Impala Supercharges its Growth with Multiple Senior Leadership Hires
- London-based startup employs talent from leading technology and travel businesses including Google, Checkout.com and Airbnb
London, 12 January 2022: Today Impala, the London-based startup using technology to empower and reimagine the travel industry, has announced four new senior leadership hires with a wealth of experience at leading technology and travel businesses including Google, Airbnb and Checkout.com.
Part of the business’s rapid expansion, the new Impala leadership team include Leigh Jenkinson, who joins as VP of Sales, formerly from Google, and Patrick Heaphy as Sales Operations Director, with over 10 years’ experience working with travel businesses including Airbnb. Polly Marshall joins as Product Marketing Director from one of Europe's most significant tech companies of the last decade, Checkout.com. This is in addition to Matt Antos-Lewis as Director of Demand Generation who comes from security solutions provider Verkada.
We’re on a steep growth trajectory at Impala as we supercharge our mission to reimagine the world of travel and enable business models that have been impossible for decades.
Ben Stephenson
CEO of Impala
The appointments come after three significant exec hires in 2021, including Lionel Paillet who joined as COO from Apple and Nest, where he previously headed sales for Apple in 15 European countries during the company’s exponential growth. Caroline Hudack joined as CMO from Airbnb, where she led marketing for Europe, after 3.5 years in several senior global marketing roles at Facebook, and Robin Clifford who joined as VP of Global Supply, having previously led supply in Northern Europe for Airbnb and held senior roles at Booking.com.
CEO Ben Stephenson: “We’re on a steep growth trajectory at Impala as we supercharge our mission to reimagine the world of travel and enable business models that have been impossible for decades. We're assembling a best-in-class team in travel and tech to do this and are incredibly excited by the new hires we have on board. They will help us to lead the charge in simple and efficient travel solutions which break down some of the walls of old tech and slow integration to open up new opportunities for the travel sector.”
Quick and easy to access, Impala is a platform which allows hotels and room sellers to work together directly to negotiate bespoke commercial terms, which puts the control back in the hands of the room seller. Through its unique technology, Impala facilitates personalised strategies for growth according to business needs.
With backing from Lakestar, Kima Ventures, Stride VC and Latitude - who backed Airbnb, Trivago and Deliveroo, to name just a few - Impala is constantly adapting and innovating to enable better travel experiences for everyone.
About new hires
Leigh Jenkinson joins as VP of Sales from Google where she held the position of Head of UK Hardware Sales for three years. Prior to this Leigh held roles at both Nest and Apple and joins a long list of talent from Canada who have recently entered the Impala fold.
Patrick Heaphy joins as Sales Operations Director. With over 10 years of experience in sales operations, Patrick’s resume spans flagship accounts including over four years at Airbnb as Head of EMEA Account Management and Sales Operations. Prior to this Patrick worked at Meetings Booker, and as a result has experience in both highly consumer focused travel and day-to-day sales.
Polly Marshall joins Impala as Product Marketing Director. Polly has led Product Marketing for one of Europe's most significant tech companies of the last decade, Checkout.com. Prior to that Polly headed up Product Marketing for GoCardless, another ‘unicorn’ busines based in London. She built both teams from scratch during the respective positions.
Matt Antos-Lewis joins as Director of Demand Generation from security solutions provider Verkada, where he was previously EMEA Marketing Lead. During this time Matt was responsible for building and leading an EMEA marketing function to support Verkada's European expansion. Other previous roles include Director of Marketing for US-based cloud software technology company Conversica.
ENDS
For media enquiries or to discuss an Impala opportunity, please contact Oliver Gelb, Kate McWilliams, Anna Rawson or Matilda Haymes at impala@wcommunications.co.uk.
