s growth and strong financial performance.

He has served on the company’s Board of Directors since May 2005. Before joining TravelCLICK, he was the principal of Pconsulting LLC, an independent business consultancy to Fortune 500 and fast growth companies. He is also a former executive of MICROS Systems, Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

Bob is also a board member of Avatech Solutions, a systems integrator for CAD/CAM solutions, and Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, a nationally recognized teaching hospital. In 2007, he was recognized with the CEO of the Year Award from the Illinois Information Technology Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Jeff Bzdawka
Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for TravelCLICK's American operating groups located in Schaumburg, Illinois, and Houston, Texas. He also provides functional direction to the international operating groups located in Barcelona, Spain, and Melbourne, Australia. Jeff was formerly the Senior Vice President of Service Delivery for Pegasus Solutions, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was responsible for account management, service implementation, and customer service.

Before his work at Pegasus, Jeff was with Security Capital Group, where he served as Vice President of Strategic Information Systems and Chief Information Officer of Homestead Village hotels. Jeff's career includes a focus on electronic distribution, with 12 years in management positions with SABRE Decision Technologies and Hyatt Corporation. Jeff is recognized for his expertise in customer service and technology-intensive operations within the hotel industry. He holds a degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Helen Wallace
Chief Financial Officer, oversees all of TravelCLICK’s global financial operations as well as spearheads strategic initiatives focused on enterprise integration and international standards compliance. A hospitality industry veteran, she has extensive public company CFO experience and a proven background in financial management and global business expansion.

Prior to TravelCLICK, she was CFO and Corporate Treasurer for American Skiing Company, a multi-property resort company. An expert in international business expansion, previous positions include CFO of Cyrano Sciences, Inc., Vice President & Director of Citigroup’s Asia Business Development/Mergers & Acquisitions group, and International CFO with Hubbell, Inc. She also has over nine years of experience in public accounting including time with Touche Ross. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Los Angeles and a B.S. in Accounting from University of Southern California.

Jan Tissera
President, TravelCLICK International, directs TravelCLICK's sales activities in the Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa regions. An experienced international hotelier and hotel industry consultant, Jan advises clients on how to maximize their performance in electronic distribution channels.

Before joining TravelCLICK in 1996, he was the Director of Rooms/Reservations for Hyatt International, where he oversaw worldwide hotel reservations, global distribution, consortia marketing, revenue and rate management, guest recognition programs, and hotel room operations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. In this role, Jan was responsible for rapidly expanding Hyatt's worldwide reservations offices and for attaining Hyatt International's number one position in Global Distribution Systems (GDS) worldwide.

Chris Rockett
Executive Vice President, Sales, Americas, directs TravelCLICK's sales activities in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Before joining TravelCLICK in 1999, he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development for REZsolutions, Inc., where he was responsible for the sale of the company's portfolio of reservation, technology, and marketing products to the hotel industry.

Chris has over 25 years of sales, marketing, and operations experience in the travel industry, beginning his career with TWA in Boston. He has also held positions with The Hertz Corporation, Loews Hotels, and Anasazi, Inc. Chris is a graduate of Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts.

Esther Kantner
Vice President, Human Resources (HR), leads TravelCLICK’s strategic HR initiatives to support and develop the company’s growing and increasingly indispensable employee base worldwide. Esther has over 20 years of management experience in domestic and international environments across multiple industries. Most recently, she held the top HR position with ATCO Power, a global utility company with over 8,000 employees.

She was responsible for workforce assessment and strategic HR planning to address hiring, turnover, and strategic high-growth issues. Esther has also held key HR positions with Constellation Energy, The Home Depot, Central Parking Systems, Amergen, and Husky Oil. Esther holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Alberta.

Dave Mitzner
Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances, leads TravelCLICK's relationship development efforts with ecommerce, data, and media product partners supporting the world's leading portfolio of information, ecommerce, and advertising products for the hospitality industry. Dave has more than 20 years of travel industry experience including senior roles in product development, product marketing, advertising, promotion, and general management.

Before joining the company in 1996, he was the Director of North American Advertising for United Airlines. Dave holds a master's degree in management from Krannert Graduate School of Management at Purdue University.

Paula Christy
Vice President-Corporate Client Sales, Americas, leads the development of the multi-unit enterprise hotel market for TravelCLICK’s new corporate ecommerce and intelligence solutions. Paula has 14 years of experience in the travel industry, including 8 years as Regional Director of Sales for TravelCLICK.

She has worked also for Hilton Hotels as the Director of Travel Industry Sales, with consortia negotiations at all Hilton, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Hampton, and Homewood Suites hotels. She also led a travel agency sales force representing Hilton Hotels to corporate and leisure mega agencies.

Paul Southey
Vice President, Asia Pacific, leads TravelCLICK’s sales and business development practice in the high-growth Asia Pacific region. With 25 years of travel industry experience, he has advised such regional leaders as Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Shangri La Hotels & Resorts, and The Peninsula Hotels.

Prior to joining TravelCLICK in 2002, Paul was a hands-on hotelier working in executive level operations, sales and marketing, and revenue management roles. He is a member of the Hotel Sales Management Association (HSMAI), Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association and Skal International.

Sought for his industry insight and knowledge of the Asia Pacific region, Paul is a popular speaker at numerous industry events, including the NoVacancy conference; TRAVELtech, Australia’s leading online travel distribution and tech event; and the Thought Leaders in Marketing Round Table, sponsored by the HSMAI Asia Pacific and the Cornell Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management. Paul has a business degree from Victoria University of Technology and also studied hospitality management at the University of South Australia.

Klimis Messios
Vice President, Europe, manages TravelCLICK’s sales and business development practice in Europe, where the company’s customer base is aggressively expanding in reservations and Internet/digital marketing services. With 20 years of hotel industry experience, Klimis is an expert in hotel marketing and distribution strategies designed to grow bookings with optimal profitability.

A Fulbright scholar, Klimis built a strong foundation in hotel marketing best practices through training in luxury properties throughout the world. Prior to joining TravelCLICK, he was pivotal in defining the brand identity for Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts, where he was responsible for all areas of distribution, revenue management, and sales and marketing. He launched a customized customer relationship management program that identified and rewarded the hotel’s best guests, driving repeat stays and increased guest loyalty.

Klimis is a member of the Hotel Sales Management Association (HSMAI) Europe and the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association. He studied hotel management in London and at Cornell University in the U.S.