Nearly 300 people gathered in London last night to celebrate the 2023 Business Travel People Awards.
Winners and runners up in the 15 categories were presented their awards at the glittering ceremony, which was held at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden.
See our gallery of photographs from the night and our read our report on why the judges voted for this year’s winners.
The prestigious awards have been running for 12 years and are judged by an esteemed panel of industry experts, many of whom attended the event to celebrate with the winners.
Opening the ceremony, the awards organiser and Publisher of The Business Travel Magazine, Kirsty Hicks, said: “What makes the People Awards so special is that they are about the people in our industry.
“Our awards aren’t about companies, or brands. They’re about the individuals and teams who make the difference, whether they’re a Rising Star who’s just starting out in their career, an accounts team going above and beyond, or the person who is making an outstanding contribution to business travel.
“Our awards are about the people in our industry who make it what it is. All of you finalists here tonight are already winners.”
She also thanked this year’s sponsors: JetBlue, Agiito, Direct ATPI, TripStax, Best Workplaces, Sirius Talent Solutions, Virgin Atlantic and Delta Airlines.
The team at technology specialist TripStax walked away with three awards. Its Leadership Team won Travel Technology Innovator, CEO Jack Ramsay was voted People Manager of the Year (a new category), and Chief Marketing Officer Nikki Banks was named Shining Star.
Francesca Mendola, Director of Account Management, Global Travel Collection, was named Rising Star while Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the GBTA, won the award for Outstanding Industry Contribution.
Sadly, Neufang was at a GBTA event in Singapore so could not make the awards in person but she pre-recorded an acceptance speech, saying she was honoured and humbled.
The Chair’s Award went to Tiffany Casson, National Account Manager, Inntel, for her work to raise awareness of neurodiversity in corporate travel, inspired by her experience as a mother helping her daughter navigate neurodiversity.
Here’s a full list of the 2023 winners:
Account Management team of the Year
JetBlue UK Team
Account Manager of the Year
Lindsay Cook, Account Manager, Agiito
Runner-up Chris Culpin, Account Director, Diversity Travel
Meetings & Events Team of the Year
UK Events Team, TAG
Runner-up Events Team, veSpace
Business Travel Team of the Year
Navan and Reed & Mackay
Runner-up The Advantage Global Business Travel Team, The Advantage Travel Partnership
Duty of Care Champion
Christopher Ollerton, Supply Chain Coordinator, Synergy
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion
Ready & Able Inclusion Group, American Express GBT
Sustainability Champion
Anna Snoep, Director of Operations, Inntel
Runner-up Chris Truss, Reed & Mackay
Travel Technology Innovator
Leadership Team, TripStax
People Manager of the Year
Jack Ramsey, CEO, TripStax
Buyer of the Year
Adam Hickingbotham, Category Manager, AtkinsRéalis
TMC Above and Beyond
Leanne Fowler, Director of Account Management, Agiito
Outstanding Industry Contribution Award
Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA
Rising Star
Francesca Mendola, Director of Account Management, Global Travel Collection
Shining Star
Nikki Banks, Chief Marketing Officer, TripStax
Chair’s Award
Tiffany Casson, National Account Manager, Inntel
