Toby Guest has been named the new UK country champion for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).
Currently global travel manager within IBM's global procurement organisation Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO), Guest has more than 15 years of blue chip corporate experience.
At IBM his experience includes global sourcing and management of travel agencies, corporate cards, airlines, hotels, car rental, meetings and events, in 36 countries worldwide.
Chris Crowley, ACTE president, said: "Toby's appointment as ACTE's UK Country Champion is more than the acknowledgement of his accomplishments and his ongoing support of this association. It's also about having the right man in the right place, at the right time.
"Our Country Champions are senior experts in their respective fields, advising on effective travel management techniques, also able to advise executives how to get the most from their ACTE Global memberships."
Before working on IBM's client-facing BTO, Guest was responsible for IBM's own internal travel programme within Europe, managing spend for several countries including the United Kingdom.
Guest said: "This is an extremely challenging time for the travel industry yet it is also an extremely exciting time too with such unprecedented change and opportunity for all involved. The nurturing of relationships, sharing of ideas and need for true openness throughout the supply chain has never been so critical".
Toby has a Masters in Project Management from George Washington University and a BA (Honours) from Bournemouth University.
ACTE's European Country Champions include:
Benelux - Xavier Houart, European Travel Center Manager, Atlas Copco ASAP Europe
France - Jerome Drevon-Barreaux, Group Category Manager, AXA
Finland - Arja Niilekselä-Tiainen, Corporate Travel, Meetings & Facility Manager, Global Indirect Sourcing, Cargotec Corporation
Germany - Ralph Ruckgaber, General Procurement/Leasing, IBM Deutschland
Italy - Diane Laschet, Country Manager, AirPlus International S.r.l.
The Netherlands - Arthur Sollet, Travel Services Manager Europe Cluster, Shell International B.V.
Sweden - Cathrine Lundberg, Principal & Senior Consultant, CMM Consulting
Switzerland - Michael Casati, Head Group Travel Management, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd.
Russia - Irina Kuznetsova, Head of Administration, PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia B.V.