David Kong, outgoing President & CEO, BWH Hotel Group: Under David Kong's leadership, BWH Hotel Group has expanded its portfolio to 18 distinct brands in every chain scale segment from economy to luxury and offering experiences from traditional hotels to extended stay and boutique/lifestyle hotels. 

David has positioned the company as a frontrunner in innovation, being named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the world by Fast Company in 2018. His achievements were further honored in 2019 with Hotel Interactive (USA) and GuestLab Magazine (Italy) both naming David Innovator of the Year. Prior to BWH Hotel Group, he held leadership positions with KPMG Consulting and Hyatt Hotels.

David is a University of Hawaii graduate, and also completed the Executive Development Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He was the past Chairman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and currently serves on the AHLA Executive Committee and the AHLA Foundation Board of Trustees.

Mike Premo, past President & CEO of ARC: As president and chief executive officer from June 2011 to December 2020, Mike led ARC’s strategy in bringing airlines and travel agencies together to do more business and do it more efficiently. He and his executive team oversaw operations for ARC’s accreditation and settlement work, as well as its rapidly growing data business and omnichannel retailing solutions, including ARC’s first outside investments in Blockskye, Traxo, 3Victors and nuTravel.

During Mike’s tenure as CEO, ARC’s revenues grew nearly 50 percent and equity grew 570 percent. Both the strong balance sheet and Mike’s work to establish strong relationships with its agency customers and airline owners were critical to ARC’s ability to deliver services effectively during the unique challenges of the COVID pandemic.

Before joining ARC in 2006, Mike was the senior vice president of global network for TQ3 Travel Solutions and held senior executive positions at Navigant International, TQ3’s parent company. He also served as the president of SatoTravel from 1990 to 1999, oversaw its development as an effective competitor for government travel contracts and launched its entry into corporate travel.

In retirement, he continues to be engaged in the industry, now serving on the board of directors for Onriva, as well as advisory boards at Fareportal and Blockskye.

Bill Tech, former President & CEO, Travel andTransport: Bill joined Travel and Transport (now Corporate Travel Management North America) in 1987 as a regional vice president in Chicago. In 1992, he moved to Omaha to assume the role of vice president of administration. He was later named executive vice president in 1997, and in 1998, Bill was named president and CEO.

As CEO, Bill oversaw Travel and Transport’s expansion, including key acquisitions, record revenue growth and a nearly 300 percent increase in employees. After 27 years of service to Travel and Transport, Bill retired in December 2014. He remained involved in the company as the chairman of the board and was named chairman-emeritus in 2019 for his many contributions to the company.

Bill served on the board of directors for Radius Travel for many years and was the chairman of Radius for more than 10 years. He was appointed to the board of trustees of The Travel Institute in 2002. BTN named Bill to its 2012 list of 25 Most Influential executives in business travel, citing his foresight in the acquisition of New York-based Ultramar Travel Management.

A passionate philanthropist, Bill was also involved with the American Cancer Society, Boys Town, the Knights of Aksarben, the Omaha Sister Cities Association and The Salvation Army. He also served on multiple Omaha-area boards, including the boards of the Knights of Aksarben Foundation, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and First Westroads Bank.

Bill died in 2019 after a long battle with cancer. The business travel industry honors his accomplishments and his remembers his friendship.

Rita Visser, Director Global Travel Sourcing & GPO for Oracle: Rita Visser's career in travel spans more than 25 years. Starting at Rosenbluth, where she fell into travel, she learned the workings of the industry from the inside out.

Today, she oversees all of Oracle’s travel procurement activities and in her GPO role, she sets strategies that result in positive benefits for Oracle and its travelers.

Rita has been involved in many industry initiatives, teams and committees including the Global Business Travel Association Technology Committee, acting as chair, as well as the GBTA Aviation Committee. She currently serves as a direct member at large for GBTA; she is a founding member and current board member of WINiT. She also serves on the North America travel manager advisory group for the New Distribution Capability Initiative as well as number of supplier advisory boards.

Rita has been the keynote speaker at a number of GBTA Chapter events. She recently contributed to revamping GBTA’s bylaws, which will help govern the association and its practices into the future. She is known to ask the tough questions of both sides of difficult industry issues and has a reputation as a fair and impartial problem solver. She works closely with peers and suppliers to make positive changes within the travel industry.

Rita and her husband have three children and live in Fargo, N. Dakota, where she is a passionate advocate and volunteer in her community.

In addition to recognizing the accomplishments of the past, the BTN Group also puts the Hall of Fame spotlight on potential industry stars of the future by awarding scholarships to promising students. This year, scholarships were awarded to students at New York University and The Pennsylvania State University.

“We’re very proud to recognize some of the most accomplished executives in our business, and equally proud to support the next generation of rising stars,” said BTN Group Executive Vice President and Group Publisher Louis Magliaro.