Online travel agent Musafir.com has appointed Vijay Kesavan as the chief executive officer of its Indian operations. In this role, he will be responsible for formulating the company's business strategy in India. Prior to this appointment, Kesavan was serving as the senior vice president and head of online sales and distribution at Thomas Cook. Before that, he was the CEO of Akbartravelsonline.com for more than four and a half years. He's also had stints at IndiGo Airlines, Interglobe Technology Quotient, Abacus International and Amadeus India and has a total 15 years experience in the travel and distribution industry. UAE-based Musafir.com had launched its Indian operations in October 2013. Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar owns a minority 7.5% stake in the company through a global endorsement deal which includes print, radio, television and outdoor media. The company claims to offer flight and travel packages to over 3,000 destinations across the world on 270 airlines and international hotel deals across 75,000 hotels globally. It also offers a specialized travel service for organizations and claims to be managing travel of more than 5,000 organizations. Other players in this space include NASDAQ-listed MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip and Ibibo Group's Goibibo.com. Film actor Salman Khan had picked up a minority stake in Musafir's competitor Yatra through an endorsement deal in March 2012. Related: #Outlook14: What Indian Online Travel Companies Plan To Do
