San Diego - The BTN Group on Tuesday named Deltek director of
global travel procurement Karoline Mayr its 2013 Travel Manager of the Year.
"This travel buyer combined both industry knowledge and
innovative thinking to promote internal systems that enhance communication and
service by providing access to business intelligence including performance and
behavioral information," said BTN Group editorial director David Meyer
during the award presentation. Meyer also cited Mayr's efforts to create
automated data feeds from Deltek's travel management company and corporate card
provider; to design, source, and implement a global purchasing program for all
payables, not just for travel; and to develop gamification techniques to help drive
airline and rental car program compliance.
Mayr helped "lead her company to expand its definition
of the travel procurement role in finance and reporting," Meyer said.
Mayr presided over held enterprise software and information
solutions provider Deltek's travel program, which has an annual spend of about
$15 million and about 700 travelers.
2013 Best
Practitioners
The BTN Group tonight also named four travel buyers as its
2013 Best Practitioners:
Tim Hay, the
former lead procurement analyst for the state of Oregon and current cooperative
development coordinator for the Western States Contracting Alliance and the National
Association of State Procurement Officials, for developing the first airline
program that leverages purchasing power from multiple state governments
Wellpoint manager of strategic sourcing for travel Cindy Heston for working to deploy a
system that scrapes hotel pricing displays shown to travelers to ensure rate
accuracy and availability
Siemens director of mobility services Steven Schoen for using integrated meetings and transient booking
data to ensure all travel expenses properly categorized, therefore raising the
visibility of meetings expenses to new levels companywide
Lockheed Martin global travel and event services manager Mark Stansbury for developing a formal
automated process for tracking and reusing unused nonrefundable air tickets