NBTA Europe this week announced the first appointments to its inaugural advisory board, which will hold its first meeting Feb. 9 in London, where it will begin to map out advocacy initiatives, board member terms and requirements and plans to expand the advisory board.
Joining chairman and AstraZeneca global category lead Caroline Strachan on the board are Sweden-based Ikea global meetings and travel manager Torbjörn Erling and Yann Le Goff, France-based sourcing director for Tetra Laval subsidiary Sidel.
Strachan also serves as the immediate past chairman of the United Kingdom and Ireland Institute of Travel & Meetings, which manages NBTA Europe.
Before Ikea, Erling worked for a decade in marketing and sales roles at Scandinavian Airlines. Le Goff, who is a member of the French Travel Managers Association's steering committee, has managed Sidel's travel since January 2008.
Floyd Widener, Paris-based Carlson Wagonlit Travel vice president of sales and global program management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is the first supplier representative on the advisory board. According to NBTA Europe managing director and ITM CEO Paul Tilstone, advisory board members will serve for a probationary two-year period.
"What we wanted to do initially was approach people that we've had some engagement with in the past and who we really respected as far as their work in Europe and leadership in each of their fields," said Tilstone. "We wanted to create a core group and go out to NBTA Europe network members to see who else is interested and who we should consider."
NBTA Europe also plans to add one board member to handle its governmental advocacy initiatives on the continent.
NBTA Europe launched earlier this month with founding business travel association partners from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and ITM
(EuroBTN, Jan. 6). Last week, the association network expanded with the addition of the Finnish Business Travel Association.