Caitlin Gomez recently joined GBTA as a Vice President of Business Development. Matt Konetschni has been promoted to Vice President, Professional Development & Training. Eric Weaver recently joined GBTA as a Vice President of Human Resources.
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) announced three vice president appointments: Caitlin Gomez, Matt Konetschni and Eric Weaver.
“I am excited about the future of our organization as we continue to build a staff that is talented, driven and experienced,” said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. “I’m confident these three leaders will help GBTA to continue to deliver the top-notch education, research, events, advocacy and networking opportunities that our members have come to expect.”
Caitlin Gomez recently joined GBTA as a Vice President of Business Development. Gomez brings a wealth of skills and proven success in the travel industry in sales, relationship management and devising successful strategies to win and retain business. She comes to GBTA from HRG North America where she worked to develop, implement and execute HRG’s sales strategy in the Northeast. Previously as a GBTA member, she co-founded the GBTA Ladders program and was also named Allied Member of the Year in 2014.
Matt Konetschni has been promoted to Vice President, Professional Development & Training. Konetschni joined GBTA in 2012 and has worked tirelessly to drive GBTA’s education and events programming. He has overseen the development and launch of the Advanced Principles of Business Travel Management and helped transition the new GLP program to be more cost effective and efficient for GBTA members. He will now oversee the GTP Certification and China’s Gift of Knowledge Initiative as well.
Eric Weaver recently joined GBTA as a Vice President of Human Resources. Weaver has a diverse background in global human resources ranging from his most current role at Parrillo Associates, where he managed their consulting relationship with the U.S. General Services Administration, to 11 years with Intel Corporation where he managed HR functions for a variety of business groups including a $1B start-up health care device business unit and a $7.6B business unit in China with staff in 13 countries. He also had previous director-level HR roles with the Department of Homeland Security as well as Renaissance Airlines.
GBTA Allied Leaders Appoint New Members to Allied Leadership Council
GBTA also announced Allied Leadership Council President Scott Solombrino and Vice President Dorothy Dowling have appointed eight new members to the Allied Leadership Council (ALC). The ALC represents GBTA’s Allied Members by acting as a voice for the Allied community within GBTA, and also works to assure a strong marketplace by addressing common issues facing the travel industry.
“While the business travel industry is constantly evolving, we are currently experiencing a time of rapid change making our Allied Leadership Council more important than ever,” said Christle Johnson, GBTA President. “We look to the ALC to develop and support innovative ideas to help GBTA continue to evolve and remain responsive to our members’ changing needs.”
“I am so pleased to welcome these new and returning members to the Allied Leadership Council,” said Scott Solombrino, GBTA Allied Leadership Council President. “As a volunteer-driven organization, it is important to bring together industry leaders with diverse experiences across multiple industry verticals, and I am confident this group will help lead the way as the voice of our Allied community.”
The following appointments are effective immediately and will run through GBTA Convention 2017.
New ALC Members
Billy Bos
Associate Director of Group, Worldwide Sales
Best Western International
Marie Downey
Director, Global Corporate Accounts
United Airlines
Mark Hollyhead
Senior Vice President, Egencia Americas Region
Egencia LLC
Beth Kinerk
Senior Vice President, Sales – The Americas
Avis Budget Group
Kelly Philips
Senior Vice President, Transient Sales & Distribution
Hilton
Jessica Shapiro
Vice President, Corporate Marketing
Concur
Mike Qualantone
Senior Vice President/General Manager
American Express Global Business Travel
Angela Xavier
Vice President Sales America
IHG
Returning ALC Members
Scott Solombrino
ALC President
President and Chief Executive Officer
DavEl/Boston Coach Chauffeured Transportation Network
Dorothy Dowling
ALC Vice President
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Best Western International
Eric Norberg
Director, Global Business Development Private Equity
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Doug Payne
Senior Vice President Sales
ALTOUR
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
