Jinane Abounadi left an academic career at MIT to join two of the best Boston start-ups, ITA Software and Kayak. Her research areas at MIT were in large scale optimization, neuro-dynamic programming, and communication networks. All areas turned out to be relevant for the understanding of the complexity of travel technology and that enabled her to take on leadership roles at ITA Software with a focus on airline search and airline reservation systems.

At Kayak, she was the Director of Technology Partnerships, expanding her expertise to other travel suppliers and to the online consumer travel business.

Jinane is currently the Global Head of Regional Product at Travelport, a leading distribution company that powers the travel industry on a global scale. She is responsible for the local product strategies and for regional 3rd party products, which are based on partnerships with companies that include a good number of small companies and start-ups that are part of Travelport’s Developer Network. She will address the opportunities available to start-ups to engage with bigger companies in order to get access to a wide sales channel.