Join the GBTA Chicago Chapter on June 6 as we bring together industry leaders that are challenging the paradigms in business travel with new data and technology applications. The primary education content includes:

• Get insight into what aggregated data trends gleam for the business travel sector – and what is the new norm and what is changing F-A-S-T.
• Understand how the pandemic, technology and market shifts are permanently impacting business travel

• Learn about a single-version-of-the-truth for corporate travel programs: a world in which travelers' calendars, airline ticketing systems, expense systems, duty-of-care, and others, are all reading from the same, live data set
• Gain insight into a world with travel transactions with no expense reports
• Take away knowledge around NDC for corporate travel and agents providing a single-point-of-service for both GDS and NDC bookings

AGENDA

• 8:30 – 8:45 am                Business Meeting & Venue Sponsor                 
• 8:45 – 9:45 am                Erik Mueller – Grasp Technology
• 9:45 – 9:55 am                Committee Updates
• 9:55 – 10:00am               Meeting Sponsor
• 10:00 – 10:15 am            Ice Breaker Activity
• 10:15 – 10:40am             Networking Break
• 10:40 – 11:40am             Michael Share & Brook Armstrong - Blockskye
• 11:40 – 11:50 pm            Closing remarks

Speaker Bios

Erik Mueller  - Grasp Technologies

Erik Mueller is the President and CEO of Grasp Technologies, Inc., a leading expert in the field of travel data management and analytics. Grasp has been ranked by INC. Magazine of the 5000 fastest growing companies in America for the past six years. Erik has been in the travel industry for over 30 years, and was responsible for creating the first automated graphic reporting system for the travel industry. He is considered the foremost expert on data consolidation and visualization in the travel industry space. Erik was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Executives in 2015 by Business Travel News. In addition to serving as the President and CEO of Grasp Technologies, Inc. he served as a board member of the Ohio and San Diego Global Business Travel Associations, was on the ACTE Steering Committee, GBTA Technology Committee and frequently contributes to articles for numerous industry publications and blogs.

Michael Share, Co-CEO and Co-Founder - Blockskye

Michael has been in the large global managed travel ecosystem for over 20 years. Michael was a founder of SeaGate Advanced Travel/ HRG North America. He is currently a managing partner in Travel Leaders Next Corporate Travel is an affiliate of Travel Leaders group that specializes in large, managed global corporate travel accounts. As President of Blockskye, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and industry connections to the blockchain travel startup. Michael has a BA from UCLA and a Graduate degree from the Paris-Sorbonne University, He is a mentor in entrepreneurship at the Innovation lab at Harvard Business School.

Brook Armstrong, Co-CEO and Co-Founder - Blockskye

Brook has nine years of travel-industry experience working as a partner at Travel Leaders NEXT, a corporate travel manager, and nineteen years of experience with startups and venture capital. Along with the other, travel-industry veterans of the Blockskye team, Brook is passionate about bringing real-word applications of blockchain technology to air travel, corporate buyers, and the travel industry in general in order to help solve long standing frictions and lower costs. Brook holds a BA from Columbia University.

Cory Garner, Co-CEO of T2RL

Established in 2005, T2RL specializes in facilitating complex procurement processes to satisfy airlines’ technology and distribution needs. Over 60 airlines have chosen T2RL to help define and execute their procurement strategies.  Cory joined the T2RL team as Co-CEO in April 2021, and is currently leading the company’s expansion into travel verticals beyond airlines.

Cory is a leading travel technology innovator and 20-year veteran of American Airlines, where he led American’s strategies for distribution, travel agency incentives, and programs for corporate customers of all sizes. He has been instrumental in driving global adoption of new technologies. Cory was a pioneer in the airline distribution technology which was later codified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as its New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard. In part because of his strategic work, consumers can more easily compare airline products and airlines have access to a new, significant competitor to global distribution systems.