Who Made BTN's List Of 25 Most Influential Execs for 2015

Business Travel News announced its annual list of the 25 Most Influential Executives in the travel industry business during its Business Travel Trends & Forecasts conference yesterday in New York City.

Merger-and-acquisition players figured prominently in the list, and some of the biggest such announcements came toward the end of the year. Marriott’s Arne Sorenson was already on BTN's radar for the Bethesda, Maryland-headquartered hotel giant’s January 2015 acquisition of Delta Hotels & Resorts, which came with 38 hotels and 10,000 rooms in more than 30 Canadian cities. It was Marriott's stunning Starwood acquisition, announced in November, however, that sent waves through the managed travel industry, immediately sparked rumors of additional hotel mergers and acquisitions and sealed Sorenson’s spot on the list. Expedia chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi’s acquisition spree engulfed Orbitz, Travelocity and, most recently, HomeAway. Other executives in acquisition mode were InterContinental Hotels Group chief executive Richard Solomons, who led the Atlanta-based hotel company’s January purchase of Kimpton Hotels; Cvent chairman and chief executive Reggie Aggarwal for the acquisitions of competitors SignUp4, in May, and Alliance Tech, in November; and Sabre president and CEO Tom Klein for the purchase of Abacus.

Creating urgency in the hospitality sector, Airbnb is partially responsible for the merger environment. And the influence has radiated. Expedia’s HomeAway acquisition was an obvious grab to play in the home-rental market, but overall, larger distribution networks also will wield more power in the face of new competitors. Hotel companies, in turn, may be bulking up to strengthen their positions as they negotiate distribution costs and terms with bigger online travel agencies. Burrowing specifically into corporate travel territory, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky rolled out a set of corporate travel tools in July and announced it had 500 corporate travel signups within 24 hours. November brought a product suite that allows corporate-ready properties to more easily identify themselves within the Airbnb platform. The home-rental platform also joined Concur’s TripLink this year. Sharing-economy compatriot Uber's chief executive, Travis Kalanick, also made BTN's list as the ground transportation platform flexed its muscle despite ongoing travel manager concerns, regulatory challenges in multiple markets and an active class-action lawsuit in California.

Regulatory decision-makers and lawsuits also impacted BTN’s 2015 list.

European Union Advocate General Yves Bot heavily influenced the EU Court of Justice in its decision to overturn Safe Harbor data-protection agreements with the United States. Without the assurance of Safe Harbor, European companies have reconsidered where they store data, including traveler data, and ultimately whether that data should be shared with United States-based travel management companies or risk management providers. Rita Wezenbeek-Geuke, head of the European Commission's payment systems, led interchange fee cap regulations that forced credit card companies to review their fee policies on corporate cards. On U.S. shores, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis struck down American Express’ antisteering rules in the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust suit against the corporate card provider. And U.S. District Attorney Paul Fishman conducted the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey probe that resulted in Jeff Smisek's resignation as CEO of United Airlines.

Also on the list are emerging technology providers who have tweaked the traditional travel industry way of life, sometimes painfully, and airline executives who have disrupted established distribution schemes, placed downward pricing pressure on their competitors or simply dominated their markets with operational excellence.

BTN's January 2016 issue will feature full coverage of the 25 Most Influential Executives for 2015, listed in alphabetical order below:

• Reggie Aggarwal: Cvent founder, chairman & CEO
• Robert Albert: Routehappy CEO
• Eric Bailey: Microsoft global travel and venue group lead
• Ben Baldanza: Spirit Airlines president & CEO
• Gadi Bashvitz: Olset co-founder & CEO
• Jens Bischof: Lufthansa chief commercial officer
• Yves Bot: European Union Advocate General
• Brian Chesky: Airbnb co-founder & CEO
• Jamie Dimon: JPMorgan Chase CEO
• Paul Fishman: U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
• Nicholas Garaufis: U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York
• Nicole Hackett: Graham Holdings director of travel services
• James Hogan: Etihad Airways president & CEO
• Dave Holtz: Delta Air Lines senior vice president of operations and customer center
• Karen Hutchings: EY global head of travel, events and meetings
• Robert Jacobsen: T-Mobile senior manager of travel, expense and card
• Stephen Joyce: Choice Hotels International president & CEO
• Travis Kalanick: Uber co-founder & CEO
• Dara Khosrowshahi: Expedia president & CEO
• Tom Klein: Sabre president & CEO
• Maya Leibman: American Airlines Group chief information officer
• Steve Reynolds: tripBAM founder & CEO
• Richard Solomons: InterContinental Hotels Group CEO
• Arne Sorenson: Marriott president & CEO
• Rita Wezenbeek-Geuke: European Commission head of the payment systems unit