Pan-European Business Travel Conference Will Enable Each Attendee to Meet Professional Goals

CONTACT:   Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 138
                  Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 138

February 6, 2008 (Milan, Italy) -- Crossroads Milan - Paragon Business Travel Conference & Expo announced a unique educational programme for European corporate travel buyers and suppliers designed to help each attendee meet his or her distinct professional goals. Crossroads Milan is the pan-European business travel conference co-hosted by 10 business travel associations from around Europe and across the globe. The conference, to be held 15-16 May in Milan, offers education planned by corporate travel buyers, as well as unparalleled networking opportunities and an Expo featuring Europe’s leading business travel suppliers.

The Crossroads Milan education programme features 16 education sessions covering best practices and next practices, including:

• Strategic meetings management, the practice of applying enterprise-wide policies and procedures to the procurement of meetings services in order to drive savings, minimize risk, maximize efficiency and enhance value – a rising trend in Europe.
• The Fundamentals of Business Travel Management, a unique programme designed especially for executives new to travel management. Participants who successfully complete the Fundamentals course earn the professional designation CTE.
• The European Masters of Travel Management, a special invitation-only programme that offers a unique opportunity for leaders in travel management to come together in an exclusive forum to exchange ideas and strategies.

Session topics include:

• Best Practice: Agency RFPs
• Best Practice: Corporate Card Programmes
• Best Practice: Hotel Programmes
• Getting Your Total T&E Spend Under Management
• Leading Travel Management’s Evolution in the Corporate Ecosystem
• Reducing Your Environmental Impact Thru Consumption Management
• Cutting Through the Green Noise: The ICARUS Ark
• Establishing Meaningful SLAs
• Winning (and Keeping) the Account
• Leveraging the Payments Revolution
• Mitigating Risks
• Developing Your Strategic Meetings Strategy

Planning Committee

The Crossroads Milan educational programme is being designed by global travel professionals from around the world, in collaboration with individuals from the 10 associations hosting the conference. The members of the Educational Committee are:

• Debbie Winston, Senior Manager, Global Travel Operations and Spend Optimization, Cisco, United Kingdom 
• Corrado Simontacchi, Manager, Purchasing Goods and Services, EMEA and ASPAC, Huntsman, Belgium
• Peter Brodbeck, Head of Global Travel Management, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Switzerland
• Jens Liltorp, Director of Global Travel Management Services, Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark
• Jeff Kurn, Global Travel and Meeting Services, Hewlett Packard Global Procurement, United States 
• Ann Cleveland-Oey, Category Manager of Global Travel Management and Indirect Purchasing, Wartsila Corporation, Finland
• Thorsten Eicke, Global Travel & Fleet Manager; Linde AG, Germany
• Suzanne Fletcher, Director of Travel Management, Concur Technologies, Czech Republic

Business travel buyers and suppliers are invited to advance their careers by attending Crossroads Milan, 15-16 May. For more information, see www.nbta.org/milan.

Crossroads Milan, 15-16 May, is the first-of-its-kind pan-European business travel conference. The event is co-hosted by: The Paragon Partnership: the Global Alliance of Business Travel Associations; the Austrian Business Travel Association; the Belgian Association of Travel Management; the Brazilian Business Travel Association; the Danish Business Travel Association; the Finnish Business Travel Association; the Business Travel Association of Germany; the Netherlands Association for Travel Management; the Iberian Business Travel Association (Spain); the Swedish Business Travel Association; and the National Business Travel Association (a U.S.-based global organisation). Crossroads Milan offers corporate travel professionals unparalleled education and networking, as well as an Expo highlighting the latest products and services from the leading European business travel suppliers. For additional information, visit www.nbta.org/milan.  

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