A little more help from your friends
As someone new to buying travel, learn who can you turn to for advice. The session is divided into two parts. First, ITM executive director Paul Tilstone explains what the ITM can do to support you, both at this conference and during the rest of the year. Then find out who should be running your travel programme: which functions do you outsource to your TMC, which to third-party consultants, and which do you retain in-house?

Tony Pilcher

Following his retirement from HSBC in June 2007 as Head of Business Travel and Expense Management, Tony established Pilcher Associates Limited which provides independent consultancy to the Corporate Market across all aspects of Business Travel Management.

In January 2007 Tony received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the prestigious Business Travel World Awards ceremony in London and the following month was named as one of the top 25 most influential Business Travel Executives in the USA by Business Travel News (BTN) for his work in raising the profile of the impact of business travel on the environment. Both Judging Panels made particular mention of the hours Tony had spent sharing his knowledge with both travel managers and travel suppliers at formal conferences and in one-to-one briefing sessions, thereby demonstrating his influence and leadership across all aspects of Business Travel Management.

Tony is also Chair of The Institute of Travel Management’s ICARUS Project which was established to promote carbon efficiency and reduction in travel management programmes throughout the UK business travel industry as well as providing guidance on wider sustainability and duty of care issues.

Simone Buckley

As Managing Director of Capita Business Travel, Simone Buckley is responsible for the strategy, sales and overall management of the specialist business travel management company.

Simone began her career in the travel business working in operations and account management. After 18 years in the industry she brings with her a wealth of industry and operational experience. Formerly Director of Sales & Marketing at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Simone has held various senior roles in both sales and marketing within the travel industry. At Rosenbluth International she held the position of Global Sales Manager and latterly, headed up marketing across Europe for the company. She also held a senior sales role in BTI UK from 1992 to 1996 where she engineered a number of major sales wins.

Simone was appointed to the Executive Council of the Guild of Travel Management Companies in 2007.

Neil King

Neil has worked in Travel Management for almost 15 years. Currently, since April 2007, he has been leading the development of Corporate Travel as Travel Manager for the John Lewis Partnership. Prior to joining John Lewis, Neil started his career with Thomson Holidays where he became involved in their in house business travel, before progressing through the ranks in BTI Hogg Robinson (as it was known), Rosenbluth International, American Express & most recently Expedia Corporate Travel (ECT) where he found success in both Sales & Account Management following the birth of ECT in September 2004.

Neil now enjoys using his experience to his advantage on the other side of the fence.

BUYERS’ COURT: Brussels briefing
Wednesday 16 April, 15.00-16.00

A panel of travel buyers grill leading experts on three pan-European subjects of vital importance to the corporate travel community: Open Skies, IATA reform and plans for EU-wide surveillance of passenger data. Learn why each has a crucial impact on your travel programme.

Celia Allbut

Celia is European Head of Travel Procurement at WPP, one of the world’s largest communications services groups made up of leading companies in advertising, media investment management, PR, branding, market research and other specialist communications.

Celia joined WPP in July 2003 where she is responsible for a $100m European travel spend, leading strategic sourcing negotiations on all aspects of the travel commodity and advising Senior Management on travel policy issues and enforcement.

Prior to joining WPP, Celia worked as an external travel consultant for Orange SA, the international mobile phone network provider. Prior to working at Orange, Celia held a similar role at Invensys Plc.

Celia has been specialising in travel procurement for 13 years. She is a member of the Institute of Travel Management (ITM) and a professional member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).

Mike Platt

Mike Platt is Group Industry Affairs Director - a position he was appointed to in 2006.

In his current role Mike has global responsibility for procurement, supplier management and development. In addition, Mike looks after industry affairs, working with relevant trade bodies, lobby groups, regulators and industry influencers, to evolve and shape the corporate travel industry worldwide. Recently he has also picked up leadership of the HRG global network.

Kevin Mitchell

Kevin Mitchell formed the Business Travel Contractors Corporation (BTCC) in 1994 as a strategic buying group to advance fundamental reforms to the airline industry distribution system. The broad industry shift to net airfares and travel agency fee-based pricing during the 1990s in the U.S. and Europe were initiatives BTCC advanced. In 1996 the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) was formed to bring transparency to industry and government policies and practices so that customers could influence issues of strategic importance to them.

As BTC Chairman, Mitchell writes and speaks on airline competition, travel distribution, passenger issues and aviation system security, and frequently testifies before the U.S. Congress and various other governmental bodies. Mitchell has addressed numerous audiences in Europe including inaugural 1995 ACTE Conference in London, the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, the Swiss Parliament in Bern, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply in London and the Amadeus Annual Customer Convention in Vienna. BTC organized the EU CRS Deregulation Summit in Brussels in 2005, co-sponsored a C-FARE CRS Conference in 2006 in Brussels and held a CRS Customer Hearing in Brussels in 2007.

Mitchell was recognized by Business Travel News as one of the 25 most influential industry executives for 1994, 1996 and 1997 and was designated Man of the Year in 1998 by the Commercial Travelers Association and Person of The Year for 1998 and 1999 by Travel Agent Magazine. BTC publishes Travelogue, a compendium of global business travel news, in 80 countries and in 2005 launched BTC Radio, Talking Business Travel.

Mitchell is a graduate of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations. Mitchell worked for CIGNA Corp. for 12 years where as Vice President, Human Resources and Services his responsibilities included:

• Corporate Travel
• Corporate Aviation
• Meetings and Incentives
• Event Marketing
• Communications
• Corporate Safety
• The Eagle Lodge Conference Resort

PANEL: Security and safety – a travel manager’s responsibilities
Wednesday 16 April, 16.00-17.00

What are the responsibilities of companies in general and travel managers in particular for the security and safety of their travellers – legally, practically and morally? Discover how your work is affected by legislation on health and safety, corporate manslaughter and employment, and the practical steps you should take to ensure your travel programme meets its duty of care obligations.

Jim Cannon

Jim Cannon specialises in organisation development and has consulted with organisations in UK, North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Jim works as a coach to directors and senior executives, as well as facilitating events designed to improve the effectiveness of Boards and organisations. He speaks regularly to directors and at conferences, and runs an extensive range of training courses for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) as well as other organisations. He is a visiting lecturer at Geneva University.

He is a fellow of two Institutes (CIPD and CMI), former special adviser to the CIPD, past Manpower Society prize-winner, BPS member and Chairman of Trinity, a charity concerned with homelessness.

With a degree in Behavioural Science, a Masters degree in Manpower studies and a Doctorate in Organisational Psychology, his career has included director appointments in Charterhouse, Black and Decker and Thorn EMI in Organisation Development, Human Resources, Information Technology and General Management including founding and becoming Chief Executive of Solutions Electronic Services. In 1989 he started his own consultancy as well as co-founding Cavendish Partners, now merged with Right Coutts, a firm specialising in career counselling and coaching for senior executives.
He has written several books including Cost Effective Personnel Decisions, the Database Directory, Giving Feedback, Making the Business Case, Talent Management and Succession planning and workbooks such as Team Based Problem Solving and the Career Review workbook. In 2008 Organisation Development and Change will be published.

Mike Penrose

Mike has been involved in emergency response operations for most of the last seventeen years. With a background in Humanitarian aid in conflict areas Mike has worked in most of the major Humanitarian and conflict related crises since his first mission covering the Genocide in Rwanda 1994. This has included the management of response programmes in over 25 countries including Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, Liberia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq and Somalia.

Prior to joining International SOS Mike was a Senior Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Advisor for the UK Department for International Development. During this period Mike was seconded as an advisor into the Coalition in Iraq following the 2003 conflict, and was the lead Humanitarian advisor to the Secretary of State on the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa.

In recent years Mike has been seconded into the UN World Health Organisation as the Head of Operations for Banda Aceh following the 2004 Tsunami, was the crisis management advisor to the International Olympic Committee for the Torino Winter Games and deployed for the UK Foreign Office and DFID as Response Advisor and Honorary British Consul for Northern Pakistan following the earthquake in 2005.

Mike also acts as a specialist trainer on Hostage Survival to several Governments and large corporations as he was held hostage by Chechen Rebel Fighters during the 1996 conflict.

PANEL: Travel and finance
Thursday 17 April – 10.00-11.00

Winning sponsorship from your finance director is enormously helpful for driving your travel programme within your organisation. But how do you grab your FD’s attention in the first place?

ROUND-TABLE: No one understands me – stakeholder communication
Thursday 17 April, 14.00-15.15

How do you make senior management, travellers and other important stakeholders understand your work as a travel buyer and what those stakeholders must do to ensure your travel programme succeeds? Delegates sit at round tables to hammer out tips and advice on communicating the right messages.

PANEL: Meetings & events logistics and technology
Wednesday 16 April, 15.00-16.00

Organising the travel elements – flights, accommodation etc. – for a group event is harder than it looks. Learn how to get the right deals at the right price and solve the inevitable logistical nightmares that accompany mass travel arrangements, whether you are dealing with 20 delegates or 15,000. Also, a look at how emerging technologies are taking the pain out of meetings organisation through automation.

Shaun Casey

Casey started his career some 25 years ago as a management graduate trainee for Thomas Cook (Deutschland) Ltd in Cologne. After gaining experience in most areas of the travel business, he soon got involved in organising special readership trips and writing proposals for some of the big automotive sector incentive programmes.

He returned to the UK to progress his career with The Marketing Organisation (UK), where he was involved over a ten-year period in a number of roles in operations, sales and general management. His notable roles in the organisation saw him involved in organising the International Press activity at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games through to supporting the Mexican Government in the management of their international wholesaler travel trade shows throughout their country.

In 2000 he moved into Pharmaceutical Event Planning on the agency side with CVL-Maritz which saw him involved with many of the industries largest names in the UK, France and Spain. His key focus was Strategic Meetings Management consultancy relating to technology, resource and know-how for the implementation of strategies to provide transparency, control and cost reduction in the meetings sector, before he moved on to take up the position of Managing Director of StarCite EMEA, an on-demand meetings technology provider.

Shaun is now Managing Director EMEA for BCD Meetings & Incentives, a division of BCD Travel, the world´s third largest Travel Management Company. He is responsible for sales, marketing and operations of MICE and SMM business in 9 countries in the region.

PANEL: Strategic meetings management – evaluating your return on investment
Wednesday 16 April – 16.00-17.00

Pioneers in meetings management are using strategic analysis to match the right kind of group event to their business needs and quantify the benefits their organisation gains from this substantial category of expense. Find out more from the practitioners exploring the next frontier in M&E procurement.

Stephanie Smook

Stephanie Smook is Travel Manager for Nike EMEA, based at Nike’s European Head Quarters in Hilversum, The Netherlands. She has worked for Nike since 2001 and has held several positions within the Event Management & Travel Services department. She has responsibility for all areas of the European Program including air, hotel, car, online tool, communications, operations and the Travel Management Company. She works in close cooperation with her counterparts in the US. One of her current projects is the implementation and roll out of the Nike Global Travel Program within EMEA (26 countries). She is an active member of Cortas, ACTE and the Travel Advisory Board of BCD Travel.

Joyce Schaap

Joyce Schaap is Manager Operations, Support and Services in the Event Management and Travel Services Team Nike EMEA, based at Nike’s European Headquarter in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Joyce joined Nike in 2002.

Before joining Nike she shows a proven track-record of 13 years successful International Hospitality and Event Management experience. Joyce began her career in the hotel industry. She moved from a Sales Executive role and Director of Sales and Marketing position at a 5* property in Amsterdam, to a General Manager's role within a resort accommodation. From the hotel industry, Joyce moved into a senior management position within the largest Professional Congress Organizer in The Netherlands.

In her current position at Nike, Joyce and her team are responsible for aligning and co-coordinating the meetings, events and travel policies & procedures; supplying tools and supports for the effective execution of the meetings and events throughout the EMEA region, and optimizing the synergy between travel and events.

PANEL: Holistic travel – seeing the bigger picture
Thursday 17 April – 10.00-11.00

Buyers are beginning to widen their responsibilites to cover meetings management in the broadest sense, from conferences to corporate transient travel to virtual conferencing. Others are redefining ‘travel management’ as ‘mobility management’ to include relocation, mobile telecommunciations spend, fleet and all other ground transportation responsibilities. Our panellists explore the pros and cons of seeing the big picture.

Jamie Hindhaugh

Jamie Hindhaugh is the Head of Sourcing for the category management strand for Production Resources. This covers areas of spend in Post production and Graphics, Studios, Lighting, Scenery, Props, OB's, Locations, Shooting, Make Up, Costume, Radio and Music Facilities, New Media and Content and Knowledge and Reference.

As well as the above, Jamie is also the Head of logistics (incorporating managing the BBC transport Services operation which covers minicabs, couriers, self drive vehicles, coaches and shuttles BBC wide). He manages the BBC Travel services for Flights, Rail, Hotels and Shipping and is the national and international CPC holder for the BBC. Alongside this, Jamie also chairs the Environmental Steering group for the BBC in Transport and Travel.

Jamie's areas of expertise extend to Contract Management, Deal Negotiation with Suppliers, Investment Proposals, Negotiating With External Training Providers and Preferred Suppliers to name a few.

BRAINS TRUST: Meetings & events sourcing
Thursday 17 April – 14.00-15.15

An interview with two leading purchasers offering tips and experiences on M&E procurement, from gathering data to setting policy and supplier negotiation.

PANEL: Inside the mind of a supplier
Wednesday 16 April – 15.00-16.00

Understanding the mentality of your suppliers may be more important than you think for getting the deals you want. Learn how they are trained, the targets they are set and how they are motivated.

PANEL: Savvy supply relationship management
Wednesday 16 April – 16.00-17.00

You’ve done the deal, now how do you make it happen? A panel of leading corporate clients explore how to ensure the baton passes smoothly from procurement to relationship management while obtaining maximum performance from suppliers.

BRAINS TRUST: Distribution – the broken model
Thursday 17 April – 10.00-11.00

Buyers are increasingly worried that they are unable to secure the right seats and hotel rooms at the right price for their travellers. On top of that, distribution fragmentation is adding new costs and inefficiences to the process. A leading airline, hotel, TMC, GDS and buyer are quizzed by a moderator over where they think the distribution model is broken and how it can be fixed.

ROUND-TABLE: Fixing the RFP process
Thursday 17 April, 14.00-15.15

Buyers say suppliers make a bad job of responding to RFPs – but suppliers claim that’s because the RFPs they receive are poor in the first place. This round-table session offers all parties in corporate travel the chance to sit down and hammer out constructive, mutually beneficial ideas for improving what often proves an expensive, inefficient process.

PANEL: Tomorrow’s World
Wednesday 16 April, 15.00-16.00

Mobile telecoms, Web 2.0, security fears, environmental worries. Varied and complex factors could make business travel look very different in the future. Our experts polish their crystal balls to let us know what will be in the corporate travel manager’s in-try in 2010, 2020 and 2050.

BUYERS’ COURT: Hotels – changing your buying strategy to deal with a permanent seller’s market
Wednesday 16 April – 16.00-17.00

Hotels in London, New York and Moscow now seem to have ‘no vacancies’ signs on their front doors all week every week. Does this mean we have reached a permanent imbalance between under-supply and over-demand in the world’s leading business cities? If so, what can buyers do about it? A panel of top travel managers quiz leading accommodation experts to bring you the answers.

Richard Darley

Richard is European Travel and Fleet Manager for Lilly, a top ten Pharmaceutical company. His previous assignment was as UK Procurement Manager, where he also had a sourcing responsibility for these areas, as well as MICE.

He has worked at Lilly for 25 years, mainly in Sales and Marketing management roles. He joined Lilly after completing an MSc as a research scientist.

Richard is a competitive yacht racer, and has a family with three teenage sons, and is living in Hampshire, UK.

His personal credo is “work hard/play wet!”

Grant Appleton

Grant Appleton has been in the corporate travel industry for over 20 years. From an operational background in hotels, he moved into corporate sales with Thistle Hotels. Grant has worked in Account Management at BSI and as the Head of Hotel Sales for BTI, now HRG. He joined HRS in 2006 as Commercial Director UK, with a remit to drive strategic commercial initiatives and to strengthen the position of the company as a key player in the UK corporate travel market. HRS differs from the legacy providers by providing a free online booking tool for the corporate which uses an internet based platform rather than the traditional costly GDS based solution. In his short time at HRS, Grant has built a strong team and positioned the company and their unique business model as a real challenger in a competitive corporate hotel booking marketplace.

Jo Redman

Jo Redman joined SACO in 2004 after eleven years in the travel and communications industry leading teams of people to deliver sales results with a strong emphasis on providing exceptional customer service. Jo is a founder member of the the association of serviced apartment providers which has established a set of standards with Visit Britain for the serviced apartment industry. She is a leading authority on the development and implementation of serviced apartment programmes for companies of all sizes. Jo is regularly called upon by the travel industry to speak and comment authoritatively on the rapidly growing serviced apartment sector.

PANEL: Streets paved with gold – career progression in corporate travel
Thursday 17 April – 10.00-11.00

This session concentrates not on the future of the travel industry but the future of you, the delegate, within it. Find out how to create and develop your personal ‘brand’. Plus: what are your options for moving into travel management and – just as importantly – for progressing higher up the ladder? Has the commoditization of travel removed some of the management skills once required? And if you have done a good job of managing travel, how readily can you extend those skills to managing other categories?

Heather Cotterill

Heather Cotterill, Head of Recruitment at ITM Recruitment, has over 15 years experience of working in the corporate travel sector. In 1997, Heather embarked on her career in corporate travel recruitment, and has specialised in Executive Corporate Travel since 2003. With a wealth of knowledge and understanding of both the buyer and supplier markets, she is involved in managing a broad spectrum of UK, European and global opportunities for both buyer and supplier organisations.

Peter Dunkin

Peter Dunkin has over 20 years senior management experience in the airline industry with British Airways and other blue chip companies. He was one of the founding members of Etihad Airways which he joined in March 2004 to set up the airline’s UK business. He had previously spent 17 years with British Airways in several key commercial and area management posts both in the UK and overseas.

Whilst in Africa with BA, he set up and launched new services to Nigeria’s capital Abuja, as well as in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. In the UK, he established and ran a Government team responsible for BA’s Public Sector business, and was a key member of an Organisational Change Team. He also won awards at BA for Best Marketing Initiative and National Sales Person of the Year.

His earlier career included sales and marketing management roles with British Caledonian, Continental Airlines, and Delta Air lines.

Peter is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Chartered Marketer, and a Fellow of the Institute of Travel and Tourism. He served as a Board Director of the UK Board of Airline Representatives (BARUK) from 2005 to 2007. Peter received an Outstanding Services to Travel Award 2006 from the Guild of Travel and Tourism, and is a judge for the prestigious 2007 TTG Industry awards. He writes columns on a regular basis for the Travel Industry press.
Peter is a qualified Corporate and Executive Coach and is passionate about the value of coaching and mentoring in the work-place. He is an excellent speaker, presenter, and spokesperson. He was awarded a Gold Medal in Public Speaking with honours by the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and is an associate of the same body. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Surrey and London College of International Business Studies.
Other interests include sports and music. He has run the London Marathon. He sings in a church choir which regularly performs in Britain’s Cathedrals. Memberships include the MCC, the Lords Taverners, the Wimbledon Club, and the Royal Automobile Club. He lives in London with his wife and two young children.

SOAPBOX: Conference soapbox
Thursday 17 April, 14.00-15.15

Is there a burning issue you wish to get off your chest in front of other travel professionals? Has something said at the conference got you hot under the collar? Whether you want to talk tough about buyers, suppliers or the ITM itself, then this is your big chance, with ITM chairman Caroline Strachan on stage to provide instant commentary and feedback. Delegates can submit a request for a soapbox spot in advance on the conference registration website, or at the conference itself, either at the registration desk or through their electronic SpotMe device.