Summer Elections and Appointments Put New Leaders Atop GBTA

Following elections at the Global Business Travel Association’s annual convention in Dallas, UBS executive director and global head of travel Mark Cuschieri was elected president of the organization’s board. The first person headquartered outside North America to lead the board, U.K.-based Cuschieri succeeds PayPal travel manager Denise Truso in the role. Cuschieri was elected the board’s vice president in 2021.

Voters also chose Alteryx manager of global travel and expense Rosemary Maloney as the board’s vice president and Fidelity International director of global travel, events and ground transportation Carol Fergus to a director-at-large seat. OMERS global travel manager Elizabeth Oliveira was elected regional director for Canada, and Serko SVP Mike Daly was named to a director-at-large seat for Allied members.

The organization also named Marriott International global sales SVP Tammy Routh as Allied Leadership Council chair and F5 Networks travel manager Ronda Dean as president of the chapter presidents council.

GBTA also has named a new leader and members to its Latin America advisory board. On Tuesday, the organization announced that Felipe Cardona, Novartis head of travel operations for the Americas has been appointed to the two-year term as chair of its Latin America advisory board. He succeeds Alma Rocío Ceballos, PwC Mexico procurement senior associate for business services and travel, who was appointed chair in 2021.

Other buyer members appointed to the board for the 2023-2025 term include Unilever regional travel manager Nancy Goycochea; Nancy Cabezas, regional partner experience manager for Bayer; BTG Pactual global travel department director Gabriela Salles Oliveira; and Conrado Sainz, corporate global travel manager for Exiros, the procurement arm of engineering firm the Techint Group.

New supplier members to the Latin America advisory board include Monica Crawfurd, Hilton managing director of sales for the Caribbean and Latin America; Diana Olivares, general manager of Mexico for Latam Airlines; Denis Tassitano, SAP Concur VP and head for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Copastur head of expansion Felipe Mesquita.