Exclusive: $2.1B business travel startup Engine appoints a CFO

She also CFO Daily.SEE FULL BIO Courtesy of EngineGood morning

What would make a veteran nology investor take on the role of finance chief for the first time? For Alex Melamud, it’s a deep conviction in the company and its leadership

Melamud is the new CFO of Denver-based Engine, a travel nology startup backed by Telescope Partners, Blackstone, Elefund, and Permira

He’s leaving the investor seat to join the executive team full time at Engine, which serves over 1 million travelers, according to the company

Melamud’s first connection with Engine was at the board level

In 2024, while a managing director at Permira, a global investment firm specializing in private equity and credit, he decided to join Engine’s board. “In my 16 years of , I had never come across such an enormous TAM (total addressable market) of greenfield opportunity,” he said, referring to the many small and midsize es with unmanaged travel booking—those handling it themselves instead of using a third party

Engine is a modern travel platform designed for small and midsize es, as well as groups

Its standout feature is offering both publicly available hotel rates and a wide range of exclusive, prietary corporate rates (“closed rates”) that aren’t accessible to the general public, Melamud explained

These negotiated rates, with average savings of 26%, are sourced through Engine’s marketplace, partnerships and wholesalers, he said. es log in to access this closed ecosystem, keeping these exclusive prices confidential and separate from public hotel pricing

The platform is free to use, with no contracts, minimums, or fees

Melamud also points to Engine’s Direct Bill feature, which extends companies a line of credit for one to two weeks

This lets es with frequent travelers settle payments twice a month, much a biweekly paycheck cycle, he said

Before becoming a lific investor, Melamud began his career nearly 20 years ago as an investment banking analyst at Lehman Brothers and Barclays

Taking on the CFO role at Engine, he said, was “purely serendipitous.” “I didn’t come into this year thinking I would become a CFO in the middle of the year,” he noted

During a board meeting with Engine founder and CEO Elia Wallen, they discussed how the company didn’t have a CFO at the time

And Melamud has always enjoyed diving deep into challenges

Since joining Engine, he is no longer on the company’s board or with Permira

Is an IPO next for Engine? “As long as we build a strong tackling this market, we’ll have a couple of options,” Melamud said. “But right now, it’s not something we’re thinking actively.” On the risks and opportunities ahead, he said: “The current macro environment has much more volatility, which can challenge our customers’ ability to plan

But Engine’s opportunity is to alleviate that friction.” And in his spare time, Melamud focuses on his family. “I have three young kids, and they’re at the ages where everything is still new,” he said

Sheryl Estradasheryl.estrada@fortune.comLeaderboardEric Christel was appointed EVP and CFO of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLMN), parent company of brands including Outback Steakhouse

Christel joined the company on Aug. 4 for a transition period and will assume the CFO role on Sept. 8

Current CFO Michael Healy will assume the newly created role of EVP, strategy and transformation

Christel brings nearly two decades of financial leadership across the food and beverage sector, including his role as SVP and CFO of The Campbell’s Company’s Snacks Division and several leadership roles at PepsiCo

Michael Graham was appointed CFO of ZoomInfo (Nasdaq: GTM), a -to- database and intelligence platform, effective Aug. 1

Prior to joining the company, O’Brien held accounting positions at RainKing Solutions and Kaseya

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