BERLIN, Dec. 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blacklane has named former Daimler Financial Services AG executive Ralf Echtler as chief operating / chief financial officer. Most recently, he managed Daimler Financial Services’ Ride4Hire business unit, which owns mytaxi and shares of Blacklane and FlixBus. The company has led two rounds of investment in Blacklane, most recently in August.
“Ralf has been instrumental on our Board of Advisors as an expert on innovative mobility and automotive strategy,” said Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane. “His industry knowledge and managerial expertise will help us better serve customers on the ground and online.”
Blacklane spans more than 250 cities and 500 airports in 53 countries. Major partners include Amadeus, Expedia, HRS, Sabre’s TripCase, TripAdvisor’s Viator, Miles & More, and Asia Miles.
“In my previous position I had a front-row seat to watch Blacklane grow its footprint and add key travel partners,” said Ralf Echtler. “I am excited to help accelerate Blacklane’s growth and scale our services around the world.”
Mr. Echtler will manage Blacklane’s customer care, driver relationship, finance, controlling and legal teams. He will report to Mr. Wohltorf.
Mr. Echtler joins after 11 years at Daimler in Germany, the United States and Asia. He held leadership roles in finance and controlling, international strategy and business development, and investor relations.
“Blacklane is gaining an expert on travelers’ needs for high-quality transportation, as well as an operational leader. We thank him for his leadership and contributions at Daimler Financial Services. We wish him all the best and look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role,” said Klaus Entenmann, chairman of Daimler Financial Services.
About Blacklane (blacklane.com)
Blacklane is the global professional driver service, covering the first and last miles of your journey. We provide peace of mind for passengers and drivers in more than 50 countries, 250 cities and 500 airports around the world. We guarantee high-quality rides at fair, fixed and all-inclusive rates. All drivers are commercially licensed and insured. Our state-of-the-art systems and a multi-lingual 24/7 Customer Service team coordinates tens of thousands of quality cars in real time. You can schedule rides on our website or iOS or Android apps.