European candidates are currently vying for several positions on the GBTA board as the organisation’s members vote on an ‘unprecedented number of open positions’ and new global representation.
Online voting closes on Monday 19 July (11pm CET) with results set to be announced the following day at the GBTA’s Mid-Year Virtual Summit and Annual Business Meeting.
This year is the first that allied members have been eligible to vote in elections for board leadership and member seats, since a bylaw change was voted through by direct members in May. Allied members generally are defined as travel industry suppliers, while direct members are business travel buyers.
“This is your opportunity to determine the future of GBTA, to make your voice heard and to help shape the future of GBTA by voting for the candidates you believe will best lead our organisation,” says Catherine Logan, regional vice president, Europe, at GBTA.
“The Board of Directors plays a critical role in shaping our industry and strategic direction of the association and this is a very important election with eight of the 13 seats on the board up for voting.”
The open board positions include president, vice president, new Europe and Canada regional director seats, one direct member at large position, and three allied member at large roles.
President – the four candidates
Four candidates are standing for the role of GBTA President, with Gehan Colliander (pictured right), global head of travel at Boston Consulting Group, perhaps most familiar to European members. She served as GBTA Europe president from 2015 to 2017 and brings a global perspective to the table which could be instrumental in achieving a more unified cross-border organisation.
Colliander's pedigree as a global citizen, having lived and worked in Egypt, Singapore, Switzerland, Kuwait, the United Kingdom and Sweden, could appeal to membership that may have felt underrepresented in the past.
BTN recognised Colliander as a 2020 Best Practitioner for her contribution to BCG's sustainable business travel efforts. Sustainability figures prominently in her pitch for GBTA president, pledging her commitment to moving the business travel industry toward what she termed a "responsible rebound".
Also contesting the position is Tesla senior manager of global travel, events and mobility Steve Sitto, who currently holds the direct member at large seat on the GBTA board and is banking on the broad appeal of sustainability issues as one of his pillars as well. He placed more emphasis, however, on diversity and inclusion issues in the business travel industry.
Paypal travel manager Denise Truso is the current GBTA board vice president, who in her pitch for the role drills more deeply into internal GBTA structural and financial issues to ensure a healthy, functional association to serve the business travel industry.
Completing the line-up is NetApp global travel manager Mark Ziegler, a current board member and president of the GBTA Chapter President’s Council. His bid makes it clear that he views GBTA as a brand new organisation that is ready for a rebirth as it emerges from the fire of Covid-19 and years of tumultuous leadership.
Sitto, Truso and Ziegler are all based in the United States.
Vice president - uncontested
Running for the GBTA board vice president position is UK-based UBS global head of travel Mark Cuschieri (pictured right). His candidacy is uncontested. Cuschieri currently serves as the chair of the European board of directors. As VP, he said he will bring a global voice to the table and will challenge the status quo.
"I believe I'm the right person to lead this charge because I'm committed, transparent and inclusive," he said in his video appeal. Among the propositions in his written platform is the creation of an engagement performance index for the association to track GBTA's success among different demographics within its membership.
Europe regional director
Two candidates are contesting the new Europe regional director seat: Jens Liltorp, global travel and meetings manager for Denmark-based LEO Pharma, and Ben Park, senior director of procurement and travel at Parexel.
Liltorp (pictured right) has served on the Danish Business Travel Association board of directors and as chair, and more recently served on the GBTA EU advisory board and was involved with the committee that recently crafted, proposed and passed the organisation's updated bylaws.
He was critical of GBTA's track record in providing relevant content to and membership engagement for European travel buyers and suppliers. "It comes down to members' perception of GBTA still being a very US-centric organisation. Much of the information shared is not relevant outside of the US, creating a lot of noise," he said.
Liltorp envisions an organisation that delivers global standards for key performance indicators, reporting and benchmarking and that serves as a reservoir of global travel management best practices.
Park (pictured right) put himself forth as a candidate who understands the path forward for the modern and progressive European travel manager – one who sees end-to-end travel programmes as the clear future for the practice, supported by clean technology and workflows and with a clear eye on business strategy. He sees the new strategic role for travel managers as working to determine the business value of each trip and guiding their organisations toward purposeful travel.
He highlighted his role as a German leading travel management for a US-based company, giving him a unique perspective of both cultures and environments.
Other board positions
Sharlene Ketwaroo-Nanoo, category manager travel and events for Rogers Communications, is running uncontested for the Canadian regional director seat, while six US-based members have thrown their hats into the ring for one direct member at large seat.
They are: Mick Lee, BNY Mellon managing director and head of corporate services, travel and events; Holly McTague, Halliburton senior manager for North America Travel; Drew Mitchell, Cognizant Technology Solutions regional travel director, the Americas; Ryan Pierce, Salesforce senior travel manager; Lee Turner, MGM Studios corporate travel manager; and Erin Wilk, Facebook head of global security center of excellence.
Lastly, ten candidates are competing for three allied member at large board seats. They are: Kari Bigot, Altour VP & head of North America sales; Maria Chevalier, PredictX EVP customer success; Jeff Hillenmayer, Tripbam EVP account management; Bruce McIndoe, McIndoe Risk Advisory president; Gary Murakami, Teneo Hospitality Group VP sales & industry relations; Carsten Ostberg, CIBT Visas regional managing director; Will Pinnell, BCD Travel VP digital & product strategy; Mira Rosenzweig, TripActions senior customer success specialist; Kevin Sullivan, Southwest Airlines senior director of sales; and Allison Taylor, American Airlines chief experience officer.