About ITM
What We Do
The Institute of Travel Management (ITM) is dedicated to supporting and developing all those involved in corporate travel.
Established in 1956, we are proud to represent over 5,000 business travel buyers and suppliers across the UK and Ireland.
We believe in providing the best possible support, information and opportunities to enable our members to achieve best practice in managing travel spend effectively, minimise the risk to their travellers, and demonstrate the effectiveness and profitability of managed travel to their organisations.
Travel Management
The cost of travel (T&E) tends to be a corporation’s second largest controllable expense and few procurement categories are as complex, dynamic and highly emotive as travel. Travel management is the strategic approach that balances employee needs with corporate goals by adding value and minimising costs.
Whether you procure (as a buyer ) or provide (as a supplier ) travel services, our tailored training programme, comprehensive learning resources, and industry-leading networking events can help you achieve best practice to optimise your travel programme, and form stronger relationships within the business travel community.
Our Members
Our 5,000+ members represent the profession across many categories:
- Accommodation (Hotels, HBA's, Serviced Apartments)
- Aviation
- Creative Industries (Media, Broadcasting, Marketing and Publishing)
- Ground Transport (Car Hire/Chauffeur, Rail etc)
- Meetings, Conferences and Venues
- Payment Solutions and Expense Management
- Risk Management and Security (Duty of Care)
- Travel Management Companies (TMCs)
- Travel Technology
- Start Ups
- + more!
Join today and be part of the business network for travel professionals in the UK and Ireland: Register.
The ITM Secretariat Team
Scott Davies
Chief Executive Officer
Drawing on over 20 years’ experience in business travel, Scott has held senior positions in the TMC, airline and travel technology sector. He is passionate about what he does, speaking at many industry events and is instrumental in various industry judging panels. Scott writes a bi-monthly column for Buying Business Travel, the Business Travel Magazine and Business Travel campaign sharing his insights and experience.
e: scott.davies@itm.org.uk
The ITM Board of Directors
Nikki Parsons
ITM Chair
Nikki has worked in the travel industry for 20 years, for the last 2 years as Global Director of Travel at Arcadis and for 9 years prior as the Global Head of Travel & Meetings at AIG. Her AIG journey began in Singapore where she implemented a managed travel and meetings program across Asia Pacific, followed by 2 years working in AIG’s New York headquarters leading the global team before returning to the UK. Her tenure at AIG saw the travel and meetings programs globalise successfully and consistently deliver value to stakeholders, through deep/win-win strategic vendor partnerships and a keen focus on people/customers. Arcadis has not managed travel globally before, so Nikki is currently setting up a new global function and implementing a global travel program to help Arcadis achieve key strategic objectives including an ambitious Net Zero target. Prior to working at AIG Nikki held Travel Management positions with Merrill Lynch and Standard Bank in London and Citi in Singapore. Nikki is also a Director at ITM. When not working, or hanging out with her 2 kids, Nikki can probably be found on her Peloton. As a Loughborough graduate, and having played competitive level sport, Nikki remains a sport and exercise enthusiast.
e: nikki.parsons@arcadis.com
Kerrie Henshaw-Cox
Buyer Board Director
Kerrie Henshaw-Cox joined biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in 2011 and is now Associate Director and global lead for Business Travel Services. Kerrie has overall accountability for the travel category strategy, sourcing & supplier relationships, operations & service and is responsible for travel policy, the sustainability and travel emissions programme as well as traveller duty of care. Kerrie and her team manage the business travel programme for AZ across 90 countries, partnering with one global TMC, a single online booking tool in 70 countries and a single security and health provider with worldwide cover.
e: kerrie.henshaw-cox@astrazeneca.com
Ian Spearing
Buyer Board Director
Ian is the EY Global Travel Meetings & Events Innovation leader driving technological advances into the EY program. His focus is to improve the overall travel experience through incumbent supplier offerings, disruptors and building technology internally. Ian has been in the role for 2 years and has a background in multiple travel suppliers and technology companies.
e: ian.spearing@uk.ey.com
Samantha McKnight
Supplier Board Director
Samantha is a senior manager who has excelled in a range of roles across a number of sectors within the travel industry. Uniquely experienced in both complex operational and commercial positions Samantha’s current role of General Manager for CIBT UK provides oversight and leadership for the business as it evolves in a post-pandemic world and shapes itself for the future needs of travel.
e: samantha.mcknight@uk.cibt.com
Cristina Chimenti
Buyer Board Director
Cristina Chimenti is Global Travel Manager at Sky, and has been at the company since 2011, having picked up travel procurement in 2017. Cristina covers Sky UK, Sky Italy, and Sky Germany, with a combined yearly spend of $50m across the three territories including Sky News and Sky Sport specific programmes and manages a travel population of 31,000 people. Cristina is responsible for negotiations with hotel, airlines, rail, car hire, and taxi, and serves as the main contact with Sky’s TMC. Since 2020, Cristina has included Meetings & Events and Credit Cards in her portfolio and is always working on implementing additional innovations to drive compliance and savings in the travel category. In 2020 Cristina was shortlisted as BTA “Travel Manager of the Year” and has won the ITM “Rising Star Travel Manager” of the year. Previously, she was shortlisted as “CFO of the year” at the 2018 British Accountancy Awards. Since 2020, Cristina has also been involved with ITM as a Board Director, Buyer. Cristina is also a former board member at Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF), Glasgow Print Studio and a former chair of children’s arts charity Giant.
e: cristina.chimenti@sky.uk
Natalie Gardner
Buyer Board Director
Natalie Gardner joined Electronic Arts in 2009 as the Travel Manager for EMEA. In 2012 she was given responsibility for the Asia Pacific region and was promoted to the Global Travel manager role in 2015. Natalie is responsible for all things travel at EA, including sourcing, global travel strategy and travel initiatives to aimed at improving the traveller experience, in more than in 25 countries around the world. Natalie has over 10 years’ experience in the corporate travel industry and started her Travel career in Australia before relocating to the UK. She has held a number of positions with global TMC’s before transitions to the corporate Travel Management role.
e: ngardner@ea.com
Richard Tams
Supplier Board Director
Richard is a London based airline consultant who has worked in a wide variety of markets in Europe, North America and Asia. He has spent most of his career working for British Airways and has sat on a number of boards including airlines, tour operators and Chambers of Commerce. He now runs his own consultancy and coaching business, Tailwind Advisory.
e: richard@tailwindadvisory.co.uk
Dominique Swales
Associate Director
Dominique Swales is the Director of Global Corporate Accounts for United Airlines. In this role, Dominique heads a multi-national team focused on developing strategic partnerships with United’s top global corporate accounts, spanning initiatives in joint venture sales, sustainability and DEI. With 20+ years of experience, Dominique has held a variety of sales and alliance leadership roles within United Airlines in Chicago and London. Consistently recognized for her ability to develop talent, inspire teamwork and foster strong collaboration, Dominique also leads the global accounts team efforts in support of United’s transatlantic joint venture. Dominique received her degree in Business Administration from the University of Northumbria and currently lives in the UK with her husband and two sons
e: dominique.swales@united.com
Sue Jones
Associate Director
Sue joined Ingka Group as Global Meetings and Travel Manager on 1st June 2021 bringing nearly 20 years’ experience in the travel and meetings industry from both the agency and corporate side. While previously based in the UK, Sue and her partner relocated to Malmo, Sweden at the end of September. Prior to Ingka Sue spent the last 8 years responsible for travel, corporate events, hospitality and travel procurement in the financial services industry.
e: Sujata.jones@ingka.IKEA.com
Daniel Cockton
Associate Director
Danny joined AMEX GBT in early 2017 with a wealth of industry experience behind him, he started his business travel and meetings career at serviced apartment provider Native, before stints with the Institute of Travel Management as Events and Marketing Executive, Sales, marketing and account management roles with HRS, Malmaison and Agiito. During his tenure at Amex GBT Danny manages some of the largest and most complex travel programmes in the global client group across the energy (Oil, Gas and Renewables) banking and finance industry verticals. Along with Amex GBT and ITM director, Martin Ferguson, Danny co-founded the Business Travel People Awards and in 2021 Danny was appointed as an Associate Director at ITM and played a key role in the launch of the ITM Awards in July 2022. Since 2001, Danny has been a keen supporter of the charity HCPT (www.hcpt.org.uk) an organisation that takes young people with physical, social and emotional needs to Lourdes at Easter. Since his involvement in 2001, he has been a volunteer one to one helper with the children and adults on over ten occasions and has also driven over £100,000 of fundraising with activities ranging from black tie dinners through to a Sahara Trek in 2012.
e: daniel.cockton@woodplc.com
Emma Eaton
Associate Director
Following her BA(Hons) graduation in International Business and German, Emma has spent over 15 years in procurement and supply chain management roles across various industries. Whether it’s in her personal life, previous roles, or her current role as Travel Commodity Manager, Emma’s passion is to take every opportunity to become more sustainably minded. She doesn’t claim to be an expert or to have all the answers, but her aim is to encourage others to be bold in trying new ways to benefit people and the planet by making simple changes in the everyday.
e: emma.eaton@siemens.com
