Kristof Caekebeke

Kristof Caekebeke is an international technology executive with almost three decades of experience in software engineering, digital transformation and technology leadership, including more than 20 years in the global travel industry.

What stands out in his profile is the continuity with his earlier career in travel. Before joining TUI, Caekebeke already spent sixteen years at Thomas Cook. He began his career as a software developer in 1998 and joined Thomas Cook in 2003, where he spent 16 years in increasingly senior leadership roles. His responsibilities evolved from software development and solution architecture to leading omni channel and digital development across multiple European markets. Based between Ghent and London, he gained extensive international experience leading large scale technology teams and business critical digital platforms.
In 2020, Kristof joined TUI, one of the world’s leading integrated travel businesses, operating more than 400 hotels, 125 aircraft, 19 cruise ships, and selling more than 100,000 of its own-branded tours and experiences in more than 100 countries. At TUI, Kristof has held a few senior technology leadership positions and was appointed CIO in 2021. As CIO Global Distribution & Airline, he now leads technology across TUI’s worldwide distribution and aviation businesses, covering all source markets and airlines, as well as digital channels, ecommerce, customer platforms, CRM, content, loyalty and retail systems for more than 30 million customers every year.

Kristof is responsible for an organisation of approximately 2,000 technology professionals across 45 countries and oversees around €350 million of TUI’s annual €500 million technology investment. He is driving TUI’s technology strategy with a clear focus on modern engineering practices, AI enabled transformation, scalable platforms, smarter sourcing, and a target operating model that helps teams deliver faster, build more reliable systems and create measurable value for customers and the business. He is a member of the Global Distribution & Airlines Board and chairs the Global Distribution Board, working closely with the most senior business and technology leaders across the TUI Group.

As CIO Global Distribution, Kristof and his teams were key in launching the AI Lab, a central hub for everything AI at TUI bringing together business and IT. Under his leadership, the „Embrace AI“ program was rolled out, which encourages teams to learn about AI through an extensive learning program and test the technology in their daily work. Thanks to years of operational data (customer history, reviews, flight patterns, weather data), TUI can now build AI agents that personalize, predict, and advise better than a search bar ever could. Behind the scenes, AI optimizes flight staffing, pricing, complaint prevention, and logistics. TUI is evolving into an AI First Company capable of creating value in the new AI world.