Susan Standiford
Consultancy Festive Road has appointed former IKEA chief technology officer Susan Standiford as a strategic advisor focused on artificial intelligence strategy for corporate travel and expense programmes.
Standiford previously held technology leadership roles at IKEA and Disney Digital, as well as working on digital transformation initiatives at Travelocity.
In the new role, Standiford will advise Festive Road and its clients on AI strategy, including decisions about internally developed capabilities and supplier-provided tools.
She also will co-lead Festive Road’s “AI Collab” series, which is a peer forum for travel and expense leaders to discuss AI implementation.
Festive Road’s CEO Caroline Strachan said in a statement that travel and expense leaders are weighing up whether to build internal AI capabilities, follow supplier technology roadmaps or pursue a combination of both.
Standiford said companies adopting AI for travel and expense management should seek to retain visibility, control and flexibility as the technology develops.