The Advisory Board
The Advisory Board is a group of appointed buyers and suppliers with the goal of ensuring the network remains led by buyers and that any activity undertaken by the network is in line with created strategy and objectives.
The Advisory Board will ultimately become an elected or appointed body, nominated and/or voted on by the members of the partner associations. The board is led by a chairman and vice chair and works with the head of the Partnership Council, the NBTA Europe managing director, to run the network.
NBTA Europe is searching for a single additional Advisory Board member to lead the network's advocacy plans in Europe and to work closely with the US parent, NBTA, on issues which affect Washington and Brussels. Interested parties should contact paul.tilstone@nbtaeurope.org
NBTA Europe Advisory Board
Caroline Strachan - Global Category Leader - Business Travel, AstraZeneca
Caroline recently moved to AstraZeneca as Global Category Leader for Business Travel and acts as Immediate Past Chairman of the Institute of Travel & Meetings having just completed two years as Chairman.
Prior to her role at Astra Zeneca, she was International Travel Manager at Yahoo!, responsible for overseeing Europe and Asia Pacific travel management, across 19 countries. This included strategic programme development, supplier management, a multi-level approach to internal stakeholder engagement and initiative leadership.
Caroline has also worked for Cisco Systems as EMEA Travel Operations Manager and in the supplier sector with American Express Groups & Events and subsequently as Divisional Head of BTI UK Groups & Meetings Division
Torbjorn Erling - Global Meetings & Travel Manager for IKEA Group
Torbjorn has operated as Global Meeting & Travel Manager, IKEA Group, since 2007 prior to which he spent 12 months as Department Manager for IKEA Travel Services at Helsingborg. Previous roles have included ten years in marketing and sales positions at Scandinavian Airlines and as a senior level teacher in Gothenburg, Sweden.
He qualified in 1985 with a degree of Masters of Education from the University of Gothenburg.
Yann Le Goff - Sourcing Director, Indirect Material & Service Operations, Sidel Blowing & Service SAS
Yann Le Goff is a member of the French Travel Manager Association (AFTM) steering committee and has been responsible for travel management at Sidel since January 2008. He started his career as a pilot of business aircraft, after which he dropped the flight controls for a sales and marketing function in aviation, before moving to Sidel in sales and then in purchasing.
He cites his excellent market knowledge of business passenger problems as a pilot and experienced traveler himself as a key driver in the function which he manages. Moreover, after having spent 9 years in global and strategic sourcing, he has taught purchasing strategy at Le Havre University now for 4 years.
Floyd Widener - Vice-President of Sales & Global Program Management (EMEA), Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Floyd's role since 2006 includes heading the teams responsible for new customer acquisition and managing the corporate travel programs of more than 60 CWT global customers with offices throughout EMEA. He is also involved in creating strategic partnerships and evolving CWT's business and service model in the region.
From 1998, he spent eight years at Sabre Travel Network. First as sales & marketing director and then subsequently as Vice-President of emerging business (EMEA) and Vice-President of corporate solutions (EMEA), responsible for the GDS operator's relationship with its corporate customers and for rolling out the GetThere corporate self-booking tool across the region. Floyd has also soent time as European sales manager for the French electronic publisher Euredit, and sales director for Amadeus France.
Originally from California, he is a graduate of San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in management and literature. He has lived in Paris for the past nineteen years and has dual US and French citizenship.
Anne-Sophie Raoult - Account Manager, hotel.info
Anne-Sophie joined the travel management community after graduating from Le Havre University. Her first year in the industry was spent with the TETRA LAVAL Group developing her skills particularly in KPI's, data analysis and legal aspects of travel programmes. Now working with hotel.info as an account manager, Anne-Sophie is, in parallel with her new role, undertaking a master degree in Business and Marketing. Her goal is to develop into an expert business travel buyer.
Mike Tangney - Global Travel Manager, Google
Mike has been the Global Travel Manager at Google for the past 2½ years. In that time he has built a comprehensive travel programme from the ground up, leveraging Google's unique culture to deliver a unique, innovative and effective programme. Mike has an MBA from Smurfit Business School and an Engineering degree from University College Dublin and has worked in a number of leading organisations including General Electric and Accenture. He has a keen interest in how mobile and social technologies will impact the Travel Industry over the coming years.
