Barry Liben is the Chief Executive Officer of Travel Leaders Group – a North American travel company that includes over 1,300 wholly-owned and franchised travel agencies in the United States and Canada. Travel Leaders Group is comprised of five companies including: Travel Leaders Corporate, Travel Leaders Leisure Group, Travel Leaders Franchise Group, Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions, and Tzell Travel Group. Mr. Liben became the CEO when Tzell Travel Group merged with Travel Acquisitions Group – now known as Travel Leaders Group – in August 2008.

With combined wholly-owned and franchised sales of over $7.1 billion in 2008, Travel Leaders Group ranks as the ninth largest travel company in the United States, as well as among the top five brands with a national retail presence.

Thanks to the combined sales of its Travel Leaders Corporate and Tzell Travel Group, Travel Leaders Group is ranked as the number one travel management company by Business Travel News. In 2009, for the 13th consecutive year, a brand within the Travel Leaders Franchise Group was named as the top travel business franchise by Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500®. While the Travel Leaders name may be new, Travel Leaders Franchise Group can trace its beginnings to 1984 as the franchise system “Ask Mr. Foster Travel,” which itself was North America’s first travel agency chain established in 1888.

Prior to the merger, Mr. Liben served as president and CEO of Tzell Travel Group, a leadership role he continues. Mr. Liben has been at the helm of Tzell Travel Group since 1977. At the time of his initial investment, Tzell Travel Group arranged travel primarily between the U.S. and Israel with three employees. Today, Tzell Travel Group has grown to include over 700 agents, staff and management.

By combining his business skills, management savvy and personal philosophy, "you can work hard and still have fun," Mr. Liben charted Tzell Travel Group's path for success. Mr. Liben's unwavering business sense has seen Tzell Travel Group through the economic ups and downs of four decades. He grew the once tiny business, with emphasis on travel to a single destination, into one that focuses on a core product of worldwide business travel with additional emphasis on groups, sports packages, and concert tours. Its prominence in the travel industry grew from a ranking of 40th among the “Top 50 Travel Agencies” to 4th in 2008 (according to Business Travel News).

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Liben resides in Livingston, New Jersey with his family. His philanthropic work includes serving on the board of the National Stuttering Foundation, five years as president of the Israel Community Development Foundation and, most recently, as a member of the International Board of the Menachem Begin Center in Jerusalem.