Earl Foster, ACTE President and Corporate Travel Operations Manager, Hewlett-Packard to the Association of Corporate Travel Executives'
ACTE IX Chicago Conference
April 28, 1997

Ten years ago, there were no commission caps. No net fares. Forget about e-mail and the Internet. Ten years ago, a fax machine was a novelty and a play toy.

Management reports, when they did come arrived by the ream. We called them door stop reports. Travel departments, if they did exist, were thought of as profit centers. We used an inplant agency, got our cash advance and direct deposit expense checks were still in our imagination.

The words we now knock around so casually, vaporware, seamless connectivity, global positioning systems, smart cards, weren't even in our vocabulary. Palm print id's for cruising through customs.....e-tickets, European deregulation, a tunnel through the English channel.... all fantasy.

I bring all of this up to illustrate that while this sea of change in travel management was taking place, ACTE was keeping up with the pace.

Rudy spoke about the care that was taken to ensure that all market segments be included in the organization....a strategy that turned out to be one of our association's greatest strengths.

The same foresight that called for inclusion also set the stage early on for an organizational flexibility. Without it, we would never have been able to meet the members' needs during this period of intense change.

We met the challenge by sticking close to our founding credo, to offer the tools that our members need. Not just to react to these changes, but to anticipate them, and where possible, actually mold them.

That's why our focus has been primarily on education and networking.

We spend a good deal of our time and energy organizing the seminars and workshops...on the topics that are the hot topics of the day and that you tell us are the ones you need the most. Technology is high on the list. So are negotiation skills, outsourcing, and the latest in distribution systems.

We take your surveys and post-conference feedback very seriously, and we respond by carefully designing the content of regional forums and conferences based on this feedback.

You'll see later in this conference program, and in November at ACTE Global in Berlin, just how carefully we tailor the ACTE programming to our core audience of senior-member travel management professionals.

Our conference strategy has clearly struck a nerve in the industry. Our programs enjoy a superior reputation. But we are not resting on our laurels. We are always looking ahead for ways to innovate and improve our programs, and meet the challenges of our members head-on.

We are very encouraged that the attendance at all of our educational programs is growing. The conferences attract fresh new minds. And a whole new reserve of experience, perspective and know how. New membership waves further strengthen our financial base. Which in turn allows us to expand our educational offerings.

All in all. That's a healthy, constructive cycle.

Looking ahead to the near and long-term future, we will continue to offer the higher level educational opportunities you have requested....and offer them in more locations, with greater frequency.

The globalization of ACTE, meanwhile, remains a key goal for the association. We're not interested in growth for its own sake, but to support managed, qualified growth, and a balanced representation of our membership. We'll continue to extend our reach farther into Europe this year for instance. More international activity greatly improves the ability of our global membership to interact, share best practices, and help master the challenges of globalization. Ultimately, as we grow worldwide, we will tailor products and services, specifically to attract. - and maintain - our defined target audience.

Our third objective, after enhancing education and promoting membership growth, is to continue to improve member services.

Many of you are aware of the recent, joint efforts of ACTE and NBTA on an effort to bring about standardized hotel folio data. We're supporting this effort along with NBTA because you have told us that it is important to you.

Our participation is giving travel managers a unified voice on how the standardization should take place. Ultimately, these efforts will contribute to solving a persistent problem we have all had for years.

Another good example of ACTE's participation in a cooperative industry effort is the endorsement, and promotion of the Standardized Hotel RFP process. We post it on our web site, making it easily available for anyone to reference it.

ACTE's web site is another effort we've made to improve the working lives of our members. If you haven't used it, I strongly urge you to take a look - there are monitors in the lobby already logged on. It's a well thought out site, with a superb network of links, a resource library, and the latest news and information about the industry and ACTE.

None of these objectives - expanding education, pursuing worldwide growth, ensuring fiscal health and focusing on member services - would have been met without capable leadership. Because of it, our organization is fundamentally sound. It is sound in terms of policies and procedures, and it's financially sound. This year saw the highest revenue stream and the largest net income in the Association's history.

Many people deserve credit for this, including our hardworking and dedicated cadre of officers. Armand LeCompte, whose selfless efforts have greatly benefited the organization - and made my transition seamless - VP of Finance, Dan Merrill - VP of Planning and Organization, Gary DiVincenzo, VP of Administration, Julie Hylton, VP of International Development, Henry Keizer, VP Education, Colleen Guhin, you have all done spectacular jobs and we're indebted to you.

I would also like to single out the efforts of executive director Terrell Mellen, whose leadership skills and vision have helped ACTE to mature considerably. Terrell has a staff whose talents and skills and dedication have made it possible to achieve all of the activities and services we offer - Lisa Lopinsky - Bill Harrison - and Rachel Cohen. Thanks.

I would also like to recognize a few standout efforts made by committees and councils. The new four year strategic plan, conceived by the Industry Advisory Council, for instance, is a brilliant, far sighted collaboration that will steer us smoothly into the year 2000.

Along the way, we'll be developing new worldwide educational strategies. We're continuing to focus on new technologies and seeking innovative methods and formats for communicating with you, the membership.

We are also looking into developing programming in relevant skills areas like management and marketing. Using collegiate resources.

It's a very exciting time to be in travel management. It's also an exciting time for ACTE to be a part of all of this. It's been an honor and privilege to be your president for the past year, to get to know many of you, and to watch our dreams turn into reality.

I understand the source of Rudy's pride. I have it and I hope that all of you can share it with me as well.

Thank you very much.