Newsmaker: ACTE Taps Berteloot As European Head
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives has appointed a director for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, ending a protracted period of drift for the organization across the Atlantic.
ACTE has been without an executive in Europe for two years, since Herman Mensink left to become vice president EMEA for travel data specialist Prism Group. Mensink now has been succeeded by Stanislas Berteloot, formerly communication director for the French online booking tool provider KDS. 'Stan' Berteloot will handle the job from Paris, but plans to be on hand to meet delegates at the ACTE Global conference in Stockholm, which was set to begin last night.
ACTE launched in Europe in the mid-1990s and quickly attracted large numbers of senior travel management executives. The EMEA region accounted for 18 percent of the association's membership in 1997, a figure that subsequently has risen to 25 percent, representing 622 members. However, there has been no net gain in European membership numbers since Mensink left. Existing European members complained ACTE has reverted to a U.S.-centric mentality since the start of the decade, a factor that was understood to be the main reason behind Mensink's decision to quit. Of the 14 people on the association's executive committee and board, only two are based in Europe.
Berteloot said his appointment would address both the perception and the reality of waning European power within ACTE. "We have had a lower visibility over the past two years because we have had no executive in Europe," he said. However, he added, regional forums have continued to do well, with a recent meeting in France attracting 118 attendees.
In addition to boosting membership numbers, Berteloot's priorities include building task forces to work on pressing industry issues, such as the continuing campaign to reform the practices of the International Air Transport Association. Berteloot cited travel agency commissions, which only now are disappearing in continental Europe, as a leading topic for members, as well as the growth of online travel agencies and the search for alternatives to the global distribution systems. "People are pretty confused in Europe, and they are looking to ACTE for guidance," he said.
Berteloot also is hoping to attract additional member from the swelling numbers of procurement professionals moving into travel buying for the first time: "They are looking for best practices."