Buyers Battle For NBTA Presidency

Travel buyers Don Draves and Kevin Maguire are running to follow Suzanne Fletcher as the National Business Travel Association's president and CEO. The election will be held on July 23 and 24 at the NBTA International Convention & Exposition in Boston, and results will be announced at the July 25 breakfast general session at 8:15 a.m.

Draves, corporate services manager for Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co., has been a direct member of NBTA since 1986. He is the founder of the Wisconsin Business Travel Association, served on the NBTA board of directors from 2000 to 2003 and presently serves on the legislative advisory council, of which he was an inaugural member. Draves' platform spotlights education, legislative issues, political action committee involvement in chapters, strengthening relationships with NBTA's global organizations, raising green awareness and enhancing buyer and supplier partnerships.

"There is no one way to do it," Draves said of providing a solution for bridging that gap. "NBTA focuses on direct members, but allied members bring so much to the table. We need to nurture the relationship and make sure the partnership is alive and well."

Maguire, director of travel for The Expedition Development Co. of Austin, Texas, is a 12-year direct member of NBTA with two stints on the board of directors. He currently is a member of the global risk management committee. Maguire's platform focuses on expanding education for small and midsize companies, leveraging NBTA's international partnerships, strengthening chapter relationships, building partnerships between allied and direct members through open dialogue and education, and expanding the association's legislative influence.

"The last piece of the puzzle is that the NBTA needs to do a better job of socializing what it does," Maguire said. "People don't fully understand it. We need to really start explaining to people what we do and why we are doing it."

Meanwhile, HSBC travel manager Michael Lyons is running against Sabre global travel manager Michal Stewart for a two-year term as NBTA vice president. Additionally, American Honda Motor Co.'s Charles Franklin, JELD-WEN's Flodine Lee and Kendle International's Patti Nicolaci are running for two direct-member board positions.