Three TMCs were named in Business Travel News' "25 Most Influential People in Business Travel" at the Business Travel Trends & Forecasts event held in New York this week.
Suzanne Horner, CEO, Gray Dawes Group (pictured above, right, with BTN's Elizabeth West); Marcus Eklund, global managing director, FCM Travel Solutions; and John Snyder, CEO, BCD Travel attended the unveiling at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel on Monday, where they received their accolades, and also took part in a panel, moderated by West.
Horner was the only UK entrant on this year's ranking, and spoke of her recent appointment as the new chair of the Business Travel Association and GDG's recent acquisitions – including Amber Road in the summer. Last month, Horner was also appointed to the board of the Advantage Travel Partnership.
FCM's Eklund, meanwhile, spoke of the TMC's own investments. In April this year, it announced it had acquired a 25 per cent stake in business travel start-up Upside for an undisclosed sum. Booking platform Upside was launched in 2017 by Priceline founder Jay Walker, and rewards business travellers who make savings by being flexible with their travel. Parent company Flight Centre is now the largest individual shareholder in Upside. It also bought California-based TMC Casto Travel last year, and
BCD's Snyder also talked about the purchase of Adelman Travel in August, and the launch of SolutionSource, which he said was a marketplace that allowed the TMC to help technology start-ups gain investment and get visibility. It currently has more than 20 companies on the platform. BCD has also opened up a developer hub to offer its API to other companies.
Each year, the "25 Most Influential People in Business Travel" list is compiled by BTN's editors, who track the trends and events impacting business travel, and identify the people who exert pressure on the market, influence traveller behaviour and change the way travel managers do their jobs.
Click here to see the full compilation.