• by April 5, 2011

Longtime Yahoo exec Mark Rabe has been named CEO of Sojern, the company that puts ads into online boarding passes, itineraries and other travel-industry-related inventory. He replaces Sojern founder Gordon Whitten, who remains on the company's board of directors and will remain active in growing the 4-year-old company.

Rabe said his appointment signals the start of Sojern leaving startup status and beginning its "phase two," which he termed "scale and growth." Having already forged partnerships with eight major U.S. airlines and online ticketing services, Rabe said Sojern will likely now pursue international partners in the same vein, possibly opening up foreign offices in the long-term.

Sojern has six domestic offices, with Rabe setting up HQ in San Francisco -- familiar ground for the Yahoo vet. Rabe came to Yahoo via its acquisition of Overture, where he had served as VP of strategy and operations.

During his six years at Yahoo, he led the company's efforts to grow relationships with global advertisers and agencies as vice president, global sales, and most recently served in London as managing director of UK and Ireland, Yahoo's largest international market.

In addition to global growth in partnerships, Rabe expects to increase local revenues on the ad side. Every boarding pass holder, after all, has a "city of origin and city of destination," giving Sojern the opportunity to supplement its national ad sales with buys from local businesses such as "off-airport parking, restaurants and entertainment."

Sojern said it currently has 15 million unique monthly visitors, and 6.5 million monthly online check-in sessions. It is ranked as one of the top 10 travel sites.