[Editor's Note: The GBTA board of directors provided this
perspective to BTN on July 21, after the organization's July 20 announcement of
CEO Scott Solombrino's departure following an investigation into anonymous
allegations of workplace misconduct. While Solombrino was cleared
of the allegations by third-party law firm Polsinelli, GBTA and Solombrino
agreed to part ways. In the meantime, the GBTA board hired interim
executive director Dave Hilfman to lead the organization and address
fractures developing between the association and its partners, volunteers and
members, as well as between the board of directors and the GBTA staff. GBTA also
has brought in a third-party association
consulting firm MCI USA to assess the organization and formulate a path
forward. The following statement from the GBTA board of directors addresses
these issues and the simultaneous challenge of industry fallout from the
Covid-19 pandemic. It was provided directly to BTN as a contributed opinion.]
The past two months have represented one of the most challenging
stretches in the 52-year history of the Global Business Travel Association. The
massive public health and economic consequences of a worldwide pandemic would
have been crisis enough for any organization. But to face troubling allegations
of workplace misconduct leveled against our then-CEO created for GBTA a “triple
whammy” of critical issues requiring immediate decisive action.
With a comprehensive investigation into those accusations now
complete and with GBTA under new leadership, each of us who voluntarily serve
on the GBTA Board stand poised to resume moving the association forward. We
hope our colleagues, fellow leaders and GBTA’s more than 9,000 members share
that readiness, because it goes nearly without saying that our industry faces
more rough days ahead – difficulties that GBTA must play a lead role in
surmounting.
For more than a half-century, GBTA has worn multiple hats for the
global business travel community. As a non-profit organization, we have
functioned as a nexus for collaboration between buyers and suppliers and
between competitors who might otherwise not have a “safe space” in which to
advance shared policies and goals. GBTA also has evolved to be part event
planner, part educator and network connector and also part thought leader and
creator of relevant media content. Through the integration of these multiple
roles, GBTA continues to serve members and sponsors as the leading advocate for
business travel on any number of issues, including preventing potential
liability created by COVID-19 lawsuits, expanding “safe traveler” policies in a
rapidly changing environment and advocating for the industry’s share of trillions
of dollars in necessary relief funding.
Before GBTA can fully focus on such mission-critical efforts, we
have more work to do internally to make sure the association isn’t merely a
passionate advocate, but also a model workplace for our industry.
The first step in that process came last month with our hiring of
Dave Hilfman to lead GBTA during its transition. With 40 years of experience, a
deft touch with people and operations, and with paramount respect for one and
all, Dave will serve as the heart and soul of GBTA as we repair the
association’s culture and bridge any divides that exist between staff and
leadership and GBTA and its members. With Dave’s leadership and his passion for
business travel, Board members share an optimism that has kept us pushing
forward amid some dark days.
For all Dave’s wonderful qualifications, no single individual can
repair an entire team. To help diagnose issues and “reset” GBTA, we have
enlisted MCI USA, one of the non-profit association world’s premier consultancies.
Bringing the experience of more than a dozen experts in association operations
and management, MCI USA will help us create the GBTA our industry requires – an
association with a supportive culture premised on trust, integrity and human
connection.
With guidance from these experts and Dave, we are determined to
leave no stone unturned in our effort to restore GBTA’s reputation and its
necessary role as our industry’s strongest voice for good. As a Board, we will
not rest until GBTA meets our expectations for excellence and yours.
Do we expect the days ahead to be without difficulty? That would
not be realistic. But today, on the verge of what comes next for GBTA, we feel
buoyed by a sense of optimism and gratitude. We feel hopeful better days are
ahead. And we are thankful for the faith shown in GBTA by our industry,
sponsors and members. The association has always been a collaborative affair.
It can only thrive if we double down on that collaboration in the future. With your help, we are determined to make
this the case for GBTA.
[Editor's Note: The GBTA board of directors includes the following
individuals: Bhart A. Sarin, President; Denise Truso, Vice President; Christle
Johnson, Chairperson; Dorothy Dowling, President, Allied Leadership Council
& Chair, WINiT Strategic Advisory Board; Jake Cefolia, Vice President, GBTA
Allied Leadership Council & Executive Board Member; Tricia Alsup, Executive
Board Member; Gloria Gonzalez, Executive Board Member; Will Pinnell, Executive
Board Member; Rita Visser, Executive Board Member; Erin L. Wilk, Executive Board Member; Mark Ziegler, President,
GBTA Chapter Presidents’ Council & Executive Board Member]