Amanda Klimak (she/her) is a Travel Entrepreneur dedicated to crafting extraordinary travel experiences and helping develop the next generations of travel advisors. With a personal journey spanning over 50 countries, Amanda leverages her firsthand knowledge to curate transformative trips for her clients. As a Certified Travel Industry Executive and Vice-Chair of the ASTA Corporate Advisor Counsel, she continuously refines her expertise through networking with top professionals. Amanda's passion for travel, commitment to fostering strong partnerships, and belief in the power of experiential learning underscore her success in the industry.

With more than 15 years of experience in the travel industry - product design, operations, sales, and marketing - Bethany Hodge (she/her) has become a small-group adventure tour expert and evangelist. She is now the Head of Product for Club Adventures, a AAA-owned tour operator. Ask her about falling off a horse in the Andes Mountains of Peru, or the time she caused a commotion when she nearly stepped on a sleeping penguin in Antarctica. In total her adventures span six continents, 40+ countries, and even some time in detainment at a Middle Eastern border. But more than that, she’s a true believer that if people are going to change the world, they need to see it.

Claire Soares (she/her) is a Entrepreneur and Business Advisor who is an AI expert in the travel industry. As the founder of the multi-million dollar travel company Up in the Air Life, she has been recognized as a Conde Nast Top Traveler Specialist and a pioneer in the Black Travel Movement. Claire is an expert in online travel sales, digital marketing, and AI to revolutionize how travel businesses operate. Her deep understanding of both luxury travel and advanced technologies makes her a sought-after speaker and mentor, empowering others to achieve unparalleled success in their ventures.

Dan Christian (he/him) is a highly accomplished global travel executive, entrepreneur and business leader with over 20+ years of experience. His expertise includes business strategy and digital transformation, executive leadership and team development. He has a proven track record of developing successful marketing strategies that drive growth. Dan now leads the Acceleration Team, which empowers brands and start-ups to scale, and he hosts the popular ‘Travel Trends’ podcast. He is also a sought-after public speaker and advisor.

Edmund (he/him) loves telling stories. Particularly ones that involve taking really complicated statistical data trends and turning them into funny, compelling, and fascinating insights. He's worked all over the world, building data systems and impact models for governments, aid organizations, and Fortune 500 companies. In 2021, he founded Equator, an AI-startup based in Australia that makes it quick, easy and affordable for tourism companies to design more sustainable products.

Fernando Rodriguez Bazan (he/him) is a professional in Hospitality and Tourism and graduated from the National University of San Agustin in Peru. He has 20 years of experience in specialized adventure tourism and community-based rural tourism. Fernando is also the Director member of the Peruvian Association of Adventure Tourism and Ecotourism and has extensive experience supervising tourism operations in Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Gilad (he/him) is an Israeli born AI Entrepreneur, Board Director, and Venture Capital Investor based in Seattle. Today, Gilad leads Brook Bay Capital, an AI focused fund, and serves on numerous boards of both large traditional businesses and startups, including Virtuoso, Selfbook, Thatch, Swayed, Faye, and others. Gilad is passionate about Travel & Hospitality and related experiential and lifestyle businesses and has a deep background in Artificial Intelligence and Personalization. Gilad is eager to share his knowledge and in addition to his Board and Advisory roles Gilad is a friend and mentor to leaders across many of the largest consumer business in the travel, hospitality, retail, and related spaces, and to PE and other institutional investors in these industries.

Gilad began his entrepreneurial career early founding his first startups in college. Most notably, Gilad was the founder and CEO at Utrip, a pioneering AI startup in the travel space founded in 2011. While at Utrip Gilad championed the utilization of AI and its integration, for the very first time, by many of the largest hospitality brands in the world. In addition to his investing and board work, Gilad is a prolific public speaker and speakers at many major industry and technology events.
   

Henna (she/her) is a seasoned diversity and inclusion advocate with 10+ years of experience empowering underrepresented groups. An alumna of the University of Toronto's Women and Gender Studies program, she has dedicated her career to creating inclusive pathways for success.

As a Talent Acquisition Partner and D&I Leader, Henna fosters diverse talent pipelines and drives organizational change through strategic initiatives. A passionate traveler, she leverages cultural exchange to inform her work, ensuring inclusive solutions that resonate globally through her professional and personal experiences.

Henna strives to create a more equitable world where everyone thrives.  

James (he/him) leads Stripe’s growth across the global travel and leisure industry, ensuring potential and existing customers - from enterprise to tech platforms to startups - are able to build strong, valuable partnerships with Stripe and benefit from its powerful financial infrastructure built with global disruptors like Lyft, Doordash and Shopify, to improve customer experiences, innovate faster and build more productive operations. 

Prior to Stripe, James founded and exited a global hospitality mentoring and peer-to-peer platform, Otolo, and consulted across the travel industry including hotels, tech, start-ups and private equity. His previous industry experience includes COO of Hostmaker, the Airbnb property management company that became Marriott Homes & Villas, and leading strategy teams for hotel chains (IHG) and travel tech (Travelport). James is also kept busy as a father of two and based in Wimbledon in the UK.

JoAnna Haugen (she/her) is an award-winning writer, speaker, consultant, and solutions advocate who has worked in communications-related positions in the travel and tourism industry her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted, a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact, and storytelling. Through Rooted, JoAnna helps tourism professionals reimagine travel experiences and support sustainability using strategic storytelling. JoAnna’s work has been published in more than 60 print and online publications. In 2021, Newsweek named JoAnna a winner in the storytelling category of its Future of Tourism awards. She is a curious traveler and hopeful global citizen who currently lives in Bucharest, Romania.

Juan López (he/him) has dedicated more than 15 years of his professional life to tourism. He is currently the Sales & Marketing Director for Las Torres Patagonia and previously led one of the largest schools of tourism in Chile. Before that, Juan worked for Chile Tourism in charge of the International promotion of Chile in North America and Asia Pacific. Juan has a Business and Economic Degree completing his undergraduate studies at HES International Business School of Amsterdam. His postgraduate studies include a Master's Degree in Tourism from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.  

Julia Bianco (she/her) is a seasoned professional with a decade of experience in product management, strategic business development, and negotiation. Born in Italy to an Italian father and Finnish mother, her multicultural background enriches her global perspective, complemented by fluency in five languages. Julia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Modern Languages for Business Purposes from the universities of Genoa and Granada, and a Master's Degree in Tourism Economics from the universities of Milan and Montevideo. Following a year of sustainable tourism research in Uruguay, Julia transitioned from the export industry to luxury travel, living between London, Milan, and Rio De Janeiro. She joined Exodus Adventure Travels in 2022 as a Product & Operations Manager, and now serves as Lead Product Manager for Europe at Exodus Adventure Travels in London, merging her passion for sustainability with her commercial background to promote ethical travel practices.

The Director of Business Development at TourRadar and globally responsible for TourRadar’s Business Development teams, Kaitlyn (she/her) has over 10 years of experience growing high-performing teams in the Organized Adventure and Touring industry. Her role has a focus on driving team strategy, alignment and reporting with her team of Managers and BDM’s in the Australian, North American & European office locations as they set about achieving TourRadar’s Vision to enrich the world through Organized Adventures. In her spare time, you can find Kaitlyn enjoying country music or looking forward to her next trip back to the TourRadar HQ in Vienna where she can enjoy her favorite food - the traditional Austrian Wiener schnitzel!  

Kelsey Tonner (he/him) is the founder of Guest Focus Tour Business Coaching and for two decades he’s been helping tour business owners as a mentor, consultant, speaker, experience designer, guide trainer, and award-winning tour leader. Since 2015, their programs have helped over 2,000 tour operators from 75+ countries around the world and Kelsey has been a regular speaker at over 35 industry events and conferences. Learn more or get involved by visiting Guest Focus’s website. 

Klaudija Janzelj (she/her) is a tourism expert and business mentor with over 18 years of experience driving growth and innovation in purpose-led global organizations. She has a proven track record of identifying market-leading opportunities and building robust commercial relationships, from startups to international giants like Amazon, The New York Times, and Google. Klaudija's expertise lies in scaling businesses and positioning them as first movers in the industry. Currently, she leads city experiences at TUI while also mentoring and coaching small tour businesses and social enterprises.

LoAnn Halden (she/her) is Vice President-Communications for the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA), the global leader in advancing LGBTQ+ travel. IGLTA's network consists of 13,000+ tourism professionals in approximately 80 countries. In her role, LoAnn frequently speaks to media outlets about LGBTQ+ tourism trends and the importance of inclusive tourism. She has participated in travel seminars for consumers and trade on five continents. Prior to IGLTA, she spent 14 years as a writer and editor for LGBTQ+ and travel publications. She is based in London and Fort Lauderdale, FL with her wife.

Marilyn Markham (she/her) is the Vice President of AI Strategy & Automation at American Express Global Business Travel. She leads the adoption of AI as an enterprise capability, recommends strategic applications of AI, and heads the automation engineering team. With an engineering background, Marilyn is a product strategist focused on delivering great customer experiences and business value at the intersection of technology and business.  

Nadine Pinto (she/her) is the Global Sustainability Manager for The Travel Corporation (TTC), a family of travel brands operating worldwide ranging from tour operators to river cruises. Nadine's primary focus is implementing TTC's sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right, including its efforts to address climate change through the groups’ Climate Action Plan and Net Zero Roadmap. In 2020 Nadine was recognized by Corporate Knights as a Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader in Canada.

Nikki Padilla Rivera (she/her) started her career in travel as a NYC tour guide before creating experiences and moving into guide training, including running the guide program for Intrepid’s Urban Adventures with a team of over 1,500+ local guides. She works on multiple projects to educate and push the travel industry into the modern era of memorable experiences driven by purpose. From guide-focused educational programs through the Global Guide Alliance to education, events and networking experiences for tour operators through Tourpreneur. By day, she is responsible for maintaining brand authenticity for Atlas Obscura's multi-day adventures across the globe.

Peter (he/him) is a world wandering tours and activities addict with 20+ years of operating experiences in multiple countries and introducing over 250k guests to adventure travel. He purchased and sold several tour companies and has done several startups. Peter is currently building Tourpreneur to the largest global community of tour operators as well as consulting and advising various travel technology companies.

Ragnar Fjölnisson (he/him), Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Kaptio, leads the charge in revolutionizing the multi-day travel industry through technology. With over 15 years of experience, he has driven innovation and growth, advising leaders from Audley Travel, The Travel Corporation, Rocky Mountaineer, Viking Cruises, Intrepid Travel, and Tauck. His work empowers these brands to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations with modern tech. An advocate for economic inclusion and diversity of suppliers and destinations, Ragnar envisions a future of personalized, enriching travel experiences that benefit both travelers and local communities.

Rebecca (she/her) is a Sustainable Tourism Specialist at the Travel Foundation, a global NGO based in Bristol, founded just over twenty years ago. In that time the organization has worked in over 200 destinations worldwide, with the aim of ensuring that tourism can truly deliver on its potential as a force for good and contribute to a more equitable, net zero future. Rebecca has a Masters in Responsible Tourism Management, which she took in 2008 as a career change from law, then working as an independent consultant before joining the Travel Foundation team in 2021. She works with a broad range of national and regional destination management organizations, large travel companies and tour operators, tourism businesses, NGOs and industry associations on a range of projects, including climate action planning, responsible tourism strategy and destination stewardship.

Rob (he/him) is the Founder and Chief Strategist of GLP Films (GLP), an award-winning, full-service content marketing agency dedicated to sustainable tourism. As trusted partners with over 15 years of experience, GLP works with mission-based brands and destinations to strategically craft impactful storytelling and marketing campaigns that inspire travelers, engage trade and drive positive change. Recently voted the Regenerative Storyteller of the Year (2023) by Regenerative Travel, and the #1 Storytelling Agency by Newsweek Magazine, our team thrives on helping destinations succeed as sustainability leaders and pioneers in this exciting new travel era.

Ryan O’Holleran (he/him) is the Head of Enterprise Sales, EMEA at Airwallex. Based in London, Ryan is the Head of Enterprise Sales for EMEA where he is focused on building out the Enterprise business across both new and existing customer bases.

Prior to Airwallex, Ryan was part of the founding sales team at Stripe and helped the company scale from 200 to 6,000+ employees. During his time at Stripe, he helped launch new offices in San Francisco, Chicago, and London where he focused on new user growth, training, hiring, and mentoring.

Samantha Couture (she/her) joined G Adventures in 2008 as a CEO (Chief Experience Officer) in Central America. From there, Samantha took on a leadership role in the G Adventures local Operations department in Central America, focused on growing the region’s scope and impact on the local community. In 2019, Samantha moved into the role of Director of Product at G Adventures, a natural move as both the Product and Operations teams within G Adventures work closely together to help deliver life-changing itineraries to its travelers. Samantha has traveled to all 7 continents and has lived in three of them. Her next adventure is likely to East Africa to go Gorilla Trekking. 

As WeTravel’s CEO, Ted Clements (he/him) brings a customer-centric approach to fintech and B2B SaaS, with a focus on solving operational pain-points in the travel industry. As former COO and acting CEO of FareHarbor, he was part of the team that led FareHarbor, a B2B SaaS business serving day tour operators, to a successful acquisition by Booking Holdings. He joined WeTravel in January 2023, bringing his expertise and client-focused mentality to WeTravel’s global team.  

Tony (he/him) has a long history in the tours and responsible travel space both from Intrepid Travel and building and growing the global Urban Adventures day tour business out to 160 cities around the world. In more recent times he has gone deep on AI both through keeping the industry informed via the Everything AI in Travel newsletter and podcast and by solving problems inside travel companies as a consultant. Lastly, Tony has taken all that knowledge and experience to co-found Videreo, with the goal of getting suppliers more direct sales by leveraging AI & video together and building stronger relationships between suppliers and distribution pathways looking to themselves maximise video selling.    

Tornike Tsiramua (he/him) is a second-time founder and previously created an award-winning app that expanded into the Baltics. He is the co-founder and CEO of Biliki AI, which helps travelers to reduce their carbon footprint with AI-powered eco-friendly travel recommendations. Tornike also teaches at the Business and Technology University in Tbilisi, Georgia and is a mentor and trainer in various startup programs.