• A-C
• D-L

• M-P
• R-W

Industry Strategist/Travel & Entertainment, Acxiom Corporation

Bob serves as an Industry Strategist within Acxiom's Travel & Entertainment vertical. Bob has more than 20 years of marketing/sales experience within hospitality, gaming, leisure travel, and condominium rentals & sales.  Bob joined Acxiom from Montecito Property Company, where he served as the EVP of Marketing.  

Previously, Bob served as CMO and SVP of Marketing & Sales for ResortQuest International, the nation's largest upscale vacation rental, real estate, and property management firm.  He has also held senior level marketing positions with Boyd Gaming Corporation, and Servico Hotel Management Corporation (Hilton, Westin, Sheraton brands). 

Bob holds a B.A. in Communications/Marketing from Indiana University, and attended graduate programs and earned certifications from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in E-Commerce Business Strategies.

Vice President, Strategic Business Development, Amadeus North America, Inc.

Stewart Alvarez is responsible for developing, evaluating and implementing strategic business initiatives for Amadeus and its various customer segments in North America. He plays a direct role in supporting distribution and IT strategies for Amadeus' airline customers, as well as supporting Amadeus' travel agency customers related to the ongoing evolution of the GDS commercial model in the marketplace.

Previously, Alvarez was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ICSAT, (International Computer Services and Advice for Travel). He began his career in the travel industry in 1985, when he first joined Eastern Airlines as a sales agent.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.

Steve Barnhart is Chief Executive Officer and President of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., where he oversees Orbitz Worldwide's global portfolio of online travel brands. He is also a director on the board of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.

Mr. Barnhart joined Orbitz, Inc. in 2003.  He served as CFO of the consumer travel unit, and was later appointed president of Orbitz Worldwide in 2006.  In early 2007, he was named CEO and president, and led the company's initial public offering that year. 

Prior to joining Orbitz Worldwide, Mr. Barnhart held positions with PepsiCo and its Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay subsidiaries, the Brussels-based Polyurethanes division of ICI and the American National Bank in Chicago.

Mr. Barnhart earned his M.B.A. in finance and bachelor's in economics from the University of Chicago.

General Manager - Global Monetization, Connected Life, Yahoo! Inc.

Michael Bayle is the Head of Global Monetization for Yahoo! Connected Life where he leads the global monetization operations for Yahoo! Mobile. Bayle is a Board member of the Mobile Marketing Association and is the Board sponsor of the sub-committee on mobile advertising guidelines.

Bayle joined Yahoo in September 2002 and played a key role in launching the world's first mobile sponsored search trials in Japan in 2004, and in the US in 2005.  No stranger to the Internet, Bayle has been working in the sector for over 11 years, including business development tenures at IDG and Microsoft.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and his Masters degree in Computer Science from Stanford University.

Executive Director, California Travel & Tourism Commission and Travel Industry Association National Chair (Elect)

Caroline Beteta serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the industry-led California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC), a nonprofit organization created to market California as a premier travel destination and to increase the State's share of tourism-related revenues. She also serves as the Deputy Secretary for Tourism. Caroline is responsible for implementing CTTC's $50 million marketing plan and serving as lead spokesperson for California's $93.8 billion tourism industry. Under her leadership, California tourism's share of the domestic market increased from 9.7% to 11.5% from 1998-2006, reversing a decade-long decline.

Caroline works closely with Governor Schwarzenegger's office, and is active on the federal level promoting tourism's key role in the national economy. She has received numerous awards for her creative work and leadership in the travel industry.

Senior Vice President and General Manager - U.S. Consumer Travel Network, American Express

Lynne Biggar, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Consumer Travel Network, U.S., leads the American Express U.S. leisure travel business.  This unit provides premium travel services to American Express Cardmembers and other customers through a network of telephone service centers, the retail travel network of owned and representative travel offices and the Internet, at www.americanexpress.com/travel.   Her responsibilities also include overseeing the wholly owned travel subsidiary Travel Impressions of Farmingdale, New York. Prior to assuming this role in January 2005, she was Vice President, Acquisition and Early Engagement Marketing in American Express' Consumer Card Services Group.  She began her career at American Express in 1992.

Biggar holds a BA in International Relations from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia University.  She serves on the board of directors of "Cool Culture" in New York City, and holds a patent on the technology for credit card activation online.

Managing Partner, Susan Black & Associates

Susan Black is a Managing Partner at New York-based Susan Black Associates, a leading travel industry strategy firm. Their clients include leading online travel brands, traditional travel distributors and suppliers, and travel industry start-ups. Ms. Black is also affiliated with Denver-based Chimney Rock Capital Partners, a value-added Investment Bank in the role of Senior Advisor - Travel Industry. Ms. Black serves on several corporate advisory boards, and was elected to the Association of Travel Marketing Executives Executive Committee and Travel Industry Association of America's e-Commerce Committee. Previously, she was the Chief Marketing Officer of CheapCaribbean.com, a top-ranked vacation package website, Executive Vice President, Marketing for $2 Billion Liberty Travel, GOGO Worldwide Vacations; Founder of TravelCom Conference & Expo; Chairman of eTravelWorld; GM and Publisher of Thomas Publishing's Travel Group.

Jeffery Boyd

President and Chief Executive Officer, Priceline.com

Jeffery Boyd was named President and Chief Executive Officer of priceline.com in November 2002. He had been priceline.com's President and co-Chief Executive Officer since July 2002. 

In January 2000, Jeffery joined priceline.com as Executive Vice President and General Counsel and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in October 2000. Prior to priceline.com, Jeffery was Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Oxford Health Plans. His legal career also included serving previously as Assistant General Counsel for Lord, Abbett & Co. and as a Partner in the private law firm of Robinson & Cole and an Associate with Sullivan & Cromwell.

Regional Director, US and Canada, Mexico Tourism

Eduardo Chaillo is Regional Director of the Mexico Tourism Board for the United States and Canada and head of the Strategic Business Unit based in Washington, DC.

Previously, he was Regional Director in the Midwest Office of the MTB, the founder and Executive Director of the Mexico Convention Bureau, Executive Director of the Tourism Tianguis, Secretary of Tourism in the State of Zacatecas and President of the National Chamber of Restaurants (Zacatecas Chapter). 

Internationally, he was recently elected to sit on the board of directors for ICCA representing the North America market.  Previously he served as a Chair of the ICCA North American Chapter; participated  in the International Committee for the CMP Board, and Mexico Chapters of MPI, SITE and ICCA. 

Group Vice President, Online Marketing, Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.

Aaron Cooper's leadership in online marketing at Orbitz Worldwide has resulted in higher returns on the company's investments.  He continues to direct search, strategic traffic generating partnerships, CRM/customer analytics, email communications and site merchandising programs for the Orbitz and CheapTickets brands in the United States. Prior, Aaron led financial planning and analysis for Orbitz, Inc., through its November 2004 acquisition by Cendant Corporation.

Aaron has also worked for AEG Partners, a turnaround management firm, America Online and Price Waterhouse's finance and economics consulting group. Aaron received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and holds a BA with Honors in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Vice President Sales, JetBlue Airways

Noreen Courtney-Wilds is Vice President Sales for JetBlue Airways, a position she has held since October 2007.  In this role she is responsible for all sales, distribution and business development efforts.

Noreen started with JetBlue in July 2000 as Manager National Sales, and also served as Director Sales and Distribution from 2003 to 2007.  Prior to joining JetBlue, Noreen held management positions at Aer Lingus and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

She is a frequent speaker at travel events and was named one of the industry's "Rising Stars" by Travel Agent magazine in 2002.  Noreen is a member of ACTE and NBTA and also serves on the U.S. Chamber Procurement Council.

Noreen received Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Delaware.  She currently resides in Leonia, NJ with her husband and their three children.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Farecast, Inc.

Hugh joined Farecast as President and CEO in November 2004. Prior to Farecast, Hugh was Senior Vice President of Business Development at National Leisure Group (NLG). Before NLG, he served as Vice President of Product and Corporate Development with Priceline and as Vice President of Strategic Analysis for Citigroup's Advanced Development/e-Citi division. Hugh also held positions with DLJ, Viacom, and AC Nielsen/Dun & Bradstreet. Hugh is a graduate of Boston College.

Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners

Joel invests in both new and existing technology businesses.  Areas of special interest include: Internet and new media; financial services; consumer services and e-commerce; and travel.  He is currently a board member of such companies as: Kayak.com (Joel and General Catalyst co-founded the company); and ITA Software.
Prior to co-founding General Catalyst, Joel co-founded and operated numerous businesses focused on leveraging applied technology and high standards of customer care for the travel, information services, specialty retail, consumer direct marketing, and payment processing industries.

Joel serves onnon-profit boards, including: the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America; Boston Children's Hospital Trust; and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  He is a graduate of Colby College and Boston College Law School.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Travel Industry Association

Roger Dow is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Travel Industry Association (TIA), the national umbrella organization representing all segments of the $740 billion U.S. travel and tourism industry.   

Among the many honors he has received, Dow most recently was recognized by his peers as the 2008 Association Executive of the Year, according to Association Trends.  The honor reflected Dow's success in taking steps to unify the travel industry and greatly increase its effectiveness on Capitol Hill.

TIA promotes and facilitates travel to and within the United States through a substantial advocacy effort that communicates industry interests to policymakers and the media.  TIA also continues to host several major events to provide travel industry professionals with expert information that gives them an advantage in the competitive marketplace.  TIA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with an active presence in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Principal Investor, PAR Capital Management

Brad Gerstner has been a member of PAR Capital Management since 2005.  At PAR, he is responsible for investing and managing a portfolio of public and private securities totaling over $200 MM.  Mr. Gerstner focuses on investments in both the travel and internet sectors.

Prior to joining PAR Capital, Mr. Gerstner co-founded Openlist.com – a vertical search and advertising platform that was acquired by Marchex  (MCHX – NASDAQ) in 2006.     Before Openlist, Mr. Gerstner served as Co-CEO of National Leisure Group, one of the web's first and largest sellers of online vacations and cruises.   He joined NLG from General Catalyst, a Boston venture capital firm that invested in NLG in May, 2000. 

He currently serves on the board of directors of Farecast and Zillow.

Senior Vice President, HelmsBriscoe and TravelCom Committee Chair

Bob manages the international operations of HelmsBriscoe, the world's most widely used meeting procurement company, dedicated to finding the perfect meeting venue for its 9000 clients. In 2007 HelmsBriscoe generated a record 3.5 million room nights.

Bob has over 30 years of marketing experience and has provided marketing services to many organizations such as Hilton Hotels Corp, Orbit Travel and Travel Agent Magazine. He has led the global sales and marketing efforts of major brands including Best Western International, the world's largest hotel chain, SuperClubs, Choice Hotels, Disneyland, Walt Disney Travel Company and EVP at CRM leader Intrasight.

Well known as a travel industry leader, he has had numerous awards including 2004 Supplier of the Year by ASTA and has a BA in marketing.

Vice President, Location Content Group, Navteq

Henry Harteveldt

Vice President & Principal Analyst - Airline/Travel Industry Research,  Forrester Research, Inc.

Henry leads Forrester's worldwide travel industry practice.  He analyzes and projects how technology will impact travel eBusiness, marketing and distribution, using both consumer surveys and industry interviews.

He was named by Travel Weekly magazine in November 2007 as one of the 33 most influential people in the travel industry.  His recent research identified mobile data services as an opportunity for travel marketing, customer service and distribution, and revealed the first-ever decline in the number of online travel buyers (Bookers) coupled with growth in the use of offline travel agencies.  Henry and his industry insights are frequently featured by major media outlets, including the Associated Press, CNBC and The New York Times.

Deputy Director, Industry Relations, Office of Tourism and Travel Industries, U.S. Department of Commerce

Julie Heizer rejoined the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) in September 2003 as Deputy Director, Industry Relations for the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.  She is responsible for industry outreach, partnerships, and strategic alliances for several Commerce projects, most notably the multi-million national promotion campaign and the $3.9M Cooperative Agreement between the DOC and the Travel Industry Association.  In her "first round" with the DOC (1992-1996), she worked for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration as the Manager of Private Sector Marketing.

Prior to her arrival at OTTI, she held a variety of positions in destination marketing organizations throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including the Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation, the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, the Virginia Peninsula Tourism and Conference Bureau and the Montgomery County, Maryland Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Director of Brand Activation, Expedia

Halle Hutchison oversees brand positioning, identity, and brand advertising & media for Expedia.com, the world's leading online travel company. With 20 years experience in brand development, engagement and expression for international and Fortune 10 companies, Hutchison is responsible for Expedia's brand communications strategies. Prior to joining Expedia, Hutchison led the advertising and brand expression team at T-Mobile USA, where she orchestrated the company's fully integrated, national brand re-launch and achieved widespread consumer identification for the new brand.

Hutchison holds a BA in Communications and has completed graduate work in branding and communications at Kellogg Graduate School, Northwestern University. She is currently on the ANA Integrated Marketing Communications and Television Advertising Committees, and is a nationally recognized thought leader on visual branding.

President of STA Travel North America

Scott Hyden is President of STA Travel North America, a full-service travel agency with over 70 retail locations in the United States. In his current role, Mr. Hyden oversees all aspects of STA Travel's North American operations including finance, product development, human resources, multi-channel sales and consumer marketing. He has led the company's efforts to restructure the STA Travel brand and change the way students and youth view the concept of traveling the world. Mr. Hyden is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business. He also received an MBA in Marketing from the prestigious Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Managing Director, Travel Category, Yahoo! Inc.

Brad King brings more than 14 years of travel industry experience to his role with Yahoo!, where he is responsible for providing top-tier travel partners with advertising solutions, strategies and unique insights.

Prior to joining Yahoo!, Brad managed Airline Supplier Relations and Operations for Hotwire.com, where he fostered relationships with 33 carriers and assisted Hotwire.com in becoming the largest seller of opaque airline tickets on the Web.  Prior to Hotwire.com, Brad served as the Director of Global Hotel Distribution for WorldRes. He began his career as a Pricing/Yield Management Analyst at Northwest Airlines and later joined Vail Resorts Management Company where he managed the resorts minimum revenue guarantee partnerships with top US air carriers and worked with strategic marketing partners including Yahoo!, Travelocity, Delta Vacations and American Airlines Vacations.

Chief Creative Officer, Travel Channel Media

Lafferty oversees television production, marketing, communications, and partner development for Travel Channel and travelchannel.com.  At TCM he has helped drive 16 months of record audience deliver and cross-platform innovation.

Prior to joining TCM, Lafferty held several executive brand management and marketing positions with Discovery Communications and Leo Burnett USA.  At Discovery he oversaw marketing for Science Channel, Military Channel, and Discovery Education. At Leo Burnett Lafferty helped lead the agency's U.S. Army, McDonald's and Kellogg accounts.

Before entering the business world, Lafferty served seven years as an Army officer in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Haiti, Panama and the US.  Pat is a native of northern New York.  He and his wife have four children ages five to seventeen and reside in Bethesda, MD.

Managing Director, Central Region, Google

Jim Lecinski, Midwest Director for Google, lead s the advertising business with Google's major Midwest clients and media agency partners.  Heading up Google's Chicago operation, Jim is a seasoned advertising and marketing expert, with nearly 20 years of integrated marketing and online advertising experience. Jim has expertise in brand and creative strategy, marketing plan development, consumer lead generation, marketing analysis, optimization and consumer insights. Additionally, Jim has a strong background in retail and consumer packaged goods.  He has held leadership positions at DDB, marchFirst, Young & Rubicam, and EuroRSCG.  In addition to his advertising and marketing experience, Lecinski, a vintage jazz music collector, has an MBA from the University of Illinois and a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Notre Dame.

Charlene Li

Vice President & Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, Inc.

A leading voice in the area of social computing and Web 2.0, Charlene Li is recognized as one of America's most influential bloggers. In her work at Forrester Research, she advises companies on how to use technologies like blogs, social networking, RSS, tagging, and widgets for marketing purposes. She is one of Forrester's most quoted analysts and has appeared in outlets like CNN, NPR, and BBC, as well as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek.
 
In a new book, Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, Charlene and coauthor Josh Bernoff describe how people are using social technologies to get what they need -- information, support, ideas, products, and bargaining power -- from each other. www.groundswell.forrester.com

President and Chief Executive Officer, OpenDoors and Disaboom.com Representative 

The Open Doors Organization was established in 2000 with a mission of making all consumer goods and services accessible for people with disabilities. ODO conducts corporate educational programs in travel, hospitality and entertainment industries, with the goal of creating awareness and, more importantly, facilitating change. 

ODO was responsible for the groundbreaking Easy Access Chicago, a comprehensive access guide to the city of Chicago and the 2002/2005 Open Doors Organization/Harris Interactive Study's on Travelers with Disabilities.

Speaker at national and international trade shows & conferences.  Featured in travel and trade publications including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.  Honored by world travel agents-ASTA 2003 Access to Freedom award and University of Illinois-Chicago 2004 Commitment to Diversity award. Visit www.opendoorsnfp.org

Senior Vice President, TravelPort GDS

Flo Lugli is Senior Vice President for Travelport GDS—one of the world's largest global distribution system (GDS) providers and a global leader in Web-based travel, e-commerce and a provider of other specialized solutions and services to the global travel industry. In this role, Lugli is responsible for driving integration and strategic initiative projects through the commercial organization. Most recently, she was acting Chief Commercial Officer, and prior to that she was President and Managing Director, Airline Services for Travelport.

During her 21 plus years at Travelport, (formerly Cendant Travel Distribution Services),  Flo held various senior level positions in hospitality and technology, including President of WizCom Intl.

Flo has been voted one of the Most Powerful Women in Travel six times by Travel Agent Magazine, and was named one of the top 10 technology experts in the hospitality industry and one of the top 75 hotel executives by Lodging Magazine. She also served two terms as president of HEDNA. 

Flo currently serves as a member of the Travelcom advisory board.

Managing Director, Trident Capital


Woody Marshall joined Trident Capital in 1996 as a Principal and has been a Managing Director since 1998. In this role, he focuses on the payments, internet and communications technology markets
Woody's current directorships include AccountNow, Advanced Payment Solutions, Arantech, Bytemobile, eGistics, Merchant eSolutions, MegaPath, and Xata Corporation (XATA). He is also responsible for investment oversight on AirTight Networks, Kayak.com, mBlox and Sabre Holdings.

Woody's past investments include American Cellular (acquired by AT&T/Dobson), CommSite International (acquired by American Tower), bamboo.com (acquired by Internet Pictures (IPIX)), Internet Securities (acquired by Euromoney), MapQuest.com, Inc. (MQST) (acquired by AOL) and SideStep (acquired by Kayak.com).
Woody earned his B.A. from Hamilton College and his M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tourism Commission

Michele McKenzie is President and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).  The CTC is a federal Crown Corporation that works in partnership with the tourism public and private sectors to market Canada with the goal of growing tourism export revenues. Since her appointment in 2004, Michele has guided the evolution of the CTC to become a fully integrated brand marketing organization, now recognized as one of the top marketing organizations in Canada.  Michele has 25 years of experience in destination marketing, and immediately prior to her CTC appointment she was Deputy Minister of Tourism Culture and Heritage for the Province of Nova Scotia. 

Business Development Executive, Global Travel & Transportation Industry, IBM Global Technology Services

Lois McKeon has worked in the airline, airport and security technology field for 30years, with a focus on passenger processing systems and travel industry security. She has worked for a major global airline in  customer service and data processing. After moving to a leading industry services provider, she ran the airline applications portfolio and project managed significant airline applications development projects and an airport IT infrastructure implementation.  Most recently with IBM, Lois spent several years in the Security and Privacy practice, working with our US Federal and State and Local teams to offer security solutions to airports and other travel and transportation segments. She is currently a Business Development Executive and Sales Operations Support for IBM's strategic partnerships in Travel and Transportation.

Managing Director, One Equity Partners

Mr. O'Hara is a Managing Director of OEP and has over 18 years of operating experience.  Prior to joining OEP, Mr.O'Hara served as Executive Vice President of Worldspan and was a member of its Board of Directors.  Prior to this, he was a management partner advising Citicorp Venture Capital and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan; served as Senior Vice President of Sabre; and worked in various capacities for Perot Systems.  Mr. O'Hara holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University.

Director, Travel Practice Group, Translations.com

Dan O'Sullivan has been a senior member of the Translations.com executive team since the company's incorporation in 1999.  Dan came to Translations.com from TransPerfect Translations, where he opened and successfully launched their Miami office. His career has been focused on the travel and tourism sector, within which he has organized and managed some of the largest and most complex projects in the industry for companies such as Hilton, Hyatt, Royal Caribbean and Starwood.  Dan also acts as the Translations.com representative to travel industry organizations such as HEDNA, OTA and HTNG, as well as regularly speaking on globalization issues at travel industry events. Currently Dan oversees international sales and business development activities for Translations.com.

Vice President, Business Development, Farecast, Inc.

Krista is a veteran travel executive with experience in the intersection of electronic publishing, distribution and technology. She is known for her ability to identify and aid the development of trends years before they become global. For example: she was the first professional analyst to cover Internet travel in 1996 at Gomez Adviors, a key player in the launch of online travel services in 1997, and a critical participant in the development of online travel sites in 2001. Prior to Farecast, Krista led M&A, sales and business operations as Chief Strategist and SVP of for SmarterTravelMedia. She was Head of Travel for New York Times Digital, and SVP for FareChase.com, the site that pioneered meta search. She has published many travel research reports which were sought after by many of the largest companies in travel and technology and read by most of the top analysts on Wall Street. Krista sits on multiple travel industry boards.

Senior Vice President, Distribution Marketing, InterContinental Hotels Group

Eric Pearson is senior vice president, distribution marketing, for InterContinental Hotels Group. He (LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG [ADRs]), the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms.

As senior vice president, distribution marketing, Mr. Pearson is responsible for overseeing IHG's (InterContinental Hotels Group's) worldwide distribution strategy, channel operations, global revenue management and internet business.

A 17-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Mr. Pearson joined IHG in 1997 as senior director, emerging technologies. He was responsible for all Web development, guest service technologies, and research and development. Most recently, Mr. Pearson served as senior vice president, e-commerce and was responsible for strategy and development of all branded Web sites and affiliates worldwide. These initiatives included more than 1,000 Web sites and wireless services, designed to capture business opportunities with customers and partners, as well as streamline hotel operations and communications. As part of his range of responsibilities, Mr. Pearson oversaw the day-to-day management of these initiatives, including product development, strategic alliances and business development.  

Before joining IHG, Mr. Pearson worked for The Walt Disney Company, IBM and NASA in different management and technical capacities.

Mr. Pearson holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Central Florida.

Michelle Peluso

President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelocity and  Executive Vice President, Sabre Holdings

The Travelocity Guarantee, personally answering customer e-mails and following up with employees within 24 hours are among the hallmarks of Travelocity Chief Executive Officer Michelle Peluso's customer service commitment.  Appointed Chief Executive Officer in December 2003, Michelle previously served as the company's Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of product strategy and distribution.

Senior Vice President, Marketing, TripAdvisor

Petersen heads marketing, product development, content distribution and community support for TripAdvisor. Since joining in 2004, Petersen has overseen tremendous growth of site traffic, revenue, content and membership including driving an increasing level of TripAdvisor user involvement with the launch of rich product offerings including social networking, maps, video, personalization and CRM initiatives. In 2007, Christine oversaw TripAdvisor's moves onto Facebook and other third-party sites, bringing more than 6 million new users to the TripAdvisor brand with a growing number of highly engaging applications that are consistently ranked among the most popular on the sites.  Prior to joining TripAdvisor, Petersen was vice president of member services with Travelocity. Petersen also held senior marketing positions at Charles Schwab & Co, American Express, and Fidelity Investments. She holds an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree from Colby College.

Managing Director -
Gaming, Travel & Leisure, KeyBanc Capital Markets

Additionally, Mr. Picou was head of CIBC World Markets' Lodging, a partner at Oppenheimer & Co., and Vice President in the Investment Banking Group at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York City

President and Chief Executive Officer, Vantage Strategy Consulting

Michael Pusateri is called an "innovator" and an "agent of change" within the travel industry whose broad-based sales and marketing expertise helped launch new products and services for iconic brands like Avis, Holiday Corporation and Marriott International.

Pusateri started the first National Account Sales organization at Marriott and was the company's first vice president of interactive sales and marketing, helping launch Marriott.com. As Corporate Director of Interbrand Marketing, Pusateri developed a worldwide account pricing system for Holiday Inn's brands. At Internet consulting firm Proxicom, he led the company in a successful public offering and developed growth and acquisition strategies resulting in annualized revenues of $250 million in just two years. Most recently, he was senior vice president of strategy and chief operating officer of the Travel Industry Association of America. Pusateri is a Senior Research Scholar at George Washington University and served as an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland MBA program and Cornell University's Professional Development Program. He earned a BS in Marketing from the University of Connecticut.

Suzie Reider

Director of Advertising, YouTube

Suzie Reider was hired as the Chief Marketing Officer of YouTube in the summer of 2006.  When Google acquired YouTube last November, she fearlessly took the role of Director of Advertising and today is the creative force behind YouTube's marketing platform, as well as a partner to marketers, welcoming them with innovative ways to join the YouTube community.

Vice President Sales & Product Distribution, Air Canada

Marc Rosenberg has held over a dozen positions with Air Canada since joining the airline as a summer student in 1967. Starting off as a Reservations Agent, then as a summer student Market Analyst, Marc joined the airline as a full time In-Charge Flight Attendant in 1972. Since then, he has held several positions in Passenger and Cargo Sales before becoming Atlantic & South Route Strategy Manager in 1980. Marc has also held positions as International Merchandising Director (1983); Director, Sales Development - Canada (1985); General Manager, Southeast U.S.A. & South (1988); General Manager, South U.S.A. & South (1991) and Managing Director, Passenger Sales (1993).

In 1994, Marc became President and CEO of Galileo Canada, a subsidiary of Air Canada, then returned to the airline in 1996 as Vice-President, Sales and Product Distribution. Marc represents the airline on numerous industry venues including the Canadian Tourism Commission as Chair of the U.S. Marketing Committee.

Analyst, Travel eBusiness, Forrester Research, Inc.

Sarah joined Forrester in 2004. She primarily contributes to Forrester's offerings for eBusiness, Channel & Product Management professionals in the travel industry, helping travel eBusiness professionals optimize their strategies for online sales and service. Sarah's research has defined opportunities for these professionals to use Social Computing to engage travelers, to develop relevant services for the mobile channel, and to benchmark their Web sites against competitors to maximize online sales opportunities. Sarah's research has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and travel industry publications such as Travel Trade.

Before joining Forrester, Sarah was the publishing director at Let's Go Publications where she oversaw the publication of the annually updated series of 40 books. She also worked for Let's Go as a writer and editor, writing new coverage for Let's Go Hawaii, Let's Go Boston, Let's Go Austria & Switzerland, and Let's Go Southeast Asia. 

Director, Travel Practice, Compete, Inc.

Greg leads Compete, Inc.'s travel industry research & consulting team, which focuses on improving the Marketing Effectiveness and Online Channel Effectiveness of leading travel companies in the United States.  Before developing and launching Compete's travel practice, Greg spent three years working in the company's new markets group where he led Compete's product and client development efforts in the travel, search, and pharmaceutical markets. Prior to joining Compete, Greg managed online advertising inventory and pricing initiatives for the Lycos network of Web sites. Previously, he worked in Fidelity Investments' online brokerage unit, researching online marketing and advertising effectiveness.

Greg holds a BA from Babson College

Vice President of Marketing - Central Sales, Marriott Vacation Club

General Manager, Global Research, Hitwise

Bill Tancer is the General Manager, Global Research at Hitwise and
brings 12+ years of marketing, market research and corporate strategy experience to Hitwise, providing cutting-edge research and insight into online consumer behavior and the application of online competitive intelligence.

Bill's analysis of the online landscape has been quoted extensively in the press, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and Business Week. Bill has been interviewed on MSNBC, NPR and CNN Radio and speaks frequently as a keynote and main agenda speaker at industry events such as Web 2.0 EXPO, Shop.org, Search Engine Strategies, Ad:Tech and PhocusWright.

Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida in Quantitative Management and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University.

Managing Director, Travel, Google

With over 15 years of travel industry experience, Rob Torres serves as Google's Industry Director of advertising and marketing for the North American Travel sector. In this role, Rob oversees the strategy development and profitable growth of integrated and innovative advertising campaigns.  His group serves some of the largest Web and brick-and-mortar travel brands in the US.

Prior to joining Google, Rob was Vice President of Strategic Hotel Partnerships at Expedia.com.  During his seven year career at Expedia, Rob managed a team that had Global responsibility for 30 strategic accounts, generating gross bookings in excess of $2 billion.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and holds a Masters of Business Administration from Georgetown University Business.

Editor in Chief, Travel Weekly

During the 25 years that Travel Weekly Editor in Chief Arnie Weissmann has been involved with travel media, his writing has won more than 35 national awards, he created the industry's first destination information service (Weissmann Reports), authored a best-selling geography textbook and served as publisher of b-to-b hotel and destination guides and directories in the U.S. and Europe.

Weissmann also created the first core destination content for America Online and licensed content to Apple, Time, Inc., CNN, Marriott Int'l, AT&T, the L.A. Times, Discovery Channel and other websites.

In addition to speaking at industry events, he sits on advisory boards for Forbes.com, Marquis' Who's Who and Futurebrand's Country Brand Index. He frequently provides expert commentary for consumer media, with appearances on The Today Show, CNN, BBC and quotes in USA Today and dozens of other newspapers.

President and Chief Executive Officer, ITA Software, Inc.

As ITA's founder and CEO, Jeremy has played an integral role in developing the company's technical platform and business relationships. Intrigued by the complex computing challenges facing the travel industry, Wertheimer founded ITA while completing his studies at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab. Today, ITA Software's patented algorithms and easy-to-use matrix interface are recognized as the driving force behind the significant growth of the online travel market, and for supporting new business models that are improving the way airlines and consumer's research and book travel.  He has a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence and an S.M. in Computer Science from MIT, and a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.  Jeremy is a recipient of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year for Vertical Market Software, named by Travel & Leisure Magazine as one of the Top 35 Innovators in Travel, and serves as trustee on the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council.

Senior Director, eCommerce Marketing, Marriott International

Scott Wilson is a travel industry veteran having spent time at both American Airlines and Marriott International where he is now Senior Director, eCommerce Marketing.  At Marriott, Scott is responsible for driving awareness and preference for Marriott.com, an industry leading travel website with over $5B in annual sales.  Additionally, Scott has over 10 years of eCommerce experience at companies like Netscape and America Online where, for example, as Vice President, Marketing Operations he led efforts to introduce advanced advertising capabilities across AOL's portfolio of brands.  He was also AOL's representative on the Internet Advertising Bureau and with the Advertising Research Foundation.