Mike Koetting has been promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president, Global Supplier Management of Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). Mr. Koetting has also been named to the CWT global executive team. In addition, he will remain a member of the CWT North American executive team, providing leadership for select strategic initiatives. Mr. Koetting reports to Hubert Joly, president and chief executive officer. He is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In his new role, Mr. Koetting is responsible for developing partnerships with suppliers and supervising the airline, hotel, car rental and global distribution system (GDS) agreements CWT has on a global, regional and national level. All global and regional supplier relations teams at CWT now report to him.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Joly said, Given increased globalization and in light of our geographic footprint and the scale of our operations, supplier management is best led at a global level. Mike has both the professional and personal qualities needed to build on the great work that`s been done by our regional teams. His leadership and proven ability to work effectively with suppliers, coupled with his vast knowledge of travel management operations, will be particularly relevant in this position.

Before taking on his new responsibilities, Mr. Koetting was executive vice president, CWT North America, responsible for finance, supplier relations and marketing. Prior to joining CWT in 2004, he was senior vice president of what was formerly Maritz Corporate Travel, where he had various responsibilities in finance, industry relations, marketing, consulting services and strategic planning. Mr. Koetting worked as a certified public accountant and senior auditor at Price Waterhouse before moving to the travel management industry in 1993.

Earlier this year, Mr. Koetting was named to the roster of The 25 Most Influential Executives of the Business Travel Industry, 2006, published by Business Travel News, a leading industry publication in North America.