October 6th, 2020
Virtual Travel & Expense Summit
October 6th, 2020
Virtual Travel & Expense Summit

Agenda

Tuesday, October 6

9:00AM PDT

Welcome to TRAVERSE 2020

Co-founder and CEO Ariel Cohen kicks off Traverse 2020, the first virtual travel conference held by TripActions, with an exciting announcement for finance teams and travel managers. Hear how business travel has evolved and how companies are rethinking travel and expense programs in the wake of recent events.

  • Speaker: Ariel Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder, TripActions
  • Speaker: Michael Sindicich, General Manager, TripActions Liquid

9:20AM PDT

Picking Up The Check: The Latest In T&E, Payments & Corporate Cards

Expenses are the least liked part of work travel - but modern technology is dramatically improving the experience for finance teams and road warriors. With the proliferation of payment solutions for businesses, how can finance, procurement and travel leaders ensure they're selecting the right solutions? This panel, led by industry expert and celebrity influencer, The Points Guy (Brian Kelly) and joined by finance leaders, will dive into the best offerings and how companies can seize the latest payments and fintech trends to solve business challenges and delight travelers.

  • Moderator: Brian Kelly, Founder, The Points Guy
  • Speaker: Terry Angelos, Senior Vice President, Global Head Fintech, Visa
  • Speaker: Jane Dunlevie, Global Head of Internet Banking at Goldman Sachs


9:40AM - 10:00AM PDT

Modern T&E Management: The Path to Business & Economic Recovery

According to Oxford Economics, $1 spent on corporate travel returns $12.50 in revenue. As enterprises look to accelerate their business recoveries, the safe and cost-effective return of travel is mission-critical. Yet according to a survey earlier this year, most CFOs don't believe their organization's T&E -- their second largest controllable spend -- is managed well.

Legacy T&E solutions have long forced CFOs to compromise between cost control and traveler experience -- often doing neither well. Join Aragon Research founder, CEO and lead Analyst, Jim Lundy, as he dives into the latest research on enterprise T&E management and hosts a discussion with CFOs who have ditched the status quo for a better path forward.

  • Speaker: Jim Lundy, Founder, CEO & Lead Analyst, Aragon Research
  • Speaker: Chris Kramer, Chief Accounting Officer, Okta
  • Speaker: David Wieseneck, VP Finance, letgo

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM PDT

Saying Goodbye to the RFP: How Enterprises Can Work with Suppliers

The days of long, drawn out RFPs are few and far between and a new era of supplier relationships is on the horizon. With the impact of a global health pandemic and a growing mindset towards innovative technology, it’s no surprise that enterprises and suppliers alike are looking to streamline their corporate travel program strategies. Join TripActions Chief Travel Officer Danny Finkel, as we bring together key travel providers with leaders in travel management to discuss:

  • How and when to approach RFPs, focused on rate sourcing for 2021
  • How to benchmark your travel program and leverage data to build supplier relationships
  • How to incorporate safety into your sourcing practices

  • Speaker: Danny Finkel, Chief Travel Officer, TripActions
  • Speaker: Hank Benedetti, Global Head of Corporate Sales, American Airlines
  • Speaker: Ross Hosking, VP of Sales and Distributions, Americas, Radisson
  • Speaker: Carmen Smith, Sr. Manager, Travel & Events, ICF

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM PDT

Revolutionizing Business Spend Management in 2020

In times of uncertainty, it’s more important than ever that companies drive resiliency with an effective payment and expense management strategy to preserve cash in today’s crisis, and also thrive in the years ahead. Businesses are struggling to gain control and visibility over spend, while employees seek better expense management experiences. Learn how leading organizations are using TripActions Liquid to build resilient businesses and stay strong despite market volatility.

  • Speaker: Robin Gandhi, Vice President, Product Management, Payments, TripActions

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM PDT

Customer Spotlight: Make the Most of Unused Tickets

As a result of COVID-19, business travel came to a screeching halt for most companies seemingly overnight forcing business travelers to cancel their pending airline tickets. The health crisis has created the largest number of unused tickets the airline industry has ever seen. Learn how the TripActions Accelerator program solved this problem for Wayfair, and how you can maximize the value of your company's unused tickets.

  • Speaker: Sam Peters, Director, Customer Success Specialists, TripActions
  • Speaker: Shashi Khemlani, Senior Air Consultant, TripActions
  • Speaker: Mira Rosenzweig, Senior Customer Success Manager, Specialist, TripActions
  • Speaker: Kristin Thaler, Global Travel Manager, Wayfair

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM PDT

A Unified Travel, Payments and Expense Platform for the Enterprise

Using a single platform for corporate travel, payments and expense may sound good in theory, but can that approach truly deliver a global solution for today's modern, worldwide enterprise? In this session we'll separate the fact from the fiction around concepts like global capabilities, follow-the-sun support models and international point of sale to get to the roots of what modern companies truly need to run successful global T&E programs.

  • Speaker: Nina Herold, Chief Product & Operations Officer, TripActions
  • Speaker: Ciara Govern, Chief Customer Officer, TripActions

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM PDT

Aligning your T&E budget to your company strategy effectively in a recession

As we enter a global recession, organizations are tempted to substantially cut their travel and expense budget to only cover what they would define as “essential travel.” However, as observed after the financial crisis, business travel can also be a formidable lever for business recovery through the incremental revenue it generates. Our panel will be sharing their insights, opinions and experiences when it comes to managing a T&E budget effectively, reducing cost and optimizing on spend.

  • Moderator: Ram Bartov, EVP Finance, TripActions
  • Speaker: Jim Cook, CFO of Orbital Insight
  • Speaker: Will Tate, Partner at Goldspring Consulting
  • Speaker: Olivier Adler, VP Financial Planning & Strategy, Checkr

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT

Break

Visit our sponsor hub before, during, and after the event to meet with our amazing list of sponsors, learn more about each company’s offerings, and find ways to win exciting giveaways.

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM PDT

TripActions EA Hosted: Lunch & Share

We are so excited to be kicking off our first ever Executive Assistant focused Lunch & Share at TRAVERSE 20. As we all know, 2020 has changed the way we look at many things and we want to take this opportunity to connect EAs across our network and create a space for sharing ideas, learning and connecting with your peers. As power bookers of travel (pre-COVID), this panel discussion will focus on how EA’s roles have changed, their interaction with travel, and more. Grab your lunch and come join the conversation!

  • Speaker: Sam Kart, Executive Assistant to the CPO, VP of Engineering and VP of Design, TripActions
  • Speaker: Kelly Anne Schwalen, Executive Assistant, TripActions
  • Speaker: Nicole Torres Wynne, Sr. Executive Assistant, Slack
  • Speaker: LaChristian Taylor, Executive Assistant to CEO, President & CFO, Exabeam
  • Speaker: Ashley Kolb, Senior Administrative Assistant, Twilio

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM PDT

Balancing traveler safety, spend and culture in today's challenging corporate travel environment

As travel begins to resume around the world, is your travel policy designed for success or failure? Join this session to see what program features global travel managers are looking for to ensure their finance and risk management teams are set up for success.

We'll also hear how employee policies can positively shape culture around T&E and learn what industry veterans are doing today to strike the balance between control, safety and employee satisfaction.

  • Speaker: Penelope Talbot-Kelly, Director of Operations, TripActions
  • Speaker: Shaka Senghor, Head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, TripActions
  • Speaker: Randy Luck, Senior Manager Accounts Payable & Travel, Ancestry
  • Speaker: Kelly D'Innocente: Global Travel Program Manager, Zendesk

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM PDT

Empowering Corporate Spend Decisions with Real Time Control and Visibility

As organizations look to control spend and drive profitability, they must seek ways to better optimize their business spend. Virtually every employee needs to buy things - from office supplies to marketing services. But how do you empower your teams to spend while staying in control? Join this session to learn how companies can adopt modern and innovative digital technologies and tools to optimize spend, minimize risk and improve productivity.

  • Speaker: Robin Gandhi, Vice President of Product, Payments, TripActions
  • Speaker: Omar Ghani, Director, Strategic Sourcing, TripActions
  • Speaker: Aaron Landgraf, Head of Marketing, Syncari

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM PDT

Customer Spotlight: Resume Travel Safely During COVID

As companies begin to think about resuming travel, they'll want to ensure their travel policy and travel program are designed and configured to prioritize traveler safety. In this session, you'll hear how the new TripActions Success Accelerator program coupled with our enhanced Duty of Care offering has helped WeWork and Gogo with their decision making process to resume travel.

  • Speaker: Carina Brasil da Cunha, Manager, Enterprise Customer Success EMEA, TripActions
  • Speaker: Ben Custance, Senior Customer Success Manager, Enterprise, TripActions
  • Speaker: Dan Devine, Customer Success Manager, Enterprise, TripActions
  • Speaker: Lindsey Russo, Mid-Market Customer Success Manager, TripActions
  • Speaker: Alex Sharpe, Sr Manager, Travel & Expense, WeWork
  • Speaker: Michael Gladstone, Director, Emergency Management & Planning, WeWork
  • Speaker: Pascal Perrot, Manager, Accounting, GoGo

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM PDT

Beyond The Pause – Getting Ready For Permissible Travel

Global events have changed the way that we think about corporate travel forever -- and despite all that many of us have endured, the last several months have also laid bare many opportunities to improve. In this session Caroline Strachan, Managing Partner of FESTIVE ROAD, walks through several areas in which forward looking companies and teams have found ways to thrive and innovate in their corporate T&E programs.

Ms. Strachan will cover specific examples of T&E changes implemented at Fortune 500 companies as well as ideas for how your company's program can improve. As the world looks to a healthier 2021 for business travel, expect to leave this session excited about what the future holds

  • Speaker: Caroline Strachan, Managing Partner, FESTIVE ROAD


1:00 PM – 1:30 PM PDT

What’s New and What’s Next for TripActions Liquid

TripActions has revolutionized the payments and expense management space this year with the launch of TripActions Liquid™. Customers and analysts are raving about the way TripActions Liquid has completely changed the future of expense management. Join TripActions Liquid GM, Michael Sindicich as he unveils exciting new innovations across the product suite. Plus, we’ll review the notable product enhancements from the past year and get a sneak preview into the global vision of what’s in store for TripActions Liquid for the rest of the year and beyond.

  • Speaker: Michael Sindicich, General Manager of TripActions Liquid
  • Speaker: Ilan Twig, CTO, TripActions

*Agenda is subject to change, all times are in PDT