Interview: Incoming ACTE President Suzanne Neufang

The Association of Corporate Travel Executives' board of directors named GetThere general manager Suzanne Neufang as the group's next president for a two-year term to start in January. Neufang will succeed BCD Travel senior vice president Chris Crowley. BTN executive editor Mary Ann McNulty this week talked to Neufang during the association's education conference, attended by more than 1,000 people in Paris. 

As you were not on the board, how did the board select you as the next president?

Someone nominated me, I accepted the nomination and went through the rigorous interview process with the board. The nomination was a surprise to me. I was very honored. Then I tried to figure out how I would do my day job if I got it.

Did you present a platform to the board?

Certainly a little, but it was more about what the ACTE organization has stood for, as well as what I believe it can become, some of the key things that I'd like to see happen. A key thing continues to be technology innovation. That's part of my life every day, something I'm passionate about and would like to see members be passionate about too.

In a B-to-B-to-C world, most members and those who attend our events are in the B-to-B-to-C world. There's a buyer and seller, but also a consumer who consumes what the buyer has bought. Sometimes the "B" is also the "C" but usually there's a very high-profile "C" integrated into the whole process. The innovation and the technology needs to be relevant to all three areas.

Do you believe that members need to be more aware of the consumerization of technology, a topic that was supposed to be presented?

Tools are becoming more accessible and thus more influenceable by the C. Thus the structures that we have in place in IT organizations in corporate Europe, America and Asia are adopting these tools and enabling their systems to make these tools productivity tools. Ease of use absolutely has to be there. Employees want to be productive and are carrying around tools—iPads, iPhones, etc.—at home and on the road. But, there is still a distinction. In business travel, we also have the distinction of it being a business trip, but everything they consume on the road is very personal. The company paid for it, but I personally had a really bad experience, and that's the risk of the industry we're in.

During the next couple months, how do you prepare to take over the job?

Chris Crowley will be coaching me over the next three months, and I'll set up meetings with [ACTE executive director] Ron DiLeo and the board to understand what has been going on at the board setting for the past year and what's important for next steps. I'll be doing a lot of listening. I've also told everybody I've met with there to give me feedback about what's important to them as members and sponsors to make this their association. I'm leading the board, but it's a member-led association, so representation is important.

I love the worldwide nature of the association. The representation on the board really has the regional perspective, which is invigorating. The C side of that B-to-B-to-C is a bit different in EMEA, a bit different in Asia, a bit different in Australia. We think it's not, but it's a bit different in the U.S., Latin America and Brazil. Many of those regions are fairly new to technologies—for TMCs and self-booking—so there's a lot we can do to bring best practices from one region to another. But also for some regions to leapfrog old stuff and go directly to the new stuff important to the consumer.

How many board members are there?

Thirteen, and then we'll have the three non-voting members from the Global 3 Under 33 members. The board meets quarterly with phone calls in between.

How have you been involved in ACTE?

I've not been on the board but I've been on a few steering committees, volunteering and speaking; showing my traffic tickets onstage seemed to be a big hit.

What are your objectives?

In my head I have a few, but am not willing to disclose those yet. After I'm done listening for 30 to 60 days, I'd like to formulate my objectives and work with Ron on whether they are executable, as he has the A team that does it. We need to make sure what we put into the plan is something that Ron's staff can achieve. I certainly will have those by January.

Do you plan to detail those to members?

Absolutely. I talked about innovation, but transparency is another big piece, so members know what they're getting. Being clear about member benefits is one of the things I think is really valuable to a member-led organization, and making sure members are contributing what they find valuable. Some of those may be regional-based, others global.

In terms of the number of members, are you comfortable with levels now or do you see a need to expand?

That is one of the things I will dive into with the board members. I haven't had the discussion with them, Ron or Chris. My perception as a member is that it's very healthy, but we'll look and decide if it's where we want to be or what our right size is.

Suppliers continue to voice concerns about how much money they have to spend to support two associations, and whether there should be consolidation. Is that something you would tackle?

I would have no comment on that. I think it's important for any association in any industry—whether travel, telecommunications or technical writing—to distinguish themselves. If they stand for the same thing and are not distinguishable it makes no sense. Distinguishing them for the right reasons is good. If we think of ACTE as a product and the Global Business Travel Association as a product, I think they're two very different products.

At least two of your predecessors' employers made provisions to accommodate the time commitment of the ACTE presidency. Any such changes in your role?

The workaholic in me says 'no problem.' Interestingly, I did a small re-org at the end of the summer to make sure I had the right people in the right roles. I have great people working in my organization, so I'll stay very involved. If there's travel involved, I'll be combining some of my day job with some of my ACTE job, so I see that working really well. I have really good support, from my Sabre parent all the way down. They're interested to learn what this means for them because we haven't played this role at ACTE before.

Your day job now involves travel to all regions on a regular basis?

Yes, as GM of GetThere, we have customers using us in 85 countries. We have regionally based customers in all four regions and I've hit all four regions this year at least once; Europe a few times, Latin America a couple times and Asia once. I have staff in all those regions as well, so it's good to see how they're doing and even see how supplier work in each region.

So you're anticipating the ACTE presidency will help you do your day job better

Absolutely. I would say that for volunteering for any of these organizations, it would help any member do their day job better. It helps you think more strategically, think about the future as well as the present. It's a lot about the future. And, it helps you influence your bosses.