CWT Insider Takes Global Post

Carlson Wagonlit Travel earlier this month announced the appointment of Martin Warner as executive vice president of global accounts and solutions. The reorganization follows the departure of long-time global account manager Liliana Frigerio, who will return to Italy and consult at CWT until the end of summer.

Warner, who joined the company in 1980, previously served as CWT's executive vice president of global sales and marketing and brings an extensive, international background in travel management to the post, said CWT president and CEO Hubert Joly.

"Martin has been a key player in this company for quite a while. He's got a very international background, he's a Brit, he worked in Australia, he's a client-oriented guy and our clients love him. He's a natural leader for us," said Joly. "Back in October, we'd set up Martin and Liliana working together. It was a bit like Laurel and Hardy working together as a duo." Upon Frigerio's departure, said Joly, "It was a natural decision to have Martin, now both Laurel and Hardy, to lead this." CWT also promoted former global chief information officer Loren Brown to executive vice president of technology and product management and CIO. "We didn't want to kill Martin, giving him even more work to do, so we moved product management and marketing over to Loren, which also seemed like a natural transition," Joly said.

Joly also noted that Warner's appointment is both consistent with and reflective of CWT's global development strategy. Warner, who will continue to directly report into Joly, said he is up to, and excited for, the challenge.

"I spent the last 12 years working on multinational travel and accounts," Warner said. "I very much enjoy multinational, multicultural opportunities and relationships." Consolidating sales, account management and consulting solutions in one role, he said, represents CWT's drive to target resources and specialists at multinational travel management.

"The focus is really twofold. For those companies that we already serve, as they become more multinational, we want to work together more closely with them to continue to improve the benefits and results of their programs," said Warner. "The other aspect is continuing to win new business."

Warner's focus is on building a skilled team to bring the CWT vision to fruition. "The success of this role will really be measured by the strength of the team that works around the world," he said. "We need to increase the number of specialists. I'll be building the team based on helping them to improve their skills and their strengths. It's really an ongoing development of people."