Speakers

David Soskin

CEO, Cheapflights.co.uk

David Soskin joined Cheapflights Limited (www.cheapflights.co.uk) – the pioneer of internet travel price comparison - as CEO in March 2000. By maintaining Cheapflights' consistent profitability, he has grown the Company organically without recourse to external funding and has increased its traffic from 300,000 in 2000 to a record current 6.00 million global unique users a month. Cheapflights is possibly the only British dotcom to have successfully launched a US sister site. Last year, Cheapflights' sites drove an estimated £1.0 billion worth of travel business to its advertising partners. Most recently, David co-founded HOWZAT media LLP (www.howzatmedia.com), an investment vehicle for early stage dotcoms.

Immediately prior to Cheapflights, David was head of global media at ABN AMRO Corporate Finance. His previous experience included the Boston Consulting Group and Redland Plc where he was Group Director of Corporate Planning. In 1989 he founded Asquith Court Schools (www.asquithnurseries.com) which was sold in 2001 for US$100m to West Private Equity. In 1995, David’s entrepreneurial achievements were honoured by the European Foundation for Entrepreneurial Research when he was named as one of Europe’s 500 most dynamic entrepreneurs. In 2006, he was a Finalist in Ernst & Young's UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

David was educated at Oxford University (First Class Honours in Modern History, President of the Oxford Union) and the Harvard Business School (Harkness Fellow). From 1995 to 1997, David served as a senior adviser to the Prime Minister in the Number 10 Downing Street Policy Unit.

David is a frequent speaker and media commentator on travel and the internet, both in Europe and the USA and is on the UK Advisory Board of Hitwise, the online competitive intelligence monitoring service.