April Bridgeman, Senior Vice President – Strategic Marketing, BCD Travel
April Bridgeman is a senior vice president for BCD Travel, the world’s third-largest travel management company. As head of Strategic Marketing, April leads global emerging technologies and market research, product and service strategy, corporate intelligence, and marketing and communications. She is a long-time road warrior with unmatched passion for the traveler experience and a clear vision for travel-related products and services that blend into today’s mobile and socially connected lifestyles. As a former procurement professional, April also loves to collaborate with clients to incorporate unique demand management strategies and newly available business intelligence to drive corporate travel programs across new horizons.

Bill Brindle, Business Technology and Distribution Director, HRG
Bill Brindle, who has been recognised as one of the most influential people in business travel technology, is Group Distribution and Technology Director at Hogg Robinson Group (HRG).

Bill has Executive Board representation for all HRG’s information technology, distribution and product development needs. In addition to his technology responsibilities, in 2008 Bill’s remit expanded to include overall management control of HRG’s global supplier and industry relationships. In 2010, Bill assumed responsibility for the provision of all client data and its related products.

Starting his career in the Civil Service, Bill first moved into the travel industry in 1981, holding various positions in airline distribution technology with British Caledonian Airways.

In 1989 he joined Amadeus Global Travel Distribution in Spain and then spent time in both the UK and France, taking overall responsibility for the product management of Amadeus front-end user software applications worldwide.

Bill was involved in the design and implementation of some of the first corporate booking applications and has spent considerable time consulting and developing products in this area.

In 1998 Bill joined Hogg Robinson Group as Head of Technology, looking after the company’s extensive partner network technology requirements. He was promoted to Managing Director E-Business within two years and in the same year established TRX in Europe to provide fulfilment services to two of Europe’s largest Online Travel Agents (OTAs).

Since joining HRG, Bill has been instrumental in driving change systems within both the business and the wider corporate travel industry. He is focused on delivering and supporting innovative business systems and architecture, positioning HRG at the forefront of business technology and is committed to driving technological advancement to develop common platforms industry-wide.

Bill’s hobbies include many outdoor activities including running, cycling and horse-riding. He is married.

Monica Dingwall, Contract Manager, William Hill
Fully MCIPS accredited, and working in Purchasing & Supply since 2001 first working for an SME and then for HSBC, Atkins Global and now at William Hill. Categories I have manage include traditional toys to garden sheds, educational furniture to catering & vending services, Business Travel and recently a range of soft services. I now work for William Hill within an Indirect Buying team as a Contract Manager responsible for contract management, supplier relationships and customer management. I believe passionately in the role of Procurement and effective SRM and the benefits they can bring in the Travel space.

Jerry Dunn, Distribution Development Manager, easyJet
Jerry Dunn joined easyJet as Distribution Development Manager in November 2006 to explore and develop third party distribution opportunities. His main focus has been on negotiating and delivering the GDS deals with Galileo, Amadeus and Sabre to drive incremental bookings from the managed corporate travel sector, but other distribution channels have also been established via aggregator booking systems connected to the easyJet XML API.

Jerry has worked in the travel industry for over 20 years, having held a variety of positions including at Opodo (Head of Distribution), Worldspan (Business Development Non-Air Suppliers), and Galileo (e-commerce Business Development EMEA) among others. Jerry graduated from Brighton University in 1987 with a BA (Hons) Business Studies degree and started his career in travel at Trailfinders 2 years later.

Harald Eisenächer, Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Sabre Travel Network
Harald Eisenächer brings more than 15 years of commercial experience to his role as Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for Sabre Travel Network, the leading global travel market place serving superior technology solutions to travel management companies and online agencies.

Joining Sabre in September 2011, Harald is responsible for the overall performance of the Sabre Travel Network business in EMEA which operates and serves customers in 87 countries around the region.

Previously, Harald served as the Senior Vice President, Personal and Social Networking for Deutsche Telekom AG, and prior to that, Managing Director and Vice President, Marketing and Sales for eBay Germany.

In these roles, Harald successfully managed a portfolio of leading internet businesses and oversaw strong market growth and the delivery of strategic innovations in the fast moving online industry.

Harald also has a wealth of experience within the airline industry having served as vice president, marketing with Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Lufthansa Cargo AG. At Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Harald was instrumental in enhancing the premium positioning of the brand, implemented a variety of product innovations and significantly expanded the customer base of its loyalty program, Miles&More.

Harald started his career in strategic planning, sales and marketing at Hoechst AG in Frankfurt. He studied at The Koblenz School of Corporate Management, majoring in marketing and finance, and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Texas, at Austin.

His diverse marketing and commercial experience within the telecommunication, airline, and e-commerce industries give him a unique perspective that is well matched to driving Sabre EMEA’s continued growth and expansion around the region.

Eisenächer is married and has a son. A German national, he is based in London.

Peter Glade, Director of Sales & Market Development, Star Alliance
As Director Sales and Market Development, Peter Glade is responsible for the entire portfolio of Star Alliance sales products and for all market-facing sales activity across the Alliance’s global network. His wide-ranging experience in the aviation business has assured him a strong reputation throughout the industry.

After successfully completing the Lufthansa programme for high potential management trainees, Peter joined the Accenture global airline consulting practice, where he led several aviation-related projects. He joined the Star Alliance team in 2004 and played a pivotal role in the development of Star Alliance Corporate Plus - widely recognised as the leading alliance product for large international blue chip companies on the market today. He was appointed to his current position in 2007. Peter is married and the proud father of three children. Even so, he tries to find time to pursue his hobbies as driver of ambulance cars and (lay?)preacher.

Toni Goth, Head of Global Travel Management, Allianz Managed Operations & Services SE, Munich
Toni Goth has worked in the Travel and Aviation Industry for more than 20 years. He started his career at the German travel group Hapag-Lloyd, now part of TUI. He served in many different positions mainly within the areas of Business Travel and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events).

He gained an in-depth knowledge about corporate travel serving large customers and working on numerous business travel projects. Goth was heading FCI between 2000 and 2002, the then largest European specialist for the MICE segment with nearly 200 experts across Germany providing services mainly to corporate customers. This company was later merged into Maritz GmbH (now known as Grass Roots) where he was serving as Director for the operational part of the business. Later Goth linked his experience in the Corporate Travel world with new challenges in the Aviation industry.

He worked several years for the world’s largest aircraft charter specialist Air Partner as Director for Business Development and Marketing in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Spain. Again the main customers were corporations using aircraft for specific missions and complex air projects. Later he joined Europe’s largest provider of business aircraft, NetJets Europe. The company operates about 150 private jets with a very complex business model and highly specialized operations headquarter near Lisbon, Portugal. There Goth was heading the corporate travel department and the subcharter unit. His team processes about 100000 roomnights and 55000 airline tickets per year most of them booked and fulfilled within 24 hours before the travel datere due to specific operation of NetJets.

Since 2011 Toni Goth is leading the global travel and MICE initiatives of Allianz Managed Operations & Services (AMOS), the world-wide internal service provider of insurance and finance solutions giant Allianz. AMOS was founded 2010 and is to provide travel services, consolidation and new products to the Allianz group companies in more than 70 countries with about 150000 employees.Toni Goth is an expert on travel procurement, highly demanding technological solutions in the travel arena and all other subjects around modern corporate travel and MICE management.

Michael Hill, European Travel Manager, The Coca-Cola Company
Michael is an travel industry veteran of over 20 years.

He started his career with British Airways during which he worked within Sales & Reservations, and the Commercial Ticketing Desk.

Having left BA Michael then worked for established TMCs where he held senior Operational roles within Rosenbluth International American Express, Ayscough Travel and NIS Europe, where he was laterally Director of Account Management.

In 1997, he became EMEA Travel Manager for EDS where he worked for 2.5 years before their takeover by HP.

He took the role of Global Travel Manager with the Intercontinental Hotel Group, before his current position as European Travel Manager for The Coca-Cola Company.

Michael is passionate about his role and takes a very hands-on approach to his customer service focus.

Rob Hughes, EMEA Travel and Expense Program Manager, Salesforce.com
Robbie has been in the Travel industry 35 years , starting in 1976 at American Express where he spent 21 years working his way up to a number of Travel managerial positions throughout the organization. In 2000 he joined Cisco Systems in the UK with responsibility for their Travel and Expense program across EMEA .After a 6 year tenure he then joined the Oracle Corporation assuming the role of EMEA Travel Manager and latterly managing their Airline strategy and procurement across the region.

In 2010 Robbie became the EMEA Travel and Expense Program Manager at Salesforce.com where he has responsibility for Operations, Service Delivery and Procurement.

He holds a master certification in Project Management.

Prashanth Kuchibhotla, Director, American Express Business Travel
Prashanth has been with American Express for 8 years, all which he has spent in the Advisory Services consulting group within the Business Travel division.

He is responsible for consulting relationships with a portfolio of high-profile clients, with a focus on large global clients in the EMEA region. He leads a team of consultants delivering airline, hotel and other expense related services.

Prashanth is also the global Airline Practice Leader, leading a strategy team that provides business intelligence related to the airline industry for internal and external audiences.

Prior to his current role, he was Director of Advisory Services in the North America organisation. He has also held various Consulting roles within Advisory Services, with his specialty being airline sourcing and programme management. He has conducted numerous interviews with media such as New York Times, The Times, Business Travel News, Airline Business, USA Today, MarketWatch.com and TheStreet.com. He is also an invited panel member at Association of Corporate Travel Executives, Business Travel Association and Corporate Travel World events.

Before joining American Express, he worked in Product Marketing at Rosenbluth International and in Finance at Delta Air Lines. Prashanth holds an MBA from Cornell University, U.S.A., an MS in Systems Science from University of California, San Diego, U.S.A, and a BE in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India.

Jonny Shingles, Managing Director, Egencia UKM
Jonny Shingles is responsible for Egencia UK, managing activities on a day-to-day basis. With the business now firmly established in the UK market, his objective is to broaden and grow the client base whilst continuing to evolve the best travel solutions for the business community, using a combination of innovative technology and exceptional service.

Prior to Egencia, Jonny was part of the senior team responsible for the launch of Jet Republic, a start up in the Private Jet Industry. Additionally, he has worked at Mergermarket, part of the Financial Times Group, where as the Global Head of CRM he was responsible for the Account Management and Service strategy across 2,500 clients.

Jonny’s career began in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot, then he went onto instructing fast jet instructors before leaving to complete an MBA at London Business School.

Richard Tams, Head of UK & Ireland Sales & Marketing, British Airways
Richard began his career with BA as a graduate trainee 20 years ago and since then has worked in a variety of roles in a number of markets across the world. These roles include Airport Manager Seoul, Cargo SVP for Western USA and Canada based in Los Angeles and Area Sales Manager for the Nordic Area and the Netherlands based in Stockholm. He returned to BA’s Head Office in 1999 as Commercial Manager Europe and then went on to fulfil a similar role in the U.K market.

In 2000 Richard returned to the mainstream of UK Sales in the role of Senior Manager Multiples responsible for the airline’s key travel management company relationships. Following this, he was appointed Head of Corporate Sales in 2004 before taking on the role of General Manager UK & Global Corporate Sales in April 2006.

On January 1, 2009 Richard’s remit extended to include leisure sales and he is currently Head of UK and Ireland Sales & Marketing.

Milton Rivera, Vice President, Global Business Development, American Express Meetings and Events
Milton Rivera is the Vice President of Global Business Development for American Express Meetings and Events. He leads an energetic team that is responsible for the growth and expansion of the meetings business in all global regions.
Milton has more than 27 years of travel industry experience, joining American Express Business Travel in 1986. Within American Express, Rivera began his career in New York and has held various leadership roles in service delivery, client management and global advisory services prior to joining Meetings and Events.
A three-time President’s Club winner, Milton is an alum of the State University of New York at Buffalo where he majored in History. He now lives in sunny South Florida with his family