Alon Stern is a visionary fintech founder and a dedicated architect of the modern travel economy. As the Founder and CEO of TurnStay, Alon leads a mission-driven team building the essential financial infrastructure and orchestration tools that empower travel merchants to thrive. His unique journey—transitioning from a career as a climate scientist to a leader in global finance—provides him with a rare perspective on solving complex, large-scale problems with mathematical precision and strategic foresight.
A former researcher at Princeton with a PhD in Mathematics, Alon has a proven track record of translating high-level data into transformative business solutions. Before launching TurnStay, he founded Slide Financial and headed the data division at Prodigy Finance, refining his expertise in how money moves across borders. He thrives on the challenge of simplifying global payment systems, ensuring that travel businesses can operate with greater efficiency and transparency. His work reflects a deep commitment to innovation, leveraging his technical mastery to build a more connected and resilient financial future for the travel industry.
Sessions
April 9, Thursday
Venue: Innovation City Cape Town
OTAs: The Next Frontier
As we enter The Next 20, online travel agencies face a new frontier shaped by AI interfaces, shifting traveller trust, regional platform strength, and new paths to discovery and booking. Will OTAs become invisible infrastructure, intelligent trip partners, or powerful super-platforms? And as travellers gain more tools and control, how must intermediaries evolve to stay essential? This session brings together global and regional OTA leaders to examine where value will be created next – from product and payments to partnerships and localisation – and how competitive dynamics between global giants and homegrown champions will play out across emerging markets. Expect candid perspectives on what OTAs must reinvent, defend, and double down on in the next era of travel distribution.
Speakers:
Andy Hedley, CEO, Travelstart
Albert Fernando, CEO, Travelwings
Bayo Adedeji, Group Chief Executive Officer, Wakanow
Moderator:
