Above: BTN Travel Manager of the Year Steve Sitto (center in front of podium) with the 2024 Best Practitioner honorees and Business Travel News staff.
We are thrilled to congratulate Steve Sitto of Gilead Sciences on being named 2024 Travel Manager of the Year by Business Travel News (BTN). BTN annually selects a top travel manager based on demonstrated leadership, innovation and industry impact. BTN announced the award July 24 in Atlanta at its 40th Annual Travel Manager of the Year and Best Practitioners Awards.
A well-deserved recognition
BTN recognized Sitto for his efforts to revamp the travel program at Gilead, a research-based biopharmaceutical company based in the U.S. Sitto turned around Gilead’s complex travel program in about 18 months, according to BTN.
He started by listening and building relationships across 43 markets and among Gilead’s leadership. He spearheaded their transition to becoming a BCD client, streamlined policies, revamped the technology stack, and relaunched the program. Further, Sitto used robotic process automation and AI-powered solutions to create seamless connectivity among travelers, executive assistants, and security teams.
Sitto collaborated with us early on to refine AI-powered telephony and email systems, chatbot technologies, and AI-powered payment reconciliation processes. Additionally, he partnered with BCD consultancy Advito on AI-driven data projects that benefit Gilead and other clients.
Sitto deployed our TripSource® platform to provide travelers detailed, location-specific policy instructions and local recommendations for trips. He also automated loyalty program enrollments. Currently, he’s developing a Microsoft Teams-based chatbot to deliver travel policy information and highlight program benefits. His efforts resulted in a significant increase in travel compliance, now up by 35 percent globally.
This is Sitto’s second BTN honor. In 2019, BTN named him Best Travel Practitioner of the Year.
“Steve has been a great partner with BCD Travel for years, and we are proud and excited for him to win this prestigious honor,” said BCD Executive Global Vice President Teri Miller who has worked with Sitto for over 10 years.
