How data is changing the global travel industry
DATA-DRIVEN TRAVEL:
Corporate travel data used to be a question
of calculating how much a business spent
on travel each financial year and using that
information to secure discounted travel
rates. But times have changed. Digital
transformation has given data a strategic role
to play in every area of the business - and the
travel management function is no exception.
Travel spend is typically one of the top five
expenditure categories in most organisations.
As a result, it’s critical for businesses to truly
understand what, why and where they are
spending that portion of their budget. The
more they understand, the more easily they
can pre-empt future expenditure and start
identifying opportunities to streamline.
While recent years have seen many travel
managers broaden their approach to data to
encompass metrics around safety, few have
been able to harness the full potential of travel
data, with only 31% stating that they have full
control over their travel data. And yet, there
has never been a better time to do so. Thanks
to advances in technology, data is now easier to
Why data -and why now?
IN TRODUC TION
2 WHITEPAPER - FEBRUARY 2018
capture and access, and the tools that empower
this are increasingly powerful and cost-effective.
Despite this, few companies have access to
solutions that can bring them the data they need
in the way they need it: cleansed, structured
and accessible. As a result, they are missing
out on opportunities to streamline their entire
approach to travel and deliver an enhanced,
consumer-style travel experience underpinned
by an efficient financial model.
This paper has been produced to help businesses
understand the challenges of travel data and
where the opportunities lie, ultimately identifying
what travel data has to offer them and how
they can harness it to the benefit of their
business. In it, we will explore the value travel
data has to offer global businesses, the trends
driving greater use of travel data, and the ways
in which use of data can help not only improve
the traveller experience, but also deliver real
strategic value that benefits the entire business.
We’ll also explore the role that corporates, Travel
Management Companies (TMCs) and travel
providers have to play in capturing, storing and
securing data to ensure global visibility and
total compliance. As well as drawing on our own
extensive experience in the management and
delivery of travel data, Addison Lee Group has
brought together a team of global travel experts
from Amadeus, Experian, Hillgate Travel, Hogg
Robinson Group, tClara and Tramada, to share
their knowledge on how corporates are using
Data has been underexploited by businesses over the years, and they are only just beginning to grasp its potential to improve service. Data is what makes it possible to connect travel to other parts of the business.
G R A E M E M C D E R M O T T,
C H I E F DATA O F F I C E R ,
A D D I S O N L E E G RO U P
Few travel managers have been able to harness the full potential of travel data, with
only 31% stating that they have full control over
their travel data.
travel data today, what they should expect from a
travel partner and how data will shape the travel
programmes of tomorrow.
The strategic power of insightHistorically, travel data has focused on
transactions and expenses - and many
companies still place a heavy emphasis on these
data sets. But the real value lies in bringing
together a far broader range of information;
one that uncovers hidden trends and helps
travel managers pinpoint what their business
needs to achieve true value.
Antoine Boatwright, CIO, Hillgate Travel,
points out that even understanding spend
requires a broader approach to data: ‘Often,
travel spend can be easily matched by other
“in travel” spend such as ancillaries, meals,
taxis, dry cleaning, seats, meal upgrades, hotel
cars, shuttles, etc. This is typically captured in
expenses as opposed to in travel data. In some
cases this is all “hidden” in a per diem, making
it difficult to get total trip cost and therefore,
in supplier negotiations, to truly understand
how much is being spent.’
The key is to look beyond the obvious.
Companies frequently make use of travel
spend data to help them achieve economies
of scale – according to JP Morgan, 39% of
travel managers cite the need to negotiate
with vendors as the primary reason for wanting
to obtain better data. But what about using
behavioural and trend data to gauge whether
a traveller policy actually suits the needs of
the travellers within an organisation? Or
incorporating travel data into projections
around how expansion into a new territory will
impact the business in terms of travel costs?
It’s in these less explored areas that the biggest
opportunities lie.
For Scott Gillespie, CEO of Travel Benchmarks
and Analytics company, tClara, it’s time for
travel managers to rethink their priorities:
‘None of this will happen until travel managers
reframe their goals. Savings for example, are a
keystone goal for almost every travel manager.
Yet when put into the proper strategic
perspective, it pales to insignificance. The much
larger, much more strategically valuable goal is
to create bigger, better positive outcomes from
trips taken.’
Structuring the futureSo what is driving changes in the way travel
data is approached and used? A key influence
has been the rise in concerns around traveller
safety. More frequent natural disasters and
terrorist attacks have prompted businesses
to demand visibility of where their employees
are and how they can be transported to
safety. Mary Ellen George-Hess, Head of North
America, Tramada, says: ‘9/11 was a pivotal
event in our industry. People realised they
needed access to data, dashboards and live
feeds to track people.’
9/11 revealed the shortcomings of manual data
provision from multiple sources and drove
demand for a more consolidated approach.
For some, this was an opportunity to position
themselves as a single agent who could act as
the primary source of information. For others,
it was a way to transform their capabilities.
Closely related to the issue of safety is that
of the traveller experience. Today’s business
travellers want - and demand - a consumer
grade experience and expect their travel
manager to provide it. All too often, corporate
travel and booking policies fall short of traveller
needs and preferences, and the ease of
Duty of care is always the primary consideration for any global travel manager. They always need to be aware of where people are and this is a key driver for companies starting to use data in innovative ways, for example combining travel data and credit card data to locate employees by comparing where they last travelled to with where they last used their card. Data has opened up more proactive approaches - and it has the potential to do that more widely, too.
LIZ EMMOTT
SALES DIRECTOR
AMADEUS UK & IRELAND
4 WHITEPAPER - FEBRUARY 2018
app-based travel provision has fuelled an
increase in off-policy travel bookings. For
travel managers, this leads to a loss of visibility
that impacts both budgets and duty of care.
By capturing more data to evaluate how
employees experience travel, travel managers
can develop policies that allow each individual
traveller to build the experience that works for
them, without resorting to rogue bookings.
Underlying all of this is the need to deliver
business value. In order to negotiate the best
prices with their suppliers, travel managers
need information that allows them to interpret
their spend - and yet few have ready access to
it. Scott Gillespie, CEO, tClara, says: ‘Travel data
by itself is largely useless to travel managers. To
become useful, the data must be transformed,
much like a chef transforms ingredients into
an attractive meal. It’s the quality of this
transformation that creates the value.’
According to JP Morgan, 39% of travel managers cite the need to negotiate with
vendors as the primary reason for wanting to obtain
better data.
Overcoming the legacy barrierWhile the use of data in the travel industry
has come a long way over the past 15 years,
there are still some barriers to overcome. Many
businesses are still taking a legacy approach
to data, relying on disparate, cumbersome
reports containing large volumes of data that
cannot easily be compared or manipulated.
Travel managers end up with lots of
information, very little of which is presented
in a meaningful way. And while cloud solutions
are empowering innovative uses of data across
many different business functions, travel
managers often find that their travel agencies
and suppliers are still working in inefficient
server-based environments that don’t give
them what they need.
Mary Ellen George-Hess, Head of North
America, Tramada, says: ‘The challenge is that
there is a lot of data, and it needs to be drawn
from a lot of sources, and it’s important to
deliver it in a structured and timely way. It’s a
huge challenge to provide that, which is why
some providers end up only providing near-time
data. And yet, to make strategic decisions, it’s
important to have access to data in real time.’
Paul Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations
and Industry Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group, adds:
‘Historical data is fine for budgets, but it doesn’t
help you identify trends, or pinpoint how projects
are affecting your travel spend or activity in
the way that real-time data does. For example,
if you’re in the oil and gas industry, you may
have pipelines and fields opening in a particular
region and you will see a surge of travel to that
area. If you can see it as it’s happening, you can
make adjustments to your travel programme to
accommodate that. If you’re in banking, the range
of locations might be fairly static, but there could
be times of year that are busier, or hotels that
are used a lot. If you’re in the media, your travel
activity is going to follow the news - and you need
to know right away how to act on that.’
For Scott Gillespie, CEO, tClara, the greatest
value comes from combining traditional travel
data with other data, and performing more
sophisticated analysis: ‘There is a new frontier
6 WHITEPAPER - FEBRUARY 2018
for travel managers who can use travel data,
properly analysed and placed into the right
context, to answer much more strategically
valuable questions around how to design
and manage a travel program that prioritizes
business outcomes over savings; traveller health
and safety over policy compliance, recruiting
and retention over hotel attachment rates.’
No business can achieve this scale of travel insight
alone. It’s time for corporate travel managers to
start demanding more of their travel partners
when it comes to data - beginning with access to
multi-layered, targeted data.
Creating a data-driven experienceAccording to Business Travel News, only half of
travel managers incorporate traveller survey
data into their strategy. And yet, the most
obvious and immediate benefits the data-driven
approach can bring to corporate travel relate to
traveller experience. But is that a strong enough
motivation for businesses to invest? It is when
you take into consideration the impact of rogue
bookings, especially in terms of cost - which
is often hidden from the travel budget as it is
processed as expenses – and obscured visibility.
The driving force behind such rogue bookings
is a desire for a more consumer-like experience.
And the only way corporate travel managers can
deliver this is by employing the same tactics as
consumer travel providers: many of which are
based on the sophisticated use of data. Mary Ellen
George-Hess, Head of North America, Tramada,
says: ‘Rich data gives you the ability to deliver a
greater experience by providing travellers with
content customised to their interests and needs.’
For Jonny Cowlin, Commercial Director, EMEA at
Experian, data is the missing element required
to deliver a seamless traveller experience:
‘Typically, travellers receive little intelligence
to help them plan their trip: which airport they
should fly to, which ground transportation
firm to use, which train to take. As consumers,
we are used to a seamless, end to end service,
but when we are visiting a client in another
country, we don’t get it. And that’s where travel
managers should be looking to next.’
One of the experience-based developments we’re looking at with Addison Lee Group is delivering an on-demand service for travellers who can’t plan. If you have access to traveller data, it becomes easier to offer services that cater to those clients.
PAU L D E A R , D I R E C T O R O F G L O B A L S U P P L I E R R E L AT I O N S
A N D I N D U S T RY A F FA I R S , H O G G R O B I N S O N G R O U P
It sounds like a daunting task - but the technology
to support it is already here. Using data-powered
solutions, much of this customisation can be
automated - helping increase savings as well
as delivering an enhanced experience. Paul
Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations and
Industry Affairs says: ‘At Hogg Robinson Group,
our approach is driven by client behaviour,
which is one of the hardest elements of travel
to track - but which has huge strategic potential.
For example, what is the trigger for travel? Is
it an external factor such as a client, or is it
something internal like a global sales meet? The
internal type of travel will be more planned, more
controlled, and the client-driven travel will be
more spontaneous. If you have insight into the
behaviour of the traveller group, you can ensure
they get the best prices/packages.’
Looking beyond the immediate to enrich dataTo achieve this, travel managers need access
to more data: starting with traveller profiles
that provide insights into their habits, and
extending into behavioural data and even peer
and community data, such as hotel, airline and
travel provider reviews to help avoid recreating
experiences that have proved disappointing. To
gain access to even a fraction of this information,
they need the support of their travel partners.
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Once again, this is an area where travel managers
should be putting pressure on travel providers
and TMCs - demanding access to the information
they need to deliver value. Graeme McDermott,
Chief Data Officer, Addison Lee Group, points
out the importance of connectivity between
providers to help deliver this: ‘The data-driven
approach allows you to connect different travel
modes. If you plug all your travel data into one
place, you have the ability to construct a complex
journey from a single app. That’s what people
want and one provider can’t deliver it – you need
partnerships. And that’s a need that’s driving
our roadmap here at Addison Lee Group. We are
actively working to forge those partnerships with
other travel providers and TMCs so we can deliver
that wider view with consolidated data.’
Increasingly, the more strategic approaches to
traveller experience are not just about creating
experiences, but about moulding business
models to behaviour - and at the heart of this lies
the ability to access third party data flows.
A single point of visibilityThe problem most corporates face is that they
have no single window into their travel data. Most
will have relationships with multiple providers,
each of whom provides access to a single part of
the puzzle. As a result, the focus tends to always
be on travel bookings, but this lacks the depth
required to profile individual travellers and their
specific needs. As the need to provide travellers
with maximum choice increases, the number
of providers companies often need to use also
increases - finding a way to access a single view
of why and how travel happens within their
organisation will become critical.
Mary Ellen George-Hess, Head of North
America, Tramada, says: ‘A lot of companies
suddenly have a greater compliance burden to
deal with, and they need to maintain audit trails
that allow them to show everything - from an
overview of their entire travel programme, to
individual traveller requiremesnts. And that’s
impossible if they’re bringing together out of
date information from separate systems.’
Combining multiple data sources into a single,
structured stream, is also the key to ensuring a
The more data sources a travel manager can use – booking data, expenses data – and integrate with other streams of data to analyse trends and inform their policies, the greater the value they can deliver, the better the outcome for the traveller and the business.
J O N N Y C OW L I N ,
C O M M E RC I A L D I R E C T O R ,
E X P E R I A N
What travel managers lack is a single system, a single data set, and a single database that will
allow them to identify trends and pinpoint efficiencies at a global,
local, and individual level.
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A SECURITY-INFORMED APPROACH
So why aren’t more businesses already doing
more with travel data? A key factor is the
growing concern around compliance. With
the arrival of GDPR, data security is high on
the agenda of most organisations - and will
inform their approach to travel data. For
global travel providers and TMCs, this means
both a responsibility to show that they can
keep data secure, and an opportunity to
provide their clients with a single, secure
view of their travel programme.
Liz Emmott, Sales Director, Amadeus UK &
Ireland, says: ‘The issue of how to protect
sensitive data while still gaining the access and
functionality they need to manage the business
and protect the workforce is really at the
forefront of travel managers’ minds. There is so
much talk at the moment around GDPR and so
much going on in terms of regulation, and every
time I speak with a TMC there are questions
around this area because they’re aware that
they need to do their best to protect their client
data and ensure their suppliers have relevant
safeguards in place for that as well.’
Mary Ellen George, Head of North America,
Tramada, says: ‘Corporates are obviously
very keen to ensure there aren’t security
breaches. As a result, we will start seeing an
increase in companies asking more questions
about data security and data compliance,
and proactively asking agencies to provide
evidence that they are secure.’
While this may sound intimidating, it represents
a significant opportunity for TMCs and travel
providers to distinguish themselves by providing
corporates with a unique combination of choice
and security. Premium players with a global
presence have the potential to make their
mark by deploying solutions to parse data and
ensure that third parties only have access to the
information they need to provide their service.
value-driven experience, both to the individual
traveller and the business as a whole. Antoine
Boatwright, Chief Information Officer, Hillgate
Travel, says: ‘There is a lot that can be done
with data to deliver strategic value to travel
managers, for example augmenting trip data
with other datasets, such as punctuality,
cancellations, expenses in order to give a more
rounded view.’
Once again, the burden for delivering this lies
not with the travel managers themselves, but
with the partners who work alongside them, and
they should be taking the lead when it comes to
serving up travel data in a digestible format. Paul
Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations and
Industry Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group, says: ‘Our
model is based around matching behaviour and
opportunities and you need maximum visibility
to achieve that. We have live data across the
global network, and with client permission we
have access to hierarchies and job roles, so we
can give them greater insight into the needs of
different travellers. Each client is very different,
so it’s important to understand their trigger
points and to understand things such as types of
travellers who need to book the day before, and
who need lots of changes to their itinerary. And
with that data to hand so you can understand the
elements which can and can’t be controlled.’
To deliver this to their corporate clients, TMCs
will have to broaden their focus. Paul Dear,
Director of Global Supplier Relations and Industry
Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group, says: ‘TMCs
often focus on flights and hotels - but if you’re
creating a data-driven model, you need to work
with industry experts in each area of travel to
extract relevant data and provide that complete,
360-degree view. And that isn’t happening quite
yet. Ground transportation, for example, hasn’t
had the biggest investment in data, so partnering
with a company that is globalising and delivering
global digital service and has that data to offer is
something TMCs haven’t explored yet, but which
will become important in future.’
of your travel dataMAKING T HE MOS T
According to Forrester, 24% of financial decision makers rank travel as one of the most difficult
operating expenses to control . This difficulty represents a huge opportunity for travel managers
looking to increase the strategic value they offer. But what do they need to do to get there?
We’ve identified five crucial steps that should form the basis of every travel manager’s approach
to travel data.
COMBINING DATA STREAMS
The secret to releasing the strategic power of data lies in combining and
comparing different data sets. For example, combining expenses data with
travel booking data can help provide greater visibility over the differences
between travel booked by travel managers and travel booked by travellers
themselves. It can help give a clearer picture of the most popular ground
transportation providers and the opportunity to accurately compare costs –
something booking data alone cannot provide. For a more forward-looking
approach, combining sales forecast data with travel data can help travel
managers predict how sales activity will affect travel spend – empowering
finance directors to see the overall effect on profit margins. As Scott Gillespie,
CEO of Travel Benchmarks and Analytics company, tClara, says: ‘Real value
comes from combining traditional travel data with other data, and performing
more sophisticated analysis. A good example is benchmarking of airfares,
which can be done by almost any analyst, assuming they have access to relevant
benchmark data. But they need to know how to create like-for-like comparisons
as well, because it does no manager any good to have a benchmark that isn’t
truly comparable.’
TRAVEL PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT
Data is meaningless unless it has context. To start harnessing its power, travel
managers need to thoroughly examine their travel programme to identify areas
where access to richer data might help iron out challenges. Whether that’s
improving customer experience, managing costs, or being able to predict where
the biggest travel spend will be next year, identifying high priority areas is a
valuable way to help businesses focus their efforts.
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By addressing these five areas, travel managers can start transforming their travel
data from an underused and overwhelming pool of information into a powerful
strategic resource that benefits the whole of their business.
ENGAGE YOUR TRAVEL PARTNERS
The most important step is for travel managers to realise that they don’t have all the
tools and capabilities needed to make the most of their data – and to forge better
communication with the partners who do. Global travel providers and TMCs have the
benefit of global data streams, powerful tools and access to third-party providers.
And many of them are already working on ways to deliver relevant, useful data to
their clients. Mary Ellen George says: ‘Businesses should be looking to their travel
partners to offer a single point of visibility. That means bringing everything into one
platform – data from corporate travellers and third party providers, storing it in a
secure way, and serving up what is relevant to the right people.’
PRIORITISE SECURITY
Compliance around data security can often be seen as a stumbling block – but it can
also be an advantage, giving businesses access to greater choice without having to
worry about security. Graeme McDermott says: ‘Businesses are having to reexamine
how they use and store data because of GDPR, and naturally larger organisations
are far more aware and have been working on this for longer. If you are working
with a global TMC or travel provider, securing your data is built into their business
model, and they can make it easier, especially for SMEs, to confidently access third-
party services without having to worry about data security.’ The key lies in initiating
conversations with travel providers and TMCs about the data security they offer and
how they complement the organisation’s own policies.
PROFILING TRAVELLERS
To deliver a consumer-like experience, travel managers need access to the types
of data consumers typically give away. Encouraging travellers to share their data
– including travel preferences such as their favourite locations and hotels, airport
and air carrier preferences, most frequent journeys etc. This level of data equips
travel managers so they can create personalised experiences which helps reduce
the time spent planning, booking, and resolving issues. Having an understanding of
the entire travel package can also be a great negotiating tool with vendors. Data
around traveller behaviour and preferences can also be used to identify trends
and influence policies to ensure they are always relevant to current needs. Jonny
Cowlin says: ‘Data allows you to learn more about the traveller and what they
expect. By knowing which hotels they gave bad feedback on so you can provide
packages based on their most frequent travel, or even to offer more flight and
hotel upgrades – which can help people be more productive by sharing information
about which colleagues are travelling through the same city or airport at the same
time so you can schedule time together if you need it.’
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of tomorrowT HE E XPERIENCE
So, what will the data-driven corporate travel
centre of tomorrow look and feel like? For the
individual traveller, it will be an alignment of
corporate travel requirements with consumer
expectations to create a seamless, end-to-end
experience that incorporates user-friendly
apps, smart bookings and consumer-style
profiling and user recommendations, with
the ability to make changes to your plans
seamlessly and on the go.
For travel managers, the future lies in taking
a more proactive approach by analysing
travel data and identifying patterns. But to
make this truly effective, there has to be a
shift in the type of data being used.
Consumer brands are already making
extensive use of predictive data, and as Paul
Dear, Director of Global Supplier Relations
and Industry Affairs, Hogg Robinson Group,
says, this is where corporate travel providers
should look to next: ‘The predictive model
is not just about making recommendations,
but recognising that you fly from London to
New York once a fortnight and holding seats
proactively for you. Capturing information
about the searches you make that don’t lead
to a purchase, and identifying what you need
to make that purchase. This is where things
are headed, but the first step is to establish
that direct data flow from the traveller to
their TMC and to the provider.’
For Jonny Cowlin, Commercial Director,
Experian, predictive analytics have the power
to remove much of the stress that comes with
business travel: ‘The technology exists already
to make global travel a far less stressful and
more seamless experience. Automatically
extending a traveller’s hotel and rebooking
their flights if they are delayed somewhere,
for example, eliminates stress points and
makes the experience easier. And people are
more productive if they feel well looked after.’
Using such predictive models, travel
managers can become empowered to take a
more proactive approach - one that will make
it easier for them to extract the right data to
inform their policy and to influence decisions.
One of the issues with data of any kind is that it is always in the past, and there is only so much you can do with historical information. So one of the capabilities everyone needs to think about improving is predictive data because that is where the most exciting opportunities will arise.
L I Z E M M O T T, S A L E S D I R E C T O R , A M A D E U S U K & I R E L A N D
CONTRIBUTORS
ADDISON LEE GROUP
We’re committed to transforming
and shaping the future of global
ground transportation by
bringing the levels of service we’ve always
delivered locally to customers across the world.
It’s because of our service reputation that
we’re the number one trusted ground
transportation provider for journeys that
matter, be it a critical business meeting,
airport transfer or event. Service is our
hallmark – consistent, safe and ethical.
We have been spearheading global travel safety
using the same award-winning, industry-leading
standards for over 40 years.
We combine exceptional reliability, a high
level of safety and sophisticated in-car
technology and work with approximately
270 service partners around the world,
covering 280 airports in 350+ major business
destinations in 83 countries. Our 24/7 support
teams are on hand to ensure our clients
receive a safe, secure, first-class service. We
are proud to be a transparent and reputable
company complying with all Government
legislation. We have our own in-house
Enterprise grade technology which is robust,
reliable and secure.
As we expand globally, we’re committed to
taking those principles with us. Our approach
is simple: wherever we operate, we work to
contributorsABOU T THE
16 WHITEPAPER - FEBRUARY 2018
give our clients peace of mind that when
it comes to safety, they’ll receive a high
standard of service from us in every location.
We acquire an in-depth understanding
of local requirements so we can define a
solution that addresses the unique and
specific challenges each region brings and
always operate in line with local standards
for driver, vehicle and customer safety. This
commitment extends beyond our own fleet
to include working with partners who share
similar values around standards and actively
work towards improving travel for everyone.
PAUL DEAR, DIRECTOR OF
GLOBAL SUPPLIER RELATIONS
AND INDUSTRY AFFAIRS,
HOGG ROBINSON GROUP
Paul Dear was appointed to the role of
Director of Supplier and Industry Affairs in
January 2014. In this role, Paul has
responsibility for coordinating relationships
and deals with HRG’s non-technology
suppliers, together with recommending and
managing HRG’s strategy for industry relations
with most trade organisations.
His career in the business travel industry began
in 1995 when he joined the Credit Control team
for HRG. Since then he has held a number of
different roles with the company in which he
has demonstrated his impressive consultative
and reporting skills.
Prior to his appointment as Director of
Supplier and Industry Affairs, Paul was
Director of Client Consultancy. In this role,
he managed the Global Consulting division
to support clients who wish to implement
savings and optimize their Travel and
Entertainment (T&E) programmes globally.
Paul enjoys football and sport in general and
is married with two children.
ANTOINE BOATWRIGHT,
CIO, HILLGATE TRAVEL
Antoine Boatwright joined
Hillgate Travel in early 2014 and is
responsible for the broader IT & Change
Management function. This includes IT
infrastructure, internal and external application
development, and the new project
management and business process
improvement practice. Antoine has 20+ years of
global experience with Logica, Dell and Oracle
worldwide in such diverse industries as space,
energy, utilities, telecoms and manufacturing.
His roles have spanned technology, sales,
marketing and operations. As such, he brings
more than just technology thought leadership
to his current role. He brings a knowledge of
what it takes to win and keep business globally.
Antoine Boatwright holds degrees from the
London School of Economics (BSc, MSc) and the
University of Reading (MBA) and is fluent in four
European languages (English, French, German
and Spanish).
LIZ EMMOTT, SALES DIRECTOR,
AMADEUS UK & IRELAND
Liz joined Amadeus in 2016 as
part of the senior management
team and is responsible for delivering the
technology company’s commercial strategy
and leading its expanding new sales division.
Liz’s role is designed to enable travel
companies across the leisure and business
sectors to achieve competitive advantage by
deploying technology that drives productivity
gains as well as growing revenues by adopting
best practice travel retailing. Prior to joining
Amadeus, Liz has held senior VP positions at
American Express Europe across the payments,
financial services, and corporate business
travel sectors.
MARY ELLEN GEORGE-HESS,
HEAD OF NORTH AMERICA,
TRAMADA
Mary Ellen George is an
accomplished travel industry professional, with
a proven track record in launching and
sustaining profitable travel enterprises for
Fortune Global 500 companies. By leading
high-performance teams and creating high-
energy environments for talent development,
she has achieved superior results in bringing
new solutions to the travel industry. Currently,
Mary Ellen is Head of North America for
Tramada, an Australian-based travel technology
leader now available in the US. Tramada’s
modern platform and revolutionary front-to-
back office automation solutions are becoming
adopted and implemented by travel agencies of
all sizes. Mary Ellen’s past experience includes
time on HRG’s North America executive
committee leading the regions commercial
team, with American Express in a Global Business
Development role, and with BCD Travel’s global
management board in General Management,
Consulting and Sales leadership roles.
SCOTT GILLESPIE, CEO, TCLARA
Scott often breaks new ground
– and a bit of glass - in the
corporate travel industry. Scott is
a leading authority on travel procurement,
travel friction and the total cost of travel. As
Managing Director of tClara, he is developing
the next generation of benchmarking for
airfares and traveller friction He is the author
of a U.S. patent, 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.
JONNY COWLIN, COMMERCIAL
DIRECTOR, EXPERIAN
Jonny Cowlin joined Experian as
their EMEA Commercial Director
in 2016, in this role he leads the sales and
commercial functions across the region which
spans 11 major markets and over 25 countries.
Jonny’s responsibility includes the go to
market strategy, accelerating business
growth and driving higher levels of service
experience for Experian’s clients in the EMEA
region. Jonny has 18 years of global sales and
commercial experience having worked for
companies such as Orange Business Services,
AT&T Global Business and BT Global Services.
Most recently he served in BTGS as Vice-
President – Energy, Infrastructure &
Manufacturing. Jonny has a BA (Hons) degree
from London Metropolitan University in
Business & Media and attended school at
Stonyhurst College in the North West of
England where he excelled in sports. Jonny is
married to Heather and lives in Godalming,
Surrey. An avid sports enthusiast, Jonny enjoy
the challenge of marathons, ultra-marathons
and triathlons; Jonny completed the 2017
Marathon Des Sables which took place in the
Sahara Desert.
CONTRIBUTORS
18 WHITEPAPER - FEBRUARY 2018
NOTES
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