ACTE Europe Regional Chair Message 2009

We live in challenging times, that much is certain. However, to focus on the negative only robs our industry of the possibilities and opportunities that do and will exist this year, even in a faltering global economy. Those able to be flexible and think ahead will be more likely to manage the crisis, and even be profitable.

Of course, it is difficult to predict how the global economic crisis will turn out in 2009. It will depend, to an extent, on the amount of capital available to businesses in order to keep cash flow stable. And while companies should certainly do their best to anticipate and prepare for the worst, strategies should ultimately be proactive to take advantage of opportunities, of which there will be many.

In 2009, ACTE Europe’s focus will be to provide the industry with a platform to share the experiences and challenges companies are facing. ACTE education events will offer best practices and strategies in procurement, supply and demand management so that companies will be better aligned to recognize and seize opportunities when they occur.

ACTE will hold several educational events throughout Europe in 2009 – Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Prague, Stuttgart and Zurich. For more information, and to register for any of these events, please go to the Education Calendar on the ACTE website.

The highlight of the year will be the ACTE Global Education Conference in Prague, 25-27 October. The curriculum will cover every aspect of advanced business travel management. This event is a must for those who make corporate travel decisions.

ACTE Europe also took the lead in supporting the industry by kicking off the year with a first time, face-to-face council meeting in Frankfurt on 26 January.

Participants of this meeting included some of the most influential corporate from top Fortune 500 companies such as Daimler, Shell and IBM. Part of the meeting was spent developing a benchmark/performance database which will include industry KPIs. Travel managers and buyers are following ACTE’s call to develop a toolkit to help the industry better identify opportunities, and then move quickly to implement them.

Interested parties can apply to join the community platform by contacting the ACTE Country Champions. Please click HERE for a listing of Country Champions in your region.

I’d like to thank ACTE Europe members for their continuing support, and I look forward to seeing you at our education events in what promises to be an interesting and exciting year for the corporate travel industry.

Jerome Drevon-Barreaux
ACTE Regional Chair, Europe

Group Travel Manager
Capgemini
jdrevbar@hotmail.fr

Regional Spotlight

• Eine für alle ACTE vertritt alle Akteure der Geschäftsreisebranche...Read More

• One for All: ACTE represents the entire business travel industry...Read More

• Corporates urged to reduce travel...Read More

• PaxIS: will IATA get the message?...Read More

• What the recession has done to the corporate deal...Read More

• Unbundled fares could bring benefits...Read More

• ACTE in the Economist: A stress test for good intentions...Read More

• Airlines "sailing close to wind" on pricing...Read More

• Travel manager doubts value of supplier deals...Read More

• Business travel facing fundamental changes...Read More

• Irina Kuznetsova named new ACTE Country Champion in Russia...Read More

• How CORTAS solved its expansion problem (May 7)...Read More about ACTE/Cortas partnership

• Big story: Industry bows to price pressure

• ACTE defines opportunities and challenges at inaugural executive forum in Moscow...Read More

• Procurement techniques save companies money...read more

• Recession puts pressure on budgets for business conferences...Read More

ACTE Europe Board of Directors Representative and Regional Chair

ACTE Board Member, Brian Donnelly Regional Director, EMEA FCm Travel Solutions 230 Burlington Road New Malden, Surrey KT3 4TQ United Kingdom Tel: 44-2083364000 brian.donnelly@fcmtravel.co.uk	ACTE Regional Chair, Europe Jerome Drevon-Barreaux Group Travel Manager Capgemini 76 Avenue Kleber 75116 Paris, France Tel: 33-662243060 jdrevbar@hotmail.fr

ACTE Country Champions

Regional Partners

   

Media Partners

Regional Education Events

3 October 2010	Celebrating 20 Years of Advancing the European Business Travel Industry	Global Education Conference	Berlin
23 March 2010	Licht ins Dunkel	Executive Forum	Stuttgart
6 April 2010	Cutting Through Complexity	Executive Forum	Amsterdam
13 April 2010	Uncovering a Wealth of Opportunity: The Quest for Efficiency	Executive Forum	Moscow
20 April 2010	Re-engineering the Buying Process	ACTE/MS-UK Event	London
2 June 2010	Registration Open	Executive Forum	Zurich
14 September 2010	Coming Soon	ACTE/MS-UK Event	London
TBD September 2010	Coming Soon	Executive Forum	Paris
TBD November 2010	Coming Soon	Executive Forum	Milan
TBD November 2010	Coming Soon	Executive Forum	London

Additional Regional Information

The local planning committees continue to work hard to produce worthwhile, regionally focused education sessions so please check the Education Calendar for the most up to date agendas.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact Anna Schachoff if you have any queries, require any help or would like to get more involved with the Association - we will be delighted to be of assistance.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events in 2009!