Sabre’s India Chief on Finding Talent, Tech Shifts, and What Travelers Want Now

As India adds airports, links more towns, and packs hotel rooms, the real question isn’t if travel will boom, it’s whether the industry can keep up.

Travel technology company Sabre is increasing its focus on India, and leading the push is Samual Machado, who returned to Sabre last year to lead its India and South Asia operations.

The company’s investment plan includes hiring from India’s top business schools like the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), strengthening 24/7 customer support, and building a long-term pipeline of talent.

Rather than pulling in seasoned professionals from rival firms, Machado said Sabre is taking a different route. “I didn’t want to just hire from competitors,” he said speaking to Skift on the sidelines of Sabre's 20th anniversary in India. “We’re building a team for the future, and that means bringing in fresh talent, not just experienced hands.”

Sabre has credited its global capability center (GCC) in Bengaluru with “increasingly shaping” the company’s global technology roadmap. Starting as a back-office delivery centre, it has grown into a core pillar of Sabre’s global technology strategy.