More than 250 people gathered in London last night to recognise and celebrate the achievements of teams and individuals working in business travel at the 2022 Business Travel People Awards.
The glittering evening event, now in its 11th year, took place at the Leonardo Royal London City.
Awards were presented for 17 categories, six of them new for this year including a Chair’s Award chosen by the Chair of the Judging Panel, Leigh Cowlishaw, to recognise an individual or team that has demonstrated particular excellence.
Before the winners were announced, guests were invited to join a toast to Queen Elizabeth II.
Kirsty Hicks, The Business Travel Magazine Publisher and People Awards organiser, shared a quote from Her Majesty about leadership and collaboration.
“Over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration, to work together.”
Queen Elizabeth II
“We are here tonight because of the great leaders in our industry,” Hicks told attendees.
“These people have encouraged and nurtured their colleagues, enabling them to believe in themselves and become the best they can be.
“The leaders, however, aren’t just the ones with the titles of CEO or MD. I believe every one of us has the ability to lead, to encourage colleagues to work together in a team, to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and support when needed. It goes without saying that many of the people and teams who come to collect their awards tonight are doing just that, so long may this continue.”
Leigh Cowlishaw, Judges Chair and Managing Partner of Black Box Partnerships, added: “Our people continue to inspire and underpin the recovery of our industry as it continues to face and overcome new challenges and embrace new opportunities.
“With industry staff shortages one of the main concerns, it is absolutely key for us to focus on our people, who have continued to be the heart of all that we provide.
“Whilst we continue to see technology evolve and automation increase, we all know this is the enabler but our people are the catalyst. That’s why we are here to celebrate the best of our people tonight.”
In a first for the People Awards, the Rising Star accolade was given to all three finalists – Georgia Suttie, Agiito, Sinead Ryan, ALTOUR UK, and Laura Garton, Synergy.
“At a time when our industry is working hard to attract new talent, we felt they were all excellent examples of everything that’s great about working in our sector and all 100% deserved to be named as Rising Stars,” said Bev Fearis, Editor of The Business Travel Magazine.
The three Rising Stars were invited to be the first official Business Travel Ambassadors in a new campaign spearheaded by the magazine and supported by the BTA, GBTA and ITM.
This year’s prestigious Industry Contribution Award went to Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of the Advantage Travel Partnership, and the new Chair’s Award was presented to Carolyn Pearson, CEO and Founder of Maiden Voyage.
Here’s a full list of the winners and those who were awarded highly-commended certificates.
Account Management team of the Year
Venues and Events International Account Management Team
Account Manager of the Year
James Connell Situ
Highly commended: David Luney Inntel
Operations Team of the Year
Synergy Operations Team
Operations Manager of the Year
Michael Savage, TBR Global Chauffeuring
Meetings & Events Team of the Year
Agiito’s Venue Find and Events Team
Highly commended: Major Events Team, TBR Global Chauffeuring
Business Transformation Initiative of the Year
Agiito’s Marketing Team
Duty of Care Initiative of the Year
PwC, supported by Global Secure Accreditation
Change Champion Leader
Dana Moore, Agiito
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion
Carol Fergus, Fidelity International
Sustainability Champion
Nico & Elkie Nicholas, Trees4Travel
Travel Technology Innovator
Chris Lewis, Travelogix
Rising Star
Georgia Suttie, Agiito
Sinead Ryan, ALTOUR UK
Laura Garton, Synergy
Shining Star
Lynne Griffiths, Sirius Talent Solutions
TMC of the Year
Blue Cube Travel
Highly commended: Hotel and Travel Solutions (HTS)
Travel Buyer of the Year
Cristina Chimenti, Sky
Highly commended: Eloise Ferrara Neched, Royal Mail Group
Industry Contribution Award
Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage Travel Partnership
Chair’s Award
Carolyn Pearson, Maiden Voyage
