Christal Bemont is an American travel and technology business executive with over 25 years of experience scaling high-growth global companies across small, mid-market, and enterprise segments. Christal has a demonstrated track record in digital transformation, new market expansion, and creating operational efficiency. She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and board member of Direct Travel, a market leader in corporate travel management. Christal also sits on the board of directors of Barracuda Networks, a provider of enterprise security software and services, and CoreTrust, a leading group purchasing organization and Blackstone company.

Before Direct Travel, Christal was CEO of Talend, a market leader in modern data management with over 7,000 global customers and 1,300 employees. During her three years at Talend, Christal led the company’s successful transition to the cloud and recognized market leadership in the data integration and quality segments. Christal helped steer Talend’s 19% growth as a public company before moving the company private in a deal with leading private equity firm Thomas Bravo worth $2.4B.

Previously, Christal spent over 15 years at Concur in progressive go-to-market roles. As CRO, Christal was responsible for a $2B business spanning a global footprint in 90 countries. She led 3,000 employees and the development and execution of all revenue strategies, which drove 25% sustained annual revenue growth in SAP’s Cloud Business Group. In addition to being a highly impactful business and sales leader, Christal was also instrumental in identifying, designing, and introducing successful products that launched new industries.

Before her success as CRO, Christal was Senior Vice President and General Manager of SAP Concur’s Small, Midsized, and Nationals business unit. Under her leadership, that unit grew annual revenue from $53M under management to $700M. Early in her career, Christal served in multiple capacities focused on operational and technical roles at Motorola, Extensity, and Clarify.

Deeply passionate about developing an incredible corporate culture, Christal ensures employees can bring their authentic, whole selves to work. She fosters high-functioning, accountable teams unified by a clear vision and environment that prioritizes collaboration, agility, and ownership. Christal is a member of Nine Lives, and Love Takes Root foundations. Residing in Atlanta, GA, Christal earned her Bachelor of Science in Business at Missouri Western State University.