Pascale Veldeman, Buyer – Travel Management at Siemens, has been elected by her colleagues in the industry as Travel Manager of the Year 2015. With this prize, the Belgian Association of Travel Management (BATM) wants to reward creativity, professionalism and efficient cost management in business travel and meetings. The award was presented during the annual ceremony in Brussels on Friday, December 11th. For the fourth year in a row a BCD Travel customer has won the award.
Pascale’s been a loyal BATM member for already five years. Her colleagues from the Belgian business travel industry have elected her as Travel Professional of the Year because of her skills and dedicated efforts to maintain excellent relations with suppliers. Also her innovative approach to improving the travel experience was a reason she deserved the award.
“I am very happy with this recognition from my peers,” said Pascale Veldeman. “These are challenging times for travel managers and travel management companies. We must not only work as efficiently as possible, but also strive for maximum travelers satisfaction. It’s a balancing act where a good relationship between the travel manager, suppliers and travelers is of great importance. We are dealing with procedures and policies, but we also need to be close to our travelers. The role of a travel manager has changed. More than ever, it is all about good leadership rather than mere management. Doing the right things and not the things right. ”
The election of the Travel Manager of the Year is based on nominations from the sector. The winner is then selected based on initiatives, results, evaluation and measurability of those results, achieved cost reduction and vendor relationships.
