GBTA elects new board members, plus appointments and promotions at Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Kempinski Hotels, Hyatt and more >>
The Global Business Travel Association has announced four newly elected members to its Global Board of Directors following the election during GBTA Convention 2018. New direct members at large are Tricia Alsup, Travel Manager, Dollar General; Kathy Briski, Travel Category Manager, The Boeing Company; and Erin Wilk, Global Security Travel Safety Manager, Facebook, Inc.
Briski and Wilk return to the board after being appointed to fill vacant slots in 2017 while Alsup joins the board for the first time. The position of open allied member at large is being filled by Doug Payne, Senior Vice President – Corporate Sales, ALTOUR. Payne has previously served two terms on the Board from 2011-2015.
Southwest Airlines has announced several senior leadership changes. The airline has welcomed Tammy Amirault as managing director, technology - enterprise management and analytics to succeed Sherry Staber, VP technology - enterprise management and technical operations, who is retiring. Previously Amirault was SVP at IMPRIVA, a San Francisco-based strategic business and IT consulting firm.
In addition Southwest SVP general counsel and corporate secretary Mark Shaw has been promoted to EVP chief legal and regulatory officer and corporate secretary. VP governmental affairs Jason Van Eaton has been promoted to SVP governmental affairs and real estate. The VP of airport affairs Bob Montgomery will assume a new role as senior advisor, while VP financial planning and analysis Paul Cullen is assuming a new role of VP real estate. Senior director of airport affairs Steve Sisneros has been promoted to managing director airport affairs.
Other appointments at Southwest include the promotion of managing director corporate sales Dave Harvey to VP corporate sales and senior director of loyalty, partnerships, and products Jonathan Clarkson to managing director marketing. Additionally, Reid Grandle, VP corporate strategy assumes the broader role of VP strategy and planning. And managing director of network planning Adam Decaire has been promoted to VP network planning.
Virgin Atlantic has named Yuli Thompson to be VP of North America, succeeding Chris Rossi, a 26-year veteran of the airline. Thompson joined Virgin Atlantic in 2006 holding positions in distribution, alliances, revenue management and was most recently VP pricing and ancillary revenues. Rossi will assume the role of managing director of Sales, NY Financial with Delta Air Lines.
Kempinski Hotels has announced the promotion of Amanda Elder to the position of chief commercial officer. Elder joined Kempinski in 2014 as VP sales and marketing in China. More recently, she served as SVP business development. She has more than 25 years of experience in the luxury hospitality field, including senior global sales, marketing and operations positions covering Europe, Middle East, Africa and China.
Hyatt Hotels has selected Mia Kyricos to the newly created position of senior vice president, global head of wellbeing, responsible for the company’s global wellbeing strategy. Most recently, Kyricos was president and CEO of Kyricos & Associates LLC, a boutique wellness consulting firm. Prior to that, she held leadership roles at Spafinder Wellness, Inc., Core Performance and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Virgin Hotels has announced the appointment of Thomas Becker as the new SVP of Operations. Becker brings 35 years of experience to the position, including most recently as area managing director for Two Roads Hospitality overseeing Ventana Big Sur and Carmel Valley Ranch. Prior to that, he has held senior executive positions with Aria Resorts & Casinos, Mandarin Oriental, One & Only Resorts and Fairmont.
Radisson Hotel Group has named Catherine Higgins Whiteside as VP of marketing in the Americas. Before joining Radisson Hotel Group, Higgins Whiteside served as chief marketing and communications Officer at Anchor Bank and prior to that spent 10 years as VP marketing at Wells Fargo Bank.
YOTEL has appointed Khirstie Gunn Myles as SVP of design and construction. She joins the company with over 20 years of experience managing the development, design and construction of hotels, resorts and residences. Gunn Myles led IHG's design and engineering team across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and prior to that directed Marriott's design and project management teams for Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as in the US, South America, Caribbean and Australia.