M102 Paying the Piper: Trends and Best Practices in Travel Payments

Few areas of travel management promise to undergo more change in the next couple years than that of payment. And time is truly money when it comes to payment. With an increasing number of choices to consider—traditional corporate cards, lodge cards, pre-paid cards, mobile payment, virtual payment automation—it’s never been more important to increase your level of understanding about this fundamental aspect of corporate travel management. In this session, we’ll help you fill in the gaps in your knowledge of payment to help you decide what choices are worth your company’s consideration.

Presenter: Mario Kriebel, Vice President Commercial Payment Solutions - Global, BCD Travel

M103 Delivering Meaningful Business Reviews

Both suppliers and buyers need to understand the importance of collaboration during the preparation and delivery of a business review. How does one deliver a business review that focuses on messages that are meaningful, memorable, create a value story and include a consultative approach that delivers valuable business intelligence. Learn about insightful strategies to map out collaborative action plans moving forward and leave with some sample working templates.

Presenter: Annemarie Reininger, Managing Director, A.R. Consulting

Compliments of:

M104 Meet the Experts: Building Strong Relationships with Procurement Teams

The influence of Supply Chain and Finance continues to change the role of travel management.  This session will feature successful procurement leaders sharing their insights for navigating in the world of Strategic Sourcing and finance.
More than ever, travel industry specialists need to become familiar with strategic sourcing practices and procedures. How does the uniqueness of travel categories compare to other commodities sourced by corporations today?  This interactive session will discuss:
• Why sourcing & procurement is a « game changer » / influencer
• How suppliers can engage in a strategic relationship with procurement teams
• Understand  the challenges/resistance  from internal and external players
• The metrics that matter

Moderator: Cheryl Paradowski, President and Chief Executive Officer, Supply Chain Management Association

Participants:

Daniele Gorla, Director, Strategic Sourcing-Supply Chain Management, Shaw Communications

Nadia Malek, Senior Director Supply Chain, Cirque du Soleil

Emmanuelle Piguet Schilling, Country Category Manager, Strategic Sourcing, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.

MONDAY, 16 NOVEMBER  14:15 – 15:15

M201 Hotel Rate Auditing for the Maturing Travel Program

You’ve spent valuable time studying what you need in your preferred hotel program. It takes into account your travelers’ needs, their satisfaction, safety - all with added attention to cost containment and the ability to meet commitments to preferred hoteliers.   Negotiations are done and your program is ready to roll-out to your traveling population…or is it?  In this session we will help to show the impacts that rate auditing and squatter rates have on your hotel program.

Presenter: Lisa K. Reilly, Global Project Manager, HRG North America

M202 Effective Mobile Travel Strategies Are Table Stakes - THE FUTURE IS NOW

Only 29% of travel programs have a mobile strategy or policy today*.  If a mobile strategy is part of your program, is it aligned with the changing landscape of mobile?  Let’s explore ideas of how you can modify your program to support travellers who rely on their devices while travelling, and discover how it can align to program deliverables and results for your company. Join us for an interactive, practical session that will help you begin to understand the on the road needs of travellers and walk away with actionable items to begin deploying your strategy. * 2014 TMI Study How fast is mobile growing?

Presenter: Kacey Beecher, Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Americas, CWT Marketing - North America

M203 A Lawyer’s Duty of Care Perspective  

As business becomes increasingly global and corporations make investments in corporate travel to drive growth, employee care continues to be a top priority for companies worldwide. It’s imperative for corporations to understand its liabilities to its employees.
The session will touch on pertinent topics, including such questions as:
· What is your corporation legally liable for when it comes to traveler safety?
· What do you need to do to ensure the corporation is protected from liability?
· What do you need to do to ensure the individual business traveler is protected?
· What about the individual business traveler’s accountability?

Presenter:    Stephanie Weschler, Stikeman Elliott LLP

Participants: Edward Bennett, Senior Counsel, American Express Global Business Travel

                     Mireille Garabedian, Regional Vice President, Strategic Account Management,

                        American Express Global Business Travel

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M204 The Art of Influence: Asking Great Questions Instead of Providing Good Answers

We often think that having the right pitch and the right answers is what our clients, colleagues and bosses expect from us. However, it has been shown that great communicators, influencers and problem-solvers are actually skilled at asking great questions! Indeed, the efficiency of our actions often depends on the quality of the questions that we ask. In this highly participative workshop, you will experiment how different questions can generate different results for you and your work in the travel industry.

Presenters:

Julie Bourbonnais, Organizational Psychologist, FOUG

Solime Gaboriault, Organizational Development Consultant, FOUG

TUESDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 10:30 – 11:30

T101 Building a Business Case for Meetings Management

Have you been asked to manage meetings or gain control of meetings spend? Does the idea of building a business case for meetings management or starting a SMMP seem daunting? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then this session is for you.
Meetings management programs don’t have to be complicated. Making the case for such programs need not be complicated either.  During this session, we’ll lay out a step by step plan for building your business case, getting executive buy-in, and implementing the right simple technology tool. You’ll even walk out of the room with a kit of all the resources you need to get started.

Presenter: Julie Haddix, Senior Manager, Enterprise Marketing, Cvent

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T102 Painting A More Complete Picture with the Travel Data You’re Overlooking

Travel Managers are now expected to take on the role of data analyst, but with nearly 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day, that’s no easy task. Often, figuring out which data is most important, how to get it and how to marry it with common travel data like T&E spending patterns is difficult to achieve.  Learn new strategies to simplify and leverage large amounts of data to make more informed decisions related to spending, cost savings, ROI, rebates and negotiating with vendors and suppliers.

Moderator: Matthew Fabian, Director, Contact & Leads Management, Personal & Commercial Banking, BMO Financial Group

Participants:

Cassandra Prewett, Manager, Strategic Programs,  Sourcing, Payables, Supplier Governance & Productivity, BMO Financial Group

Lisa K. Reilly, Global Project Manager, HRG North America

Elmar Trust, Manager Merchandising Strategies & Ancillaries, Delta Air Lines

T103 Designing Your Leadership Playbook

Successful leaders are organized and have written systems. Participants in this session will design their own personal engagement plan – their “Playbook”. Kick start your system, your engagement and your potential. Learn about tools to engage others at a higher level and how to link corporate strategy to your role and/or business unit.

Presenter: Pat Lipovski, Executive Coach & Leadership Specialist, Envision Group

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T104 The Next Dramatic and Disruptive Mobile World: Catch the Wave

The next wave of mobile technology is hitting a handset near you.  How well are you positioned to take advantage of major new opportunities such as Where Are You Now (WAYN) and the Internet of Things (IoT) in your global travel program?  Johnny Thorsen, travel technology expert, will provide fresh insights that few of us have seen or heard of before. Prepare to be wowed!

Presenter: Johnny Thorsen, Senior Director, Concur