The Leaders in Travel We're Talking About

Over the last ten days we've published two roundups of people who are powerhouses in the travel industry in different ways in our Skift Power Rankings and our Generation Next lists.

These 55 people work at brands across the industry in a variety of roles – from consultant up to CEO – and wield influence at nearly every stage in the business of travel.

– Sarah Kopit, Editor-in-Chief

Skift Power Rankings

As we wrote upon release:

"... power is not just about who holds the top job but who shapes the landscape, drives innovation, and sets the agenda for what comes next. It’s the whisper network. Who’s the first phone call when a power player wants to make something big happen?"

The list of 30 men and women includes people who've built new businesses out of nowhere, such as Steven Udvar-Hazy of Air Lease Corporation and Brian Chesky of Airbnb . Yes, they control how enormous amounts of money and efforts are deployed across the industry, but they also command respect (sometimes grudging) from their peers and rivals.

You can see the full list of these leaders here: https://skift.com/skift-power-rankings/

Generation Next

The Skift Power Rankings was filled largely with men (for now), but that shouldn't be confused with industry stasis. There's a group of new leaders who are the next big thinkers and doers, or as we wrote earlier this week:

"These women leaders are the industry’s disruptors, innovators, and you can bet they’re on more than one shortlist for the next big thing. Underestimate them? Go ahead, but do so at your own peril."

The list starts with The Standard Hotel 's Amber Asher , who led the cosmopolitan hotel brand through a period of significant growth and into the arms of a 凯悦 acquisition this summer. The other 24 picks are rounded out by key players at 万豪酒店 , Expedia Group , Discover Puerto Rico , JetBlue Ventures , 悦榕酒店和度假村 , and more.

You can read their profiles here: https://skift.com/generation-next/

Even More Leaders

We'd be remiss if we failed to mention and even larger gathering of leaders: The speakers and attendees at Skift Global Forum in New York City later this week. You'll see many of the people on the lists above, as well as 1,000 others who are showing up to discover and participate in the future of travel. There are still a few seats left; just go to https://live.skift.com/skift-global-forum/