BCD Travel Creates Global Consulting Practice

New group to focus on streamlining management of complex travel programs

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 8 June 2006 – BCD Travel, the world’s third largest global travel management company, today announced the creation of a new business unit within its global organization. The company’s global consulting practice will focus on advisory and project management services designed to optimize clients’ strategic, financial and operational performance.

The group will be led by Executive Vice President of Global Consulting Mary Ellen George, formerly head of BCD Travel’s Global Sales and Professional Services division.

BCD Travel’s global consulting practice will help clients around the world manage the impact of industry dynamics and improve control of their program’s overall performance. The group offers comprehensive, integrated solutions to ensure that program strategies are fulfilled through process engineering, compliance management and performance measurement. Ms. George said: “We listen to the client first, and tailor each engagement to the client’s very specific requirements. This team has incredible depth of knowledge at both global and local levels, and what we’re seeing throughout the world is a real need for progressive, proactive program support and simple, streamlined solutions.”

Previously, BCD Travel’s consulting practice was linked to its global sales division. The decision to create a separate consulting group, said BCD Travel CEO Mike Buckman, was driven by growing client demand for a complete range of analytical services that extend beyond the traditional components of air, car and hotel: “Our customer research and the market tell us that a more analytical approach to travel management is a must in these days of revenue and profitability pressure. As a customer-led organization, this is something we take seriously. Suppliers are watching contracts with more scrutiny than ever, and our customers—especially those with multi-national or global programs—require quantitative data to demonstrate performance.”

Ms. George enters into the role with more than 25 years of industry commercial and client facing expertise. Prior to her Global Sales and Professional Services role at BCD Travel, she was WorldTravel BTI’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and was responsible for business development and strategic marketing initiatives in the US.

Commenting on Ms. George’s new responsibilities, Mike Buckman said: “She has the experience and knowledge to orchestrate the growth of our consulting business globally, working with regional leads to ensure our clients achieve maximum cost savings.”

In a separate announcement, BCD Travel announced that Travis Tanner had joined the company as Executive Vice President of Global Sales after several years as COO for the Americas for Sky Chefs. Tanner is an industry veteran with extensive experience and expertise [President of Carlson Travel (1985-88), Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Attractions (1989-93), CEO for Carlson Wagonlit Travel (1993-99)]. He has been named Travel Management magazine’s “Travel Agency Person of the Year” and one of 25 most influential travel executives for six consecutive years.

BCD Travel simplifies and streamlines the corporate travel process, helping companies manage and control the movement of their people, information and resources. The company focuses on implementing integrated, seamless technology and service solutions throughout all global locations, providing full access to and analysis of travel data. Clients can take advantage of BCD Travel’s presence and technology infrastructure to track every trip, every traveller, and the costs incurred throughout every journey.