Twenty-nine year old Adam Stewart is the dynamic CEO of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which owns and operates Caribbean-based Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, The Royal Plantation Collection and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts. Stewart oversees all areas of SRI operations, which is headquartered in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He has held this position since 2006, but has been preparing for it his entire life.
“Adam has grown up living and breathing this industry. His knowledge and passion for the business have been evident from the very beginning,” said Gordon “Butch” Stewart, founder and chairman of Sandals Resorts International. “He set an ambitious agenda when he began and he continues to deliver.”
The three years since his appointment have been a period of unprecedented growth, innovation and development at SRI. From transforming the flagship brands from all-inclusive to Luxury Included® to the launch of a fourth, value-conscious resort brand, Stewart has positioned the company well to deliver the best Caribbean vacations to every sector of the market.
Career milestones include the debut of a 162-family suite Italian Village at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa in January 2009, which was subsequently awarded two Six Star Diamond Awards by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, as well as an investment of more than US$250 million in new, unprecedented suites across the Sandals Resorts brand. Stewart has also overseen the continued expansion of the luxury boutique Royal Plantation Collection in Jamaica and The Bahamas as well as the introduction of a new value brand, Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts, in Jamaica and Antigua. In August 2009, Stewart announced the purchase of the Four Seasons in Great Exuma, Bahamas, which will debut as Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas, a 183-room resort featuring personal butler service for all guests, along with a 150-clip marina and Greg Norman golf course in January 2010.
Other projects spearheaded by Stewart include the launch of brand new teen and tween programming across the Beaches Resorts brand, which enhanced existing resort partnerships with companies such as Xbox 360® and introduced new ones, including the Scratch DJ Academy and Surfstream™, to deliver new amenities and services to the ever-demanding teen market.
Stewart has served as an innovative leader in merchandising the strength of the Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts brands to introduce custom island tours and excursions, consumer-based goods and philanthropic programs across the region. In June 2009, bringing years of knowledge and first-hand experience in the Caribbean to world travelers, Stewart launched the Caribbean’s premiere luxury tour company, Island Routes, offering more than 80 unique island experiences throughout Jamaica, with additional tours to be rolled across the region by fall 2009. In December 2009, Adam will launch the resort company’s first-ever consumer brand, Sandals Lifestyle, comprised of island-inspired food, clothing, furniture and other soft goods.
Perhaps most importantly, he has done all of this with a progressive and forward-thinking eye to preserve a region that he calls home. The result is The Sandals Foundation, a non-profit organization that Stewart founded in 2008, which aims to unite the region under one common goal: to elevate its people and protect its delicate ecosystem. The Sandals Foundation harnesses the resources, talents, partnerships and awareness behind the Sandals Resorts brand to tackle a myriad of issues affecting the Caribbean under three broad headings: community, education and environment.
Adam Stewart was born on January 27, 1981, the same year that his father purchased his first hotel and launched the Sandals Resorts chain, which would one day become an empire comprised of 23 resort properties across five Caribbean islands. There is not a job within the company that he has not done, from reservations and meetings and incentives to technology and public relations. Prior to becoming CEO, Stewart was director of resort product for Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts.
Adam Stewart was raised in Jamaica and graduated from Florida International University’s acclaimed Hospitality Management Program in Miami, Florida. In August 2009, Adam Stewart was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Jamaica Observer, Jamaica’s preeminent newspaper.
Allison Wallace
Media & Communications
Flight Centre (Canada)
As Director of Communications for Flight Centre’s Canadian operations, Allison Wallace oversees all aspects of the company’s internal and external communications strategy including media relations, issues and crisis management, corporate social responsibility and brand integrity.
Allison sits on the board of directors of Make-A-Wish Canada, is the Vice President of the Make-A-Wish Board of BC & Yukon and sat on the board of the Vancouver chapter of Skal International Travel & Tourism association from 2007-2009.
Allison holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Simon Fraser University and is a published authour and photographer. Prior to her position with Flight Centre, she was an independent Communications consultant specializing in Public and Investor Relations.
About Flight Centre
Flight Centre (Canada) is a leading retailer of travel products and services for the leisure and corporate markets. Flight Centre’s presence in Canada includes more than 165 shops & businesses and over 1,000 staff across the country. www.flightcentre.ca
Worldwide, the company has over 1500 shops & businesses with 12,000 staff in 10 countries.
Barb Steele
Director Membership
Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR)
Steele is CBSR's Director Membership and works with the Financial, Information and Communications Technology, Consumer Goods and Retail sectors. She has 15 years of corporate marketing and management experience. Her areas of consulting expertise include employee engagement, strategic and operational planning, group facilitation, project management, team building and coaching. She holds a Master's of Science in Organization Development Degree from Pepperdine University and an Honors Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario.
Brenda Paxson
public messaging regarding energy and air emissions and serves as the chief ambassador for their Sav
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)
Brenda Paxson is a rising star at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL). She has over thirteen years experience working in the marine industry, which began in her hometown of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Brenda attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and earned her certificate in Maritime Environmental Management from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy. She is currently responsible for RCL’s public messaging regarding energy and air emissions and serves as the chief ambassador for their Save The Waves® program.
Go to www.royalcaribbean.com/environment for more information about Save The Waves® and Royal Caribbean’s Environmental Stewardship efforts.
Bryce Conacher
Regional Director, Business Development
Offsetters
Bryce Conacher (MBA) advises organizations on sustainability, carbon risk assessment and carbon opportunity development, and is an International Standards Organization (ISO) 14064 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol subject matter expert. In January 2010 he received recognition by CSA America Inc. as one of its first ever Certified Greenhouse Gas Inventory Quantifiers.
A lead instructor and course developer for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) full suite of ISO 14064 GHG courses on corporate GHG inventories, GHG projects and verification, Bryce conducted workshops in the fall of 2009 for ISO in Bangkok, Thailand and Colombo, Sri Lanka at the ISO Regional Seminars on Greenhouse Gas Quantification, Reporting and Verification based on ISO 14064 and ISO 14065. From 2005-2008, Bryce founded and developed cleanairpass™ one of North America's first voluntary emissions offset companies.
The creation of cleanairpass™ followed Bryce's membership and involvement in IPPBC, BCWEA and CANWEA, a directorship with Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Canada, along with participation in the 2004 World Energy Technology Summit at UNESCO headquarters. Prior to founding cleanairpass™ Bryce developed a carbon neutral resort plan and conducted a preliminary wind study for Grouse Mountain Resort in Vancouver, B.C.
Cheryl Gregory
Travel Industry Sales and Marketing Professional
CherylGregoryBiz.com
Cheryl Gregory is a Travel Industry Sales and Marketing professional with over 25 years of experience . Her extensive knowledge in tourism was gained by working in various sectors such as airline, tour operating and cruise. Until 2009, Cheryl worked at Trafalgar Tours Canada for twelve years of which nine were as President.
Her passion for travel and her business know-how has made Cheryl see the world differently. In the last two decades, Cheryl has lead multiple sales teams to successfully and creatively overcome some of the toughest challenges faced by the travel industry.
Having identified a need for quality training programs for both Home-Based and Brick-and-Mortar agents, Cheryl started her own company in 2010 called CherylGregoryBiz.com. She now designs and delivers workshops on how to maximize profits, develop the individual agent as a brand, close sales that fit the style and personality of each agent, organization and time management, to name a few. In addition, Cheryl offers one-on-one coaching sessions that help travel professionals increase their effectiveness and grow their business.
Cheryl is an avid supporter of responsible travel and believes that to secure the future of the tourism industry, both individual and business action is need to preserve the environmental and cultural heritage of the places people love to visit.
In her role as Chief Sustainability Officer, Debbie is responsible for developing and maintaining a formal program of corporate sustainability at LoyaltyOne. She spearheads a range of initiatives to “green” all business operations, helping the global leader in loyalty marketing take the lead on environmental issues as well. Debbie recently led the project to build a silver and gold LEED certified call center that features the largest rooftop solar panel installation in Canada. She also drove an initiative to purchase a fleet of smart cars for the LoyaltyOne employees who take mass transit to work daily. Debbie is a respected expert in the sustainability industry, often requested to contribute her knowledge by speaking at events and writing articles.
Prior to joining LoyaltyOne, Debbie was Chief Operating Officer with Green Rewards, an innovative, eco-conscious loyalty business that is now integrated into the AIR MILES Reward Program. Previously, she progressed through various management roles in the marketing, workforce management and information technology sectors.
Debbie has been trained by former US Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore to help raise public awareness of the impact of climate change. She is also a volunteer advisor on sustainability and other issues with MaRS, the Toronto-based innovation centre that helps science, technology and social entrepreneurs create and grow new enterprises. Debbie is also a member of Partners in Project Green and Greening Greater Toronto taskforce
Loyalty One is a global leader in the development and management of loyalty marketing strategies The Loyalty One companies include: LoyaltyOne Consulting, AIR MILES® Reward Program, North COLLOQUY® and colloquy.com, a global provider of loyalty marketing publishing, education and research; Direct Antidote, a loyalty agency specializing in data-driven creative campaigns; and Precima, an advanced analytics firm. More information is available at www.loyalty.com
Dr. Bob Willard
Bob is a leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. He has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences on the bottom-line benefits of sustainability strategies. He is the author of The Sustainability Advantage, The Next Sustainability Wave, and most recently, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook. He has also created a DVD of his presentation, The Business Case for Sustainability. He worked 34 years with IBM Canada, is on the faculty of the Sustainable Enterprise Academy, and serves on the advisory board of the Natural Step Canada. He has a PhD in sustainability from the University of Toronto.
Graham is equipped with more than 20 years of broad experience in the travel industry, in general management, marketing and business development
In 1987, he formed Integra Systems UK, one of the leading developers of Destination Management Systems. At Integra Systems, Graham led the massive business expansion. He also increased the company's consumer reach to over 100 destinations throughout the world, including major destinations in UK, South Africa and Netherlands. During this time Graham was involved in a number of EC funded projects giving exposure to many different countries and destinations within Europe.
In 1997 Integra Systems made a trade sale to Bond International Software. Graham was offered a position of Chief Executive Officer for their North America Operations, based in Richmond, Virginia. Graham was part of the management team that led Bond to a stock market flotation and remained on the main PLC board.After three years tenure as CEO of Bond International, USA, Graham decided to return to the UK where he resumed his role as Managing Director of Integra Systems and contributed in significant growth of the company.
In November 2001 he formed with his colleagues the Omni Tourism group of which TravelMole.com, the world’s largest business to business travel trade news resource that sends out over 500,000 email newswires every day, is a part. Graham currently advises TravelMole.com and as such has been a leader in its growth to a point whereby it is now the world’s largest online Travel trade news service with over 11 million page views per month
In addition to this he is a director of Responsibletravel.com, Elmscott Marketing and an adviser to First Source-Interactive. More recently Graham has completed work for FarmStay UK, Estonian Enterprise, IFITT, Visit Britain (on Social media) and Isle of Wight Tourism Limited. In 2007 he was the keynote speaker at the European Congress on Rural Tourism in Hungary and the CTC-30 Caribbean Tourism Conference in Puerto Rico. In May 2008 Graham spoke at the Arabian Travel Market on web 2.0 tools and the relevance to Travel and Tourism marketing. This year he has spoken at the Travelport Russian symposium and is due to moderate debates for Amadeus and South African Tourism on the subject of responsibility in Tourism. In 2008 Graham led the initial project team when developing the St Vincent and Grenadines online development for their responsible tourism web site www.svgtravel.com .
Graham holds a B.Sc (Econ) degree in Economics, from the London School of Economics, is a fellow of the Tourism Society and immediate past Industry track chair of the ENTER conference on Tourism and Technology.
Tel: +44 776446 9992
EM:Graham@responsibletravel.com
Mandy Farmer
President and CEO
Accent Inns
Mandy is a third generation Victorian, and the third generation to run her family business. She is currently president and CEO of Accent Inns, a hotel chain with six properties in BC which recently proudly achieved a 4 Green Key Rating at all locations. In addition to the environment, Mandy is passionate about community and sits on a number of boards including Tourism Victoria, Royal Roads Centre for Entrepreneurship and CAFE (the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise). She also works with Go2 Human Resources speaking to high school students about careers in tourism. She was recently named one of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40. A true Vancouver Islander, Mandy loves nothing more than being outdoors - either on her mountain bike or with her two young children.
Michael Merrithew
Chairman, CEO and co-Owner
Merit Travel Group
Michael Merrithew is the Chairman, CEO and co-Owner of Merit Travel Group with his life Partner Louise de Grandpré. Since 1991, the company has grown to become one of the largest independent travel companies in Canada with over 500 travel professionals located in more than 50 offices across Canada serving more than 500,000 travellers annually.
Prior to starting in the travel business, Michael spent several years in sales, corporate strategy management consulting and marketing. He is a graduate in Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick and completed his MBA in International Marketing & General Management from the International Institute for Management Development in Geneva, Switzerland.
Michael has served as a Director and Chairs for ACTA Ontario and ACTA National; as Director and Chair of TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) and as a Director of the CCTA (Canadian Corporate Travel Association) and ASTA, Eastern Canada Chapter in addition to other industry roles.
Michel Gauthier
President and CEO
MGB Tourfest Inc.
Michel Gauthier, a graduate of Algonquin College and Canada’s first Certified Festivals and Events Executive (CFEE) Certificate from IFEA/Purdue University, has distinguished himself in the festival and tourism industry.
Michel managed Winterlude for five years and then when on to manage the Canadian Tulip festival for 14 years.
Michel is President of MGB Tourfest Inc. and has been involved on a full time basis in the management and marketing of various festivals and events in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal since 1982.
Most recently, Michel was instrumental in the development of the Rideau Canal Festival and is now its Executive Director. It is in this capacity that he led the development of the Aim for Zero Footprint Festival model.
Michel A. Gauthier is a board member of: Festivals and Events Ontario, Canada Blooms, and the International Peace Garden Foundation. He is also Chair of the World Tulip Summit, and Chair of the Ontario Garden Tourism Coalition.
Michel A. Gauthier has been a member of various professional associations including: President of the Canadian Association of Festivals and Events, Canadian representative on the International Festivals and Events Association and the Federation of European Carnival Cities, as well as President of Festival and Events Ontario, and Board Member of the Ottawa Festival Network, Ottawa Tourism, Festival et événement Québec and Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC).
Michel Lemay
Vice-President, Communications and Corporate Affairs
Transat A.T. Inc.
Michel Lemay joined Transat's management team in 2006. He was previously Vice-President, Corporate and Financial Communications, for a major Canadian public relations firm where for nearly 14 years he counselled the senior management teams of a wide range of corporations and organizations. During this time, he gained widely acknowledged expertise in strategy, reputation management, financial communications and crisis management.
Mr. Lemay is also former Director of Communications for the Montreal Exchange and he also worked for the Montreal Convention Centre, Communications Department. He is a graduate of Université Laval and HEC Montréal and also studied journalism at Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Canadian Investors Relations Institute (CIRI) and of the Conference Board of Canada's Council of Public Affairs Executives. He represents Transat on the board of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec and of the CIRANO (interuniversity centre of research, liaison, and transfer of knowledge on the analysis of organizations); he is a member of the Conseil des partenaires de l’industrie touristique, an advisory body to Québec’s Tourism Minister; he is also Vice-Chair of Tour Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development in Madrid.
Nikki White
Head of Destinations and Sustainability
ABTA
Nikki White joined ABTA (www.abta.co.uk) as Head of Destinations and Sustainability in October last year. Nikki has gained an impressive grasp of travel and tourism strategy over her years as Head of Strategy and Development at travel and leisure marketing experts Fox Kalomaski. Here she worked with a number of destinations as well as specialist agents, tour operators and airlines devising a range of strategic policies. Nikki’s expertise in sustainable tourism has recently been enhanced by her completion of a Masters degree in Sustainable Development. Nikki is Head of Destinations and Sustainability at ABTA which includes responsibility for sustainability, operations, health and safety and crisis management.
Pamela Divinsky, PhD
Founder
The Divinsky Group
Founder of The Divinsky Group, Pamela Divinsky has over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, social change research, management consulting and corporate responsibility strategy development and implementation. Core to the work of The Divinsky Group is the belief that the companies that stand for something socially meaningful and relevant will be experienced as beacons of trust and respect, and that is the source of profitable and enduring business. Pamela works with her clients to develop clear Social Missions and Social Capital Strategies that earn the pride of employees, the trust of consumers, respect of investors and watchers, and ensures that the result is true impact. Key to this is measurement. Pamela has developed the Return on Social Investment (ROSI) evaluation, which demonstrates the impact on business from developing both corporate and community capital.
Prior to establishing The Divinsky Group, Pamela created Ethos JWT, the corporate responsibility division of the agency. Pamela began her consulting career with KMPG where she was instrumental in developing the thought leadership of the Health Care and Life Sciences practice. Before entering the corporate world, Pamela was a Professor at Queen’s University and The University of Toronto. Pamela has a PhD in economic history from The University of Chicago.
Paul Klein
Founder
Impakt
Paul founded Impakt in 2001 to help corporations and non-profit organizations improve the performance of community investments.
Paul’s work with corporations includes helping clients such as BC Hydro, Canada Post, The Co-operators, De Beers, Hain-Celestial, McKesson, National Bank, Petro-Canada, Pfizer, RONA, sanofi-aventis, and 3M to improve the business value of community programs.
Paul has also helped many of Canada’s leading non-profit organizations to increase profile and revenue through partnership with corporations. His non-profit clients include: Kidney Foundation of Canada, Ontario Veterinary College, Ronald McDonald House, the Schizophrenia Society, and the YMCA.
Paul writes a blog about corporate responsibility and hosts a web series called Conversations about Corporate Social Responsibility for Canadian Business Magazine. Paul is a guest lecturer at York University and has written extensively on the topic of corporate responsibility for publications in Canada and the United States.
Steven Pacifico
The Delphi Group
Steven Pacifico is an energetic and motivated professional with extensive experience identifying sustainability and climate change issues, designing/implementing organizational and behaviour change projects, communicating and marketing sustainability issues to the public and private sector, and analyzing corporate social responsibility documentation.
Steven currently works for an organization called, The Delphi Group, which is a sustainability consulting company. Their core competencies include climate change / GHG mitigation strategies and corporate sustainability strategy. The Delphi Group constantly addresses the concepts of leadership daily, as this is a critical factor in the success of any organizational change initiative.
Steven has over 15 years experience and education in the environmental sector (Public, Private, and eNGO). His main experience is in helping organizations implement large scale programs focused on sustainability and climate change issues. He also has extensive experience designing successful projects that use organizational-based social marketing in order to facilitate sustainable behaviour changes. He has worked for the following organizations: The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (Renewable Energy Projects), The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (Office of the Auditor General of Canada), and the Falls Brook Centre (Global Sustainability and Climate Change Education and Outreach Programs). Furthermore, Steven helped to create a sustainable livelihoods education program in Oaxaca, Mexico for a fair trade, organic coffee cooperative called UCIRI .
He has a Master of Environmental Studies from York University in ‘applied sustainable development for organizational change.' In addition, he has a Diploma in Business and Sustainability from the Schulich School of Business. His undergraduate degree is in Environmental Sciences from the University of Guelph, focusing on Environmental Impact Assessment and Protection. He has also worked, lived, studied, and traveled in over 20 countries and can speak Spanish, Japanese, Italian, and French.
Teresa Ehman
Manager, Environmental Affairs
Air Canada
Teresa currently holds the position of Manager, Environmental Affairs at Air Canada. She has 17 years of airline experience, focusing on environmental management and compliance issues, and is responsible for the oversight of Air Canada’s Environmental Affairs Department. She has actively participated in numerous industry (IATA, ICAO and NACC) association committees and is currently a member of ICAO Environment Committee Working Group 2, and the National Airlines Council of Canada Environmental Committee, as well as representing Air Canada at various Aeronautical Noise Committees. She is a past member of the Alberta Association of Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists (APEGGA) Environmental Committee.
Teresa holds two degrees, in Engineering from the University of Guelph and in Microbiology, from the University of Saskatchewan.
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Twenty-nine year old Adam Stewart is the dynamic CEO of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which owns and operates Caribbean-based Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, The Royal Plantation Collection and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts. Stewart oversees all areas of SRI operations, which is headquartered in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He has held this position since 2006, but has been preparing for it his entire life.
As Director of Communications for Flight Centre’s Canadian operations, Allison Wallace oversees all aspects of the company’s internal and external communications strategy including media relations, issues and crisis management, corporate social responsibility and brand integrity.
Steele is CBSR's Director Membership and works with the Financial, Information and Communications Technology, Consumer Goods and Retail sectors. She has 15 years of corporate marketing and management experience. Her areas of consulting expertise include employee engagement, strategic and operational planning, group facilitation, project management, team building and coaching. She holds a Master's of Science in Organization Development Degree from Pepperdine University and an Honors Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario. 
Brenda Paxson is a rising star at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL). She has over thirteen years experience working in the marine industry, which began in her hometown of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Brenda attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and earned her certificate in Maritime Environmental Management from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy. She is currently responsible for RCL’s public messaging regarding energy and air emissions and serves as the chief ambassador for their Save The Waves® program.
Bryce Conacher (MBA) advises organizations on sustainability, carbon risk assessment and carbon opportunity development, and is an International Standards Organization (ISO) 14064 and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol subject matter expert. In January 2010 he received recognition by CSA America Inc. as one of its first ever Certified Greenhouse Gas Inventory Quantifiers.
Cheryl Gregory is a Travel Industry Sales and Marketing professional with over 25 years of experience . Her extensive knowledge in tourism was gained by working in various sectors such as airline, tour operating and cruise. Until 2009, Cheryl worked at Trafalgar Tours Canada for twelve years of which nine were as President.
In her role as Chief Sustainability Officer, Debbie is responsible for developing and maintaining a formal program of corporate sustainability at LoyaltyOne. She spearheads a range of initiatives to “green” all business operations, helping the global leader in loyalty marketing take the lead on environmental issues as well. Debbie recently led the project to build a silver and gold LEED certified call center that features the largest rooftop solar panel installation in Canada. She also drove an initiative to purchase a fleet of smart cars for the LoyaltyOne employees who take mass transit to work daily. Debbie is a respected expert in the sustainability industry, often requested to contribute her knowledge by speaking at events and writing articles.
Bob is a leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. He has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences on the bottom-line benefits of sustainability strategies. He is the author of The Sustainability Advantage, The Next Sustainability Wave, and most recently, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook. He has also created a DVD of his presentation, The Business Case for Sustainability. He worked 34 years with IBM Canada, is on the faculty of the Sustainable Enterprise Academy, and serves on the advisory board of the Natural Step Canada. He has a PhD in sustainability from the University of Toronto.
Graham is equipped with more than 20 years of broad experience in the travel industry, in general management, marketing and business development
In 1987, he formed Integra Systems UK, one of the leading developers of Destination Management Systems. At Integra Systems, Graham led the massive business expansion. He also increased the company's consumer reach to over 100 destinations throughout the world, including major destinations in UK, South Africa and Netherlands. During this time Graham was involved in a number of EC funded projects giving exposure to many different countries and destinations within Europe.
In 1997 Integra Systems made a trade sale to Bond International Software. Graham was offered a position of Chief Executive Officer for their North America Operations, based in Richmond, Virginia. Graham was part of the management team that led Bond to a stock market flotation and remained on the main PLC board.After three years tenure as CEO of Bond International, USA, Graham decided to return to the UK where he resumed his role as Managing Director of Integra Systems and contributed in significant growth of the company.
In November 2001 he formed with his colleagues the Omni Tourism group of which TravelMole.com, the world’s largest business to business travel trade news resource that sends out over 500,000 email newswires every day, is a part. Graham currently advises TravelMole.com and as such has been a leader in its growth to a point whereby it is now the world’s largest online Travel trade news service with over 11 million page views per month
In addition to this he is a director of Responsibletravel.com, Elmscott Marketing and an adviser to First Source-Interactive. More recently Graham has completed work for FarmStay UK, Estonian Enterprise, IFITT, Visit Britain (on Social media) and Isle of Wight Tourism Limited. In 2007 he was the keynote speaker at the European Congress on Rural Tourism in Hungary and the CTC-30 Caribbean Tourism Conference in Puerto Rico. In May 2008 Graham spoke at the Arabian Travel Market on web 2.0 tools and the relevance to Travel and Tourism marketing. This year he has spoken at the Travelport Russian symposium and is due to moderate debates for Amadeus and South African Tourism on the subject of responsibility in Tourism. In 2008 Graham led the initial project team when developing the St Vincent and Grenadines online development for their responsible tourism web site www.svgtravel.com .
Graham holds a B.Sc (Econ) degree in Economics, from the London School of Economics, is a fellow of the Tourism Society and immediate past Industry track chair of the ENTER conference on Tourism and Technology.
Tel: +44 776446 9992
EM:Graham@responsibletravel.com
Mandy is a third generation Victorian, and the third generation to run her family business. She is currently president and CEO of Accent Inns, a hotel chain with six properties in BC which recently proudly achieved a 4 Green Key Rating at all locations. In addition to the environment, Mandy is passionate about community and sits on a number of boards including Tourism Victoria, Royal Roads Centre for Entrepreneurship and CAFE (the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise). She also works with Go2 Human Resources speaking to high school students about careers in tourism. She was recently named one of Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40. A true Vancouver Islander, Mandy loves nothing more than being outdoors - either on her mountain bike or with her two young children.
Michael Merrithew is the Chairman, CEO and co-Owner of Merit Travel Group with his life Partner Louise de Grandpré. Since 1991, the company has grown to become one of the largest independent travel companies in Canada with over 500 travel professionals located in more than 50 offices across Canada serving more than 500,000 travellers annually.
Michel Gauthier, a graduate of Algonquin College and Canada’s first Certified Festivals and Events Executive (CFEE) Certificate from IFEA/Purdue University, has distinguished himself in the festival and tourism industry.
Michel Lemay joined Transat's management team in 2006. He was previously Vice-President, Corporate and Financial Communications, for a major Canadian public relations firm where for nearly 14 years he counselled the senior management teams of a wide range of corporations and organizations. During this time, he gained widely acknowledged expertise in strategy, reputation management, financial communications and crisis management.
Mr. Lemay is also former Director of Communications for the Montreal Exchange and he also worked for the Montreal Convention Centre, Communications Department. He is a graduate of Université Laval and HEC Montréal and also studied journalism at Université de Montréal. He is a member of the Canadian Investors Relations Institute (CIRI) and of the Conference Board of Canada's Council of Public Affairs Executives. He represents Transat on the board of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec and of the CIRANO (interuniversity centre of research, liaison, and transfer of knowledge on the analysis of organizations); he is a member of the Conseil des partenaires de l’industrie touristique, an advisory body to Québec’s Tourism Minister; he is also Vice-Chair of Tour Operators Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development in Madrid.
Nikki White joined ABTA (www.abta.co.uk) as Head of Destinations and Sustainability in October last year. Nikki has gained an impressive grasp of travel and tourism strategy over her years as Head of Strategy and Development at travel and leisure marketing experts Fox Kalomaski. Here she worked with a number of destinations as well as specialist agents, tour operators and airlines devising a range of strategic policies. Nikki’s expertise in sustainable tourism has recently been enhanced by her completion of a Masters degree in Sustainable Development. Nikki is Head of Destinations and Sustainability at ABTA which includes responsibility for sustainability, operations, health and safety and crisis management.
Founder of The Divinsky Group, Pamela Divinsky has over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, social change research, management consulting and corporate responsibility strategy development and implementation. Core to the work of The Divinsky Group is the belief that the companies that stand for something socially meaningful and relevant will be experienced as beacons of trust and respect, and that is the source of profitable and enduring business. Pamela works with her clients to develop clear Social Missions and Social Capital Strategies that earn the pride of employees, the trust of consumers, respect of investors and watchers, and ensures that the result is true impact. Key to this is measurement. Pamela has developed the Return on Social Investment (ROSI) evaluation, which demonstrates the impact on business from developing both corporate and community capital.
Paul founded Impakt in 2001 to help corporations and non-profit organizations improve the performance of community investments.
Steven Pacifico is an energetic and motivated professional with extensive experience identifying sustainability and climate change issues, designing/implementing organizational and behaviour change projects, communicating and marketing sustainability issues to the public and private sector, and analyzing corporate social responsibility documentation.
Teresa currently holds the position of Manager, Environmental Affairs at Air Canada. She has 17 years of airline experience, focusing on environmental management and compliance issues, and is responsible for the oversight of Air Canada’s Environmental Affairs Department. She has actively participated in numerous industry (IATA, ICAO and NACC) association committees and is currently a member of ICAO Environment Committee Working Group 2, and the National Airlines Council of Canada Environmental Committee, as well as representing Air Canada at various Aeronautical Noise Committees. She is a past member of the Alberta Association of Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists (APEGGA) Environmental Committee.
