Education Programs
ACTE's education programming begins Sunday, April 12 at 4:30pm with a full-length opening session followed by two days of education and networking.
Quick links to programming:
• Pre-conference
• Sunday/Monday
• Tuesday
Women in Travel: WINiT@ACTE
Sunday, April 12 - 9:30am - 1:00pm at the Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, GA
Event is open to all WINiT members (join here for free).
Advance registration is required.
This event has been sponsored by American Airlines, the Marriott Corporation, and WINiT Donors; and is at no cost for WINiT members.
Register here by April 8.
ACTE and WINiT are pleased to announce a cooperative relationship and our first partnered programming. Please join WINiT Founder Michelle (Mick) Lee and WINiT Director of Program Development, Dawn Repoli for brunch and an engaging business curriculum. Event features an in-depth conversation about the power of leadership and mentoring across generations and provides an opportunity for WINiT Pilot Mentor program participants to network.
Compliments of: |
Add-on Workshop: How to Navigate the World of Global Travel Management
Sunday, April 12 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm
This 2-hour add-on workshop is designed to demystify the complex world of global travel management to industry newcomers. Industry experts will provide an overview of:
• Roles, interests, and revenue streams for key industry stakeholders
• Language of industry acronyms and travel-specific references
• Travel transaction from start to finish – from content through reporting
• Highlights of the complexities of the industry’s biggest challenges
Workshop is free for ACTE Members and $199 for non-members. Preregistration is required.
Speaker: Garth Jopling, Global Travel & Fleet Management, IBM Global Process Services
Orientation
Sunday, April 12 - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Learn from ACTE leaders how to maximize your conference experience, and meet and mingle with fellow conference participants. Plus, get the scoop on what’s new at ACTE so you won’t miss out on any of the great learning and networking opportunities this conference offers. Whether you’ve attended before or are new to an ACTE conference, join us – you’ll be happy you did.
Hosts include ACTE staff and Steering Committee members.
Orientation is free and open to all registered conference attendees.
Working Group Informational Session
Sunday, April 12 - 3:00pm - 3:30pm
Join ACTE staff and current group members to learn about these volunteer groups; and find out how you can get involved with 2015 ACTE Working Groups.
This informational session is free and open to all registered conference attendees, however, Working Groups are open exclusively to ACTE members.
ACTE Education Agenda
Sunday, April 12
4:30pm - 5:45pm
Kickoff General Session
 | Don't
miss 'The Drawing Boys' in this lively and thought-provoking opening
general session with Roman Tschaeppeler & Mikael Krogerus. Learn
more. |
Monday, April 13
Featured Session
Join Delta President Ed Bastian and Michael Lyons (ACTE's USA Regional Chair) for a lively discussion on a variety of hot topics that confront the travel industry today. Learn more.
10:00am - 12:00pm
The ACTExperience
Your time is valuable. We’ll help you make the most of your conference experience with our new ACTExperience. This innovative format provides a mashup of conference programming, presented in a ‘tour’ format that enables you to identify the main messages and core takeaways in three 35-minute, bite-sized experiences. Topics for each small group rotation are based on key areas our members have identified as priorities, and the facilitators have been hand-picked for their expertise.
| Connecting for Success - Building and expanding your network efficiently is about more than collecting business cards and greeting old friends. Meet one of ACTE Canada’s best rated speakers who will boost the quality your networking experiences and prepare you to get the most value out of every new connection you make. Presented by: Doug Carter, Presentation Consultant, Presentations Etc., Inc. |
| Drawing Conclusions - The Swiss duo, who first performed at our Copenhagen conference in 2014, use illustrations and humour to show how we make decisions, and more to the point, how we can make better decisions. You won’t want to miss this innovative and mind expanding experience. Presented by: Roman Tschäppeler & Mikael Krogerus, Authors of The Decision Book: 50 Models for Strategic Thinking |
 | Building a Better Approach - Hard Issues; Real Communications: A Negotiator's guide to breaking the mould of slug-it-out buying and selling. How to read minds, understand perspectives and generate mutually beneficial solutions. Facilitated by: Scott Wayne, Founder & Lead Consultant, The Frontier Project and author of The Cartography of Negotiation |
1:45pm - 2:45pm
General Session: Balancing Savings and Service with New Initiatives in Traveller Centricity
 | During
this General Session, top travel buyers will spotlight some of the industry's most creative developments that are maximizing traveler productivity and satisfaction without breaking budgets. Featuring trend-setting initiatives from AstraZeneca, Microsoft and Sapient, attendees will hear first-hand what the industry’s Best of the Best have been up to, and what is next on their list. Spotlight innovator: Michelle DeCosta, Director, Global Travel and Client Experience, Sapient Spotlight innovator: Georgie Farmer, Group Manager, Strategic Sourcing, Global Travel & Meetings, Global Procurement Group, Microsoft Corporation Spotlight innovator: Kerrie Henshaw-Cox, Global Commercial Leader - AstraZeneca Travel Service, AstraZeneca Hosted and moderated by Jason Long, Vice President, Global Solutions, HRS
|
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Select from the following 60-minute education breakout sessions. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
 | 5 Ways a Technologist Re-invented Travel Management Steven Mandelbaum has built a reputation as one of our industry’s best innovators, earning him recent accolades from Business Travel News as their 2014 Travel Manager of the Year. He tackles the industry’s problems and inefficiencies by designing new programs, concepts, and digital solutions. Discover what he has in store next, and hear the latest on his recent innovations in expense reporting, gamification, re-envisioned database theory, and more. Speaker: Steven Mandelbaum, Vice President, Business Solutions, The Advisory Board Co.
| |
 | Beyond Big & Smart: The Next Big Trend in Data Analysis It's Big Data, sure, but we're turning it Phat - Modern, Cool, and Actionable! With all the talk about Big Data in the world today, how can you use this to your advantage in the business travel and meetings industry? There is significant opportunity to enhance the managed travel and meetings programs through utilization of the data that sits at your fingertips. This session will give you a peek under the hood on how we can use Big Data in creative ways to impact both buyers and the suppliers. Learn how to build a Phat Data Strategy that you can action immediately. Change the conversation about data and drive real impact in your T&E programs. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig into Phat Data! Speaker: Jennifer Steinke, Manager, Corporate Travel, ACT
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| Bold, Fast and Agile: Cisco’s Revolutionary Hotel Strategy Hear how Cisco revolutionized the hotel industry by successfully partnering with key global suppliers to move from annual market share agreements to multi-year revenue based contracts. Speakers: Teri Adams, Americas' Travel Manager, Cisco Systems & Susan Lichtenstein, Director of Global Travel, Cisco Systems
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| Building a Comprehensive Payments Security Strategy In the aftermath of the Target breach, the urgency surrounding chip and PIN (aka EMV) cards in the U.S. is at an all-time high – and the migration is underway. However, questions remain about how the technology will impact fraud prevention strategies and what additional steps must be taken to ensure that businesses can protect the sensitive information entrusted to them. Learn how to accelerate chip and PIN adoption, and develop internal controls, such as improved detection, authentication and tokenization, to combat fraud in today’s market. Speaker: Alan Docherty, Senior Manager, North American Corporate Card Products, BMO Financial Group, Treasury & Payment Solutions With contributions by: Cassandra Prewett, Strategic Program Manager, Bank of Montreal
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| Latin American Spotlights: Exploring Global Travel Management Quickly get up to speed on the latest trends, issues, and industry news from Brazil and throughout Latin America. Regional experts from a variety of locations will highlight the essentials you need to know about corporate travel management in this rapidly growing area. Speaker: Dennis Swane, Head of Travel Global Category Team, Ericsson
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| Walking the Fine Line Between Savings and Service Bottom line versus traveller preferences. These are two polar opposite yet equally important objectives that travel managers must reconcile. But how? Hear from travel managers who are getting creative in their solutions as they strive to add value to both sides of the equation. Contributors: Eric Bailey, Travel and VenueSource Global Group Manager, Microsoft Global Procurement Group Michelle DeCosta, Director, Global Travel and Client Experience, Sapient Georgie Farmer, Group Manager, Strategic Sourcing, Global Travel & Meetings, Global Procurement Group, Microsoft Corporation Kerrie Henshaw-Cox, Global Commercial Leader - AstraZeneca Travel Service, AstraZeneca
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8:00am - 9:00am
Buyers Only ‘World Café’ Roundtable
Back by popular demand, the World Café provides an engaging environment exclusively for corporate buyers and travel managers. You will join your peers from around the globe to engage in purposeful dialogue around topics that matter to you. Past attendees have described this invaluable time together as a primary motivation for attending the conference.
Facilitated by: Michelle Grant, Travel Administration Manager, CTE, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
9:00am - 10:00am
General Session: The Best of the Best: How Proactive Industry Innovators are Leading the Way
| | Reflecting on 16 years as a travel columnist for the New York Times, Joe Sharkey will distill the big picture of our industry into the macro trends that are driving innovation (and sometimes disruption) in modern corporate travel management. Then, our industry’s most creative and innovative leaders will illustrate how travel managers are turning trends into realities by shifting their mindsets from reactive to proactive, and leveraging tools that more effectively and seamlessly deliver travelers to their point of arrival. Featuring: Keynote Speaker: Joe Sharkey, Travel Columnist Spotlight Innovator: Michelle (Mick) Lee, Founder, Women In Travel (WINiT) Spotlight Innovator: Susan Lichtenstein, Director of Global Travel, Cisco Systems Spotlight Innovator: Carol McDowell, Manager, Corporate Travel Services, FINRA Moderator: Evan Konwiser, Vice President Digital Traveler, American Express Global Business!
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10:15am - 11:15am
ACTE's TableTalks
Join expert buyers and suppliers for lively, moderated roundtable discussions on a variety of hot industry topics that are designed to help you network, exchange ideas, and find solutions and new perspectives on the challenges you face in corporate travel management.
11:30am - 1:00pm
Select from 90-minute extended deep-dive workshops or concurrent 30-minute education sessions that spotlight a range of industry topics.
| Innovative Industry Leaders: A Deep-dive with the Best of the Best Industry Innovators 90 Minute Extended Session A Deep-dive with the Best of the Best Industry Innovators Take a deep-dive to explore how and why industry leaders made strategic choices that led to noteworthy industry accomplishments and recognition from their peers. From experiments with open booking to unique supplier partnerships to dramatic shifts in traveler communications, learn what these industry innovators did to enlist buy-in and support, what lessons they learned, how they are measuring success, and what’s next on their list. Speakers: Michelle (Mick) Lee, Founder, Women In Travel (WINiT) Carol McDowell, Manager, Corporate Travel Services, FINRA Susan Lichtenstein, Director of Global Travel, Cisco Systems Moderator: Evan Konwiser, Vice President Digital Traveler, American Express Global Business Travel
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| Leveraging Your Data 90 Minute Extended Session Back by popular demand; and in an extended format to allow more in-depth discussions! Attendees and data experts will debate and discuss the industry's biggest data challenges. No pitches, no PowerPoint, no formal presentations--just a moderated exchange of ideas and expert opinions. Moderator: Michael Lyons, ACTE Regional Chair, USA and Regional Head of Travel Services, HSBC Bank
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| Practical Secrets to Persuasive Presentations 90 Minute Extended Session Whether clients or C-suite, *how* you present is just as important as *what* you present. In this interactive session, discover the secrets of crafting and delivering a persuasive pitch that has the power to transform even the most passive audience into one that sits up and takes action. You will leave with at least three practical strategies that will win them over with ease--every time. This session is targeted to industry suppliers, sales people, and anyone who wants to amp up the outcome of their presentations. Presented by Doug Carter, Presentation Consultant, Presentations Etc., Inc.
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| Procurement Workshop for Travel Managers 90 Minute Extended Session The trend of bringing Travel Managers into procurement has continued to gain traction, which means it should be part of the successful manager’s toolkit. This session is best suited to those who have some procurement experience as we will drill down to more advanced concepts and best practices relevant to travel managers. Facilitated by: Eric Bailey, Travel and VenueSource Global Group Manager, Microsoft Global Procurement Group Pat Batra, Chief, Global Travel & General Services (DFAM), UNICEF Geert Behets, Director, Global Travel & Fleet Management, UCB Angela S. Naegele, VP, Global Procurement, Reed Elsevier Inc.
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11:45am -12:15pm
| | Innovations in Ground Transportation Moving beyond the typical 'Uber debate,' this brief session will highlight the changes that underscore this key category, including a focus on how ground transportation demand has evolved and how providers are innovating to match the latest trends. Presented by: Gary Kessler, CEO, Carey International Donovan Wilson, Sr.VP of Ground Transportation, Barclays
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| Silent Travelers and Other Missed Opportunities There are countless ways that we collect data feedback and reviews from our travellers, yet many companies are not getting the full picture. Learn about an important, but often-overlooked segment of the corporate travel population - and how account for the valuable data that they may not readily provide. Presented by: Maria Chevalier, GVP Corporate Incubation Travelport
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12:30pm - 1:00pm
Global Travel Management: Spotlight on Doing Business in the Middle East and India
Join experts from the Middle East and
India to hear about the latest updates related to corporate travel in
those regions. Participate in small group dialogues to explore the
changes, challenges, and trends that affect your travellers and doing
business in these regions.
Facilitated by:
Amarnath Lal Das, General Manager – India Travel, Accenture
Savio Vaz, Head of Corporate Travel, dnata Travel
Facilitated by: Mary Bastrentaz, Managing Director, Global Travel & Events, Accenture
Virtual Payments
The trend toward virtual payments is gaining momentum. Learn from a first-hand implementation case study what their experience could mean for your corporate travel policy and for your travellers.
Presented by: Joe Monaghan, Global Head of Travel, Sutherland Global Services Compliments of: 
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Select from the following 60-minute education breakout sessions. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Beyond Big & Smart: The Next Big Trend in Data Analysis (repeat)
It's Big Data, sure, but we're turning it Phat - Modern, Cool, and Actionable! With all the talk about Big Data in the world today, how can you use this to your advantage in the business travel and meetings industry? There is significant opportunity to enhance the managed travel and meetings programs through utilization of the data that sits at your fingertips. This session will give you a peek under the hood on how we can use Big Data in creative ways to impact both buyers and the suppliers. Learn how to build a Phat Data Strategy that you can action immediately. Change the conversation about data and drive real impact in your T&E programs. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig into Phat Data!
Speaker: Jennifer Steinke, Manager, Corporate Travel, ACT Compliments of: 
Beyond Rides and Rooms:
Tomorrow’s Sharing Economy
For many people, the sharing economy begins and ends with ride-sharing
alternatives to taxis or limos and room-sharing alternatives to hotels or
B&Bs. But even as businesses cautiously explore whether shared rides and
rooms have a place in their corporate travel programs, a new generation of
innovators is rushing to apply the peer-to-peer consumption model to countless
other resources, from meals to event space to manufacturing with 3D printers.
In this session, leading travel industry thinkers will take you on a journey of
ideas and possibilities that will forever change how you think about travel
services.
Speakers:
Miriam Moscovici, Director of Emerging Technology, BCD
Travel James Sisco, Director of global travel, Reed Elsevier
Matthew B. Ziskie, Global Travel Manager, Airbnb Compliments of: 
Hotel Innovations: Spotlight on
an Evolving Category
Big changes are underway in the hotel category with innovations
appearing across distribution models, technology, pricing strategies, and more.
Join hotel experts and veteran industry buyers as they delve into the latest
trends and future visions for this key category of the corporate travel
industry.
Facilitated by: Nicki Leeds, Global Travel Manager, Hess
Panelists:
Christine Kerr, Senior Director Corporate Travel, Accor Global Sales, North American Office, Accor
Scott Thompson, Director , Global Business Travel, Best Western International
Mathias Warns, HRS VP for EMEA, HRS Compliments of:
New Drivers for Evolving
Corporate Cultures: The Modern Case for Meetings Management
As workforce demographics are changing, company cultures are changing;
and so are the most compelling reasons for implementing Strategic Meetings Management
(SMM). Many employees want “DIY” or self-serve tools and companies want
programs that help their employees make the right decisions. So what do
companies value today; and how do those values relate to SMM? This session
proposes three new drivers that align with those evolving values: transparency,
effectiveness, and ROI; and explores how they can demonstrate the value and
proven successes of SMM.
Speakers:
John Broaddus, Director of Partnerships, Cvent
Jami Stapelmann, Director, Global Travel and Meeting Services, Estee
Lauder Companies
Theresa Tamer, Strategic Meeting Mgmt Programs, Global Business Services, The Coca-Cola Company
Compliments of: 
Protecting Your Company’s Data and Traveller Privacy
With breaches and hackings becoming increasingly frequent and large
scale, protecting your travellers’ privacy and safeguarding data has
become top of mind for travel managers. In this session, a cybersecurity
expert will highlight trends and best practices, with a focus on how
this may affect policies for corporate travelers.
Participate online in an informative webinar on April 7 at 11am EDT; and
then join us live in Atlanta on April 14 at 2:15pm EDT at ACTE’s Global
Corporate Travel Conference for a deeper dive on this timely and
crucially important issue.
Speaker:
Dr. Jane LeClair, COO, National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College
Facilitated by: Christine Adams, Global Manager, Travel & Fleet Solutions, Georgia-Pacific Compliments of:
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Closing General Session Projecting your Most Powerful Self
| Think beyond cliched body language. Explore techniques to express your true character, project presence and authority, and harness each business environment to your advantage. Featuring: Scott Wayne, Founder & Lead Consultant, The Frontier Project and author of The Cartography of Negotiation |
