General Sessions

Keynote Presentations & Sponsor Industry Perspectives

Gain expertise and insight on macro-level issues in corporate travel and how they affect your day-to-day operations. Keynote and Sponsor Industry Perspective presentations given by well-known, respected leaders in travel and business will challenge your thinking and provide you with innovative intelligence.

Sunday, 21 October, 18.00 – 19.30

Welcome Remarks

Michael Kirnberger
President
Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V.
The Business Travel Association of Germany

Dr. Norbert Walter
Chief Economist
Deutsche Bank

Keynote Presentation: Europe and the Global Economy

Key factors continue to significantly impact the global marketplaceÑthe rise of China and India, high oil prices, changing patterns of trade and investment and shifting monetary policies in the US, Europe and Japan. Dr. Walter will offer privileged insights on the underlying trends in the European and global economies and their implications for the business travel industry. As a lover of debate, Dr. Walter will hold forth on any subjectÑfrom whether Europe will overcome integration fatigue and its addiction to the welfare state, the prospects offered by the internet and the euro to the role of the IMF. And of course, the question on everyoneÕs mind: will the subprime crisis derail the global economy? Whenever it is a question of explaining global economic issues, editors of television news, programmes, and newspaper and magazine editors, look to Norbert Walter for comment and explanation.

Norbert Walter is chief economist of Deutsche Bank Group and head of Deutsche Bank Research. Before his current position he was professor and director at the renowned Kiel Institute for World Economics and was a John J. McCloy Distinguished Research Fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary Studies at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC (1986 - 1987). He holds a doctorate in economics from the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. As chief economist of Deutsche Bank Group Norbert Walter is responsible for a globally integrated approach in economic research. Deutsche Bank's think tank, Deutsche Bank Research, covers a wide spectrum of issues ranging from economic forecasting to country rating and sector analysis. Services are rendered to the Bank's board, staff, customers and the general public. In addition to holding these responsibilities at Deutsche Bank, Professor Walter is a member of the Committee of Wise Men on the Regulation of European Securities Markets ("Lamfalussy group").

Monday, 22 October   09.00 - 10.00

Gianpiero Petriglieri
Affiliate Professor of Organisational Behaviour
INSEAD

Keynote Presentation: The Foundations of Leadership

Leadership is a timeless phenomenon—and so is our fascination with it.  Being a central aspect of any social system, leadership attracts great interest and generates much controversy.  Elementary “leadership cookbooks,” catchy tales of heroic CEOs, and training courses based on a myriad of “leadership models” are entertaining, inspirational and immensely popular.  They sustain an appealing propaganda of leadership. When looked at closely, however, they offer little help for exercising leadership in daily life. This is not surprising. Exercising leadership effectively and responsibly requires more than emulating celebrity executives, acquiring rational tools, or mastering standard techniques.  It requires refining one's sensitivity to, and capacity to work with, the covert, emotional and often unconcious factors that underpin human behaviour—our own as much as that of our teams and organisations. In this keynote we shall move beyond the propaganda of leadership, and look at both the emotional foundations of leadership and the elements of meaningful leadership development.

Gianpiero Petriglieri, MD, is Affiliate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD. His areas of interest include leadership, teams, experiential learning, and unconscious processes in individuals, groups and organisations. His research and writing focus on effective leadership development; the experience of becoming a change professional; and the emotional dilemmas of high potential managers. At INSEAD Gianpiero teaches "Leading People and Groups" in the MBA programme, and sessions on leadership, team dynamics, and personal and professional change in executive education courses. He is also Visiting Professor at CBS Executive, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and consults to a range of international organisations in the design and implementation of programs for developing "high potentials" into effective and responsible leaders.  Along with teaching, research and consulting, Gianpiero is a psychotherapist in private practice and is currently serving as President of the International Transactional Analysis Association.

Monday, 22 October  16.45 – 18.00

Rt Hon Dr. Denis MacShane MP
House of Commons
UK Parliament

Keynote Presentation: Europe: Looking East—Heading West

A new Europe is being born under pressure from immigration, Islamism, and new ideologies from the East; but European Ideas and Culture are coming from the West. As a new generation of European leaders in politics, business and campaigning organisations take over, what direction is Europe traveling in? Dr. Denis MacShane, a driver in and keen observer of European politics, will share his dynamic views on the current and future state of transatlantic relations, the role of Asia and pan-European immigration, terrorism and transportation policy developments that will impact business travel.

Denis MacShane is currently MP for Rotherham, House of Commons since May 1994. He was named a Minister at the Foreign Office by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2001 and was deputy to the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw and Minister for Europe from 2002-2005. He was sworn as a Privy Councillor in June 2005. Before becoming an MP Denis worked in international and European political affairs and wrote books on the steel industry as well as on global political issues. He has served as a council member, Royal Institute of International Affairs, and Europe and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies since 2005. He was born in Glasgow and educated at Oxford (MA) and London University (Ph D).

Tuesday, 23 October: 09.00 - 10.00

Travel in the Wider World of Business
 
While the concept of “shared services” has been around for 20 years, the relatively easy changes of centralising disparate back office functions have already been made.  Progressive organisations are evolving the model further in search of the next generation of strategic gains and additional business benefits.  Travel, traditionally one of the largest and best managed of the indirect categories for many corporations, is becoming the ”jewel in the crown” in this new world of truly global, fully integrated business processes. Denice Kronau, Head of the Global Shared Services (GSS) at Siemens AG, will offer a first-hand account of this successful evolution. 

Denice Kronau is the Head of the Global Shared Services (GSS) corporate center. Established in October 2006, GSS is responsible for managing and delivering high quality, cost effective back-office processes for its Siemens customers around the world. Denice is responsible for ultimately upholding the GSS mission - to strengthen Siemens´ competitiveness by owning, providing and continuously improving common support processes for GSS customers.  As of October 1, 2007 will have 7,400 employees worldwide and sales of 1.2 billion EUR.  Most recently, Denice served as President and CEO of Siemens Shared Services (SSL) in the US, where she was responsible for formulating the ongoing vision and strategy for the company overall, as well as focusing on developing new services.

Denice’s career has taken her from Philip Morris to Kraft General Food Europe in Munich to Diageo PLC in London first and then Paris, and back to the US with Gunn Partners. Her roles in these organizations have ranged from information systems to internal audit to financial controller. Her accomplishments include developing and implementing strategies for integrating new business acquisitions, significantly reducing operating costs, developing the business case and implementation plan for building a shared service center, overseeing a business reengineering program and establishing a worldwide financial and employee shared services strategy.

Sponsor Industry Perspectives

Sponsor Industry Perspectives will be given on behalf of:

Monday, 22 October: 9.00 – 10.00

Thierry Antinori
Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Lufthansa German Airlines

Compliments of:

 

Monday, 22 October: 16.45 – 18.00

Bev Heinritz
General Manager, GetThere

Compliments of:
 

 

Monday, 22 October: 16.45 – 18.00

Erik Varwijk
Executive Vice President, International Sales and Benelux, AirFrance KLM

Compliments of:

 

Tuesday, 23 October: 9.00 – 10.00

Kevin Ruffles
President Europe and Asia Pacific, Hogg Robinson Group (HRG)

Compliments of:

Featured Speaker

Sunday, 21 October 2007 18.00 - 19.30

Erich Sixt
CEO, Sixt AG

Erich Sixt, CEO Sixt AG, will introduce the “Sixt spirit of mobility” and welcome all participants in Munich.
The company was established locally in Munich in 1912 by Martin Sixt and today has a presence in 85 countries. Sixt is the car rental and leasing provider to international operating companies