Kevin is a Director – Category Management for The E.W. Scripps Company, which serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. He has been with Scripps in various roles for 29 years, first on the journalism, operational and technology categories at a Scripps TV station where his duties included purchasing and vendor management. For the last 12 years, he has been a member of the Scripps Procurement team. Kevin is responsible for enterprise wide vendor relationships in numerous categories including Travel, he is responsible for travel procurement, manages the day to day relationship with their TMC and other travel partners. Kevin is a member of the Business Travel News (BTN) advisory board.

Howard Brooks joined McKesson in 2015 and is responsible for managing approximately $500 million in travel and fleet spends. In this role, Mr. Brooks specializes in driving global enterprise-wide strategies, establishing corporate policies, program development and sourcing. Mr. Brooks’ travel industry experience spans more than 25 years. Prior to joining McKesson, Mr. Brooks led the global travel and meetings practice for Procurian (now known as Accenture), where he was responsible for more than $1 Billion in corporate travel and meetings and events spend for 20+ clients. Prior to Procurian, he spent 15 years at Sony Music Entertainment as Global Vice President, managing global travel, meetings and all indirect procurement. Mr. Brooks’s subject matter expertise is integral to implementing a number of strategically innovative and business critical projects for McKesson. Mr. Brooks holds a degree in finance from New York University, and is a Six Sigma Greenbelt. He has served on several Corporate Advisory Boards of major airlines, has been a speaker at numerous conferences, and is a recipient of several industry awards including, “Advancing The Industry” from the Association of Corporate Travel Executives.

MDC Partners is one of the fastest-growing and most influential marketing and communications networks in the world. As a resource to MDC’s network of agencies, Jason is responsible for implementing sourcing strategies, leveraging best practices and helping the agencies deliver best in class business results. Prior to joining MDC Partners, Jason spent five years with Publicis Groupe.

Marjan was recruited in 2014 by Informatica to centralize and globally manage the procurement of the company’s meetings and events. Since assuming the role, she developed and designed a cost-neutral business model to serve as the basis for the global strategic meetings management program she launched two years later.  Prior to her current position at Informatica, she served as the Global Travel Manager for two years at TIBCO, where she managed travel sourcing and procurement, the global commercial card program and meetings management. Marjan began her career as a consultant in financial and procurement analyses, working for over a decade within the technology industry, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A in Economics. 

Rob Goodman is an Executive Director in Global Sourcing, having joined Time Warner in 2004. In this role, Mr. Goodman is responsible for leading Travel Sourcing for Time Warner’s divisions: HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros. His focus includes Travel Policy, Private Jets, Ground Transportation, Event Management platforms and new disruptive travel offerings and technology. He is also responsible for the company direction and leading the adoption of Spend Management through a suite of online tools. Prior to Time Warner, Mr. Goodman was part of the strategic sourcing practice at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. His sectors of focus included healthcare, financial services, telecom & technology. Mr. Goodman is a frequent speaker at various industry conferences. Mr. Goodman holds a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurial Studies and Management Information Systems from Babson College. Outside of work, he enjoys coaching his sons’ sports teams and raises money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute through a 2 day bike challenge.

Ruben was born and raised in New York, NY, and received a BA from Colgate University with concentrations in English and Political Science. Before entering the workforce, he took two years to get his Master’s degree in Political Theory from the University of Oxford.

After graduating, Ruben worked for five years at FROSCH, a boutique full-service travel agency, where he started as an Associate Account Manager in the corporate travel division, but quickly worked his way up the ranks to eventually oversee its Corporate Account Management department.

Ruben then moved from the agency side to the buyer side of the business. For the past year, he has worked at TD Ameritrade administering the T&E program and managing the company’s relationships with travel and credit card vendors.

Christine Mack is currently the Regional Head of Procurement for the Americas Region and Global Travel, Meetings and Events. Her experience at BP includes a multi-billion dollar portfolio across the categories of Human Resources, Professional Services, Business Consulting, Property and Travel Services with a global team and a global supply base covering over 50 countries. Christine has over 20 years of category management experience in both the private and public sectors including Best Buy, Target and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Johnson Space Center. She has led large procurement teams in a variety of indirect areas for procurement, supplier diversity, systems and processes. She has led outsourced procurement organizations to deliver product and service value, implemented new acquisition processes, and led the development of operational processes, procedures and performance management of large outsourced arrangements. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Houston, Clear Lake with a concentration in Management Information Systems, a Bachelor’s of Science degree from North Dakota State University double majoring in Business Administration and Industrial Psychology and is a Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

Sunny Manivannan is the General Manager of Coupa Expenses at Coupa Software. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring the success and growth of Coupa's expense management business. Sunny joined Coupa in 2015 through the acquisition of ZenPurchase. Prior to founding ZenPurchase, Sunny was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Sunny started his career at General Electric, where he focused on R&D for aircraft engines. Sunny holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Hope currently assumes the role of Director of Procurement, Corporate Travel, Meetings and Events for SourceAmerica, a mid-size non-profit organization located in Vienna, VA. She manages all corporate purchasing, along with meetings and event services as well as the corporate travel program for 400 staff members that are located across the country. Hope started her career in Purchasing as a buyer in 1983 working for 2 major hospitals in the Northern Virginia area and move on to Director of Procurement and Office Services for Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington DC where she managed procurement and corporate travel management departments. Hope earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Radford University and has her lifetime certification as a Certified Purchasing Manager through ISM.

Joanna Martinez is a global procurement / supply chain leader and the founder of Supply Chain Advisors LLC. She is a frequent lecturer and blogger on procurement topics and also provides coaching, strategy development, training, and cost reduction opportunity assessment. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to technology startups. Joanna has led transformation initiatives for companies in many different sectors: among them Johnson & Johnson (consumer products, pharmaceuticals), Diageo (beverage), AllianceBernstein LP (financial services) and Cushman & Wakefield (real estate services, property management). She has created, revitalized, and consulted on travel programs across the US.

Drew Mitchell is the Regional Travel Manager for the Americas at Cognizant Technology Solutions responsible for travel operations, programs, and sourcing projects. Drew started his career in corporate travel management with WorldTravel BTI as a dedicated resource on key accounts such as Merrill Lynch and GlaxoSmithKline. Drew has also held positions with American Express, Hewlett-Packard, and Pfizer. Drew enjoys being active in the industry, conducting various ad-hoc benchmarks and surveys to develop business intelligence and keeping his finger on the pulse of the industry. Drew will be joining the Silicon Valley BTA Board of Directors in Jan 17. Drew holds a B.S. in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and currently resides in Santa Cruz, California.

Ron Naples is an Adjunct Associate Professor ofHospitality at the New York University Tisch Center for Hospitality andTourism. Professor Naples was a part ofthe early development of the Meetings Certificate program at NYU and has beenon the adjunct faculty since 1990. Hehas been named one of the 25 most influential people in the MeetingsIndustry and was the recipient of theNYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies Distinguished Teaching Award,the school’s highest teaching honor. He co-authored PlanningSuccessful Meetings and Events with Ann J. Boehme a former colleague atNYU. The publication has been translatedinto multiple languages by the American Management Association. He has also authored articles on the meetingsand events industry focusing on non-residential conference centers, budgeting,and planning from the host’s perspective. A pioneer in the professional meetings industry, Naplesis President of Maple Mountain Hospitality and has managed hospitality,including meetings and events, food and beverage and presentation technologyfor fortune 500 and international organizations in New York City, Connecticut,Colorado, and Washington DC. He owned and operated a classic country innin Manchester, Vermont from 1998 to 2002.

Jennie is the Senior Global Travel Manager for Tableau Software located in Seattle, WA and is responsible for travel operations in 10 countries. She began her career as an onsite travel agent over 20 years ago, transitioning into travel management in 2003. Jennie is a vocal advocate for Tableau travelers, always searching to improve the traveler experience by examining policies, leveraging new technologies, and advocating for OBT enhancements by actively participating in her TMC’s Customer Advisory Board. In her five years with Tableau, she has learned how to work in Tableau despite not having an analytics background, and advocates for internal T&E data sources and dashboards as well as advocating with third parties to improve data exchange capabilities.

Benia currently leads a global team to develop and implement sourcing strategies for indirect categories such as Professional Services, HR Benefits and Travel. She also leads the Global Procurement Systems team that is responsible for developing policy and training for Tate and Lyle’s Global Procurement Organization. Benia has a BS Chemical Engineering and MBA from Purdue University.

Libby Spears is a highly sought after speaker who always delivers a memorable experience for her audience. She is the author of “What’s YOUR Plan BE?” Name It, Claim It, Live It! and the forth coming book, “Step Away From the Laser Pointer”: 8 Rules for Creating a Game Changing Presentation EVERY Time! She has been featured on Good Morning Texas and The Not So Perfect Parent. As a professional speaker, Libby enthusiastically shares communication and marketing insights learned from her years teaching in the college classroom + working with a diverse client profile across numerous industries as a consultant and educator. The strategies, tactics, and take-aways she imparts in every presentation feel fresh, new and her audiences response is a resounding “Yes!” They cannot wait to get back to work to implement what they learn from her. Her reputation for customizing and connecting to her audience’s unique needs and challenges makes her a great choice for any occasion. Every presentation FEELS different. PowerPoint is her back up dancer and she relies on the powerful combination of storytelling and research to generate learning moments and insights that are game changers. She never leaves her audience hanging: Libby can rattle off books, websites, resources (other than her own!) to keep the learning momentum going.

Don Swartz is founder and Managing Director of CTBR LLC, a niche consultant entity leveraging analytics to empower travel buyers with new sourcing approaches to reducing direct travel costs and improving travel sourcing processes. Don’s corporate travel background spans almost thirty years, including senior manager roles in Sales, IT and Operations for various travel suppliers. In his current role, he leads the TMC sourcing practice at CTBR where he has consulted to over sixty leading corporations locally and around the globe. Don has a BS in Statistics from The University of Akron. Originally from the Midwest, Don now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Rick Wakida started his career in corporate travel management in 1995 and has developed and managed travel programs for both public and private companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, bio-pharmaceutical, telecommunications, software and semiconductor. Rick is a subject matter expert in global travel management, travel sourcing and procurement, expense reporting management, commercial card programs and strategic meetings management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA in Finance and, prior to entering travel management, worked for ten years in Finance at Bank of America.

Matthew Ziskie is the Head of Global Procurement at Airbnb, a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations at any price point in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries. Matt started his career as a strategy consultant at the Boston-based consultancy, The Asaba Group, where he focused on supply chain design and efficiency for clients in the defense and automotive industries. He has held procurement and category management roles in the biotech sector at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Genentech and Roche. Most recently, Matt led the global procurement function at Box. He studied History at Boston College and Supply Chain Management at the University of San Diego

Marwan Batrouni leads business growth and continuous improvement efforts for Advito’s global hotel practice. He brings more than 15 years of travel industry experience with a focus on strategy, customer experience and vendor relationships to his role.
Marwan’s career includes key positions on both the supplier and travel consulting sides of the hotel industry. Prior to joining Advito, he served in delivery and product management roles with American Express Advisory Services, most recently as consulting director. He’s managed travel programs from $2 million to more than $200 million in spend. Previously, he spent five years with Wyndham International in hotel sales with responsibility for corporate transient, group and government-related business.
Marwan received a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Virginia Tech Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Master of Arts in Management of Tourism from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Dan Ruch is the Founder & CEO of Rocketrip, the leading tech platform for reducing corporate travel costs. Rocketrip motivates below policy spending by giving employees data-based trip budgets and letting them keep half of what they save. Venture-backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Genacast Ventures, and Y Combinator, Rocketrip helps clients including GE, Edmunds, and Twitter create a positive culture around spend management.

Marc is the global sales manager for Amadeus’ corporate division. Marc joined Amadeus in 2008 to lead the UK corporate sales organization. In 2014, he transferred to the US to grow the corporate IT sales force and help lead customer-driven innovation efforts, such as our Microsoft Outlook integration. Before joining Amadeus, Marc spent 4 years as a Corporate Account Manager with Worldspan (now owned by Travelport) and held various positions with several TMCs in the UK.

Mike is experienced in both procurement and meetings/event management, having worked with companies such as Citibank, Ernst and Young (EY) and several non-profit associations. While at Citi, Mike worked on various procurement change management initiatives related to saves reporting, contract auditing, and contract management. Mike’s event management experience spans gala dinners, association meetings and street parades/festivals. Mike is looking forward to leveraging his expertise to create an educational, insightful, and entertaining experience for ProcureCon Travel’s delegates, speakers, and sponsors. Outside of ProcureCon you can find Mike on the slopes in Italy, Canada, US, and Switzerland in the never-ending pursuit of fresh powder.

Brian is a seasoned event marketing professional, with more than 20 years of experience in event management and strategy, both domestically and internationally. He has an event procurement background, experienced in contractual risk management, event/trade show production and is considered an event budgeting expert. He is a CMP – Certified Meeting Professional – and a recent Faculty member at San Jose State for the Event Management Program (HSPM 130). Brian's unique event background and passion for his industry comes from working at Fortune 500 corporations, event agencies, event ownership and 3rd party/supplier side experience's. His experiences provide a rounded-out approach to understanding, contracting and planning events.

Jim has been in the Travel Industry for 20 plus years. Jim started his career with Continental Airlines in 1994. He held position in Airport Operations, Corporate Sales Programs Analysis, Field Sales and Global Sales. In early 2006, Jim left Continental Airlines and moved into the Corporate Travel Procurement Group at Accenture. He spent 2 years as the North America Category Lead for travel related services. Jim was Responsible for delivering standardized Sourcing and Category Management services for the Airline, Airport Parking, Car Rental, Ground Transportation, Traveler Security Services, Passport & Visa Services, Charter Aircraft and Fractional Jet Ownership travel sub-categories. In February of 2008, Jim accepted the Director, Global Travel & Credit Card Services position with RELX Group. He has responsibility for global travel procurement, travel agency process & operations, corporate card and global supplier management. Jim holds active memberships with the Chicago Business Travel Association (CBTA) and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE). Jim serves on airline corporate, travel agency and Business Travel News (BTN) advisory boards, and actively participates, speaks and presents at various travel forums throughout each year.

Kevin is a Director – Category Management for The E.W. Scripps Company, which serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. He has been with Scripps in various roles for 29 years, first on the journalism, operational and technology categories at a Scripps TV station where his duties included purchasing and vendor management. For the last 12 years, he has been a member of the Scripps Procurement team. Kevin is responsible for enterprise wide vendor relationships in numerous categories including Travel, he is responsible for travel procurement, manages the day to day relationship with their TMC and other travel partners. Kevin is a member of the Business Travel News (BTN) advisory board.

Rob Goodman is an Executive Director in Global Sourcing, having joined Time Warner in 2004. In this role, Mr. Goodman is responsible for leading Travel Sourcing for Time Warner’s divisions: HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros. His focus includes Travel Policy, Private Jets, Ground Transportation, Event Management platforms and new disruptive travel offerings and technology. He is also responsible for the company direction and leading the adoption of Spend Management through a suite of online tools. Prior to Time Warner, Mr. Goodman was part of the strategic sourcing practice at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. His sectors of focus included healthcare, financial services, telecom & technology. Mr. Goodman is a frequent speaker at various industry conferences. Mr. Goodman holds a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurial Studies and Management Information Systems from Babson College. Outside of work, he enjoys coaching his sons’ sports teams and raises money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute through a 2 day bike challenge.

Benia currently leads a global team to develop and implement sourcing strategies for indirect categories such as Professional Services, HR Benefits and Travel. She also leads the Global Procurement Systems team that is responsible for developing policy and training for Tate and Lyle’s Global Procurement Organization. Benia has a BS Chemical Engineering and MBA from Purdue University.

Rick Wakida started his career in corporate travel management in 1995 and has developed and managed travel programs for both public and private companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, bio-pharmaceutical, telecommunications, software and semiconductor. Rick is a subject matter expert in global travel management, travel sourcing and procurement, expense reporting management, commercial card programs and strategic meetings management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA in Finance and, prior to entering travel management, worked for ten years in Finance at Bank of America.

Matthew Ziskie is the Head of Global Procurement at Airbnb, a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations at any price point in more than 34,000 cities and 191 countries. Matt started his career as a strategy consultant at the Boston-based consultancy, The Asaba Group, where he focused on supply chain design and efficiency for clients in the defense and automotive industries. He has held procurement and category management roles in the biotech sector at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Genentech and Roche. Most recently, Matt led the global procurement function at Box. He studied History at Boston College and Supply Chain Management at the University of San Diego.