Rick Steves
Public Television Host & Guidebook Author
Rick Steves' Europe, Inc.
Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. But above all else, Rick considers himself a teacher. He taught his first travel class at his college campus in the mid-1970s — and now, more than 40 years later, he still measures his success not by dollars earned, but by trips impacted.
Rick is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a tour program that brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. The company contributes $1 million a year to climate-smart nonprofits, essentially paying a self-imposed carbon tax. He also works closely with several advocacy groups.
Rick spends about four months a year in Europe, researching guidebooks, fine-tuning his tour program, filming his TV show, and making new discoveries for travelers. To recharge, he plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.
Jim Lucier
President
SAP Concur
A 25-year veteran of the business software industry, Jim Lucier has served as President of SAP Concur since June 2019. In this role, he sets the vision and oversees its execution for the world’s leading provider of integrated travel, expense and invoice management services and solutions. Previously, he was SAP Concur’s Chief Revenue Officer (Americas) and global Chief Services Officer from 2017 to 2019.
Jim joined Concur in 2008 as Vice President for Business Development. In 2011 he became General Manager of the Federal Government Business Unit. His previous industry experience includes senior leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase, Xign, Etensity and Gnossos Software. Jim holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. He and his family live in McLean, Virginia.
Mike Koetting
Chief Product Strategy Officer
SAP Concur
Mike Koetting is SAP Concur’s Chief Product Strategy Officer. Mike joined Concur in 2010, is one of the architects of SAP Concur’s TripLink solution and is responsible for creating and communicating SAP Concur’s product and services strategy as part of SAP's family of Intelligent Spend Management solutions. In addition to his strategy responsibilities, Mike is responsible for Concur's relationships with travel suppliers, GDSs and TMCs. Mike splits his time between Concur’s offices in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Bellevue, WA. Prior to joining SAP Concur Mike held a variety of senior positions at Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Maritz Corporate Travel. Mike is based in Eden Prairie, MN and is an altruistic kidney donor.
Ed Bastian
CEO
Delta Air Lines
As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads a team of 90,000 global professionals that is building the world’s premiere international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation.
Under Ed’s leadership, Delta is transforming the air travel experience with generational investments in technology, aircraft, airport facilities and, most importantly, Delta’s employees worldwide. A 20- year Delta veteran, Ed has been a critical leader in Delta’s long-term strategy and champion of putting Delta’s shared values of honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and servant leadership at the core of every decision.
Since being named Delta’s CEO in May 2016, Ed has expanded Delta’s leading position as the world’s most reliable airline while growing its global footprint and enhancing the customer experience in the air and on the ground. During his tenure as CEO, Delta has become the world’s most awarded airline, having been named the Wall Street Journal’s top U.S. airline; Fortune’s most admired airline worldwide; the most on-time global airline by FlightGlobal; a Glassdoor Employee’s Choice company and more. Delta has returned to sustained profitability, regaining its investment-grade credit rating with all three major ratings agencies and paying out more than $1 billion in profit-sharing to employees every year over the past four years. In 2018, Fortune magazine named Ed among “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” and in 2019, he was elected to the membership of the Council on Foreign Relations.
When asked to sum up his job in five words, Ed’s response is: “Taking care of our people.” The answer reflects his leadership philosophy, which is based on the “virtuous circle” – if you take care of your people, they take care of your customers, whose business and loyalty allows you to reward your investors.
Ed joined Delta in 1998 as Vice President – Finance and Controller and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2000. He left Delta in 2005 and became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Acuity Brands. He returned to Delta six months later to become Chief Financial Officer, and in 2007 was appointed to serve as Delta’s President.
Prior to joining Delta, Ed held senior finance positions at Frito-Lay International and Pepsi-Cola International. Ed started his career with Price Waterhouse where he became an audit partner in its New York practice.
Ed grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He lives in Atlanta, and is deeply involved in his faith, family and community.
Arne M. Sorenson
President and CEO
Marriott International
Arne M. Sorenson is president and chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc. Mr. Sorenson presides over one of the world’s largest hospitality companies and some of the most iconic brands in travel. Mr. Sorenson has built his tenure on the bedrock of Marriott International’s core values: putting people first, pursuing excellence, acting with integrity, embracing change and serving our world.
Mr. Sorenson led the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in 2016, resulting in a dramatic expansion of Marriott’s ability to provide unparalleled guest experiences around the world. The company now has more than 7,400 properties across 134 countries and territories and 30 brands. The merger also created the travel industry’s largest customer-loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which has more than 140 million members. An outspoken corporate leader, Mr. Sorenson has advocated for environmental sustainability, human rights, and diversity and inclusion.
Mr. Sorenson joined Marriott in 1996 and held a number of positions before serving as president and chief operating officer. He was elected to Marriott’s Board of Directors in 2011. He became chief executive officer in 2012, making history as the first person to hold the post without the Marriott family name. Under his tenure, Marriott International has been recognized extensively, including by Fortune in 2020 as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies and DiversityInc as one of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity. In 2019, Mr. Sorenson was named CEO of the Year by Chief Executive magazine and was placed on Forbes’ list of America’s Most Innovative Leaders and Barron’s list of World’s Best CEOs.
Mr. Sorenson is active on multiple boards. He joined the Microsoft board of directors in November 2017. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Business Roundtable, serving as chair of its Health and Retirement Committee, co-chair of its COVID-19 Taskforce and as a member of its Special Committee on Racial Equity and Justice. He serves on the board of trustees for The Brookings Institution and the board of directors for Special Olympics and the Warrior-Scholar Project.
Mr. Sorenson is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and the University of Minnesota Law School. Before he joined Marriott, he was a partner with the law firm Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. He and his wife Ruth live in the Washington, D.C., area, where they raised four children.
Mark Cuschieri
Executive Director, Global Head of Travel
UBS
Mark has been with UBS since 2007 and is responsible for setting the vision and overall strategic direction of the global travel program in over 50 countries. He has over 25yrs in the corporate travel industry, has held roles as a Travel Buyer and Supplier and previously served as Chair of the Institute of Travel Management. Mark has recently been appointed as the Chair for the GBTA European Advisory Board.
Kim Hamer
Global Sourcing Director, Travel, Meetings & Events
Visa
Kim has an extensive background in procurement, travel, meetings, and expense globally. Currently, the Global Sourcing Director, Travel, Meetings & Events at Visa, Inc., Kim develops the strategy, SLAs, and program design, and partners with business stakeholders and suppliers to innovate, drive efficiencies, savings, and improve the overall customer experience. Prior to Visa, Kim was responsible for strategy and customer success at WhereTo where she provided cutting edge industry insights and innovative solutions for WhereTo and its clients. Kim has led and consulted on many Fortune 500 organizations and oversaw account management and operations teams at a global TMC, and was a founding member of WINiT, Women in Travel.
Jeff Piatt
Director of Global Travel, Meetings & Events
Zendesk
"Experienced corporate finance and procurement professional, with a focus on implementing global travel and expense programs at hyper growth technology
companies. Currently the Director of Global Travel Meetings & Expense at Zendesk in San Francisco, CA, reporting through the CFO’s Organization. Previously held similar roles within Procurement and Source to Pay functions at Salesforce and Twitter."
Dorian Stonie
Sr Director Global Travel
Salesforce
Dorian Stonie is Sr Director Global Travel at Salesforce. He's and experienced travel industry veteran who's leveraged technology and innovative processes to streamline global travel operations and services. Dorian has been active in the industry for over 30 years, working for such companies as Salesforce, Hewlett Packard and VeriFone Inc. He resides in Silicon Valley, California and thrives on the challenges of "Change" in the Travel Industry.
Louise Miller
Managing Partner, Americas
Areka Consulting
Louise brings more than 30 years in the travel industry and 20 years in executive leadership to Areka Consulting. Her knowledge and experience include technology, product innovation, commercials, distribution, program marketing, and end to end program strategy. Louise started in the airline and car rental industries, then she spent more than 8 years in buyer roles for aerospace and financial services companies. Louise held executive level positions in a top 3 TMC and reported directly to the CEO. Louise brings broad industry knowledge and a global solutions mindset to Areka Consulting and it’s customers. Louise earned her Bachelors of Science – Summa Cum Laude from LaRoche University in Pennsylvania. Louise and her family have hosted high school and college students from Czech Republic, Mexico and Brazil.
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