CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Global Chief Marketing Officer
Annabel Ausmus is an experienced marketing and communications professional with more than 20 years' experience managing digital and traditional marketing strategy and implementation in both B2B and B2C disciplines. She is responsible for the CTM Group's global marketing, communication and brand strategy across its portfoilio of travel brands.
Joining CTM in 2010, Annabel brings a wealth of travel industry marketing experience to CTM, having worked across corporate, leisure (luxury to budget brands), events, wholesale and loyalty travel for privately owned, listed entities and not for profit organizations.
Annabel holds a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism, is a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM) and an Associate Member of the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI).
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Chief Executive Officer, Collegiate Travel Planners
Christy Prescott is a trailblazing entrepreneur with over 29 years of extraordinary success. Her tenured travel industry career is marked with innovation and leadership as she founded, guided, and earned a reputation as a visionary in the travel industry. As Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Corporate Travel Planners (CTP), Christy built and expanded CTP into one of the largest privately-owned travel agencies before Corporate Travel Management (CTM) acquired the company in December 2019.
As Chief Executive Officer of CTP, she is part of CTM's senior leadership team. Christy is responsible for managing CTM's university clients' relationships and strategic business direction.
Christy is passionate about philanthropy and founded her charity, Christy's Hope for Battered Women and Children, over two decades ago.
Founder & CEO Christy Prescott started Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) in 1991 as a one-location San Antonio venture with a focus on higher education.
More than three decades later and still under Christy's leadership, CTP is now the #1 higher education travel service provider in the United States and provides travel management services to over 120+ universities and colleges nationwide.
Job Titles:
- Global Chief of Staff
- Global Chief Operating Officer
Eleanor Noonan joined CTM in August 2022 as Global Chief of Staff, and in 2023 moved into the role of Global Chief Operating Officer. She has held various roles within travel, government and financial services, and most recently was Chief Operating Officer of a superannuation fund.
Eleanor is commercially driven, values focused and passionate about leading high-performance teams and inspiring stakeholders to support a clear people and business growth agenda. Eleanor is skilled in developing and executing customer-centric business strategies, leading large-scale change initiatives, and achieving operational excellence.
Eleanor holds a Master of Business and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Job Titles:
- Chairman / Independent Non - Executive Director / Director since March 2019
- Non - Executive Director of BlueScope Steel Limited
Ewen Crouch was a Partner at Allens from 1988 - 2013. He served as a member of the firm's board for 11 years, including four years as Chairman of Partners. His other roles at Allens included Co-Head Mergers & Acquisitions and Equity Capital Markets from 2004 - 2010, Executive Partner - Asian Offices from 1999 - 2004 and Deputy Managing Partner from 1993 - 1996. He was a director of Mission Australia from 1995, including as Chairman from 2009, until retiring in November 2016.
Mr Crouch is a Non-Executive Director of BlueScope Steel Limited (since March 2013) and Chair and Non-Executive Director of AnteoTech Limited (since April 2022). He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Chair and Non-Executive Director of RSL LifeCare Ltd (since October 2022) and a Director of Jawun (since September 2015). He served as a member of the Takeovers Panel from 2010-2015, as a member of the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal from 2015 - 2019, as a Director of Sydney Symphony Orchestra from 2009 - 2020 and as a Non-Executive Director of Westpac Banking Corporation from 2013 to 2019.
Job Titles:
- Acting Global Chief Financial Officer
- Global Treasurer
James Patterson joined CTM in January 2020 as Global Treasurer. Since then he moved to the role of General Manager Finance, and then to Acting Chief Financial Officer in 2023. He has over 20 years of experience, and has held senior finance roles in listed entities in the banking and transportation sectors. James' corporate background includes banking, treasury and financial markets focussed roles, with exposure to M&A and project management.
James holds a Bachelor of Business and is a Certified Practising Accountant.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Managing Director / Director since May 2008
Jamie Pherous founded Corporate Travel Management Limited (CTM) in Brisbane in 1994. He has built the Group from its headquarters in Brisbane to become one of the world's largest travel management companies.
Prior to establishing CTM, Jamie was employed by Arthur Andersen, now EY, as a qualified Chartered Accountant, specialising in business services and financial consulting, notably in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the United Arab Emirates.
Job Titles:
- Executive Chairman of Stridecorp Equity Partners
- Executive Director of Investec Wentworth Private Equity Limited
- Independent Non - Executive Director / Director since January 2020
Jon Brett was formerly an executive director of Investec Wentworth Private Equity Limited, and an executive of Investec Bank (Australia) Limited. He was also the CEO of Techway Limited which pioneered internet banking in Australia. Jon brings extensive strategic, board and management experience to CTM, particularly in the areas of finance and corporate advisory.
Jon is currently Executive Chairman of Stridecorp Equity Partners, an AFSL licensed fund manager specialising in private equity. Jon is a Non-Executive Director of Mobilicom Limited (since September 2018). His former directorships include Godfreys Group Limited, The Pas Group Limited, Deputy President of the NRMA and Vocus Group Limited since its listing on the ASX.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
Joe DeMille is Director of Business Development - Higher Education and recently joined CTP.
Joe has been engaged in Higher Ed Travel since 2007, when he served as Director of Business Development at Starwood Hotels & Resorts. At Starwood Hotels & Resorts, he created the SET-EDU Program offering a global value proposition with a chain-wide discount. The program was initially offered to The University of California System and then was implemented to twenty-seven additional Colleges & Universities.
In addition to his engagement in Higher Education for Hotels & Resorts, he has served on the Board of the Society for Collegiate Travel & Expense Management for the past 10 years. Joe currently serves as the Chair of the SCTEM Membership Committee and assists with the planning of the SCTEM Annual Conference.
Joe currently resides in Williamsburg, VA and enjoys spending time with friends and colleagues at Kingmill Resort.
Job Titles:
- Global Chief Information Officer
Karen has worked in the travel industry for 20 years. Starting out as a travel consultant, she progressed through her career in nine key positions across three different countries before finally becoming CIO with a major travel management company.
In March 2016, Karen joined Corporate Travel Management (CTM) as Project Manager MI and was promoted to Chief Information Officer Europe less than six months later. Since then, she has successfully overseen the implementation of CTM's Global MI system and been a pivotal member of the organization's technology transformation project team. In January 2022, Karen assumed the role of Global Chief Information Officer.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- CEO ANZ / Asia / EU / Director since December 2015
Laura Ruffles is CTM's CEO ANZ / Asia / EU. She has significant local, regional and global industry experience and, in a career of more than 30 years, has led teams across sales, account management, operations and technology. Laura is responsible for all aspects of CTM's business performance across AU/NZ, Asia, and European regions as well as CTM's technology offering. She joined CTM in 2010 and has been a key contributor to its successful growth. She is also a Director of the Australian Travel Industry Association.
Job Titles:
- Head of Sustainability
- CTM As the Head of Sustainability
Lauren Hook joined CTM as the Head of Sustainability in November 2023. She has a strong compliance, governance, and finance background both in Australia and internationally. In her previous roles, Lauren has led the risk, audit, and sustainability functions at an ASX-listed technology company and she has extensive airline and audit experience.
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Commerce, qualified as a Chartered Accountant, is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, and is a fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director / Director since October 2022
- President and CEO of Mission Peak Executive Consulting
Marissa Peterson is President and CEO of Mission Peak Executive Consulting, a Silicon Valley leadership coaching business. She is based in the United States and brings extensive experience in governance, technology and digital transformation, and executive development.
Marissas's extensive board experience includes past roles as Chairman of optical communications solutions company, Oclaro, between 2013 and 2018, and as a Non-Executive Director of ASX-listed Ansell, from 2006 to 2021. She has also been a Director of a range of US-based companies including Humana, Supervalu, Children's Hospital of Stanford, Quantros and Covisint, and a Board Trustee of Kettering University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Sales
- Vice President of Sales - Higher Education
Melissa Guenther is the Vice President of Sales - Higher Education and has been with CTP for 22 years. Over her career, Melissa has served in a variety of roles - everything from front-line agent to account management. Regardless of her position, her drive for customer success and satisfaction is always front and center. Melissa takes pride in her enthusiasm, excitement, and above all passion for ensuring CTP customers are provided exceptional service.
Outside of the office, Melissa is a proud mama to two beautiful kids. She likes to spend as much time as possible outdoors playing golf and enjoying time with her friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director - Operations, University
- Executive Director of Operations for Collegiate Travel Planners
Minda Barthman began her career in travel over 22 years ago and has held various roles in Client Relationships and Global Agent Operations Management. She joined CTP in January of 2022 overseeing the travel advisor team offering travel solutions with the CTP University Team.
As the Executive Director of Operations for Collegiate Travel Planners, Minda is responsible for overseeing the travel advisor teams assisting with travel for higher education groups, meetings, study abroad, and any other student, faculty, or guest travel.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Business Development
- Vice President of Business Development at Collegiate Travel Planners
Morgan Hoyt is the Vice President of Business Development at Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP).
Morgan's main role within CTP is a "professional listener" - working with both new prospects and existing clients to understand their current travel environment, mine for areas of improvement opportunity, and consult on best practices, tactical enhancements, and strategic initiatives. Her main objective is to seek first to understand, then to respond.
Morgan's tenure at CTP spans just under a decade and she joined the CTP family post-graduation from Regent University summa cum laude.
Job Titles:
- CTM in 2022 As Global Chief Data Officer
- Global Chief Data Officer
Richard Goldberg joined CTM in 2022 as Global Chief Data Officer. His responsibilities include leading the data strategy, data governance, data quality, MIS/BI reporting, and data management for the organization. Richard has over 25 years executive data management and technology experience. Prior to joining CTM, Richard was the Managing Director and Chief Data Officer at the Bank of China where he was responsible for standing up the Chief Data Office and positioning data as a corporate strategic asset.
Over his career, Richard has held various senior data leadership positions for many organizations including Bank of China, GE Capital, Citibank, and IBM. Richard is a champion for leveraging the use of data to optimise the business experience for customers and enhance data capabilities for internal stakeholders. Richard's extensive accomplishments and experience in data leadership and management was recognized as he was selected as the 2022 dataIQ Top 100 Most Influential People in Data.
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary
- Global Chief Legal Officer
- Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
- Non - Executive Board Director
Shelley Sorrenson joined CTM in November 2021 as Global Chief Legal Officer & Company Secretary. Shelley is a pragmatic and commercially driven corporate legal and governance practitioner with over 14 years of experience. She has served as General Counsel and Company Secretary of ASX-listed and unlisted financial services companies and held roles at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and in private practice.
Shelley holds a Bachelor of Justice, Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws. Shelley is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an Associate of the Governance Institute of Australia.
In her personal time, Shelley is also a Non-Executive Board Director of several not-for profit organizations with a focus on supporting women and disadvantaged youth.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director / Director since September 2019
- Non - Executive Director of Morgans Holdings ( Australia ) Limited
Sophie Mitchell has over 30 years of corporate advisory, capital markets and equity research experience. She retired from Morgans in June 2019 after over a decade as an Executive Director in Morgans' Corporate and, prior to this, she was Morgans' Head of Research.
Sophie is a Non-Executive Director of Morgans Holdings (Australia) Limited, Firstmac Limited, Myer Family Investments Limited, and Tourism Holdings Limited, and Chairman of HealthcareLogic Global Limited (retired July 2023). She was a member of the Australian Government Takeovers Panel between 2009 and 2018.
Job Titles:
- Global Chief Information Security Officer
Tim Krueger has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years. Throughout his career he has worked as a database administrator, developer and team lead and included various executive positions, including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer.
Because of his broad experience across the IT industry, Tim quickly realised the importance of protecting company information assets and established one of the first security programs within the travel industry. He is accredited by the ISACA organization as a Certified Information Security Manager and has been for over 10 years.
Tim is passionate about sharing his experience and encouraging the continual development of the security industry and serves as a mentor and contributing member within the sector, including active participation as a member of the planning committee for local and regional IT and Security Symposiums. In the beginning of 2023, Tim was recognized for his accomplishments and expertise and promoted to the Global Chief Information Security Officer for CTM where he oversees the ongoing oversight and governance of the corporation's security, privacy and risk organization.
Job Titles:
- Event Travel Management - Global Strategic Lead and GM AU / NZ
Tracey has been with ETM since its inception in early 2011 and brings more than 30 years' experience in the travel and event industry managing operations around the world, including three years living, establishing and growing an event business in China.
Over the past 8 years the ETM team, under Tracey's leadership, has evolved from a localized specialist Sydney office to a global offering with more than 100 staff across the world, providing a range of expert event, meeting and group travel services. Tracey ensures the team are delivering event solutions that meet our clients' diverse needs and are at the forefront of technological efficiency. These achievements have been recognized by the industry, including winning the AFTA award for ‘Best Business Events Travel Agency' multiple times.
Job Titles:
- Director, Business Development
- Director of Business Development for Collegiate Travel Planners
Wendy Stahl is the Director of Business Development for Collegiate Travel Planners. She is responsible for identifying and developing new opportunities for travel management solutions within higher education.
Wendy began her career in travel over 23 years ago with STA Travel, where she held various roles in building relationships with universities and study abroad program providers.
After leaving STA Travel, Wendy spent ten years in sales and product management for CSA/Generali Travel Protection and International Medical Group. She joined CTP in August of 2022 and brings her passion for travel and helping deliver solutions to meet the changing needs of travel.