GBTA Announces Formation of WINiT Strategic Advisory Board

Board to Provide Strategic Direction for WINiT, A Newly Acquired GBTA Initiative

Alexandria, VA (October 11, 2018) – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the voice of the global business travel industry, today announced the formation of the WINiT Strategic Advisory Board. The Board will provide strategic guidance and direction for the future of WINiT as a GBTA Board of Directors initiative.

GBTA recently announced its acquisition of WINiT this summer at GBTA Convention 2018. WINiT is a career development network aimed at increasing visibility and advancement for women in the travel, meetings, events and exhibition industries.

“GBTA is committed to driving positive change for women’s career development,” said Christle Johnson, GBTA President. “We are proud to have this remarkable group of travel industry leaders standing with us to help advance WINiT’s mission globally.”

“This Board brings together many years of collective industry experience along with a firm commitment to addressing the career development needs of women at all levels,” said Dorothy Dowling, GBTA Board Member and Chair of the WINiT Strategic Advisory Board. “I am honored to stand with these industry leaders to play a role in helping drive positive change for women in our industry.”

The members of the Advisory Board include:

• Chair – Dorothy Dowling, Senior Vice President & CMO, Best Western® Hotels & Resort
• Vice Chair – Michelle ‘Mick’ Lee, Founder, WINiT, Managing Director, Arrow 212
• Delores Alexander, Vice President, Indirect Supply Chain, Boeing
• Jodi Allen, Executive Vice President & CMO, Hertz
• Michele Bryant, Global Chief Procurement Officer, Deloitte
• Amanda Cecil, PhD, CMP, Senior Vice President, Professional Development and Research, GBTA
• Mary Ellen George, Head of North America, Tramada Systems
• Christle Johnson, Vice President, Travel & Business Services, Johnson Downie, LLC; President, GBTA
• Beth Kinerk, Senior Vice President, Avis Budget Group
• Melissa Maher, Senior Vice President, Global Partner Group, Expedia, Inc.
• Michael W. McCormick, Executive Director and COO, GBTA
• Traci Mercer, Senior Vice President, Lodging, Ground and Sea, Sabre Travel Network
• Malaika Myers, Chief Human Resources Officer, Hyatt Hotel Corporation
• Becca Rabinowitz, Head of SpotHero for Business
• Dawn Repoli, Vice President, Program Development, GBTA’s WINiT Business Unit
• Kristen Shovlin, Vice President, Sales Operations & Development, Delta Airlines
• Scott Solombrino, President and CEO, Dav El / Boston Coach Chauffeured Transportation Network; President, GBTA Allied Leadership Council

Both GBTA and former WINiT leadership are represented on the Advisory Board to foster consistency and innovation within WINiT as it evolves and grows.

The first in-person meeting of the WINiT Strategic Advisory Board is scheduled for November. Select WINiT programming will be integrated into GBTA Conference 2018 Berlin in partnership with VDR – Europe’s largest business travel conference. More announcements about WINiT’s future operations and programming will be made in the coming months.

About the Global Business Travel Association
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations on six continents. GBTA’s 9,000-plus members manage more than $345 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually. GBTA delivers world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. To learn how business travel drives lasting business growth, visit gbta.org.

About WINiT
WINiT is a network of over 3,000 women and men focused on delivering career development services, resources and programs to women in travel-related industries. WINiT is an educational organization that, through generous support, provides Members with a variety of unique opportunities including leadership and industry training, mentoring, recruiting, career search services, as well as educational, inspirational, and networking events. For more information, visit www.winitforwomen.org. Stay connected on LinkedIn and Facebook. Follow WINiT on Twitter at @WINiTorg and Instagram at @winit4allwomen.