Criteo Chooses Navan to Refresh Global Travel Management
On May 7, 2026, Criteo announced that it has partnered with Navan to overhaul its worldwide travel program. The decision reflects a growing trend among large organisations to bring technology and data to the front of employee travel, aiming for a smoother experience and tighter control over costs. The move comes as Criteo seeks to offer its global workforce a booking system that feels as intuitive as the personal apps they already use.
Understanding Criteo’s Position in the Market
Criteo is known as a global commerce intelligence platform. The company specialises in data‑driven marketing, helping businesses reach customers through targeted advertising. With a presence that spans many countries, Criteo’s workforce travels frequently for meetings, conferences, and client visits. Managing this travel efficiently has become a priority for the firm, especially as it expands into new regions.
For a company that relies on data to drive decisions, having a travel platform that can provide clear visibility into spending and policy compliance is essential. The need for a system that balances user convenience with organisational oversight has pushed Criteo to look beyond traditional travel agencies.
Navan: A Modern Approach to Business Travel
Navan, listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker NAVN, offers an AI‑powered business travel and expense platform. Its core promise is to make travel simple for frequent travellers while delivering a unified view of bookings, payments, and spend reporting. Navan’s technology pulls from a broad inventory of travel options, allowing employees to choose flights, hotels, and ground transport in a single interface.
One of Navan’s standout features is its sustainability reporting capability. As companies increasingly focus on reducing their environmental impact, having a platform that tracks and reports on travel emissions becomes a valuable asset. Navan’s global expertise in this area positions it well for organisations that want to align travel practices with broader sustainability goals.
Why Navan Was Chosen by Criteo
Several factors influenced Criteo’s selection. First, Navan’s extensive inventory offers a wide range of travel options, ensuring that employees can find suitable arrangements no matter where they travel. Second, the platform’s unified travel and payments system simplifies the booking process and reduces administrative friction. Third, Navan’s sustainability reporting tools align with Criteo’s growing commitment to responsible business practices.
Sarah Glickman, Chief Financial Officer at Criteo, highlighted the user‑experience focus in the partnership. She said, “We wanted to give our teams a travel tool that’s as easy to use as the apps they use in their personal lives. Our goal with Navan was to improve the user experience for both travelers and managers, and to bring a richer breadth of travel content directly into a single platform.” This statement underscores the importance Criteo places on intuitive design and comprehensive content.
Benefits for Employees and Managers
For employees, the new platform promises a streamlined booking experience. Instead of juggling multiple travel portals, staff can search for flights, hotels, and transportation in one place. The AI component tailors suggestions based on travel history and preferences, which can save time and reduce the chance of booking errors.
Managers and finance teams benefit from enhanced visibility into travel spend. Navan’s reporting tools compile data across all bookings, providing a clear picture of costs and policy compliance. This transparency helps managers spot trends, negotiate better rates with suppliers, and keep travel budgets in check.
Operational Excellence and Employee Experience
Operational excellence is a key theme in the partnership. By integrating a single platform across the organisation, Criteo can standardise travel procedures, reduce duplication, and lower the risk of miscommunication. The unified system also means that policy changes can be rolled out quickly, ensuring that all employees adhere to the latest guidelines.
Employee experience is another priority. A travel tool that feels familiar and easy to navigate reduces frustration and frees employees to focus on their core responsibilities. The comparison to personal apps signals that Criteo values the same level of simplicity and speed that users expect from consumer technology.
Implications for Sustainability Reporting
Navan’s expertise in sustainability reporting offers a clear advantage for companies aiming to meet environmental targets. By aggregating data on travel emissions, the platform allows organisations to track progress toward carbon reduction goals. For Criteo, this capability supports broader corporate responsibility initiatives and can help demonstrate commitment to sustainability to stakeholders.
While the announcement does not detail the specific metrics that will be reported, the inclusion of sustainability tools suggests that Criteo intends to use travel data as part of its overall ESG strategy. This aligns with a growing trend where travel spend is a significant contributor to corporate emissions, and accurate tracking becomes essential for meaningful reporting.
Looking Ahead: Adoption and Integration
Details on the rollout timeline are not yet available. However, the partnership indicates that Criteo plans to implement Navan across its global workforce. The integration will likely involve training sessions, policy updates, and system configuration to match existing finance and travel management workflows.
As Navan’s platform is cloud‑based, the transition should be smoother than deploying on‑premise solutions. The company’s experience in managing large, international travel programmes suggests that it can handle the complexities of a multi‑region rollout. Employees will probably receive guidance on how to use the new interface, and support teams will be ready to address any issues that arise.
Industry Context: The Shift Toward AI‑Driven Travel Platforms
The travel industry is witnessing a shift toward AI‑driven platforms that promise faster booking, better cost control, and richer data insights. Traditional travel agencies often struggle to keep pace with the speed of digital innovation, leading many organisations to turn to specialised tech firms.
Navan’s approach—combining AI with a unified booking experience—fits this trend. By offering a single portal for flights, hotels, and ground transport, the platform reduces the need for multiple vendors. The AI component can suggest alternatives that balance cost, time, and sustainability, a feature that is increasingly valuable for companies that want to optimise travel spend while meeting environmental goals.
For Criteo, the partnership represents a strategic alignment with this broader industry movement. The choice of Navan indicates a willingness to adopt cutting‑edge technology to meet both operational and employee‑experience objectives.
Conclusion
In choosing Navan, Criteo signals its commitment to modernising travel management through technology, data, and user‑centric design. The partnership brings together a global commerce intelligence platform and an AI‑powered travel solution, creating a system that promises ease of use, cost visibility, and sustainability insights. While the full impact of the rollout will unfold over time, the announcement marks an important step for Criteo in shaping a travel experience that matches the expectations of today’s digital workforce.
