Nikki Parsons
The UK’s Institute of Travel Management (ITM) has appointed Nikki Parsons, global director of travel at design and consultancy firm Arcadis, as the next chair of its board of directors.
Parsons will officially take over the role on 1 May 2023, when the current chair, Alison Rogan, global head of travel and expense at Barclays, steps down after being in the role since June 2020. There will also be a handover period over the next three months.
ITM’s chair is responsible for driving its strategic vision, providing leadership to the board and ensuring it creates “maximum impact” for members.
Parsons has been a member of ITM since 2017 and became a board director in 2022. Before joining Arcadis, she was global head of travel and meetings at AIG for nine years, as well as previously holding travel management positions with Merrill Lynch and Standard Bank in London, and Citi in Singapore.
“I am looking forward to building on the legacy of Alison’s achievements during what was an incredibly challenging time for our industry,” said Parsons.
“I intend to focus on how we encourage the next generation of talent into business travel management as this is something that I feel very passionate about.
“The travel manager role looks and feels very different, not just from when I began my career, but since the pandemic. We need to ensure ITM continues to reflect this shift and provides the right level of support and professional development, not only to our members, but in order to develop a pipeline of future talent.”
Rogan described her three years as ITM’s chair, which included the Covid-19 pandemic period, as a “tremendously memorable and rewarding experience”.
“I am incredibly proud of the successes we have achieved as an association, all of which were designed to support our community through one of the most challenging periods for the industry in recent history,” she added.