The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organisation, is expanding its engagement with the business travel industry community in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region with the creation of two new GBTA advisory boards in India and China. These new advisory boards bring together regional professionals from leading organisations to provide strategic advisement, industry knowledge, and local market insights as GBTA continues to expand its footprint across APAC.
For GBTA India, Ajay Bhatt, Group Head, Corporate Services for Godrej Industries Group, will serve as Chairperson of the country’s 15-member Advisory Board which includes:
- Siva Sankar Ala, Director- Travel & Hospitality, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.
- Sri Arardhi, Co-Founder, Fast Collab Systems Pvt Ltd.
- Rajan Bahadur, CEO, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council of India THSC
- Monica Bhatnagar, Assistant Project Officer, World Bank
- Rajan Dua, Founder & Managing Director, Udaan India Private Limited
- Dev Karvat, Founder & CEO, Asego
- Amarnath Lal Das, India Travel Lead and Global Crisis and Compliance, Accenture Solutions PVT. LTD
- Manian SGS, Associate Director, Mindsprint
- Gaurav Shekhar Nagwekar, Head Travel Logistics & Corporate Service Administration, Reliance Industries
- Jehangir Press, VP – Strategic Accounts Management Group & Commercial Director Qmin, Indian Hotel Company Limited
- Sudha Prasad, Sr Manager – Compliance (Travel Industry), Mphasis Limited
- Prasad Shriyan, Vice President – Corporate Travel, Thomas Cook
- Santosh Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, Foresee Aviation
- Sakshi Vij, Managing Director, Carzonrent India Pvt Ltd.
The 10-member Advisory Board for GBTA China includes:
- Jonathan Kao, Managing Director, North Asia, BCD Travel
- Becky Cao, Vice President – Sales and Marketing, China, Langham Hospitality Group
- Michael Du, Managing Director, CIBT
- Lingyun Fan, APAC Travel Manager, General Motors
- Anja Jia, General Manager of Client Success, Trip.Biz
- Ibrahim Orhanli, General Manager, Eastern China, Turkish Airlines
- Liping Si, Travel Operations Lead – APJ, ExxonMobil
- Samuel Wang, Travel Manager, APAC, Adient
- Yoyo Wang, Regional Senior Sourcing Manager of General Service, MGS Commercial APMEA, Mars
- Sophie Xu, Global Procurement-Procurement Manager, BeiGene
The addition of these boards follows the successful formation of a GBTA Advisory Board in Australia earlier this year. GBTA has also added local staff based in Singapore, Australia and India to better support members and partners, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the APAC region.
“Our mission in APAC is to empower the business travel community through meaningful connections and tailored support and offerings,” said Catherine Logan, GBTA Regional Senior Vice President for EMEA and APAC. “By leveraging the insights of our advisory board members and fostering collaboration, we’re able to address the unique needs of the region, ensuring that APAC remains a dynamic hub for business travel.”
“India and China represent essential and growing markets for business travel with immense potential for innovation,” added Elle Ng-Darmawan, GBTA Regional Director for APAC. “Our regional initiatives such as our APAC Conference exemplify our commitment to dialogue and partnership in a region that plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the industry.”
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