ITB Berlin Power 60
Stephen Kaufer
PIC T/C
GIVING TRAVELLERS A VOICE Co-Founder & former CEO, TripAdvisor Stephen Kaufer co-founded TripAdvisor in 2000 with Langley Steinert to give everyday travellers candid, user-generated reviews – a radical shift from brochure and agent-led recommendations. He led the company for 22 years through its IPO, growth into the world’s largest travel community site, and expansion across dozens of languages and markets. After stepping down in 2022, Kaufer continues to influence travel through his roles in tech startups and philanthropy.
Philip C. Wolf SHAPING THE DIGITAL TRAVEL REVOLUTION Founder & Chairman, Phocuswright Philip C. Wolf (1956-2021) founded Phocuswright in 1994, creating one of the travel industry’s foremost research and events platforms just as online travel was in its infancy. Wolf’s sharp insight into digital distribution and innovation helped define how travel companies think about data, technology and industry disruption. He also served on the boards of more than 25 travel- and tech-oriented firms globally and was a sought-after speaker at gatherings like ITB Berlin. His legacy endures through the Philip C. Wolf Foundation, created to support the next generation of travel innovators.
Karlheinz Kögel
GERMANY’S LAST-MINUTE TRAVEL PIONEER Media & Tourism Entrepreneur Karlheinz Kögel is a German media and tourism entrepreneur renowned for pioneering the “last-minute” travel concept. In 1987, he founded L’TUR, leveraging surplus hotel and flight capacity to create affordable, last-minute holidays. He later launched hlx.com and the HLX Touristik group in 2011, embedding digital platforms and price-comparison tools into mainstream travel planning. A lifelong innovator, Kögel also established Media Control for media analytics and has played a defining role in shaping Germany’s holiday travel habits for decades.
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