Sam Gilliland

CEO of Accelya

Former Chairman & CEO, Sabre Holdings; Former CEO, Cherwell Software

Sam Gilliland played a critical role in universally changing the nature of booking travel, making the process more efficient and cost effective. As CEO of Sabre Holdings, he pioneered the travel industry’s entry into online booking for corporate travel and launched first-generation products that became industry standards. His engineering roots and passion for solving problems with innovative solutions resulted in several significant achievements and substantial industry-wide technological advancements throughout his career.

Gilliland earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from KU in 1985 and later earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Texas-Dallas. Over the course of his nearly 40 year career, he has worked across multiple industries and engineering disciplines — all of which leverage software technology.

He worked in aerospace and defense, travel and tourism, equity and fixed income investment, private equity, and IT and enterprise service management. In each industry, Gilliland served and excelled in roles as varied as engineer, head of marketing and sales, chief operating officer, president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

He started at Sabre in 1988, where he held various senior management roles in sales, marketing and business units including CEO of Travelocity.com before being named President and CEO of Sabre in 2003.

In that role, he managed a worldwide enterprise consisting of nearly 10,000 employees and billions in revenue and bolstered his reputation as an innovator and strong, energetic leader. He worked across the industry to get acceptance on the use of self-booking technology and the business models that would enable it to become the standard for how corporate workforces plan and book their travel today.

Under his leadership, Travelocity transformed from a U.S.-centric airline ticketing website to a global, multi-product travel marketplace, and one of the most recognized brands in the travel industry.

Gilliland’s business acumen and expertise have placed his skills in high demand. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Gilliland to the President’s Management Advisory Board. In 2012, he served as Chair of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Committee and has served for many years as a member of the Energy Security Leadership Council alongside former military generals and admirals. In addition, numerous technology and growth-oriented companies have sought his skills for board of director positions, including Brinks Home Security Holdings, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, BookingPal, Traxo, Gogo and Rackspace Hosting.

Beyond the technical skills and innovative spirit that drive his career, Gilliland is known as a charismatic leader with a strong desire to do the right thing guided by a sense of responsibility for project outcomes and the teams working on them. Those who work with him cite his "responsibility now" approach to management – and his personal life. He lets his teams know how much he appreciates and cares about them, while challenging them to do great things.

Gilliland is also known for identifying important work and making it a priority for himself and those in his sphere of influence to get it done. This includes efforts on the national stage to address challenging issues in the travel industry. Gilliland was an active partner in the drive to educate the industry about its important role to help identify, report and partner with law enforcement on human trafficking issues. He also provided an early voice on the need for environmental sustainability and energy policy in the travel industry.

In the days and weeks after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., he worked tirelessly with the U.S. government on getting travel moving again. While prioritizing security, he also stressed that getting people moving again was core to the economy and improving the nation's psyche after the attacks.

Gilliland has also maintained close ties with the KU Engineering community. He has served on the School of Engineering advisory board since 2005. Over the years, he has provided travel assistance for SELF Fellows for the Self on the Road experience, as well as an international trip for the Jayhawk Motorsports Formula car team. Gilliland has also provided significant support to the mission of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, which points to him as one of its most successful alumni.

Gilliland lives in Dallas with Shannon, his wife of 36 years. Shannon is also a graduate of KU.  They have a daughter and son who are both currently in graduate school.