Navan appoints former Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss to board

Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN) announced the appointment of Shai Weiss, former Virgin Atlantic CEO, to its board of directors effective immediately. The business travel and expense management platform said Weiss brings travel industry experience and operational expertise to the board.

Weiss served as Virgin Atlantic's CEO from January 2019 until December 2025 and was an executive director of its board starting in 2014. He joined Virgin Atlantic as chief financial officer in 2014 and later served as chief commercial officer before becoming CEO. During his tenure, Weiss facilitated Delta Air Lines' acquisition of Singapore Airlines' 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic and the formation of a $17 billion transatlantic joint venture with Delta and Air France-KLM.

Prior to joining Virgin Group in 2006, Weiss held senior management positions at ntl:Telewest, now Virgin Media O2, and was a member of the Morgan Stanley Technology Investment Banking team in London.

"Shai is a travel industry veteran who brings a deep understanding of the business traveler's mindset to the board," said Ariel Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Navan. "Under his leadership, Virgin Atlantic transformed into a premium, digital-first carrier with industry-leading guest satisfaction."

Weiss said he was honored to join the board and looked forward to working with the team to shape the future of travel and expense management.

The appointment comes after Navan announced customer wins including Axel Springer and Frasers Group, alongside new partnerships with Emirates and an enhanced connection with Booking.com.

With Weiss' appointment, Navan's board expands to ten members, including Ben Horowitz, Arif Janmohamed, Mike Kourey, Clara Liang, Sandesh Patnam, Anré Williams, Oren Zeev, and co-founders Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig.

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