GBTA Canada Wraps Up Successful Annual Conference with Record Attendance

Sharlene Ketwaroo-Nanoo Named GBTA Canada Advisory Board President

Toronto (April 21, 2016) – The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) – the leading voice of the business travel industry in Canada – held its 12th annual conference in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this week with a record 600+ attendees and also the highest buyer attendance in the history of the event.

“This year’s record-breaking conference delivered on our goal to connect, inspire and unite travel professionals for Canada’s most comprehensive educational and informational business travel show,” said Nancy Tudorache, GBTA Canada Director of Operations. “Innovative speakers, insightful education sessions and countless networking opportunities allowed attendees to connect with peers and industry leaders to grow their knowledge and ultimately their businesses.”

The largest business travel management event in Canada kicked off with Concur Executive Vice President of Travel Tim MacDonald discussing the transformation of the travel industry and how travel programs can continue to deliver value in today’s complex and connected world. Robert Porter Lynch, CEO of The Warren Company talked about the next generation of supply chain management and creating value through collaboration. “Adversarial relationships do not produce innovation,” he told attendees, adding, “create a culture of trust that channels team energy.”

Fab Dolan, Head of Marketing for Google Canada, highlighted how emerging technologies can redefine the way business leaders grow their brands and shared his expertise on the challenges and opportunities facing marketers and brands as today’s technology redefines possibilities. Michael Hainsworth of BNN took to Centre Stage for one-on-one interviews with Jeff Gaulin of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers to discuss the Canada-wide impacts of the Oil & Gas sector and Dave Hilfman of United for a discussion about the health of aviation and business travel.

On Wednesday at Centre Stage, GBTA pledged its continued support of ECPAT, along with charitable partner Hilton Worldwide, in the fight to end child exploitation and human trafficking through travel.

GBTA Vice President of Research Jeanne Liu presented a new study sponsored by American Express Global Business Travel revealing that nearly 9 in 10 employees (88 percent) in North America are satisfied with their business travel experiences. Joined on stage by Jacinthe Ladouceur, Vice President and General Manager, Canada, American Express Global Business Travel, the session left travel buyers equipped with information to help make strategic decisions and recommendations to improve business travel satisfaction.

In a presidential handover ceremony, Sharlene Ketwaroo-Nanoo, Category Manager, Bell Canada, began her term as President of the GBTA Canada Advisory Board. Ketwaroo-Nanoo takes over for Shelly Lewchuk, Manager, Corporate Travel, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, to work alongside Tudorache to lead the association in the region.

“Everything I have learned through my career and my membership with GBTA Canada has given me the experience and confidence to step forward into this role,” said Ketwaroo-Nanoo. “We have a strong membership that is truly engaged in moving our industry and association forward and I have had the privilege of being at the forefront of that in Canada as we work together to navigate through the challenges, innovation and change that are inevitable in our world.”

In addition to the phenomenal line-up of speakers at Centre Stage, the conference boasted an extensive Expo Floor featuring nearly 70 exhibitors as well as 14 unparalleled education sessions focusing on the issues and challenges today’s travel management professional faces and leaving attendees with ideas and solutions that they can put into action for their company today.

Social media links:
Twitter: @GlobalBTA
#GBTAToronto16
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GBTA

CONTACT: Colleen Lerro Gallagher, +1 703-236-1133, cgallagher@gbta.org

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 and the GBTA Foundation deliver 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, gbta.org