Shelley Fletcher-Bryant, Vice President, Sales & Client Relationship Management, Advito, winner of the ITM Game Changer Individual Award

How does it feel to win this award?

It is a huge honour to win this award. Being nominated and shortlisted was an amazing feeling. Recognition from peers and the industry is extremely rewarding. So, hearing my name announced as the winner was incredible. I am so grateful to those who nominated me and to the judges, as well as to ITM for recognising and nurturing talent in our industry. 

How did you get into business travel?

I started my career, more than 20 years ago, in leisure travel. I’ve always worked in sales, marketing and client management roles and I’ve been lucky to have some amazing experiences. My career path has not been linear; I’m certainly a squiggly career path person. And I love the journey I’ve been on and continue to be on. 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I love that I get to work in an industry with brilliant people who are inspirational thinkers. I am incredibly passionate about driving our industry towards a more sustainable future, and my role enables me to contribute towards that. 

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

Go for it! It’s a great industry with some of the nicest people you’ll meet. We all have a passion for travel, making connections and increasingly using our voices to support the drive towards more sustainable business travel. It’s an industry like no other. You’ll make friends for life, be part of a unique community of like-minded people and potentially get the chance to travel to new and exciting places and events. 

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

There are many factors that impact our industry. My personal view on what I see as the biggest challenge is how we balance the need to reduce our environmental impact and emissions, with the need to drive business growth and connect in person. 
There is no silver bullet today to solve this challenge. But we can’t hold out and wait for one perfect solution to ‘fix’ this. Now, we all need to make individual contributions and encourage changes in behaviour and culture to find new and diverse ways to do what we’ve always done. 
Reducing travel demand, more efficient aircraft, managing water and waste and more factors must be considered, developed and adopted. And we need to act now. 

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

Where travel is deemed to be essential, I’d love to see sustainable choices become more affordable. At the very least, we should see rail options at the same price as air for the same route. While we often see rail travel options (and sustainable choices in general) being more expensive, the switch to lower emission options will always be hindered by the cost versus carbon argument. 

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

I love visiting anywhere new and immersing myself in a new culture. But I am at my happiest when I am somewhere I can connect with nature and in particular, the ocean. Swimming amongst the fish, stingrays and turtles in The Maldives and seeing the coral – both the beautiful and the bleached – is where I feel most connected. Helping to protect our marine environment has been a passion since the age of 12, and it drives my continued commitment to do what I can to help reduce my and our impact on the environment. 

What would be your Desert Island item?

Snorkel and fins.