Kayak hires ex-Google and DailyMotion exec to UK team

Kayak, the leading travel search site, today announced the appointment of its first sales manager for Europe with the addition of Gareth Walton to the role of Senior Sales Manager for UK and Europe. Walton will be responsible for the commercialisation of the UK and European regional sites through advertising opportunities available from the Kayak…

Kayak, the leading travel search site, today announced the appointment of its first sales manager for Europe with the addition of Gareth Walton to the role of Senior Sales Manager for UK and Europe.

Walton will be responsible for the commercialisation of the UK and European regional sites through advertising opportunities available from the Kayak Network, a patent-pending advertising platform optimised for the travel industry. 

Kayak.com plans to expand the product offering in current markets and add advertising opportunities in additional countries in 2009.

Kristina Davis, Kayak.com’s vice president of advertising sales, said: “Kayak.com is fast emerging as the leading player of the online travel search market in Europe.

“The Kayak Network provides European travel companies with the ability to target beyond keywords and design their marketing message based on a variety of criteria. This, coupled with the ability to deep link, results in stronger click through rates and a higher ROI.”

Walton will be joining the London based team, bringing with him over ten years experience from online search and travel companies.

Prior to joining Kayak.com, Walton was commercial director for DailyMotion, a leading European video sharing site.

During his time at DailyMotion, Walton was responsible for selling display and in-stream advertising as well as developing content partnerships for the UK site.

Walton brings with him extensive search experience having previously worked for Alta Vista before joining Google in 2001 as its fourth UK employee.

During his time at Google, Walton held numerous roles including pioneering the travel search team and working with a range of clients including British Airways, TUI, Thomas Cook and the Intercontinental Hotel Group.

Faisal Galaria, managing director of Kayak.com International, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Gareth to the Kayak.com team.

“He has worked in the industry for over a decade and brings with him a vast knowledge of the search, travel and advertising industries.  Gareth is a significant appointment for Kayak.com and we are very excited about the impact he will make on our plans to dedicate more resources to our European sites.”

Gareth Walton joined the Kayak.com team on 2 December.

More information:

* Kayak