About HBX Group

Nicolas is an experienced board-level executive and CEO with a strong reputation in the payment, financial services and travel industries, which began when he became CEO of GE Money Spain in 2008.

Following this, Nicolas joined Apollo Global Management where he was responsible for building up their Consumer Finance business in Spain and Ireland, before progressing to become the CEO of Visa Europe in 2013 and then of Ingenico Group, a global player in payments, in 2018.

With his extensive experience in transforming technology and digital companies, Nicolas is an inspirational value-driven leader credited with developing high performing teams and organic business growth, while creating dynamic and collaborative cultures through transformation and the achievement of critical business objectives.

Nicolas joined HBX Group in 2021 and has been successfully transforming the company since then. In addition to his executive role, Nicolas served as a non-executive independent board director to Amadeus IT Group until July 2021, where he was also Chair of the Audit Committee. Since 2020, he has been an independent non-executive director for Entersekt, an innovator of customer-centric fintech solutions, and is the current Chair of a Luxembourg based crypto currency company, Bitstamp, a role he has held since May 2021. A French national, Nicolas has a truly international background and has lived and worked in many countries, including Spain.

With over 20 years in the travel industry, Carlos is a well-respected, highly experienced commercial leader and a true advocate for the value of the bedbank as an independent aggregator.

Having developed his career in the aeronautical and telecommunication industries with positions at Retevision, BT and GMV, Carlos joined the travel industry in 1999 with the Barceló Travel Group prior to its integration into First Choice Holidays PLC (UK) in 2000, which is where his journey with Hotelbeds began, becoming Operations Director in 2001.

Appointed as Managing Director of the business in 2008, Carlos has led Hotelbeds through some of its most pivotal moments, including the integration with GTA and Tourico Holidays in 2017.

As the Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy CEO at HBX Group, Carlos now oversees the global commercial organisations for all the brands in the group. 

Paula is a highly experienced, international Executive Director with a proven track record in delivering strong business performance and in leading and transforming technology, operations, digital and innovation functions to deliver genuine commercial results.

Having held senior positions in Ingenico, Visa Europe, Barclays, Prudential and Telefonica, she has a proven track record in strategy, M&A and corporate development, focusing on identifying new opportunities and successfully integrating them to drive business growth.

Paula believes passionately about investing in individuals and teams, and in harnessing the power of engaged and motivated employees to deliver tangible transformation.

As HBX Group's Chief Technology, Data and M&A Officer, Paula leads all aspects of end-to-end delivery across the business including Technology, Product Building, Data and Mergers & Acquisitions.  

She is a strong advocate of diversity in the workplace and has led numerous initiatives to foster inclusion and drive meaningful improvements in this area.

Brendan is a strategic-minded senior executive with broad experience driving outperformance at revenue and earnings levels global organisations. He has a proven track record of cost management, efficiency creation, and significant M&A experience, including the $12 billion acquisition and integration of PRA Health Sciences.

Brendan has extensive background in public listed companies including investor relations, board-level reporting, and presenting to public company sub-committees. He has worked with teams across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, managing a 41,000-FTE organisation.

Prior to his role at HBX Group as Chief Financial Officer, Brendan held various senior positions in financial planning, corporate finance, and investor relations. He has also worked with ICON, CRH Plc and PWC.

Daniel Nordholm is a highly experienced international financial services executive with over 20 years of experience in innovating, building and delivering payment solutions and financial services. He has a strong entrepreneurial spirit as demonstrated by his close involvement with the development, value creation and sales of two different businesses.

He studied at the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University in Sweden and has held a variety of leadership roles throughout his career. Notably, he served as CEO of Bambora, directing the European business at Worldline Merchant Services, as well as SVP Global Service at VeriFone. Daniel is also a skilled Chief Technology and Chief Product Officer.

Since joining the company in January 2023, Daniel has taken on a newly created position developing new verticals and driving innovative solutions for the business. In addition to leading financial services, he now oversees the group’s divisions of Product, Mobility and Experiences, as well as Roiback, HBX Group brand focused on driving direct sales for hotels.

Javier Cabrerizo is the Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer (CSTO) at HBX Group. He has worked at the company for the last decade with a dedicated focus on reshaping the travel industry and proactively transforming the organisation into the leading B2B TravelTech ecosystem player.

In his role, Javier is responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction, by identifying growth opportunities, and ensuring the right execution of HBX Group’s Transformation Programmes.

His strategic vision and innovative approach are crucial as the company navigates through the increasingly fast-paced and disruptive travel landscape.

Before joining HBX Group, Javier held several senior roles as Strategy Consultant advising leading global companies across several industries, including private equities and venture capitals. He remains connected with the start-up ecosystem, acting as a board member and adviser on selected ventures.

Credited with designing and leading a transformative HR function at HBX Group, Elena has been with the company since 2015 and also oversees Communications and ESG within the organisation.

She has a proven track record of championing cultural change having led HBX Group through numerous complex and challenging change programmes and is a strong advocate for the value of placing the employee at the heart of the business, demonstrated through a strong EVP centred around encouraging high performance and development.

Recognising the strength of a proactive, creative communications approach both internally and externally in raising the profile of the company and attracting talent to it, she also spearheads an ambitious ESG agenda as part of her role. With strong international experience gained in consulting firms including PWC, IBM and Garrigues Human Capital, Elena’s career also includes international HR Director positions in Claire’s Accessories Inc and Tendam Group.

Mark Antipof, a board-level, internationally experienced senior executive with extensive experience in the payments and technology services industries, joined the company in February 2023 in the newly created role of Business Development Director.

He has a career spanning more than 30 years at some of the world’s leading financial companies, including four years at Ingenico where he served as a member of the executive committee and Global Head of Sales & Marketing. Prior to this, he spent 14 years at Visa Europe, latterly as Chief Commercial Officer with responsibility for all commercial, business, stakeholder and client-facing activities in 37 markets.

Mark is a visionary, multilingual leader with extensive sales, marketing and customer service expertise. He is credited with driving consistent sales growth and accelerating efficiencies in his previous roles.

Now, as Chief Growth Officer at HBX Group, he is responsible for developing new products, segments and business models to accelerate growth across all areas of the business.

Xabi joined the company in 2016 and has since occupied leadership positions in the Commercial and Operations areas before joining the Executive Committee as Chief Operations Officer (COO).

With a strong management consulting background at Mckinsey & Company and an MBA from MIT Sloan, Xabi has an impressive track record in leading teams through change. He has held senior roles across strategy, analytics, digital transformation, customer service and financial services. 

Xabi believes in building high-performing teams through trust and transparency. He has been a key leader in the company’s journey over the last years, playing a crucial role in the integration of GTA and Tourico Holidays, redefining the distribution strategy, weathering the pandemic, reinventing customer service and bringing the first genAI interventions into production.

As COO, Xabi manages the company’s global operations across brands and products, ensuring a seamless delivery of high-quality services to HBX Group partners worldwide. His expertise and extensive experience in transforming operations and leading large global teams will be instrumental in HBX Group’s mission to offer frictionless and efficient services and achieve sustainable growth.