The second ITM Achievement Awards was held on Friday 30 June to celebrate excellence across the business travel community and to recognise mentees graduating from the ITM Mentoring Programme.

The 12-month Mentoring Programme provides mentees with unparalleled access to leading industry experts in a one-to-one environment to support their career development and personal growth. Now in its fifth year, the programme is one of ITM’s most important and well-received initiatives.

Over 200 business travel industry professionals, ITM members and board directors gathered for the lunchtime awards ceremony at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, London Tower Bridge. Co-hosting the awards were Radio 1 Extra’s breakfast show presenter Naida Jae, winner of the Gold ARIA Award for best breakfast show, and ITM CEO Scott Davies.

Thank you to the judges, sponsors and everyone involved in organising this event, for making it such a successful and joyous occasion.

Huge congratulations to the following award winners: 

Game Changer Individual Award – Shelley Fletcher-Bryant, Advito 

The judges described Shelley as “truly an expert among experts in the business travel industry. Her passion, curiosity and relentless focus on turning intention into action in ESG are truly changing the game for her clients. Her myth-busting and analytical approach along with a rare ability to communicate difficult concepts with gravitas and warmth bring everyone with them on the journey. The most effective consultants challenge our thinking and make the amazing possible. Our winner does this every day.”

Game Changer Team Award – Global Secure Accreditation 

The judges commented: “This team has effectively solved a number of key challenges for travel buying organisations. Non-compliance with the latest regulations represents significant legal and reputational risk and this team has taken an industry-leading role to explain how exposures can be understood and subsequently minimised. A once scary subject matter can now be confidently managed due to this talented team.”

Programme Achievement Individual Award – Ann Thomas, Agiito

The judges were impressed with how Ann “volunteered to re-launch the management of Agiito’s SME programme on top of managing her demanding day job; establishing relationships across 136 SMEs within the portfolio, she was pivotal in helping her customers make informed choices while delivering a refreshed approach to SME programme management.”

Programme Achievement Team Award – Agiito

The judges said: “This team directly supported multiple travel programmes with compliance and traveller experience by undertaking the considerable task of rolling out a brand-new mobile travel app. Delivering booking capability, itinerary management, rail e-ticketing, virtual card, biometric security, CO2 reporting and many other features on time and with great customer satisfaction ratings. Call length, wait times and volumes have both decreased as the app increasingly meets traveller needs and a two-week sprint process means that improvements and functionality are being added constantly.”

Service Excellence Individual Award – Matthew McCrudden, Agiito

The judges were struck by the way Matthew “went above and beyond his remit to plan, coordinate and implement a very large strategic project around an unprecedented national event. His engagement with stakeholders, attention to detail and consistent and transparent communication throughout meant that his company’s customers were not only taken care of but went out of their way to feedback on the quality of delivery. Widely recognised throughout his company, this industry-wide recognition is richly deserved.”

Service Excellence Team Award – Synergy Global Housing

The judges commented: “The winner rose to the challenge of a mass overseas evacuation situation, taking care of every individual affected in what the clients described as an uncompromising and passionate approach to customer care. This organisation’s consistent investment in the tools and training to ensure its people are always in the best position to deliver for clients and respond to unfolding incidents is key to its success."

Mentor of the Year – Leanne Fowler, Agiito

The judges selected the winner because “she became the most extraordinary guide and trusted friend for her mentee. Leanne is observed by all who work with her as being committed and passionate about nurturing talent. Displaying thought-provoking questioning skills and active listening, her mentee widen their network and transform their confidence in themselves. The mentee described the experience as "life-changing."

Mentee of the Year – James Diaz, Travel Planet

James was chosen by the judges because “he approached the opportunity to be mentored with great energy and focus. He jointly identified specific development areas with his mentor in order to prepare for taking on a potential senior leadership role. A plan was created, including the completion of a coaching qualification and great progress was made. Multiple larger role opportunities arose and this mentee secured a leadership position whilst being an incredibly passionate advocate of the mentoring scheme.”

One to Watch Award – Katie Garrahy, Silverdoor

The judges noted that the winner “has made remarkable progress in her career to date and made a big impact once again when returning to the industry after the birth of her daughter. Katie’s positive energy and room-filling smile is infectious and lift the mood of any meeting room or social event to another level. The winner embraced the ITM Mentoring programme and embraced the learnings and development areas that were jointly identified with her mentor. ITM believes that all of us should strive to be the meeting in the diary that the other person is really looking forward to, and Katy personifies that spirit.”

Congratulations also to all those who graduated from ITM’s Mentoring Programme. This year’s graduates were invited on stage to collect their certificates. Scott Davies, CEO ITM said: “Our mentees have worked hard with their mentors for the last year and the progress they have made and the bonds they share are fantastic to see.”

The 18 graduates are as follows: Kimberley Barber, edyn; Kate Bottomley, Ramboll; Nick Dewey, Uber for Business; Annabel Drysdale, edyn; Katie Garrahy, SilverDoor; Rachelle Gough, AMEX GBT; Lisa Hewitt, Renesas Design UK Ltd; Sonia Karia, British Airways; Katy Marples, DXC Technology; Sam McMillen, The Apartment Network; Jemma McMahon, Roomzzz Aparthotels; Robert Murphy, Mongo DB; Vanessa Pearn, Omnicom Group; Jake Seage, STAY; Pratima Seli, American Airlines; Kristina Stapulionyte, FREENOW for Business; Sarah Whiting, Thrust Carbon; Neil Woodliffe, Clarivate.

Click here to view the gallery of photos from this year’s ceremony.