Top Speakers Slated for GBTA’s ERM Symposium in Calgary

As the leading voice of the business travel industry in Canada, GBTA is excited to host its third annual Energy, Resources & Marine Symposium | Calgary on October 18, 2016 at the Calgary Downtown Marriott Hotel.

GBTA Canada has long supported our country’s oil, gas, energy & resources sector with our ERM Symposiums.  This year it is even more important for our business travel industry and the Canadian ERM sectors to rally together at this event. We not only face the continued oil and gas downturn damaging business in this sector, but this year’s wildfires of Northern Alberta wreaked further devastation, putting even more strain on business and logistics travel and movement of people.

GBTA Canada’s ERM Symposium will pull together those whose roles incorporate travel policy and management, logistics and security from Canada’s oil, gas, resources, mining and energy companies, together with suppliers who service these companies with a goal of better understanding the impact of this sector and how we can push on and rebuild the health of travel and logistics in this space.

Keynote speakers include:

Brian Jean, MLA, Leader of the Wildrose Party
As an elected leader of the of the Wildrose party and Leader of the Official Opposition and MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin since 2015, Brian Jean, in his home riding of Fort McMurray, understands the key to what makes Alberta the best place to live in the world. He also knows intimately, the devastating impact from the recent Northern Alberta wildfires… the impact on a personal level, provincial level and economic level. Brian will share his personal insights on how the community and nation, pulled together in a time of crisis

Loa Fridfinnson, Chief Creative Strategist, Active8 Corporate Relations
Changing times requires fresh perspective and new strategies. Learn to use modern communication techniques to build your personal brand and gain new opportunities within your current role or a future role… create the best Brand of YOU!

Peter Wallis, President and CEO of the Van Horne Institute
Resource development has always been key to Canada’s economic growth and prosperity. In Alberta, we typically think of oil, gas, and bitumen production – all of which are constrained by a lack of pipeline capacity and access to critical markets. In addition to these products, there is also huge mineral production potential in Western Canada and the north. This session will highlight the importance of our resource industries and talk about innovative transportation options under consideration that have the potential to increase trade, drive economic development, and create thousands of jobs

Education sessions will touch on travel management lessons from the fire line, duty of care in the mining sector and taking a traditional travel program into the new millennium. A stellar line-up of featured education session speakers include:

• Greg Tabak,Director of Business Rental Sales (Alberta),Enterprise Holdings
• Steven Watters,Executive Director of Operations, Best Western Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre
• Maria Vallance,Director, Client Strategies and Contract Services, Noralta Lodge Ltd
• Joel Trudell, Director, Operations,Diversified Transportation Ltd.
• John Semple, Regional Manager-Alberta for Canadian Base Operations, Albian Aerodrome,Shell Canada
• Shelly Lewchuk, Manager, Corporate Travel, Canadian Natural Resources Limited
• Jim Rovers, Senior Vice President, AFIMAC Canada
• Cody Church, Senior Managing Director and Co-Founder, TriWest Capital Partners
• Mat Orrego, CEO, Cornerstone Information Systems

We look forward to delivering critical information to business travel professionals in these sectors and will share our learnings from recent disaster recovery efforts in order to better equip our industry as we move forward and rebuild. Get info on the full agenda and what to expect here.