General Sessions

Leaders and known experts in corporate travel and business take the stage during the General Sessions. An exciting collection of keynote presentations and industry perspectives will provide you with unique, top-down views on critical issues affecting business travel and the work environment. Presentation topics at past conferences have included value-creation strategies, climate control, and talent management.

WEDNESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2008

Keeping Strategic Focus in Constrained Markets (11.00 - 13.00)

How do competitive companies in markets characterized by hyper-demand keep their strategic focus? Companies operating in these markets are subjected to the distraction of keeping up with demand and to the temptation of deploying the bulk of resources to merely meeting customer orders.

Are companies in the Asia-Pacific region foregoing long-term commercial viability and compromising their competitive advantages by the rapid economic expansion? What lessons can companies learn?

Read Rama Bijapurkar's Bio here

"Hear keynote speaker Rama Bijapurkar at the ACTE Conference and enjoy 20% off Rama Bijapurkar's latest title "Winning in the Indian Market" courtesy of publishers, Jon Wiley and Sons!"

Vantage Point: A Skilled & Motivated Workforce – The Critical Success Factor for Future Success (11.00 - 13.00)

Companies like to promote the idea that their talented workforce is the biggest source of competitive advantage. However, most companies are unprepared for the challenge of developing workers to meet the business and organizational needs and motivating capable workers to excel. The increasingly global market for talent makes it even more critical for companies to understand the factors that affect employee attraction and retention everywhere they do business.

Organizations that do not balance financial imperatives and employee development & reward preferences risk not just losing their best talent but also the likelihood of business success. Learn about Watson's Wyatt research and experiences on helping companies develop and engage a skilled & motivated workforce.

Read Mira Gajaraj Mohan's Bio here.

Benchmarking for Best Practice in Contract Management (13.30 – 14.30)

THURSDAY, 21 AUGUST 2008

The Profitability Constellation--Finding Competitive Advantage through Your Supply Chain (09.00 - 10.15)

Supply Chain Management is called to accomplish more than a corporation’s cost reduction objectives. The potential of harnessing and translating supply chain partners’ competencies to deliver superior customer satisfaction is attracting the interest of many corporate leaders. In this context strategic supply networks can carve out competitive advantages for companies. Where does this process begin in the supply chain, what outcomes can be realized and what are the pre-requisite abilities to seize this opportunity?

Read Eric Conrad's Bio here.

THURSDAY, 21 AUGUST 2008

Embedding CSR in Global Corporate Strategy, Business Travel Management and the Welfare of Traveling Employees (12.15 – 14.15)

Corporate Social Responsibility has evolved into an important component of corporate strategy for many multinational companies. This presentation shows how to develop a holistic CSR strategy, in the context of business travel management, how to implement a practical action plan and how to measure its effectiveness.

Concrete case studies will showcase current corporate CSR initiatives, which are responding to the current imperative of travelling employees’ welfare.

Read Stephen Frost's Bio here

Vantage Point: Explosion of Meetings and Events in Asia Pacific: How will it Impact Business Travel? (16.15 - 16.45)

The region’s attractiveness and its economic opportunities have made Asia-Pacific an events paradise, for business, sports and a myriad of other reasons. How will this explosion of traffic and the demand for travel/hospitality services impact transient business travel? Will this strain on the supply side cause prices to escalate by adding pressure to an already heady demand for high quality business travel products and services?

MODERATOR FOR GENERAL SESSIONS

Judy A. Siguaw is the Founding Dean of ACTE partner organization the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management. Holding the position of Professor of Marketing in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and the J. Thomas Clark Chair in Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise, Dr. Siguaw earned her doctorate in 1991 from Louisiana Tech University. She has been published in more than over 45 business and trade journals, contributed to four books and authored 29 conference papers. Dr. Siguaw's research interests include personal selling, sales management, customer relationships, channels of distribution, and marketing strategy. She is currently at work on numerous journal manuscripts in these areas, as well as a book on best practices in the Asian hospitality industry.