GDS

History

A pioneer in the maritime leisure industry, GDS and its Partners have a long history and deep legacy of business development success in building the ocean and river cruise sectors around the world.

GDS was conceived over Turkish Tea in Istanbul between Trey Hickey, the 25 year International sales and marketing veteran of Carnival plc and Royal Caribbean and the Bilikli family; founders of one of Europe’s largest tour and river boat operators.

The idea of GDS was unique and ground-breaking. The initial funding created an opportunity for former colleagues of the world’s largest representation companies to pool capital and invest in small to mid-sized businesses, leveraging their professional backgrounds, networks and management expertise to improve these businesses. This unique model distinguishes us among more common one-dimensional commercial contacts; to this day it remains at the heart of our mission and value proposition.

Our unwavering focus on building businesses for long-term success has remained a constant principle throughout our history and enabled 30 years of consistent results for our portfolio companies through many economic cycles

  • $5 billion

    in collective cruise and river boat revenues

  • 65/3

    With sixty-five locations across three continents, GDS has an unparalleled global network of maritime leisure industry sector-focused offices run by highly experienced travel industry executives and influencers

  • 125+

    With approximately 130 employees, including over 75 sales and marketing professionals, GDS’s experienced and focused team leverages deep industry knowledge and exceptional operational expertise

  • 1980’s

    With partnerships founded over 30 years ago, GDS’s team represents one of the oldest and most experienced companies with a long legacy of success