Press Release

For Immediate Release
3 March 2008

JOHN F. BURNS, LONDON BUREAU CHIEF, THE NEW YORK TIMES, TO ADDRESS ACTE GLOBAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN ROME

Alexandria, Va. -- The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) announced today that John F. Burns, London Bureau Chief, The New York Times, will be a keynote presenter at the association's Global Education Conference in Rome, 5 - 7 October 2008. Mr. Burns will discuss the war in Iraq and its impact on the global community.

"John Burns has spent his career covering internationally critical issues and ACTE is privileged to have him speak at our conference in Rome," Susan Gurley, ACTE Global Executive Director, said. "His understanding of the war in Iraq will offer attendees a fascinating perspective on an issue that has been, remains, and will continue to be, the crux of the world's political dynamic."

The longest-serving foreign correspondent in the history of The New York Times, Mr. Burns was named London Bureau Chief in summer 2007 after spending nearly five years in Iraq, where he reported on the final six months of Saddam Hussein's reign, the war to overthrow the dictator, and the ongoing occupation and insurgencies that followed.

In addition to his experience in Iraq, Mr. Burns' resume includes posts in South Africa during the apartheid; China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s and its succeeding "open door" policy; the Soviet Union during pivotal points of the Cold War; the former Yugoslavia during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia of the early 1990s; and in Afghanistan during the Soviet withdrawal, the rise of the Taliban, and the American-led military campaign to end the regime's rule.

A native of Nottingham, England, Mr. Burns is a two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient, claiming the award in 1993 for his coverage in Bosnia of the siege and destruction of Sarajevo, and in 1997 for his coverage in Afghanistan of the Taliban's rise to power. He holds degrees from Stowe School, England, and McGill University in Montreal and speaks Chinese, English, French, German, and Russian.

For more information on the ACTE Global Education Conference in Rome, please visit http://www.acte.org/events/Rome_08/index.php.

ABOUT ACTE:
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €200 billion business travel industry. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has offices in Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to www.acte.org.

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For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com