Travelport Americas president shares how to make a difference in business, politics & family life

Bret Kidd ’90 is guided by a firm commitment to his priorities: first faith, then family, friends and finally, fortune. In his recent conversation with Business Honors students at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School, he shared how maintaining this order has ensured balance and purpose in everything he undertakes.

Kidd is president of Travelport Americas. His role encompasses strategic direction, financial results and operations of Travelport’s travel agency, travel management company (TMC) and regional online travel agency (OTA) customers throughout North America, the Caribbean and South America.

“I love travel and the travel industry,” Kidd said. “At Travelport, I get to travel a lot – I’ve already been to 13 countries in 2016. But I am also in the business of simplifying the travel process for the industry. Travelport centralizes key data and make it accessible to travel agencies big and small, both online or brick-and-mortar shops.”

Business Honors major Isabel Gonzalez ’18 was engaged by the discussion about global distribution systems like Travelport.  “I never knew that there are intermediaries between airlines and travel sites like Expedia,” she said.  

Several students asked how Kidd maintains a work-life balance.

“I’ve never missed a day of vacation,” Kidd admitted. “Taking time to unplug mentally and spend time with family is invaluable. Your company can continue to run without you.”

Kidd said he also builds walls around his weekends and disconnects from technology during time with people he cares about. He encouraged students: “Get involved in your church or your community and hold leadership positions. This gives you something else purposeful outside of your job and keeps you from the temptation to overwork.”

While an undergraduate at Texas A&M University, Kidd studied management and was a member of the Business Fellows program. He was also involved in the Wiley Lecture Series, which sparked his interest in politics and opened doors to begin his career working on Capitol Hill.

After graduating from Texas A&M, Kidd served as special assistant to U.S. Senator Phil Gramm, supporting Gramm in a variety of areas, including health care and fiscal/economic matters. His work brought him in touch with dignitaries like Margaret Thatcher, who once was visiting for a fund-raiser. “I even had a conversation in Russian with Mikhail Gorbachev,” Kidd joked of his one-word exchange with the former leader of USSR.

After four years involved in politics, Kidd went back to school and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1996. He then held a variety of executive positions at EDS/HP, including leading industry verticals, managing strategic accounts and driving corporate development initiatives in the Travel & Transportation, Global Public Sector, Corporate Strategy and M&A groups.

One of the most meaningful times of his career was when Kidd led the aviation security task force at EDS following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “We had to determine a way to get our airline clients back in the air,” he said. “Within just two weeks of 9-11, we were pitching solutions to improve airline security to the Secretary of Defense, Congress, governors and other politicians.”

He encouraged students to take advantage of these opportunities to give back to their country. “Don’t be afraid to get involved in politics in some way during your career,” he advised. “Businessmen and businesswomen have more to offer in the political sphere than they often realize.”

Accounting and Business Honors major Preston Powell ’16 said it was inspiring to hear how Kidd’s priorities have guided him in a successful business career. “After hearing his story, I was encouraged to reflect on how to converge the division between what I want my priorities to be in the future and what my priorities actually are right now.”

Daniel Moore ’18, also a Business Honors and accounting major, reflected how he was challenged by Kidd’s example to better cherish his education and take advantage of the many leadership opportunities at Texas A&M.  “Meeting Mr. Kidd reminded me to never take the opportunities I have here for granted,” he said.