Explore the 2024 speakers below and stay tuned for more announcements coming soon.
2024 Main Stage Speakers
Arlene Coyle
SVP Commercial Direct, Amadeus Cytric Solutions
Amadeus SAS
Arlene Coyle is SVP Commercial at Amadeus Cytric Solutions, responsible for the acquisition and growth of the Cytric Easy Travel and Expense portfolio with top corporations around the world. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the managed travel and technology industry with a career that has taken her from Amadeus to the world’s leading travel management companies and back. Arlene has been living in France for the last 25 years and is based in Nice. She is an active leader and communicator and enjoys exchanging views with peers as well as building long standing relationships with clients. She is an advocate for new technology, innovation and challenging the status quo. If she had magic powers granted, it would be to speak every language in the world.
Arlene Coyle
SVP Commercial Direct, Amadeus Cytric Solutions
Amadeus SAS
Knut Arne Strømme
Travel Risk Manager
Equinor
Travel Risk Manager Background from security, emergency response in the United Nation, the Norwegian Police Security Service and Equinor.
Knut Arne Strømme
Travel Risk Manager
Equinor
Richard Thompson III
Mobility Manager
dm-drogerie markt (Corporation)
Richard Thompson III. is mobility manager for the retail drug-store group of dm-drogerie markt, speaker/networker on topics around mobility and coach/lecturer for project management. He is also board member of the German business travel association (VDR e.V.). Richard is based in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Richard Thompson III
Mobility Manager
dm-drogerie markt (Corporation)
Stephanie Hare
Dr
Stephanie Hare Ltd
Dr Stephanie Hare is a researcher, broadcaster and author. She co-presents the BBC's weekly television programme AI: Decoded, which explores the top stories in AI, and appears monthly on the BBC World Service programme Business Matters. Her first book, Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics, was named a Financial Times best book of summer 2022 and is on the syllabus at Harvard Law School. She has also published in the Financial Times, The Washington Post, the Guardian/Observer, the Harvard Business Review, and WIRED. Previously Stephanie worked at Accenture, Palantir, and Oxford Analytica as an analyst and consultant specialising in technology, business and political risk, advising senior decisionmakers in governments and the private sector. She has also held the Alistair Horne Visiting Fellowship at St Antony’s College, Oxford. She holds a PhD and MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including a year at the Université de la Sorbonne (Paris IV). Born and raised in the United States, she lives in the United Kingdom and is a fluent French speaker.
Stephanie Hare
Dr
Stephanie Hare Ltd
Ulrika Rosén
Global Travel Manager
RWE Renewables
RWE Renewables 2023 - to present day Part of the newly formed global travel services team. Key task of the team is to build a global program that fits with the companies rapid growth and expansion outside they key markets Germany and UK. TMC sourcing and contracting with procurement and implementation of selected supplier together with Cytric as prefered OBT. Communicate and train local colleagues to ensure success. Building a global hotel program to fit the business. Tetra Pak 2000 - 2023 Responsible for running the strategic travel programme within Tetra Pak that included travel policy & procedure.In my role I advised, guided, and supported our colleagues around the world on travel management. This included setting KPI’s for follow-up of top management targets, change management, developing communication material and e-learnings covering the full travel process. In close collaboration with the Supplier Management organisation regarding sourcing strategy and implementation of global suppliers and solutions. Working with key suppliers and external networks to be aligned with developments in the travel industry such as NDC, sustainability in Business Travel, tools available on the market, data integration.During the pandemic part of the workstream that included OHS, travel, FREM and communication.Global project manager when implementing Concur Travel in 40 countries alongside with finance implementing Concur expense in 76 countries. Driving the use of standardised payment solutions as business travel accounts and company credit cards together with finance in order to further optimise our tools and processes.
Ulrika Rosén
Global Travel Manager
RWE Renewables
Christian is the CEO and Founder of Goodwings - an impact-driven travel management platform with headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. With more than 20 years’ experience working within corporate sustainability, he is an active systems changer, dedicated to turning business into a force for good. A serial entrepreneur, his success is down to his rigorous and detail-driven approach, inspired by his time serving for the Danish armed forces as an officer, combined with his ability to develop a common business language that transcends cultural, judicial and environmental agendas.
Christian Møller-Holst
CEO and Founder
Goodwings
Heike Birlenbach is the Chief Commercial Officer at Swiss International Airlines in Switzerland since January 2024. She manages Brand and Product Experience, Network Management, Revenue Management, Sales, and Marketing for the airline.
Previously, Heike held the position of group-wide responsible for Customer Experience at the Lufthansa Group, where she played a crucial role in shaping the group's customer satisfaction strategies.
With a Master’s degree in Management from McGill University, Heike brings extensive experience and a proven track record in the global travel and tourism industry to her current role.
Heike Birlenbach
Chief Commercial Officer
Swiss International Air Lines
Mehreen Khan is the Economics Editor for The Times of London and a former Europe correspondent for the Financial Times in Brussels. She has written extensively about the European Union, the political economy of the eurozone, populist politics, climate policy, taxation and economics.
Mehreen spent five years in Brussels from 2017-2022 breaking exclusive agenda-setting news on the EU’s Brexit talks, budget negotiations, environmental regulation, pandemic policy response, and foreign policy.
She authored the daily Brussels Briefing newsletter for the Financial Times and is a regular contributor to the BBC, Al Jazeera, EUScream podcast, In Our Times, and Times Radio.
Mehreen Khan
Economics Editor – The Times of London
The Times of London
Michael Esquibel is a versatile leader with demonstrated success in corporate strategy development and execution – results and financially oriented with strong business acumen and expertise in CRM implementation, Platform Engineering & Product Development, CTI and IVR technologies, program management, financial management, process improvement and data analytics.
As Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy and Platform Engineering Michael utilizes his experience to support the GBT Global Technology & Enterprise Services teams in delivering products and services to both internal and external customers. With accountability for GBT's AI Initiatives, Sales, Servicing, Mid & Back Office platforms, network services, strategic program delivery, vendor management, M&A and integrations his focus is to ensure the organization is operating with highly available, scalable and secure services and technology solutions.
Prior to joining GBT Michael was VP | Chief of Staff Global Operations and Technology at Western Union and held a variety of leadership roles in finance, global operations, and technology. Earlier in his career he had held roles in corporate finance at Fiserv, Inc. and Verizon Business.
Michael has a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Regis University.
Michael Esquibel
SVP | Technology Strategy & Platform Engineering
American Express Global Business Travel
Andy Hoskins is editor-in-chief of Business Travel News Europe, the leading source of news, reports, analysis and tools for travel management professionals. He is an award-winning writer and editor, and has reported on the travel industry for more than two years.
Andy Hoskins
Editor Business Travel News EuropeAs responsible for the Creative Culture at LEGOs Creative Play Lab Magnus worked understands creative process and culture and how Play and Playfulness can be the engine for more Innovation. Magnus has more than 30 patents and has worked across many industries, both digital and physical, like IKEA, IBM, Mattel, Sony, etc. His passion lies in making people understand the superpower of Play and how that can be an instigator of positive change.
Fredrik Hermelin is the General Manager at Swedish Business Travel Association (SBTA). With a long carreer within global sales and operations he has built an extensive professional network .
Fredrik’s passion for the ongoing travel & meetings transformation, strategic travel programs, and the incredible technology innovation is keeping him busy as a keynote speaker and influencer to travel and meetings management programs in the Nordics.
Fredrik strongly believes there is an urgent need to improve the dialogue and partnership between corporate clients and travel service providers.
Fredrik Hermelin
General Manager
Swedish Business Travel Association, SBTA
Suzanne is Chief Executive Officer of GBTA, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), where since early 2021 she has been leading the association’s mission, staff, and services. The association and its related foundation collaborate with industry buyers, suppliers and public policy makers to make and keep the “travel for work” industry sustainable, relevant, and an economic force for good.
She’s been in the travel industry for more than 20 years – with GBTA; with Germany-based hotel distribution platform HRS; and with Texas-based GDS Sabre, its OBT GetThere and OTA Travelocity. In addition, she’s led marketing, e-commerce and public affairs teams at US tax software giant Intuit and US telecom giant Verizon (formerly GTE). She got her career start in television broadcasting.
She’s also been an active volunteer in the travel industry, including serving as president of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives board from 2012-2014.
Suzanne holds an MA from the University of Hawaii, and a BA from Minot State University in North Dakota. She and her husband Ralf split their time between New York City and a small town in northern Germany; they have two adult sons and one grandchild.
Fun fact: Suzanne has visited 47 of the 50 US states and over 40 different countries on her professional and personal travels.
Suzanne Neufang
CEO
GBTA
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at SAS since August 2023. His areas of responsibilities are Global sales and Digital sales, Distribution, Brand & Marketing, Product, Loyalty, Customer, ancillary etc.
Paul has previously held positions as: deputy CEO at Iberojet Airlines 2020-2023. Senior Vice President International Sales and Commercial Strategy at Aeromexico 2016-2020. Several leadership positions at Air Berlin and Air France KLM 2000-2016.
Paul Verhagen
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer SASSimon Large started as Finnair's Chief Customer Officer on 1 October 2024. He leads Finnair’s new Customer Experience, Loyalty and Marketing Unit and is responsible for driving Finnair’s product offering, marketing and brand, global sales, and a part of customer service functions, as well as Finnair’s Aurinkomatkat - Suntours package tour business. Simon Large was a member of Finnair Board of Directors since 2022 and before that, served in senior leadership roles in Cathay Pacific.
Simon Large
Chief Customer Officer Finnair PlcWHERE IS THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE LOCATED?
