WINNING FORMULA

The judging process is now underway for the 2023 Business Travel Awards, with judges facing the difficult task of selecting the finalists.

After declaring any conflicts of interest, judges have been allocated categories by Judges Chair Leigh Cowlishaw, Managing Partner Black Box Partnerships.

Alongside written submissions, the judges will study supporting evidence, which might include testimonials from colleagues and clients, examples of work or videos.

Those who make it to the next stage will be contacted by email towards the end of May, after which the shortlist will be officially unveiled on our website, thebusinesstravelmag.com.

The number of shortlisted candidates in each of the 14 categories will depend on the quality of the entries. Finalists will be sent marketing collateral to share on social media channels.

“Getting through to the awards shortlist is a huge achievement in itself, so we want the finalists to be able to let their friends and colleagues know about their success,” said Cowlishaw.

Judges will then meet in London on July 6 to make the final decisions about this year’s winners and to interview the finalists in the Rising Star category.

New Faces

There are eight new judges on the panel this year, including Merv Moonien, UK Travel Services Manager for JLL/Amazon, Devi Virdi, Group Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Centrica and Paul Bowden, Commercial Director at RDG (Rail Delivery Group).

Carolyn Pearson, CEO of Maiden

Voyage and winner of the 2022 Chair’s Award, and Lynne Griffiths, CEO Sirius Talent Solution and winner of the 2022 Shining Star category, will also join the panel. Following tradition, the winners of the previous year’s Rising Star Award will also help choose the 2023 winners. In 2022 there were three joint winners of this award – Sinéad Ryan, Head of Account Management UK, ALTOUR, Georgia Suttie, Venue Find Operations Manager, Agiito, and Laura Garton, Sales and Marketing Executive, Synergy Global Housing.

The Big Night

Tickets are already on sale for the glittering awards ceremony on September 25. For the first time, the event will take place at the recently-renovated De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London.

The evening will start with a drinks reception with canapés, sponsored by ATPI, followed by a sit-down meal in the Grand Hall, during which the winners will be announced. Afterwards there will be time for more networking and celebrating.

Early bird tickets for the awards ceremony are available until June 30 2023 for £150. After that date, the price will rise to £175. Tables (for up to nine) are available from £1350 (early bird) and then from £1575. price includes the welcome drinks reception, ceremony and a three-course dinner with wine and coffee.

"We can't wait to see you all to celebrate the achivements of our industry's best people," said Kirsty Hicks, Publisher of The Business Travel Magazine and organiser of the awards.

Sponsors

As always, the Business Travel People Awards wouldn’t be possible without the support of our industry-leading sponsors.

For 2023, Agiito will be sponsoring the Travel Tech Innovator Award while Sirius Talent Solutions is supporting Rising Star. JetBlue has been confirmed as the sponsor of the much-coveted TMC of the Year Award and Delta/Virgin are jointly sponsoring the award for Sustainability Champion. Best Workplaces In Travel is supporting the new People Manager of the Year category.

Meanwhile, TripStax is sponsoring the prestigious Industry Contribution Award and ATPI will kindly be providing the welcome drinks and sponsoring the bar. For sponsorship opportunities and more information, contact Publisher Kirsty Hicks on kirsty.hicks@bmipublishing.co.uk.

From The Judges

Devi Virdi, Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Centrica

It’s a great opportunity to give back to the sector where I have spent many years of my career and where my DE&I journey started. I’m looking forward to seeing trailblazers who are making impact and tangible change across their organisations with inclusion and diversity at the core.

Laura Garton, Sales and Marketing Executive at Synergy Global Housing

Judging the best of the best within business travel allows me to get down to the grassroots and contribute to elevating talent and best practice.

Sinead Ryan, Head of Account Management UK, Altour

It’s a real honour to be invited as a judge for these prestigious industry awards. It’s so important to support talent and shine a light on those that are going above and beyond every day.

I want to help the superstars across our industry gain the recognition they deserve. These individuals work tirelessly day in day out and I look forward to supporting the wider industry in identifying these superstars so that great minds can come together, collaborate and continue to push the boundaries of our industry.

Carolyn Pearson, Founder and CEO, Maiden Voyage

I want to give something back to the industry and to support the new upcoming talent. I want to be inspired and energised by the efforts that people are making to ensure the business travel experience is even better for the traveller.