New judges have joined the independent panel for the 2025 Business Travel People Awards, which will open next week.

The judging panel, made up of astute and highly-respected figures representing a range of knowledge, expertise and skills from across the business travel sector, will welcome 11 new faces this year, including seven travel buyers.

To ensure complete impartiality, each judge is required to declare any conflicts of interest to the Judges Chair, Leigh Cowlishaw, before being given access to the submissions.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome 11 new judges to the panel this year,” said Cowlishaw, Joint Managing Partner of Black Box Partnerships.

“Being on the panel is a huge responsibility and we know these individuals will have a tough job selecting the winners, so I would like to thank them in advance for devoting their time and effort to these prestigious awards.”

The new judges are as follows and their full biogs can be viewed here.

• Carlos Almendros, Director Travel, Card & Marketing at Cisco Systems, Inc., a leading technology firm based in San Jose, California.
• Ruth Bennett, a key collaborator with beam with over a decade of expertise within the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector.
• Cristina Chimenti, Head of Global Travel at Sky covering Sky UK, Sky Italy, and Sky Germany, with a combined yearly spend of $100m across the three territories.
• Paul Dowdy, Category Manager EMEA Procurement for Travel and Marketing at Chubb Insurance.
• Calum Hawley, Global Travel Manager at Endeavour Mining and Chair of the GBTA’s Europe Aviation Committee.
• Karen Hutchings, Formerly EY Global Head of Travel, Meetings & Events and the founder of Cobb & Hutch Consulting in January 2024.
• Juliette Jackman, Senior Manager at Deloitte and previously Travel Programme Manager at Wood Plc and Head of Business Development for EMEA at TripBam.
• Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director and Co-Owner at C&M Travel Recruitment and on the Board of Directors at the Institute of Travel and Tourism.
• Wayne Lappage, Senior Global Travel and Expense Manager at Yunex Traffic and an ITM Buyer Board Director.
• Jake Lawley, Account Manager at Clarity Business Travel and the winner of the Rising Star Award in the 2024 Business Travel Awards.   
• Kate Scully, Corporate Travel Management, Meetings & Conference Supply Chain/Operations SME at Howden Group Holdings.

They will join these existing judges:

• Elizabeth Anderson, Manager of Global Travel Operations at Inmarsat (recently acquired by Viasat).
• Bex Deadman, Independent Consultant and founder of the Travel Risk Academy.
• James Foice, CEO of the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers, the trade body for serviced accommodation.
• Lynne Griffiths, founder and CEO of recruitment specialist Sirius Talent Solutions.
• Dani Ives, Commercial Manager at Focus Travel Partnership and winner of the first ever Shining Star category in the 2023 Business Travel People Awards.
• Jan T. Jacobsen, Global Category Director Travel & Mobility Accenture.  
• Darren Jeacock, Associate Director Global Airline and Ground Programme Manager Global Supply Chain Services for EY.
• Emma Lamb, Global Travel Safety & Security Specialist for Milestone Tech @ Facebook.
• Sonia Michaels, Head of Business Travel Services and Events for the Advantage Travel Partnership.
• Clive Wratten, Chief Executive of the Business Travel Association.

Entries will open next week (January 22) for the 2025 Business Travel People Awards, with six new categories this year.

The awards recognise individuals and teams in business travel whose professionalism and business excellence make them stand out from their peers.

Categories cover all industry roles, including those working in frontline or back-office functions who might not otherwise have the chance to be recognised.

For the first time, the recipient of the prestigious Industry Contribution Award will be chosen by the Judges Panel and will not require a submission.

Alongside 21 categories, a Chair’s Award will be chosen from across all of the categories by the Chair, Leigh Cowlishaw.

Nominations will be welcomed from managers and colleagues but also from the applicants themselves.

As in previous years, nominations must be backed up with evidence, such as videos or written testimonials from clients, partners or peers, and this will account for a third of the overall score.

Winners will be presented with their awards at an evening ceremony on Tuesday September 30 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London’s Covent Garden.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kirsty Hicks, Publisher of The Business Travel Magazine, at kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk.