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Elizabeth (Liz) Oliveira

Global Travel Manager; OMERS

Professional Bio

Elizabeth’s passion for the travel industry began in the early years of High School, where she took part in the first ever co-op program for high school students. At her first placement, The Westin Harbor Castle Hotel, her passion for business travel developed and grew into a 15-year career that spanned multiple hotels in the Great Toronto Area. 

In 2016, Elizabeth had the unique opportunity to parlay her hospitality experience and business travel insights into a role as a travel analyst with OMERS, a world-class income-trust retirement municipal employee fund company that has been in operation for over 60 years, and has generated more than $138 billion in net assets, making it one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plan companies.

In her current role at OMERS, Elizabeth manages all aspects of their global corporate travel program. Engaging and collaborating with enterprise-wide personnel to understand travel needs, negotiate, leverage and identify volumes with suppliers of air, hotel, car and ground transportation to provide overall cost reduction and compliance.

Elizabeth was honored to have been elected to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Board Of Directors, Canada regional seat in 2023 along with her standing role on the GBTA Canada Advisory Board. As a dedicated professional in the field of business travel, this recognition is a testament of her commitment to advancing the industry and contributing to its growth on a global scale.

Serving on the GBTA Advisory Board provides Elizabeth with a unique opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders, share insights, and shape the future of business travel.

GBTA History

  • GBTA Member
  • Direct member: 2016 – present
  • Allied member: 2011 – 2016
  • GBTA Canada Advisory Board Member: 2020 – present
  • GBTA Canada Accommodations Committee Liaison: 2020 – present 
  • GBTA Board Of Directors, Canada Regional Seat:  July 2023 – 2025
  • GBTA Canada Buyer Champion Direct Talks: 2018 – 2025
  • Global Travel Professional Certification (GTP): 2019
  • GBTA Canada Annual Conference Speaker: 2025, 2023
  • GBTA Business Calgary Travel Forum speaker: 2024

Platform Statement

As an active member of GBTA, your GBTA Board of Directors Canada Reginal seat and your Canadian Advisory Board member, I know firsthand how important our members are to the growth of our travel community. With over 24 years in the hospitality and travel industry, I have had the opportunity to submerge myself and understand both the buyer and supplier side of travel.

If re-elected, I am committed to driving positive change within the industry and advocating for our member’s needs. I will continue to strive to foster a dynamic community that facilitates collaboration, knowledge sharing and industry innovation and most important, amplify our travel buyers and suppliers voices globally.

GBTA members are the heart of our association, and I aim to be a leading voice within the business travel community, bringing members together to connect and forge valuable partnerships beyond borders. I believe it is important that our members feel they can connect with GBTA Leadership to provide insight, express concerns, and bring forward new ideas and recommendations easily.

I am committed to supporting GBTA members to advance their business travel knowledge and skills. By working alongside with GBTA leadership to offer comprehensive educational resources, to empower our members to enhance their own expertise within business travel and encourage members alike to share their knowledge and experiences within the travel community.

I will actively advocate for the interest of the Business Travel professionals to shape favorable frameworks, address challenges, and drive positive change within the business travel ecosystem.

By supporting GBTA’s pillars of Community, Learning and Advocacy, I believe I can empower our GBTA members to elevate the standards of business travel practices, and drive the industry forward by embracing emerging industry leaders, women’s empowerment and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Thank you for taking the time to read my platform statement and I hope to gain your vote for re-election for the Board of Directors Canada Regional Seat. Your vote matters within the GBTA community and myself.

My Social Media platform:

Read my Bio on LinkedIn: Elizabeth Oliveira, GTP | LinkedIn

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Natasha Botbijl

PM – Global Events; Shell

Professional Bio

Natasha Botbijl is a global events and strategic partnerships executive with over 20 years of experience leading transformative programs across international markets, enterprise brands, and high-growth sectors. Recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40 in the Global Events Industry, Natasha delivers award-winning experiential campaigns, exhibitions, executive-level summits, and brand-aligned sponsorship activations that drive growth, elevate market visibility, and generate measurable ROI.

Throughout her distinguished career, Natasha has built deep expertise in event marketing, sponsorship management, stakeholder engagement, and strategic sourcing leadership. With a proven track record in multi-million-dollar vendor negotiations, hospitality contract strategy, and cross-functional RFP development, she has successfully led programs for audiences exceeding 10,000+, coordinated citywide logistics with regulatory partners, and developed enterprise-wide frameworks for scalable, compliant, and repeatable event execution.

A seasoned people leader, Natasha has built and managed high-performing internal planning teams, vendor partnerships, and remote production units. Her collaborative approach bridges departments across legal, risk, DEI, marketing, finance, and corporate travel—ensuring alignment from ideation through execution. She is recognized for bringing strategic clarity, operational rigor, and a results-driven mindset to every initiative.

Whether managing global sponsorship ecosystems, evolving supplier strategies, or producing high-profile brand experiences, she brings the vision, leadership discipline, and enterprise alignment needed to elevate organizational impact through events.

Platform Statement

As a proud GBTA member, I’m honoured to put my name forward for Canadian Regional Director. With over 20 years of experience in global experiential events, meetings, supplier partnerships, and business operations, I’ve built a career on connecting people and purpose — and GBTA offers a platform to do this on a national and global scale.

In my current role as Creative Solutions Project Manager of Global Experiential Events, I take great pride in aligning event strategy with policy, compliance, and procurement workflows.

My background includes managing company-wide RFPs, supporting program-wide hotel sourcing, and working alongside multiple areas within an organization, including travel departments, to drive better value, consistency, and experience. I bring a deep understanding of both the strategic and operational layers of meetings and travel, and I’m passionate about helping professionals from each side speak a shared language.

What makes me uniquely suited for this role is my ability to bridge the gap between event professionals and travel managers — translating objectives, aligning metrics, and finding common ground where collaboration thrives. I believe the future of our industry depends on this kind of cross-functional understanding, and I’m ready to help lead that charge.

If elected, I will champion:

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration – Building stronger communication and alignment between travel, events, and procurement professionals across Canada.
  • Supplier-Buyer Relationship Growth – Strengthening regional engagement and long-term partnerships built on transparency and shared goals.
  • Canadian Advocacy & Representation – Bringing our diverse regional insights to the forefront of GBTA’s global priorities.
  • Education & Mentorship Access – Supporting the next generation of industry professionals.
  • Build Stronger Community Connection – Encouraging coast-to-coast engagement to make GBTA Canada a vibrant, connected network of professionals.

GBTA is where relationships and strategy intersect to shape the future of business travel and meetings. I’m eager to bring my energy, experience, and collaborative mindset to our community.

Thank you for your trust,
Natasha Botbijl

Creative Solutions Project Manager – Global Experiential Events
Top 40 Under 40 – Global Events Industry
MPI & GBTA Board Member | DEI Advocate | Events & Travel Advocate