New NBTA Europe Broadens Focus

NBTA Europe's advisory board at its inaugural meeting in London this week decided to expand the group to include representatives focused on government advocacy and meetings and events, and develop content and programs for less senior members of the corporate travel industry, according to advisory board chairman and AstraZeneca global category lead Caroline Strachan.

Strachan said the board plans to fill these newly created roles by its next meeting in April.

The advisory board has to be weighted in buyer's favor, but Strachan said "getting that balance right is one of the most important things" in acquiring new board representatives.

"When we are looking for these new members, it will not just be about their day-to-day jobs and the roles they play, but also their approach to work and the balance of challenging other people and where they are based," she told EuroBTN. "I know lots of people in the U.K. who I would love to have on the board, but I don't want it to be a U.K.- centric board. It has to be a strong European representation."

In attempting to broaden the geographic reach of the advisory board, Strachan said the government advocacy representative ideally would be based in Belgium, with another member from the Iberian Peninsula.

The board also plans to tailor content for and reach out to the younger generation of business travel buyers and suppliers—a segment often underrepresented at industry events, according to Strachan. "We want to make sure that we are paying real attention to the new bright sparks that are coming into the industry and making sure we are making NBTA Europe content relevant for them," she said.

The other advisory board members are Sweden-based Ikea global meetings and travel manager Torbjörn Erling, Yann Le Goff, France-based sourcing director for Tetra Laval subsidiary Sidel and Paris-based Carlson Wagonlit Travel vice president of sales and global program management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Floyd Widener.