ITM CEO Appointed to Judge New Industry Awards
Simone Buckley joins panel of experts for the Business Travel People Awards
Simone Buckley, the chief executive of the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM), has been appointed as one of the judges for the Business Travel People Awards (BTPAs).
The BTPAs will recognise outstanding individuals and teams within corporate travel management companies, suppliers to the business travel industry and people who procure travel services.
Buckley said: "This industry is filled with people who go above and beyond the call of duty every day to make a difference to their travelling customers. This is our opportunity to recognise those people that truly make a difference across a broad spectrum of suppliers and services."
The event, which takes place at The Grange City Hotel Tower Hill, London, on May 24th, is also being officially backed by ITM.
Tony Pilcher, the independent chairman of the BTPA judging panel, said: "The calibre of the judges is extremely high. Their collective knowledge and experience across all aspects of corporate travel will bring strength and depth to the entry evaluations and final selection process. The quality of the judging panels, coupled with the support of our industry's leading organisations will ensure these awards become the most sought after in the industry."
Entries and nominations for the awards are now being accepted at www.businesstravelpeopleawards.co.uk
The judges for the supplier categories (Account manager of the year, account management team of the year, sales / business development manager of the year, sales / business development team of the year) are:
Chris Crowley, senior vice president of global client services for BCD Travel and president of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives
Ken McLeod, director corporate Advantage Travel Centres
Julie Oliver, managing director of Business Travel Direct
Adam Knights, group sales director for ATP
Kevin Thom, managing director of QA Travel and president of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association
Gail Kenny, managing director of the Gail Kenny Group
Ajaya Sodha, founder of Key Travel and chairman-elect of the Guild of Travel Management Companies
The judges for the agency categories (Reservations consultant of the year, reservations team of the year Account manager of the year, account management team of the year, sales / business development manager of the year, sales / business development team of the year) are:
Simone Buckley, chief executive of the Institute of Travel and Meetings
Heather Cotterill, director at Cotterill Walker
Chris Reynolds, co-owner of 3SIXTY Global
Deborah Short, global travel manager for Willis
Mark Payne, travel manager at Santander Global Services
Chris Travis, travel manager EMEA for Merck
Roger Peters, purchasing manager at Capgemini
Both groups will also judge two industry awards. The Social Media Champion award recognises the team or individual that can demonstrate the unique and successful use of social media to market a company or product, provide customer service, increase sales and drive business growth or create business efficiency.
The Rising Star award recognises an outstanding individual from any sector of the business travel industry - including buyers - under 35 years old who has demonstrated excellence in their role and a desire to develop into a business leader of the future.
