Ann Thomas, Senior Account Manager at Agiito, and winner of the Individual Programme Achievement Award

How does it feel to win this award?

It feels amazing! I was genuinely surprised and did not expect to win as the competition was tough.

How did you get into business travel?

I did a BA (Hons) in travel and tourism, so travel has always been something I’ve been interested in.  However, after university, I took a HR role at Rolls-Royce and one of my team mentioned my degree and asked if I wanted to get into travel as his daughter worked at Agiito (which was Lonsdale back then). I said yes, and the rest is history.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The variety! No two days are ever the same and the world of travel changes so much that there is no time to standstill.  Also, everyone that I work with is so passionate about this industry that it really does feel like one ‘big’ family.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career in business travel?

Do it!! You will absolutely love it and the opportunities are endless.  You will learn so much in a fast-paced and ever-changing industry where every day is a school day.

What are you seeing as the biggest challenge in business travel over the next 12 months?

Sustainability (obvious I know) - many organisations want to be more sustainable, but they just don’t know how to do it and what’s best!  If we look at car hire as an example, we can 100% promote/encourage/mandate travellers to use EV vehicles, but the infrastructure (in the UK) just isn’t there or reliable, so this just adds additional stress and inconvenience to the end user. 

In addition, there are gaps in functionality across many business travel technology platforms that highlight the most sustainable options to the end users.  Showing CO2 data during the booking process is all well and good, but the user needs to understand what this actually means for/to them.

If you could change one single thing in business travel, what would it be?

I would like to see business travel considered more widely when companies, government etc. make big decisions and changes.    

What’s the favourite place you’ve travelled to and why?

Kenya! I went to a friend’s wedding but was able to travel whilst we were there.  We went on safari and spent a few days on the coast of Watamu (which was amazing!)

What would be your Desert Island item?

A family member or friend……or is that cheating?