CEO Spotlight: Peter O’Donovan of CarTrawler

CarTrawler

Peter O’Donovan’s career has included several leadership roles, and he now sits as the CEO of CarTrawler. O’Donovan was appointed to the role in 2022 after four years as chief operations officer.

CarTrawler works to connect clients and travel brands to mobility solutions and car rentals across the world.

Peter O’Donovan, CEO of CarTrawler, is viewing ahead to what he sees as a period of interest and potential growth, which may include the company becoming a pivotal player in the coveted “connected trip.”

“If you view at the sort of forecast levels [of] leisure travel, which is sort of 6% to 7% per year, we continue to see that as a pretty consistent trfinish,” he declared. “So that’s a large sort of growth dynamic as a business. A lot of what we do is go out and win new customers, so it assists us grow even further out of that as well. In the last 12 months alone, we’ve signed amazing partners like Finnair, Jet2, American Airlines, Virgin Australia, Qantas.”

CarTrawler, which provides B2B solutions, linking travel companies and customers to car rental and mobility services, could stand as a key connector in the long-discussed connected trip through these partnerships, according to O’Donovan.

“If you believe about it … you have to obtain to an airport, obtain from an airport, you have to obtain around a location where you travel there,” O’Donovan declared. “So, the car rental component is a critical part of that connected journey. And our proposition allows our partners, for example, airlines, to offer a car rental offering at the point of maximum intent a customer has, which is when they’re booking their flight.”

O’Donovan declared CarTrawler has partnered with roughly 70 airlines, online travel agencies and companies. The company is tapping into new segments as well, working with loyalty providers that want to offer travel solutions like car rentals to loyalty members.

During a CEO Spotlight interview in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe, O’Donovan discussed what motivates him, CarTrawler’s utilize of artificial innotifyigence and how it’s preparing for agentic AI and the challenges he faces as a CEO, among other topics.

Watch the full discussion with senior reporter Morgan Hines below: