Advisors From The Field

In The Company Dime’s From The Field program, industry leaders contribute guideposts and other commentary for publication to the business travel audience. We task these advisors to focus on opinion, analysis and education rather than marketing. You are encouraged to contribute to the dialogue by commenting on their posts. Want to go a step further and become an advisor? Email us for more details. Participation is complimentary, but does come with some requirements. We thank all participants. Learn more about them here …

Advisors

Ron DiLeoRon DiLeo

Ron DiLeo is a 35-year travel industry veteran. He is founder and CEO of The In the Black Group, a consultancy to the supplier side of the travel industry. He is also co-founder and CEO of SafeTravelRx, a SaaS technology duty-of-care provider in the corporate travel industry. Ron's career has included C-Suite executive positions with American Express, British Airways, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and AirPlus International. He serves on several commercial boards in the United States and Europe and actively supports angel investor groups in search of travel industry entrepreneurs. Connect with Ron on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Ron DiLeo On The Demise Of ACTE And What’s Next For Business Travel Industry Associations
Craig FichtelbergCraig Fichtelberg

Craig Fichtelberg, an expert in operational strategy and management, co-founded 1-800-CheapAir with Jeff Klee and built out a network of nationwide call centers. In the early 2000s, Craig successfully led the offline business transition to CheapAir.com. Most recently, he launched AmTrav with the goal of simplifying business travel. Craig's unwavering focus has been on disrupting the status quo with products and services customized to the needs of the evolving traveler. When not at work, Craig can usually be found on the slopes in the winter, at the lake in the summer, and always enjoying quality time with his wife, teenage twins and Rhodesian Ridgeback. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. Connect with Craig on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Craig Fichtelberg On A Better Stimulus, A Cohesive Plan And A Little Luck
Mark HollyheadMark Hollyhead

As COO of Egencia, Mark Hollyhead brings over 25 years of global experience in sales, marketing and operations across the travel and telecommunications industries. Before joining Egencia in 2010, Mark was with Vodafone as head of transformation and prior he spent 15 years at British Airways in a variety of leadership positions, including VP of e-commerce and customer contact, head of revenue management for the long-haul business worldwide and head of London Heathrow customer operations. Mark earned a MBA in Strategy and Distribution from the City of London Business School and received post graduate honors in Economics at Birkbeck University of London. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.

Op Ed: Mark Hollyhead On Capturing More Customer Value In Business Travel
Mat OrregoMat Orrego

Mat Orrego has worked in the software and travel industry for over 20 years as CEO and co-founder of Cornerstone Information Systems, an automation and data services company. A graduate of Indiana University Kelly School of Business, he is an avid investor in a variety of enterprises, including technology, manufacturing and services businesses. He has continued to invest in travel-related companies such as Topaz International, a travel policy management and auditing service, and recently ApexConnect Inc., an expense integration and data services platform for ERP and HR platforms. Connect on LinkedIn with Mat and Cornerstone Information Systems.

Op Ed: Mat Orrego On Approaching And Solving Problems In The Travel Industry, Part 2
Tom KallasTom Kallas

Tom Kallas in 2020 joined Partnership Travel Consulting as a senior vice president about five years after his last stint with the consulting firm. In between, he served World Travel Inc. as GM for client programs, leveraging prior executive-level travel management company experience with companies including BCD Travel, IVI and Travelocity Business. Connect with Tom on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Tom Kallas On TMC Pricing Transparency
Kurt KnackstedtKurt Knackstedt

Kurt Knackstedt's experience spans over 20 years and four continents, across technology, travel, leadership and marketing roles at global multinationals, start-ups and his own consulting business. In early 2015, Kurt co-founded and was appointed CEO of Troovo, a technology company focused on virtualizing and removing manual intervention within transaction-based industries. Kurt is currently chairperson of the ACTE Centre. He leads the Centre's efforts in research, advocacy and community engagement. From 2014 to 2017, Kurt was global president of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. An avid traveler for both work and play, Kurt is based in Sydney, Australia, and is a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. Catch up with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Kurt Knackstedt On Why Corporate Is Much More Interesting Than Leisure Travel
Frank MorogielloFrank Morogiello

Frank Morogiello was vice president of global sales for American Airlines until 2012. He now sits on several advisory boards for companies with interests in travel and technology. Frank is global practice leader for travel and hospitality at Caldwell Partners. He recruits C-suite executives and board directors to global companies, and leads complex negotiations, sales team reorganizations and customer relations development and management. Connect with Frank on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Frank Morogiello On Connectedness And Leadership
Sam HilgendorfSam Hilgendorf

Sam Hilgendorf is the chief information officer at Fox World Travel. He is responsible for the vision and roadmap for Fox's technology portfolio, including the product development strategy, and technology implementation and support for clients. A relative newcomer to the travel industry, Sam spent 20 years in the technology services industry as an engineering consultant, project manager and executive with CDW and OneNeck IT Solutions. His background in cloud and IT managed services offers a unique perspective in improving the corporate travel experience. He and his family reside near Milwaukee, Wisc. Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Sam Hilgendorf On Travel Management Company Business Model Resiliency
Mike EggletonMike Eggleton

Mike Eggleton has been a member of the BCD Travel research and intelligence team since 2013. He joined the travel management company after a career at British Airways, bringing a wealth of experience in business strategy, network planning, competitor analysis, economics, market analysis and forecasting. He is responsible for producing BCD Travel's industry forecasts and providing insights and thought leadership on a range of trends and issues relating to the business travel industry. Mike has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Southampton. He is based in Rickmansworth, U.K. Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Mike Eggleton On How Covid-19 Could Change Airline Ticket Refunds
Mark MeaderMark Meader

Mark Meader is senior vice president of industry affairs and education at the American Society of Travel Agents. He is responsible for advocating on behalf of agencies, travel advisors and consumer communities with travel suppliers, technology providers, other trade associations, coalitions and various government entities. Mark also serves as vice chair of the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance board of directors. He previously was vice president of business development at the Airlines Reporting Corporation. Mark also worked for American Airlines, United Airlines and Sabre. He began his travel industry career as an outside sales advisor at a Boston-area travel agency. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Mark Meader On Real ID’s Looming Deadline
Steve ReynoldsSteve Reynolds

Steve Reynolds is CEO and founder of Tripbam, a hotel shopping service changing the way companies and travel agencies procure hotel stays. Based on the company's success, Business Travel News named Tripbam the most innovative technology for corporate travel in 2014, and in 2015 recognized Steve as one of the most influential executives within corporate travel. The company in 2015 also won Phocuswright's Battleground competition. Steve previously was managing director in North America for WNS Global Services, president and EVP at TRX and president of Travel Technologies Group. Find more of Steve's info in his LinkedIn profile, on Tripbam's Twitter feed and the company's Facebook page.

Op Ed: Steve Reynolds On Finding The Right Mix Of Hotel Discounts
Tony D'AstolfoTony D'Astolfo

Tony D'Astolfo is a 35-year travel industry veteran and an accomplished executive with deep expertise in travel and technology. In 2018 he joined Australasia-based online travel and expense company Serko to lead efforts in North America. Tony was previously chief commercial officer at Deem, where he was responsible for developing and driving the commercial strategies for all sales, marketing and customer-related activities. Prior to joining Deem, he was managing director of research and consulting firm Phocuswright. Tony's career started with United Airlines, where he spent more than 19 years in leadership roles. He also worked for GetThere and GroundLink. Tony is a long-time member of GBTA and ACTE, and a former member of the Board of Directors of ACTE and Board of Directors of WINiT (Women In Travel). Connect with Tony on LinkedIn.

Tony D’Astolfo On Witnessing, And Possibly Enabling, The Demise Of The Managed Travel Program
Simon BarkerSimon Barker

Simon Barker is co-founder and CEO of Conferma. He is responsible for developing and executing the company’s strategic vision to optimize B2B payment processes through the use of innovative virtual card technology. Prior to establishing Conferma in 2004, Simon accumulated vast experience in the business travel industry during 18 years as managing director of NIS Travel Management Solutions. Simon was recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Executives in business travel by Business Travel News for Conferma’s groundbreaking work modernizing the business travel industry’s payment processes. Connect with Simon on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Simon Barker On Artificial Intelligence Giving Us More Time To Think
avatar for Katharine FarrellKatharine Farrell

Katharine Farrell is president of Dots & Lines, an boutique marketing and communications consulting firm serving the corporate travel industry. Katharine currently serves as the chair of the GBTA Ladders Media & Communications Committee. She also previously served as a member of the WINiT Conference & Event Planning Committee and was a WINiT mentee. Prior to taking the helm at Dots & Lines, she served as product line director of the marketing division of GoldSpring Consulting, an independent travel management consultancy. Katharine joined the company in June 2015 after receiving her MBA from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. She began her career with roles in marketing and communications within the higher education, professional sports, and large-scale special events sectors. Connect with Katharine on LinkedIn and find more information on Dots & Lines on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Op Ed: Katharine Farrell On Best Practices In Travel Management Communication
Robert QuigleyRobert Quigley

Robert L. Quigley, M.D., is senior vice president and regional medical director in the Americas for International SOS Assistance and MedAire. He also is the executive chairman of the International Corporate Health Leadership Council and chairman of the council for U.S. and Canadian Quality Healthcare Abroad. Prior to joining International SOS, Dr. Quigley was a board re-certified cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon who directed two open heart programs within the Jefferson Health System in Philadelphia. He is also board re-certified in general surgery and critical care. Dr. Quigley is a subject matter expert in aeromedical transportation, international healthcare, duty of care, mental health and crisis management. Connect with Robert on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Dr. Robert Quigley On Business Diligence In Addressing Covid-19
Keesup ChoeKeesup Choe

Keesup Choe is the CEO of SaaS data intelligence company PredictX. 
After founding Renaissance Software Inc., the first distributed system for managing financial derivatives, Keesup has spent almost 30 years working in finance and software. He has run his own hedge fund and acted as head of trading for major investment banks in the City and Wall Street. He has also successfully grown startup software companies in Silicon Valley and London. Keesup’s particular passion is empowering stakeholders to make better decisions. By discovering meaning in their data and automating routine tasks, Keesup believes stakeholders can have both the time and improved understanding to innovate and drive company-wide growth. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Keesup Choe On How Targeted Selling Algorithms Can Benefit The Buyer
Kathy KentKathy Kent

Kathy Kent is senior consultant and GoldSpring Consulting. She has committed her entire career to the corporate travel industry. After quickly moving from entry-level to management positions, she joined Carlson Wagonlit Travel, where she spent 31 years in operational senior management. For the last 15 years, Kathy led the global implementation and client service configuration teams, where she insured the successful implementation and operational design of CWT's global and multinational clients, implementing over $10 billion in volume in more than 100 countries. Kathy's expertise in global capabilities, service configuration options and successful implementation processes has helped clients reach their service and savings objectives. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: GoldSpring Consulting On Best Practices In Booking Tool Implementations
Scott GillespieScott Gillespie

Scott Gillespie often breaks new ground — and a bit of glass — in the corporate travel industry. He is a leading authority on travel procurement, travel friction and the total cost of travel. As managing director of tClara, Scott is developing the next generation of benchmarking for airfares and traveler friction. He is the author of a U.S. patent and has been named one of Business Travel News’ Top 25 Executives and a thought leader by Buying Business Travel. Scott writes the popular blog Gillespie’s Guide to Travel+Procurement, and speaks at travel industry conferences around the world. Scott holds an MBA from the University of Chicago. He and his family reside near Cleveland. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Scott Gillespie On The Surprisingly Strong Case For Meeting In Person
Jeff KleeJeff Klee

AmTrav CEO Jeff Klee is a self-described computer geek who developed and sold his first video game at the age of 13. In college, he and a buddy got a crash course in the intricacies of the airline business while planning their own backpacking trip and later decided to use that know-how to help others save money on airfares. What was first known as 1-800-Cheap-Air was founded out of a University of Michigan dorm room in 1989. When the company took off, Jeff ditched his law school plans for a far more exciting journey, combining two passions — travel and software development. CheapAir.com was born, and soon after AmTrav for Business, which together serve almost 400,000 travelers annually. Jeff grew up in Los Angeles. He still lives there with his wife, two young kids, and golden retriever, none of whom, when the Dodgers are losing, want to be anywhere near him. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Jeff Klee On Whether The Industry Is Wasting This Crisis
Liam MoroneyLiam Moroney

Liam Moroney is the vice president of marketing at Rocketrip. He has over 10 years of experience leading marketing SaaS technology startups. Before joining Rocketrip, he previously led growth marketing at Monetate and was vice president of integrated marketing at NewsCred. Liam is an active member of the marketing community, working with Techstars and Revenue Collective. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Liam Moroney On Analyzing Airline Traffic Recovery Trends
Jason KingJason King

Jason King is founder, president and CEO of P. Jason King Associates, an executive search and career development firm focused on the travel, tourism, transportation, hospitality, recreation, and leisure industries. It is part of the King Group Jason founded that also includes a range of personnel services and consulting services for travel companies. He is an executive with a proven track record in general management, executive search, consulting, marketing, advertising, communications, promotion and training. Jason conducts seminars and workshops, delivers lectures and writes columns for various travel publications. He also hosted the weekly "World of Travel" radio show in Boston. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Jason King On What’s Really Happening With Employment In The Travel Industry
Mat DomaradzkiMat Domaradzki

Mat Domaradzki is the travel manager for ConsenSys, a global blockchain technology company building the infrastructure, applications and practices that enable a decentralized world. Aside from maintaining the ConsenSys travel program, Mat also assists the company's internal travel industry vertical Ansero by testing its corporate travel solutions on the ConsenSys travel program. Mat’s lengthy career in travel has taken him from tourism and hotel development classes to stints at Korean Air, AAA, STA Travel & Club Med and most recently at Hilton Worldwide where he spent nearly eight years in Luxury & Lifestyle Brand Development. Connect with Mat on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Mat Domaradzki On Blockchain’s Potential In Corporate Travel
Duane FutchDuane Futch

GTAS founder and CEO Duane Futch is a highly accomplished influencer in the corporate travel and aviation industries. Duane consults to an array of North American and international corporations and governments. Among his previous positions, Duane was vice president of global government programs at Sabre Travel Network and director of the Aviation, Travel, and Leisure Travel division at Walmart Stores. Duane obtained both his Bachelor’s Degree in Air Commerce (Economics) and Associate Degree in Flight Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. He also holds an FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate, and he is a Certified Flight Instructor and a former FAA Designated Air Carrier Check Airman. Connect with Duane on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Duane Futch On Signs Of Trouble For Job Security
Adam GordonAdam Gordon

Currently a senior consultant at GoldSpring Consulting, Adam Gordon has over 20 years of meetings and events, business travel and hospitality industry experience, supporting a variety of market sectors. With hands-on team management experience for several high-quality service portfolios, often in highly regulated environments, he is skilled in defining the underlying value propositions and has a proven track record in strategic vision planning. Originally from the United Kingdom, Adam has held several meetings and events management roles. He joined American Express Meetings and Events in early 2016 as director of business development and client engagement, and then GoldSpring in 2018. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: GoldSpring Consulting On Finding Strategic Value In Meetings Management
Ron ShahRon Shah

Ron Shah is the founder and CEO of Bizly. Bizly’s mission is to keep relationships at the center of business by making it easy to design in-person events and measure the impact. Bizly works with several Fortune 500 companies and has a proven track record of delivering on adoption and ROI around smaller relationship events, which comprise over 50 percent of all event volume. Prior to Bizly, Ron spent 15 years in venture capital, supporting leading technology companies in the United States and the emerging markets. Ron spent three years as an on-air contributor on CNBC. Ron earned his BBA from the George Washington University and his MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. During business school, Ron moonlighted as a sales rep at a conference and events center in New York. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Ron Shah On What 2019 Will Mean For The Events Industry
Paul TilstonePaul Tilstone

Paul Tilstone is one of two co-founders of consultancy Festive Road. Prior to this he acted in senior roles for travel management companies for 13 years, CEO for the Institute of Travel & Meetings UK for seven years and chief global development officer for the Global Business Travel Association for a further five. In July 2017 he was appointed to GBTA's board, the first elected international director in the association’s history. Paul has received the U.K. Buying Business Travel Diamond Award for services to sustainability and was listed by the magazine in the industry’s 2013 “Hot List” as one of 30 professionals driving change in the industry. He has twice been listed as one of the world’s top 25 business travel industry influencers by Business Travel News for work in advocacy and sustainability. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Caroline Strachan And Paul Tilstone On What Went Wrong With GBTA And How To Fix It
Danny EldridgeDanny Eldridge

Danny Eldridge is the CEO of ServeVita. ServeVita is a partner with Unit4 and provides sales and implementation services for Sabre CentralCommand. Danny has been involved with CentralCommand since the creation of the Sabre and Unit4 partnership in 2001 while working for Unit4. Prior to starting ServeVita in 2015, Danny worked with Globalstar Travel Management as executive director of IT for five years. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Danny Eldridge On Travel Management Companies’ Time
Mary Ellen HessMary Ellen Hess

Mary Ellen Hess is a highly regarded travel industry leader with a proven track record in building and launching profitable travel enterprises for Fortune Global 500 companies. Mary Ellen is EVP of sales and marketing in North America for multinational travel management company CTM. She previously served as head of North America for travel tech developer Tramada. Prior experience includes time on HRG's North America executive committee leading the region's commercial team; with American Express Global Business Travel in a global business development role; and with BCD Travel's global management board in general management, consulting and sales leadership roles. Connect with Mary Ellen on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Mary Ellen George On The Future Of Travel Management Companies
Gaurav SundaramGaurav Sundaram

Gaurav Sundaram is the president of ProKonsul Consulting, a business travel management consulting firm focused on India and Asia. Gaurav brings three decades of leadership experience in the global business travel, technology and consulting domains. His span of experience includes significant success in managing complex businesses, establishing successful startups, strategic multinational business development and account management. Gaurav previously served as Egencia's country director in India. He introduced fully integrated enterprise self-booking technology to the corporate travel industry in India in 2009 and is recognized as an industry expert across India and Asia. Connect with Gaurav on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Gaurav Sundaram On Reinventing The Global Business Travel Association With A Truly Global Focus
Louise MillerLouise Miller

Louise has more than 30 years experience in the travel industry including airline, car rental, buyer and travel management company roles. As an executive team member of a top three global TMC for over 20 years, she reported to the president and CEO. Louise consults on the entire travel value chain in her role as Areka Consulting managing partner for the Americas. Her areas of experience include P&L management, finance, pricing, marketing, sales, account management, operations, product portfolio management, IT infrastructure and innovation. Louise actively promotes innovation with customers, associations, suppliers and the media. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Louise Miller On TMC Innovation Coming Back Into View
Kevin CoffeyKevin Coffey

A highly decorated police officer and detective (LAPD retired), Kevin Coffey is a senior consultant at GoldSpring Consulting. He is an author, teacher, duty of care and risk management professional focused on traveler safety and risk reduction for the hospitality, tourism and meeting industries. In addition to his career with the LAPD, Kevin founded the Los Angeles Airport's Crime Investigation Detail. He also is an instructor with the University of Southern California’s Safer Communities Institute and frequent resource for print and broadcast media. Kevin is certified as an Associate Protection Professional with the American Society of Industrial Security. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Kevin Coffey On What Travel Managers Should Know About The Coronavirus
Caroline StrachanCaroline Strachan

Caroline Strachan is managing partner at Festive Road. Her work experience can be summarized as 10 years the meetings and events supplier, 10 years the travel buyer (at Cisco, Yahoo and AstraZeneca) and more recently as VP global consulting at American Express Global Business Travel. Caroline has also held a number of industry leadership positions including ITM chairman and GBTA Europe president, and has received a number of awards in recognition of her services to the industry. Caroline is often called "the most credible business travel expert" in the industry, further supported by being published as one of three "industry influencers" in the Buying Business Travel 2016 Hotlist. Find more of Caroline's information on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Caroline Strachan On The Move To Attribute-Based Online Travel Shopping
Neil HammondNeil Hammond

Neil Hammond joined GoldSpring Consulting in May 2014. Previously, Neil led a team of airline and hotel consultants at Advito, the consultancy division of BCD Travel. He also led the Advito policy writing and benchmarking practice. Neil has experience as a global corporate travel manager with oil and gas industry supplier Schlumberger. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Neil Hammond On Managing The Resumption Of Corporate Air Travel
Tristan SmithTristan Smith

Tristan Smith is Egencia vice president of customer success for the SME segment. Her responsibilities include leading Egencia’s Small and Medium Enterprise account management team globally and facilitating the success of their travel programs. She began her career in the airline industry in strategy and sales in Australia and the United States, before moving to strategy consulting at Bain. After six years in consulting with Bain working across a variety of industries and business issues, Tristan joined Egencia to run the TMC's Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions team. In that role, she led the acquisition and integration of Orbitz for Business and was responsible for the company's growth strategies. A native of Australia, she currently lives in London with her husband and three kids. Connect with Tristan on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Tristan Smith On How Professionals, Processes and Partners Scale Your Business
Vanessa Zeiher-KayaVanessa Zeiher-Kaya

Vanessa Zeiher-Kaya is the global principal corporations segment marketing manager for Sabre. She has been with Sabre since 2015. Vanessa has over 19 years of leadership experience in sales, marketing and account management roles for high-tech brands in the business-to-business sector. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Vanessa Zeiher-Kaya On What To Consider When Choosing A Travel Technology Partner
Mark McSpaddenMark McSpadden

Mark McSpadden is vice president of global product strategy and digital experience for American Express Global Business Travel, responsible for leading all of GBT’s product strategy globally and driving product revenue. He works closely with the commercial team to help drive the company’s product and tech value proposition directly with clients. Prior to joining GBT, Mark was vice president of direct distribution and digital experience at Sabre Hospitality. He also worked within Sabre Travel Network and served as head of Sabre Labs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Texas A&M University. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Mark McSpadden On Creating Confidence Amid An Uncertain Future
Victor PynnVictor Pynn

Vic Pynn is a long-time travel industry executive. After five years as a vice president at American Express, he rose through the ranks at TRX, ending his time there as chief operating officer. Vic then worked at Amadeus IT Group for nine years, most recently as COO for North America. Vic is now CEO of Shree Partners, a digital transformation and technology solutions company. Vic has authored pieces outlining the critical importance of nurturing talent and presented on various business topics. Also a certified general accountant, he graduated from Seneca College after studying and business and finance. Vic serves as a board member for the Global Business Travel Association Foundation and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Connect with him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.

Op Ed: Vic Pynn On Three Ways To Value People, The Hidden Differentiator
Charlie MitchellCharlie Mitchell

In 2006, Charlie circumnavigated the globe during his semester at sea, and he hasn’t stopped traveling since. He entered the travel industry in 2007, helping to book properties for incentive trips at Prestige Resorts. Soon after, Charlie rolled out a new platform for competency and interviewing tools at Korn/Ferry International. In 2013, he graduated with his MBA in entrepreneurship and marketing from the University of St. Thomas. In 2014, Charlie merged his love of travel and technology into one at CWT, quickly working his way up to lead a digital solutions team. Now, Charlie is technology solutions consultant at GoldSpring Consulting. In his spare time, he can be found strumming his guitar, playing hockey, or training for his next triathlon. Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: GoldSpring Consulting On How Buyers Should Assess Direct Vs. TMC-Provided Technology
Alan TysonAlan Tyson

A graduate of the University of Rochester with a degree in Philosophy, Alan Tyson quickly failed as a writer. He was, however, good at taking tests. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis offered him a job as a computer programmer which Alan reluctantly accepted and his career in IT was off and running! Well, maybe it was more of a jog ... It wasn't that Alan couldn't program. He was actually quite talented. The problem was that he was a lousy employee. After leaving the Commerce Department, to the relief of all, he joined Control Data Corporation (the predecessor of Ceridian) where he developed one of the first microcomputer-based accounting systems. Alan later founded Databasics, a software-as-a-service provider of expense reporting and time tracking solutions, where he continues to serve as CEO. Alan is married, has a daughter and lives in Great Falls, Va. Find more info on the Databasics blog, LinkedIn page and Twitter feed.

Op Ed: Alan Tyson On Boycotting The Dorchester Collection
John HarveyJohn Harvey

John Harvey is founder and chief marketing officer at Globalyse, a strategic marketing company specializing in the world of travel. He is the former group marketing director of Hogg Robinson plc, where he held responsibility for marketing and communications across both HRG and Fraedom. He describes his career in four phases: Firstly, a foundation in travel (1979-1994), starting as a junior travel agent and ending as director responsible for client management. Secondly, going it alone (1994-2009), diversifying into IT and creating a successful sales and marketing consultancy. Thirdly, returning to travel (2009-2018), leading the HRG global sales team and taking on marketing. Phase four began with the launch of Globalyse in January 2019. Connect with John on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: John Harvey On The Vision Of A New Channel Model
Rajiv RajianRajiv Rajian

Rajiv Rajian is executive vice president, global business travel and travel channels, Americas, for Amadeus. He leads the global business travel portfolio worldwide with a focus on serving the needs of global travel management companies. He oversees a team dedicated to delivering the technology and services to Amadeus' corporate travel partners to transform the corporate traveler journey. Connect with Rajiv on LinkedIn. Find more information about Amadeus on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Op Ed: Rajiv Rajian On What ‘End To End’ Really Means
Tony O'ConnorTony O'Connor

Tony O’Connor is the founder and managing director of Butler Caroye, which has provided independent travel procurement and management services in the Asia/Pacific for 22 years. Butler Caroye is the APAC consultancy of the global Partnership Travel Consulting group. Tony is also the CEO of the airfare markup auditing company Airocheck, and he represents the GBTA in Australasia. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Op Ed: Tony O’Connor On The Likelihood Of Higher Travel Costs