The Power of Community at the GBTA Chapter Leadership Summit

Nesta série de artigos, a GBTA's Conselho Administrativo share their perspectives on topics that matter most to members, the industry and the way forward for business travel. Today’s guest author is Michelle Amos, Travel & Expense, Meetings & Events Manager at Qualtrics. 

Every year, the U.S. GBTA Chapter Leadership Summit brings the GBTA community together for connection, learning and collaboration. Our focus at the 2026 event, held February 2-3 in Miami, was two-fold: supporting our communities and sharing best practices.

Our 38 U.S. Chapters encompass 3,754 members, hosted 384 events and engaged 16,608 attendees last year. We are honored to serve our local communities while being part of the broader global business travel industry. True to our “Many Voices, One Purpose” tagline, there is something special that happens when leaders come together with a shared vision and dedication. During the Summit, we had the privilege of hearing from a panel with Suzanne Neufang, GBTA CEO; Rosemary Maloney, GBTA Board President; and Kevin Sullivan, GBTA Board Treasurer. We discussed the organization’s outlook for 2026 and how U.S. Chapters contribute to GBTA’s global initiatives.

“Community” became the Summit’s organic theme. We were reminded that Suzanne, Rosemary and Kevin all chose the word “Community” in the Conselho de Administração da GBTA holiday greeting to describe 2025, and the heart of Billy Brumblecom’s guest keynote was also Community. The only way Chapters can move forward and continue supporting the global business travel industry is by building a Community.

Relationships build a Community; this was a thread woven through the breakout sessions as well. Topics included membership, community engagement, cultivating buyer/supplier relationships, leveraging AI for chapter growth, the Fundação GBTA and more. Each session emphasized how Community is key to the success of these initiatives.

When we asked our 38 Chapter Presidents to select a word they believe will define 2026, “Resilient,” “Connect” and “Collaborative” were used, but the most common word given was “Growth.”

These are all adjectives to describe healthy Communities, and Growth does not happen in isolation; it requires Community as well.

But Chapters cannot do this alone. It is the GBTA Community and industry coming together as a Community that will enable us all to grow.