GBTA PRESIDENT BHART SARIN ABRUPTLY RESIGNS
GBTA president Bhart Sarin resigned from the association on Thursday, announcing it on LinkedIn around 8 am ET, in what seemed to be an abrupt departure. The organisation delayed responding to media inquiries about the matter into the late afternoon.
Sarin exited with a flourish, posting images of himself with presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and other high-level state and travel industry leaders. He wrote, "As they say in Hollywood, that's a wrap! Today, I exit stage from GBTA and the corporate travel industry to focus on exciting new adventures."
He included a checklist of accomplishments during his tenure that, he said, included navigating the pandemic, strengthening the balance sheet, unifying with the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and building solid future governance for GBTA. He did not mention the tumultuous summer of 2020, with the association embroiled in misconduct controversies, investigations and loss of supplier sponsorships.
In roughly simultaneous statements to members sent after 4:30 p.m. ET, the association announced Sarin's resignation in more subdued language, acknowledging his service to the organisation "through the Covid-19 pandemic and over the past nine years on the Board of Directors as a Direct Member Director, Chairman, and President."
Sarin's board president seat is among those up for election during the 2021 GBTA convention in July. His early departure triggers contingencies defined in the bylaws for current board vice president, Paypal travel manager Denise Truso, to fulfil the function until a new president can be elected this summer. Additional information regarding the election process and other open board seats will be forthcoming and aligned with the GBTA bylaws and any subsequent changes (see associated article left), according to the press release.
Truso said in a statement: "I am committed to working alongside the GBTA Board of Directors and the staff in the months leading to Convention as we seek to create an inclusive environment and rebuild our industry through Ready. Safe. Travel."
In a memo sent on Wednesday to active GBTA members, new executive director Suzanne Neufang, who since the announcement in February of her leadership role has added CEO to her title, outlined an initiative to amend the association's bylaws and redefine member categories in an effort that would fundamentally change members' voting power in the association.
Led by a bylaws task force that was formed in late 2020 and helmed by allied board member at large Will Pinnell and direct board member at large Rita Visser, the association formed specific groups comprising current and former GBTA members and leaders to review several aspects of the bylaws, including those governing the board of directors, elections and membership as well as the organisation's committees and task forces.
Speaking to BTN last summer, past GBTA president Carol Devine Bailey, whose name appeared on the task forces for both the bylaws governing the board of directors and those governing elections, bemoaned what she viewed as deterioration of the association and called for "much more transparency with the board and the bylaws."
Another former president of the association, speaking on background to BTN, said they had spoken personally to Neufang soon after she took the leadership role at GBTA and advised her to "start with the bylaws," in terms of prioritising her work for the organisation.
In pushing bylaws changes among her first major initiatives, Neufang clearly agreed this would send a message about her commitment, which she reiterated in the memo, as "driving change and transparency for and within GBTA."
The initial outcome of the task forces' efforts is two sets of bylaw changes that GBTA will present for consideration to voting members in the coming weeks. Upon the completion of the voting period for the first set of changes, the second set will come up for a vote.
First up is a proposed bylaw change that would allow all direct (buyer) and allied (supplier) members to vote on GBTA bylaw changes. Currently, only direct members are eligible to vote on such matters.
A second issue would recategorise current "indirect" members, depending upon their company affiliation and job responsibilities, into either direct or allied members and grant the associated voting rights to these members. This proposed bylaw change includes clarifying the attributes of each member category and creating a new nonvoting 'affiliate' category for honorary/retired, press and academic members.
The third proposed bylaw change in the initial set would shorten the number of days required for candidates to file for office and streamline the qualifications for members to become eligible for office. Should the proposed change pass, president or vice president nominees will be required to have been an active direct GBTA member for just two consecutive years, with one year of active GBTA service, local chapter service or service to any other global travel organisation. To run for a seat on the GBTA board, the nominees would have been a GBTA member for a minimum of one year, and likewise one year of active GBTA service, local chapter service or service to any other global travel organisation.
Nominations for all positions must be submitted 60 days in advance of an election on a form provided by GBTA. A committee appointed by the president will review each nomination to ensure it meets eligibility requirements (see sidebar regarding GBTA president Bhart Sarin, who abruptly resigned from the organization Thursday).
The above issues will be voted on by active direct members only from 19 April to 2 May, according to the memo. The vote will occur online, conducted by third-party provider Election Services Corporation. After that, a second set of issues will come up for a vote from 6 to 21 May, regardless of the outcome of the first set of proposals. The hope, according to the GBTA memo, is that the expanded voting eligibility and clarified member categories will be approved by direct members so that the second set of issues will then additionally be open to allied members for a vote.
According to the memo, the additional proposed changes, which will be communicated in more detail after the first voting period concludes, will "have significant implications on the composition and make-up of the Board of Directors which will be voted upon at GBTA's Annual Convention in July in Orlando."
In brief, the proposed second set of changes would add regional Europe and Canada seats to the board of directors; add two allied at-large seats, which presumably would be voted an empowered group of allied members should that proposal pass; remove the chairperson from the board of directors and add lifetime term limits to all board members. The second set of proposed changes would also allow direct and allied GBTA members to vote for elected board seats, of which at least six and potentially eight—if the additional allied at-large seats are voted up—will be chosen during the July convention.
Potential board nominees will need to move quickly to be considered for the additional seats, should they get the nod from GBTA members. Voting for the second set of bylaw changes will close on 21 May and nominations for elected seats must be submitted no later than 27 May.