LEADERSHIP TEAM
API is a team of professionals with extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of crew travel, hotel and ground transportation industries. We are led by a team of seasoned executives with backgrounds throughout the travel, airline and automotive industries.
Rich's Bio
As the CEO of API, Rich is responsible for API’s strategy, culture and day to day operations. Rich’s mission is to develop and execute that company strategy and lead the growth of the company into the future.
Rich is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur and co-founded Dealertrack Technologies in late 2000. Most recently at Dealertrack, Rich was CIO, Executive Vice President of Technology and Service Solutions. Prior to that Rich served various roles at Dealertrack until, as a public company, it was acquired by Cox Automotive in late 2015 for approximately $4.5 billion.
From 1996 to 2001, Mr. McLeer was Senior Vice President and National Product Director for the Bank of America Auto Group, and previously held a variety of marketing, sales and business development positions at Bank of America. Prior to that, Mr. McLeer worked at Trans Union Corporation from 1993 to 1996. Other previous experience includes two years serving as controller of Ellesse, U.S.A., a division of Reebok, and four years in public accounting at Ernst & Young. Mr. McLeer holds a BS in Accounting from Hofstra University and is a CPA.
Ray's Bio
Raymond D’Aponte is the President & Chief Financial Officer of API, leading all areas of API’s accounting and financial activities. Ray’s mission is to position the accounting and finance team to go beyond delivering numbers and enable the team to drive corporate strategy and play a vital role in ensuring value creation over time.
Prior to API, Ray served as the CFO for Planet Payment, Inc., a leading provider of international and multi-currency processing. Prior to that Ray served as Planet Payments Senior Vice President, Finance and Vice President, Finance. Ray played a key role in taking Planet Payment from an AIM listed company to a NASDAQ listed company before being acquired in late 2017 by Fintrax Group.
From March 2005 to April 2011, Ray served as Senior Director of Corporate Accounting and Finance of DealerTrack Holdings Inc., an automotive retail software solution provider. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant in the audit practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Ray holds a B.A. in Accounting from Dowling College.
Ramzi's Bio
As Chief Commercial Officer of API, Ramzi is responsible for growth related activities of the company within the verticals of aviation, rail, and cruise lines, as well as other, smaller divisions. Ramzi’s organization includes a team that possesses knowledge and expertise to allow API to elevate their client focus, engage the market, and deliver exceptional value in a unique and specialized area of the crew accommodation industries we serve.
Ramzi’s vision is to promote API’s solutions and value proposition of making sure the crew layover experience is safe, efficient, and uneventful and to maintain API’s position as the leader in world-wide crew accommodations management.
Ramzi joined API in 1999 with a strong background in airport operations. In 2018, Ramzi transitioned into a role of Chief Commercial Officer where he focuses on the organizational growth and negotiating enterprise agreements that promote long-term value for API and its Clients.
Ramzi is a graduate of Cleveland State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.
Donna's Bio
As Chief Human Resources Officer & General Counsel, Donna is responsible for managing API’s talent and legal functions. In this dual role, Donna partners with her business colleagues to execute the company strategy and achieve business objectives. She leverages her exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to build strong relationships and negotiate favorable outcomes. She is especially passionate about collaborating with cross-functional teams to achieve desired results.
Prior to joining API, Donna was Associate General Counsel for Dealertrack Technologies for thirteen years. In that role, Donna negotiated contracts with the company’s largest customers and strategic partners, and counseled human resources across all department functions.
After earning her JD from Harvard Law School, Donna received her initial training at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, where she worked for two years as a corporate associate. Donna also holds a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Anup's Bio
As Chief Product Technology Officer at API, Anup is responsible for leading the company’s product strategy, technology vision, and innovation roadmap. His mission is to align API’s technology and product capabilities with its long-term business goals, enabling scalable growth, operational excellence, and customer-centric solutions.
Anup is a seasoned business and technology executive with over 28 years of global experience across the FinTech, payments, telecom, and media sectors. He has held numerous C-suite roles and has led large-scale enterprise transformations in organizations spanning the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia. His career is marked by a consistent ability to modernize legacy systems, build high-performance global teams, and execute product and technology strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.
Before joining API, Anup Nair served as Chief Information Officer at West Technology Group, where he led a global product and technology organization comprising approximately 3,000 professionals. In this role, he orchestrated a sweeping transformation initiative that modernized 230 platforms, decommissioned 240 data centers worldwide, and retooled and reskilled the global workforce. His leadership significantly enhanced operational resilience and accelerated innovation across the enterprise.
Anup also oversaw the strategic segmentation of all business units, ensuring seamless transitions to acquiring entities. As President of the communications and telecom division, he played a pivotal role in managing the business exit, maintaining operational continuity throughout the transition.
Joe's Bio
As the Chief Technology Officer at API, Joe holds the responsibility for overseeing the design, development, and support of API's industry-leading applications. This includes managing their integration with client systems, as well as handling internal IT operations and infrastructure.
Joe has extensive experience in senior technology leadership across various industries, including logistics, clinical trials, data protection, and network equipment. His roles have included software development, support, professional services, and IT infrastructure management. He has been instrumental in establishing robust engineering organizations that align with business requirements, fostering the creation and expansion of multinational teams focused on delivering industry-leading applications.
Joe is focused on delivering resilient, scalable, high-quality applications by establishing mature processes, innovative architectures, and delivering superior quality applications.
Before joining API, Joe held key technology leadership positions at distinguished companies. Notably, he served at Edetek, a premier provider of clinical data management solutions; Choice Logistics, a global end-to-end supply chain services provider; Medidata, an industry leader in unified clinical trial platforms; Syncsort (now Precisely), a leader in data integrity; and Nortel Networks, a worldwide leader in computer networking and telecommunications. Joe's professional journey began as a software developer and test engineer in Toronto.
Joe earned an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering, specializing in electronics and computing, from Western University in London, Canada. He holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto.