Islin Signs On With Global Consulting Firm
<H1>Islin Signs On With Global Consulting Firm</H1><H3>by Cheryl Rosen</H3>Stamford, Conn. - Ubiquitous travel industry personality, speaker and association member Jack Islin last week took on the new role of full-time travel management consultant, joining former United Technologies Corp. colleague Carol Salcito and long-time associate Harold Seligman at Management Alternatives Inc., headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Islin will remain in his hometown in the Chicago area and focus on Midwest accounts.
A retired Army colonel, Islin served as the first travel manager at UTC, bringing Salcito over from subsidiary Otis Elevators to serve as his operations manager. He was "lured away by Diners Club to work on their product definition and industry relations" in 1987, beginning a career there that ended when his position as senior vice president was abruptly eliminated in February.
"I did a lot of talking to old friends, and the position at Management Alternatives seemed to fit the best," Islin said. "Harold Seligman was the first consultant I ever met in the industry, and our relationship goes back to 1980. Whenever I had a question, I never hesitated to consult him."
The call from Islin proved serendipitous for Seligman as well. "We were looking for someone in the Midwest, and Jack's eight years at Diners Club have given him insight into charge card operations, an increasingly important part of the process because of the emerging online systems," Seligman said.
Islin "will do exactly what Carol and I do-negotiating, streamlining procedures and conducting vendor searches," Seligman said. "In our business, you're a salesperson, an operations person, a research person-you do it all."
The addition of Islin to the staff comes on the heels of three international associates announced last month. To better serve the needs of its global customers, the company signed agreements with Travelsearch of Australia, AIM International Management in Montreal and Brain & Company in the United Kingdom.