May 18, 2023 • 35 mins
Suzanne outlines her journey from part-time public broadcaster to CEO of GBTA with stops in
Hawaii and Connecticut and her progressive experience in several tech companies that helped
her develop skills and approaches that have made her a successful executive in the travel
industry. How being aware of the trends in the industry and the workplace in general gives you
the opportunity to plan for new career opportunities.
She also outlines the importance of having a supportive family and spouse to her career
advancement. She highlights the importance of following your passion, but also of being aware
of your limitations; the experience of Covid has shown there is a need to moderate your
commitments so that you can show up as your whole self to the workplace.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dorothy Dowling (00:02):
Greetings.
I am Dorothy Dowling, aprincipal of D E I advisors.
We are a nonprofit organizationdedicated to personal
empowerment.
I am delighted to welcomeSuzanne Neufang, c e o of Global
Business Travel Association toour d e I show.
Suzanne, welcome to our show.
It is an honor to have you withus today.
Suzanne Neufang (00:21):
Glad to be here.
Dorothy Dowling (00:23):
Suzanne, you have had an interesting career
spanning technology,distribution, consulting, and
now association leadership.
Would you mind sharing yourcareer history and your journey
in becoming such an effectiveand well respective senior
executive in our industry?
Suzanne Neufang (00:39):
That's really you to say.
Dorothy, I feel honored to be onthe same webcast with you here.
Thanks of course for having mehere.
I guess I'm, what you could say,a woman of many industries
because right out of college Ispent a few years.
In the broadcasting industry,and then nearly a decade in a
Fortune 50 telecom company.
And then finally got to my truelove the travel industry.
(01:01):
I think the common thread for methough throughout those has been
how technology, global culturesand human experience intersect
and travel is all about humanexperience and connections.
I'm probably really in my heartof hearts, just an unfulfilled
social scientist.
I love research.
I love Behavioral economics andthe things that make people do
what they do.
(01:21):
And it's probably something Ididn't even realize was a thing
until I pursued my master's incommunication at the U
University of Hawaii over 30years ago.
And of course back then we wereraising a family in Honolulu,
Hawaii where my husband hadlanded a great university
librarian job.
And while he was workingfull-time at the university and
I worked part-time in publicbroadcasting at that point in my
(01:43):
career, He and I were bothpursuing advanced degrees and
raising a family.
And man, what a crazy time.
But as we like to say, we werepoor, busy, and happy.
And when you don't know better,you don't know better.
And then my job moved us allaway from Hawaii.
So I usually tell anybody whenI'm telling my story that I'm
not as smart as I look.
(02:04):
Because of course his job movedus to paradise and my job moved
us away, moved us to theNortheastern fact and.
By then I was working for aFortune 50 company that a lot of
people, at least in the UnitedStates and maybe even beyond the
United States, had never heardof before G T e which was one of
the big rural and in certainurban areas at the telephone
company.
(02:24):
And I landed a transfer to theircorporate headquarters in
Stanford, Connecticut.
So went from.
Eternal summer to winter to runtheir still then very new
internet strategies.
So this was in the mid nineties.
And I have to say, Dorothy, Ilearned so much there.
How to work with seniorleadership of a public company,
how a well-funded brandorganization works with top New
(02:47):
York City advertising and.comagencies, how an endowed
foundation serves the publicgood.
And how to coalesce a brand newinternet strategy.
We didn't really know what itwas.
Worldwide Web.
I was called a webmaster when Ifirst got there, and I am not a
technical coder.
Within a company really with somany B2B and B2C divisions that
(03:08):
finding the common cause and thecommon brand within their
elements and their mission wasreally a great challenge.
And of course Not that long intomy tenure there, I learned about
huge m and a operoperationalization challenges
because g t E and Bell Atlanticformed Verizon while I was there
as well.
And we all, I think, arefamiliar with Verizon at this
(03:29):
point.
So from Verizon, I took a leapof faith to, to take this B2B
and B2C online experience to theever great industry of travel.
And I started in travel light.
I started in c B2C space atTravelocity, running a product
for them.
And I was promoted internallytwo years into my stint there in
(03:50):
what I think is a way morecomplex and perhaps for me,
really interesting, moreinteresting space of B2B travel.
Working for a couple ofdifferent divisions at Saber,
the parent company ofTravelocity.
That included Travelocitybusiness for a time and then
ultimately almost eight years atGet There which is an online
corporate booking tool.
And there I learned everythingfrom general management and
(04:11):
related sales skills and a wholelot.
About international corporatetravel practices and business
culture and how travel is areflection of every corporate
culture because the policyreally reflects why and how they
meet.
I left Saber and joined Intuitfor a year, so I left the travel
industry.
And went into tax software.
(04:32):
It's a great company to be sure,but tax software wasn't where my
passions lay.
And I was lucky to land back inthe travel industry a year later
in a regional expansion role atGermany based h HR s.
And there I learned how to buildand staff physical offices
including New York City andDallas, and San Francisco at the
(04:53):
time.
And certainly how to fine tune anon HQ based division.
This was one of the first timesI wasn't in an HQ role.
And set marketing priorities,sales priorities, and certainly
telling stories marketingstories about what the solutions
could do in the grand scheme ofthings within the.
That travel ecosystem that alsomoved us to New York City.
(05:16):
So it was then after I left hrsthat the G B T A association
opportunity presented itsitself.
And by then I was certainlydrawn to big transformation
opportunities and that is reallywhat my last two and a half
years have become, and have beenso fun certainly in being able
to work with esteemedprofessionals such as yourself,
(05:38):
but also with some big.
Solving some big problems thatwe have across the industry and
certainly with the associationitself.
Dorothy Dowling (05:46):
I think there's a lot to unpack there.
Suzanne, I have to say I'vealways been an admirer of your
career, but just actuallyunderstanding the depth and
breadth gives me a much deeperappreciation of why you are such
an amazing leader in ourindustry.
So thank you for that.
I'm wondering if we can go alittle bit back to some of the
moves that you have done,because obviously you're a
parent.
(06:06):
It was delightful to hear aboutthe relationship that you and
your husband partnered togetheron some of these career
decisions.
But I'm wondering if you canshare a little bit about how, as
a family you made some of thesedecisions about these moves and
relocations.
Suzanne Neufang (06:20):
Yeah.
The, we spent the longest timeof our 34.
Six years married half of that,I guess almost half of that was
spent in Dallas, Texas.
And so there were a lot of childrearers years that did in the D
F W area.
But early on we moved to Hawaiiwith a brand new baby.
And I am so fortunate that my,my husband Ralph, who is German,
(06:42):
a German native has been sosupportive of balancing our
opportunities and what was bestfor our family throughout these
many years together.
During, there was almost a sevenor eight or 10 year period
during which during at least thefirst 25 years together where he
was able to take a break.
He was tenured and was on atenure track and could take a
(07:04):
sabbatical during one of thoseyears.
That was after our second sonwas born.
So we had some great juggling offamily and careers.
I was able to take some breaksalong the way throughout some of
those big industry shifts.
And I think that replenished usin a way that got us back and
fresh.
And then we were able to, bothgive it our, all with some
demanding careers.
(07:24):
And then yeah, certainly his jobmoved us from North Dakota to
Hawaii and my job moved us fromHawaii to Connecticut.
And then both of our jobs, wewere both, by then working at
the same telecom company movedus to Dallas, Texas.
And then in About probably about12 or 13 years into our Dallas,
Texas stint.
(07:45):
We we looked around.
I think our older son had justgotten to college by that point.
And our latchkey younger sondefinitely, I think he would
admit it.
Now he's almost, he's in hislate twenties.
He he would admit that he coulduse a bit more parental
supervision.
And so at that point, my husbandand I had this discussion.
My husband actually brought itup and he said, one of us should
(08:06):
stay at home.
And please let it be me.
He raised his hand.
So I think a lot like your ownstory, Dorothy.
I ended up with a stay-at-homehusband who really made sure
that, as I was rising up thecorporate ranks at various roles
as they became more morestrenuous, more travel involved,
certainly more and longer daysthat my husband picked up the
(08:27):
Picked up the reigns at home andjust became, we became a very
reverse couple in many ways.
And we're lucky now we moved toNew York, but one of our older
son was already living here andhe's still here.
Our younger son is since landedon the West coast.
But certainly those family timesare still super important to us.
And I think it's, cool that ourtwo sons see see their mom in
(08:48):
this kind of role because thatcertainly influences how they
think about the women in theirlives as well and what they do
with colleagues and others intheir own world.
So we certainly influence thoseeven when we don't have
daughters.
Dorothy Dowling (09:02):
First of all, thank you for sharing a lot of
that personal aspect of yourlife, Suzanne, cuz I know you
and I both know that having thatkind of foundational support is
the only way that we can reallytake on really demanding roles.
And I know Harvard BusinessReview wrote an article, I think
it was in the past 12 monthsthat really spoke about women
that are able to really breakthrough into senior rules.
(09:25):
Have a foundational partner thatreally takes a backseat to allow
them to take on a lot of thedemands of the job.
And I also concur with you thathaving sons I have won myself,
but being a role model to showthat women are, can be very
successful leaders, but they doneed that kind of support from
(09:45):
their partner, I know istransformational for them and
I'm sure for their.
Their partners once they makesome of those important
decisions for their life.
So I know your husband was a bigmentor and career champion to
you, but given all of theseamazing jobs that you've had
over your career, Suzanne, arethere other individuals that
(10:05):
were really important in shapingyour career journey that offered
you mentorship, allyship,sponsorship, all of the great
things that we all speak oftoday as being important to
fostering career development?
Suzanne Neufang (10:18):
Yeah, it's I think someone on my team
recently called building acareer analogous to growing a
garden, and that just reallyspoke to me because sometimes
your garden has has a lot ofgreat vegetables going and you
do something practical withthem.
And sometimes your garden justhas a bunch of flowers and you
just like to look at it.
And I think a career issometimes.
Like that.
(10:38):
And I think I would look back atmy old age and think about that
every boss I've had has been theright boss that I needed at the
time.
And every boss I've had has beensome kind of mentor to me.
I think I've learned both Thingsthat I should replicate and
things that I just wasn't gonnaput in my toolkit as a way that
I would do things.
And I think it's important tothen create that judgment that
(11:00):
judgment for you.
It's a little bit likeparenting, I think, that way
that you think about how yourfriends or your family parent
their children, you think aboutthe way that you're going to do
it.
Similarly in some ways anddifferently in others.
And I think that sort of bossrelationship is similar to me
that way because you spend somuch time, we spend so much time
at work often more times thanwith our families during certain
(11:23):
years.
And I think it's.
Really important that we'rearound people that can influence
us that way.
I certainly have to give bothGTE at a Fortune 50 level and
Saber at a smaller but stillpublic.
They went public and privateduring my years there.
Give them credit for reallysetting up structured
professional developmentprograms as well as coaches who
made a huge difference in how Iapproached my job, the company,
(11:46):
the role I'm in, and certainlythe industry opportunities.
One lasting memory I have aroundthis is from my saber days when
there were 12 or 15 of us in anexecutive development cohort and
one of those courses took us forone of those sessions to India.
And one of the last ones took usto London and we happened to be
(12:07):
all in London.
When ik, the Icelandic volcano,I've learned how to say the name
of it during this whole ordealwhen the volcano blew and we
were all stranded.
And certainly one of peermentorship, and this is probably
a story about peer mentorship.
Don't underestimate peers andthe kind of mentoring you can
give to each other.
I learned that if you're everstranded somewhere short of war
(12:31):
and some kind of terrible.
Predicament that is is difficultto get out of.
Something like an ash cloud.
The best people to be with are abunch of travel experts, someone
who knows airline distribution,someone who knows travel agency
side, and certainly on our busride from Paris.
From Paris all the way down toMadrid.
We had experts who were watchingtheir systems, making sure that
(12:53):
there were gonna be plane totake off in Madrid when we got
there.
And then the other ones that Iwould mention is that we also
ought to Look at digital nativeswho are coming into into the
workforce as Gen Z.
I've heard the term millennial,someone who's between a
millennial and a Gen Z.
And I think as consumers, aspeople who have, either went to
(13:15):
university or did their tradeskill upskilling during a time
that had so many more digitaltools available to them and the
way they think about culture andwhat opportunities especially
are in the travel world.
I learn a lot from the youngerfolks on our teams and in our
industry as well.
And I think that is, is some ofthe lasting sort of places that
(13:36):
I go to make sure that my gardenis growing well.
Dorothy Dowling (13:40):
I think that's a beautiful metaphor in terms of
really thinking about thestructure of our career.
And when I hear about theintentionality, Suzanne, of how
you have tried to straddlevarious elements of the sector,
various types of companies thatare in different stages of their
maturation, it reallystrengthens your capability in
whatever role you bring becauseyou have such a deep
(14:01):
appreciation of what differentorganizations are going through.
And I'm sure that.
Provides you with tremendouscapabilities in your current
role.
But what I also liked is thatanthropological approach that
you have taken in terms of theexperience of being in the role
and learning from others in therole and being very true to
yourself in terms of.
(14:23):
what you wanna put in yourtoolkit.
I loved that analogy.
And those that are maybe bettersuited for others.
So great advice for audience,and I thank you for sharing
that.
I'm wondering if I can movespecifically to something that I
just have enormous admirationfor you, Suzanne, and I think
I've shared with you.
I am always dazzled by you whenyou're on stage.
(14:44):
You are one of the mosteloquent, commanding speakers I
have observed in my career.
So I just love listening to you.
I love learning from you interms of the actual style that
you bring to the content thatyou deliver on stage.
And I'm just wondering if thereare any tips that you can offer
because communication is such animportant skillset for a leader
(15:06):
and you are at the top ofindividuals that I have seen in
that capability.
So please share some of yourwisdom with us.
Suzanne Neufang (15:16):
You're so kind.
I'm blushing.
I'm not sure if the video cameracan pick that up or not.
I'm lucky because I was on anearly stage.
My mom put us in, we, we grew upin on a farm in Western North
Dakota.
My mom.
Stuck, my brother and sister andme in all kinds of activities
that would put us, in a publicstage, either in a music concert
(15:36):
or on a public stage at four hor other things.
So that ability to speak infront of people was something
that honed early.
But even if that was not, and isnot your experience, I think
what and you don't have abroadcasting major like I do.
I think the other tools and tipsthat I would give is practice.
(15:56):
Certainly practice helps a lot.
It might not take away yournerves.
And I actually think some nervesbefore you go on a big or a
small stage are really helpfulbecause they help you hone in on
what your message is, what yourstory is.
If you've practiced, where youmight dive off into a place that
you shouldn't go if you don't.
Practice.
You might not know that.
But I think the other real thingthat it, that I would take full
(16:19):
advantage of, everybody has amobile phone.
Everybody seems to have, eithera selfie stick or a a tripod
that things work on.
Or you have your laptop, recordyourself, see how you look,
critique yourself.
There's great PR training andmedia training companies that
aren't that expensive.
Some consultants that would alsotake you aside.
(16:40):
And help you to fine tune a fewthings.
And again, I've been in roleswhere I've been lucky enough to
have formal media training notonly from the back of the
camera, which was, my bachelor'sdegree, but in the front of the
camera.
It's quite different.
And you also need to be awareof, when you're reading Talking
Points and you could stray offinto something that is something
(17:01):
the company doesn't want you totalk about, it just trains your
mind to be.
Thinking, listening and speakingall at the same time without
losing your track of thought.
So that does take practice.
I think I'm a much betterinterviewer than I am an
interviewee.
That is that it's fun to sit andtalk to people.
And I think if you can think ofyour audience as someone who can
(17:22):
learn something from you ifyou're comfortable teaching in a
small group that teaching.
Spot is also public speaking.
And if you teach and do othersin a smaller, big way, I think
you'll become more comfortable.
Everybody will become morecomfortable as well when they're
on a stage and they don't have,a rolling script that they can
read, but that they can go withtheir notes and be very
(17:45):
comfortable that they'resomewhere reaching someone in
the audience that needs to heartheir story.
Dorothy Dowling (17:50):
Well, a lot of great depths there and it is one
of those important qualitiesthat everyone speaks about in
terms of executive presence,Suzanne, but I do think that
intentionality about focusing onyour communication capabilities,
And I do think that element ofpreparation, that is something,
as I said I sit back and Iadmire because you have such a
(18:11):
broad role with G B T A, but youcan speak to so many topics with
such authority and I know thatyou put a lot of time into
making sure you're ready todeliver that message.
And I'm just grateful for theamazing role model.
You are too, women and allindividuals in terms of how to
be so commanding.
So I'm wondering if I can moveon to something else, because I
(18:33):
know you've been with G B T Anow for almost three years, but
you do have this amazingcapability to build and develop
strong teams, and you reallyhave done an amazing job with
some of the talent that you havebrought to G B T A.
And I'm just wondering if youcan share thoughts about your
ability to, the learnings thatyou've had in terms of building
(18:54):
great team followership and howyou really invest in your teams
today to really help them.
With their career journeys?
Suzanne Neufang (19:02):
Yeah.
I think that's such a greatquestion because we ultimately,
no matter how far you end up ona in an organization, how high
up you go you will always havedirect reports and you will have
people who look up to thosedirect reports.
And it is the way you show up isthe way that people around you
will show up as well.
And so that's certainlyimportant.
(19:24):
I'm a firm believer in havingpeople.
People who are smarter than meare very diverse in both
backgrounds as well asculturally, as well as who they
identify as, and making surethat cornucopia of talent and
skills and viewpoints issomething that makes every group
I've ever been in charge of.
(19:45):
Just better.
And I think more willing to workwith, than customers who might
not agree with what you thinkeither.
So I think that helps frame thatthat kind of sensibility that
you have.
From the first time I became amanager at GB, at G T e, lots of
Gs in my life at g t e, at thetelecom company in Connecticut.
(20:06):
I was forming a team who knewwho could do something with this
internet thing and they're.
There weren't even really peopleother than, if someone had
worked at a university in NewARPA or DARPA and had worked
with the government who knew howthis ultimately worldwide web
was going to work.
So I really watched for talentin agencies that we were working
with, and I think if you gotconsultants or you have you have
(20:28):
outsourced anything of yourbusiness, To other companies.
I've had such good luck findinggems of talent creative
thinkers, people who have astrong work ethic, people who
have a lot of global experiencewith those interactions.
I think every conference andconvention anybody goes to, they
(20:48):
should always be looking fortalent.
Someone who sparks theirinterest, just, try don't.
Try not to hang around withpeople you know, because that's
where you will find someone thathas something interesting or go
watch a session, a breakoutsession with people you don't
know and haven't met before.
I think there's ways to look forthat talent.
I'm also a big one for askingpeople I trust who don't work
(21:10):
for me if they know someone witha certain skillset that I'm
looking for.
If If someone doesn't pop intomy mind with an opening that we
have, and that's some of thatwas how we receded some of the
great people that we have at G BT A again and certainly how I've
placed people in roles in othergroups that I've had.
And I think finally, thankgoodness there are tools such as
(21:31):
LinkedIn.
I think when you really do havean a role that you just don't
know where the talent lies,associations are a great place
to look.
But you also have LinkedIn tostart scrolling through and even
just seeing what kind of jobdescriptions are describing what
you.
Also have, and make sure thatyour job description fits what
other other groups, not evencompetitors, but other groups
(21:55):
with the same kind of title.
And you can then look to seewhat kind of people have that
kind of, what looks like a sim,a skillset that could fit for
that.
And then I think it's reallyimportant to have a strong.
Structured interviewing panel tomake sure that, yeah, you might
love someone, but maybe there'ssomething that you didn't see
that was a weak spot that, or acultural fit that wasn't gonna
(22:19):
work.
And I've had these interviewpanels be part of why someone
doesn't make it through, eventhough maybe I worked with them
in the past, but that particularorganization, it wasn't gonna be
a good thing.
Fit.
So I think when you have strongleaders and people around you
and you've got a diversity ofthinking, I think you get better
results as that way as well.
And no more important topic tome than talent because talent is
(22:42):
both the willingness but alsothe the cultural fit in the way
that people, some people workharder longer, some people work
faster, shorter, and making sureyou've got that right balance.
Everybody who wor who is thesame, makes for, to me, a really
boring workplace.
And I certainly don't wanna workwith a bunch of people who are
just like me.
So it, that's really been one ofmy mantras in building teams.
(23:04):
I'd be curious about what yourexperience has been.
Dorothy, if we could turn thetables a little bit, what have
you found has worked in yourcareer?
Dorothy Dowling (23:12):
I was going to commend you for Suzanne because
there's so much there that youoffered in terms of leaning into
your network, and I know youhave a very powerful one, and
having trusted advisors thathelp guide you.
I also think, there were thingsthat you shared that I also do
in terms of looking at.
How people are positioning jobsin their organizations because
(23:33):
the world is continuing toshift, understanding the way
people are building employerbranding, and really the
language that they're using interms of developing up the roles
that they need for today andtomorrow.
But I also think just thatformalized practice that you
have of using panels, which ofcourse is a best practice that
(23:54):
everyone.
Speaks to you today in terms ofbeing very inclusive and
ensuring that you're being veryresponsive to diverse talent
pools.
So again I commend you becauseyou're on the bleeding edge,
leading edge of adopting whatgreat organizations are doing to
really build that talent base.
And I concur with you, Suzanne,in the world that we live today,
(24:15):
talent is everything.
They just bring the valuecreation to all of the business
partners that, that we all needto support in our careers.
I have some parallels in the waythat I look at team development,
and I fundamentally believe thatdiversity in your team makes
everyone stronger because we allteach and mentor each other.
So I thank you for sharing thatand Also suggests that I have
(24:39):
some parallel points of viewwith what you said today.
I'm wondering if I can move alittle bit onto G B T A because
obviously that's where we cameto know each other and I
obviously worked in anassociation environment myself,
it's a different challengebecause you have a lot of
different advisors in theorganization that want to
influence the organization'sdirection.
(25:00):
You're working with a veryactive board that also are
providing you with a lot offeedback in terms of the
governance and ideas that theyhave about the future.
But you have just done anamazing job at really
transforming G B K A buildingalignment really.
Developing up this globalcommitment to hearing voices
(25:21):
from other communities andreally embracing a lot of the
new governance expectations thatis being, touted by everyone
relative to sustainability and dei.
So I'm wondering if you canspeak a little bit about your
career and how thattransformative point of view has
really helped you shape the rolethat you're in and the value
creation that you're bringing toG B T A.
(25:43):
Yeah,
Suzanne Neufang (25:43):
this is I'm pretty sure I interviewed on
parts of these things that Ifelt was really important for G
B T A to bring to the table forits constituents.
So the board knew what they weregetting and in some ways, but at
the same time, that passioncomes from the board itself.
And I'm really lucky that tohave that consistent board
support since I got here aboutthese Sometimes es called e s G,
(26:06):
sometimes in other places,people on planet.
And certainly your support hasbeen there the whole time as
well when you were on the board.
They're big picture topics.
And while we didn't need tobuild everything from scratch,
the climate related things wedid and Some other,
transformation pieces were evenjust when I started it was, we
were still in the midst ofCovid, I think it was.
(26:29):
Delta was just kicking off theDelta variant.
We were still months away fromOmicron.
And those ups and downs werestill ahead, but, with.
With great industry polling andpolicy advocating, especially
within the US Ottawa and inBrussels we really helped.
Overall, I think, and I'velearned a lot in this process,
(26:51):
helped the industry tounderstand that business travel
is not the same as tourism.
That transformation, thinkingalso needed to be made at the
policy.
Maker level.
And while we, I think in a waywere underestimating duty of
care and wellness and the otherthings until the pandemic hit,
we certainly knew that thosewere the utmost importance to
(27:12):
companies that we call asmembers once we were in that
pandemic space and then.
Comes the sustainability part ofit, the climate action.
Really since November, 2021 whenwe kicked off really the biggest
new initiative that we've had insome time as an association we
we brought ourselves into theclimate action space and I would
(27:36):
say that the buyer enthusiasm,their one half of our
association.
But also the supplierenthusiasm.
The other half of ourassociation and the board
reflecting both has been justphenomenal in the way that
suppliers are giving of time andtreasure.
We have buyers who are giving ofstandards and best practices and
(27:56):
ability to create toolkits.
Because we also have a huge roleto play in education.
And everybody's starting from adifferent point.
So getting people to a similarstarting point, but then
learning from.
Of those who are a bit moreadvanced, some who are far
advanced and making sure thatthe existential threat that is
climate change for our entireindustry is one that we are
(28:19):
taking the reins helping tocreate the awareness at the
policymaker level that somethings like aviation are really
hard to solve compared to someother industries.
And that, but we're working onit.
And I think that givesconfidence and has been giving
confidence to the policymakersthat needs to be a blend of
carrot and stick.
We're really an industry that'spushing both carrot and stick.
(28:41):
The incentives that we now aregetting in the United States
through the IRA last fall andthe blenders tax credits and
other things that we've beendriving for are helping both
buyers and suppliers see thatwe're on their side.
And while at some level there,there are, there's right and
left thinking about this, Ithink from our industry as a
(29:02):
nonpartisan association, it'sbeen a great middle of the road
approach to thread the needleand make sure that we're
focusing on what the industryneeds and in smart ways that we
go about it.
As part of that journey we rereset up our 5 0 1 our
foundation, and knowing from my,I would say indirect foundation
(29:22):
experience back at G T E, whichwas self-funded through their
public endowment.
From our standpoint ourfoundation connected to our
association can still be aboutpublic good, and we put people
and planet related activitiesunder there.
So our great programs such asLadders, which is about
generational mentorship, win it,which is about women in travel
(29:44):
and gender equity.
Something you're very passionateabout and have been a strong
leader in this, as have othercolleagues of ours.
Those programs fit sobeautifully under the people.
Pillar of that.
And then the sustainability andclimate action fall under the
planet side.
So I.
As we are generating, we're noteven to year one of this yet, as
we are generating studies andfindings about where the
(30:06):
industry is actually at in thesespaces, I'm a firm believer in,
we don't know how far we have togo till we know where we are
today.
We're starting with that kind ofbaseline for many of those
things, and.
And then our job is really tocontinue working on the
harmonization of standards whenit comes to business travel and
measurements and climate action.
And certainly getting theindustry prepared for the hard
(30:29):
work ahead and talking to seniorleaders about where they see the
innovations coming in.
Cuz certainly tech andinnovation need to help save
this industry as well.
It's not just thinking that willget us to the finish line in
2050.
And certainly then we can play abig role in, in making sure that
the BBC B2C travel continues aswell.
Because B2B travel is moreorganized, we can make a bigger
(30:52):
impact faster than just going toone travelers one by one.
And that's really where we seeour mission in this overall
space.
Dorothy Dowling (30:59):
Again, a lot of content that you shared, but I
do think that forming thatalliance across the industry so
that there is unity andapproach, because as I often
think about it's everyone havinga foundation in terms of how
they communicate some of thesechanges within their own.
Platforms and really demystifiedfor the buyers and the procurers
(31:23):
in this space so that they havesome degree of appreciation of
what does this mean,particularly as some of the
Scope three evolution is goingto continue to drive some of the
performance.
Okay.
So we're coming up near the endof the interview, Suzanne, but
there's one particular area thatI'd really like to have you
speak to is that you are aglobal travel executive and you
(31:44):
make an enormous commitment toshow up.
For so many around the world,which I am extraordinarily
impressed by, and I know when wewere coordinating this interview
you just come off a 31 daytravel schedule.
So again, I just would like toget some insights that you might
offer audience, but how do youbalance some of your personal
commitments with thesesignificant career investments
(32:06):
that you're making on behalf ofG B T A.
Suzanne Neufang (32:10):
Yeah it I would say everybody should know your
passion.
M my passion from very early onI studied foreign languages.
I knew that I wanted to see theworld.
So this is part of my passion.
I'm so lucky that I can fulfillthis passion in the travel
industry, but also you have toknow your limits.
And I think we all learned alot.
Through Covid that all of thatdowntime when you couldn't
(32:33):
travel, it was both refreshingto get back out on the road.
But I think many of us, weincluded, have realized that
maybe our threshold is a littlebit different than the go-go pre
covid times.
So know your passion, but alsoknow your limits when you're
traveling.
Do show up with your whole self.
This isn't a multitaskinguniverse where every business
(32:54):
trip is a precious resource.
So treat it as such, I think,and meet the people and spend
time with the people that you'regoing to be with.
When our.
Kids were still at home.
It was certainly more, morechallenging.
And I, and for any young parentsthere listening, I'm sure it's
definitely hard, especially ifyou're balancing a two career
household.
But certainly my, my husband andI were able to work out where he
(33:17):
wanted to step back as I wastraveling more.
Now, today, I think.
There's still a way to besupportive of each other.
And even though my husband isretired now, it's, it's that
important FaceTime of checkingin with family when I'm gone,
making sure my adult kids knowwhere I'm going.
It certainly is part of that aswell.
And then don't forget, the teamsalso need to know where you're
(33:37):
going, and so I like to bringback.
News from my travels, as Iencourage anybody on my team who
is traveling to bring back thosestories because when you have a
privilege at a company or anorganization to travel, I think
it's important to bring those,what you learned on the road
back to the people that maybedon't travel as much or at all
or maybe don't want to.
(33:59):
So I think there's a way toblend all of that together.
And while 31 days on the road,I'm sure you've had some of
those months in your career wasa bit unexpected.
I found the perfect medium ofbeing able to do a trip to Asia
from a home base of Europe, andit was actually more sustainable
that way.
So there are.
Reasons to make make some ofthose what sound extraordinarily
(34:20):
complex trips worthwhile.
Because as we think about planetcare, that is one way to do
planet care by doing more stopswithin the same the same trips
going forward.
Dorothy Dowling (34:31):
Amazing advice, Suzanne and I do think it is
about us all thinking about, asyou said, our personal limits
and trying to leverage.
How we bring our best self towork, but also take that
personal care to make sure ourenergy and our personal needs
are always taken care of aswell.
But if I may just thank you forbeing so genuine, being so open
(34:53):
to sharing so much of thelearnings that you've had in
your career.
It's been truly a privilege tobe with you.
You today.
And if I may, I'd also like ourthank our audience because if
you have enjoyed this interviewwith Suzanne today, I hope
you'll visit our website, deiadvisors.org, where you will see
webcasts and podcasts from otherindustry leaders like Suzanne
that I hope will empower yourknowledge and feel your spirit
(35:14):
like she certainly has done forme today.
So Suzanne, thank you andappreciate you very much for
your ongoing leadership in our
Suzanne Neufang (35:21):
industry.
Thank you so much, Dorothy.
It was great to be with youtoday.
Thank
Dorothy Dowling (35:27):
you.
Greetings.
I am Dorothy Dowling, aprincipal of D E I advisors.
We are a nonprofit organizationdedicated to personal
empowerment.
I am delighted to welcomeSuzanne Neufang, c e o of Global
Business Travel Association toour d e I show.
Suzanne, welcome to our show.
It is an honor to have you withus today.
Suzanne Neufang (00:21):
Glad to be here.
Dorothy Dowling (00:23):
Suzanne, you have had an interesting career
spanning technology,distribution, consulting, and
now association leadership.
Would you mind sharing yourcareer history and your journey
in becoming such an effectiveand well respective senior
executive in our industry?
Suzanne Neufang (00:39):
That's really you to say.
Dorothy, I feel honored to be onthe same webcast with you here.
Thanks of course for having mehere.
I guess I'm, what you could say,a woman of many industries
because right out of college Ispent a few years.
In the broadcasting industry,and then nearly a decade in a
Fortune 50 telecom company.
And then finally got to my truelove the travel industry.
(01:01):
I think the common thread for methough throughout those has been
how technology, global culturesand human experience intersect
and travel is all about humanexperience and connections.
I'm probably really in my heartof hearts, just an unfulfilled
social scientist.
I love research.
I love Behavioral economics andthe things that make people do
what they do.
(01:21):
And it's probably something Ididn't even realize was a thing
until I pursued my master's incommunication at the U
University of Hawaii over 30years ago.
And of course back then we wereraising a family in Honolulu,
Hawaii where my husband hadlanded a great university
librarian job.
And while he was workingfull-time at the university and
I worked part-time in publicbroadcasting at that point in my
(01:43):
career, He and I were bothpursuing advanced degrees and
raising a family.
And man, what a crazy time.
But as we like to say, we werepoor, busy, and happy.
And when you don't know better,you don't know better.
And then my job moved us allaway from Hawaii.
So I usually tell anybody whenI'm telling my story that I'm
not as smart as I look.
(02:04):
Because of course his job movedus to paradise and my job moved
us away, moved us to theNortheastern fact and.
By then I was working for aFortune 50 company that a lot of
people, at least in the UnitedStates and maybe even beyond the
United States, had never heardof before G T e which was one of
the big rural and in certainurban areas at the telephone
company.
(02:24):
And I landed a transfer to theircorporate headquarters in
Stanford, Connecticut.
So went from.
Eternal summer to winter to runtheir still then very new
internet strategies.
So this was in the mid nineties.
And I have to say, Dorothy, Ilearned so much there.
How to work with seniorleadership of a public company,
how a well-funded brandorganization works with top New
(02:47):
York City advertising and.comagencies, how an endowed
foundation serves the publicgood.
And how to coalesce a brand newinternet strategy.
We didn't really know what itwas.
Worldwide Web.
I was called a webmaster when Ifirst got there, and I am not a
technical coder.
Within a company really with somany B2B and B2C divisions that
(03:08):
finding the common cause and thecommon brand within their
elements and their mission wasreally a great challenge.
And of course Not that long intomy tenure there, I learned about
huge m and a operoperationalization challenges
because g t E and Bell Atlanticformed Verizon while I was there
as well.
And we all, I think, arefamiliar with Verizon at this
(03:29):
point.
So from Verizon, I took a leapof faith to, to take this B2B
and B2C online experience to theever great industry of travel.
And I started in travel light.
I started in c B2C space atTravelocity, running a product
for them.
And I was promoted internallytwo years into my stint there in
(03:50):
what I think is a way morecomplex and perhaps for me,
really interesting, moreinteresting space of B2B travel.
Working for a couple ofdifferent divisions at Saber,
the parent company ofTravelocity.
That included Travelocitybusiness for a time and then
ultimately almost eight years atGet There which is an online
corporate booking tool.
And there I learned everythingfrom general management and
(04:11):
related sales skills and a wholelot.
About international corporatetravel practices and business
culture and how travel is areflection of every corporate
culture because the policyreally reflects why and how they
meet.
I left Saber and joined Intuitfor a year, so I left the travel
industry.
And went into tax software.
(04:32):
It's a great company to be sure,but tax software wasn't where my
passions lay.
And I was lucky to land back inthe travel industry a year later
in a regional expansion role atGermany based h HR s.
And there I learned how to buildand staff physical offices
including New York City andDallas, and San Francisco at the
(04:53):
time.
And certainly how to fine tune anon HQ based division.
This was one of the first timesI wasn't in an HQ role.
And set marketing priorities,sales priorities, and certainly
telling stories marketingstories about what the solutions
could do in the grand scheme ofthings within the.
That travel ecosystem that alsomoved us to New York City.
(05:16):
So it was then after I left hrsthat the G B T A association
opportunity presented itsitself.
And by then I was certainlydrawn to big transformation
opportunities and that is reallywhat my last two and a half
years have become, and have beenso fun certainly in being able
to work with esteemedprofessionals such as yourself,
(05:38):
but also with some big.
Solving some big problems thatwe have across the industry and
certainly with the associationitself.
Dorothy Dowling (05:46):
I think there's a lot to unpack there.
Suzanne, I have to say I'vealways been an admirer of your
career, but just actuallyunderstanding the depth and
breadth gives me a much deeperappreciation of why you are such
an amazing leader in ourindustry.
So thank you for that.
I'm wondering if we can go alittle bit back to some of the
moves that you have done,because obviously you're a
parent.
(06:06):
It was delightful to hear aboutthe relationship that you and
your husband partnered togetheron some of these career
decisions.
But I'm wondering if you canshare a little bit about how, as
a family you made some of thesedecisions about these moves and
relocations.
Suzanne Neufang (06:20):
Yeah.
The, we spent the longest timeof our 34.
Six years married half of that,I guess almost half of that was
spent in Dallas, Texas.
And so there were a lot of childrearers years that did in the D
F W area.
But early on we moved to Hawaiiwith a brand new baby.
And I am so fortunate that my,my husband Ralph, who is German,
(06:42):
a German native has been sosupportive of balancing our
opportunities and what was bestfor our family throughout these
many years together.
During, there was almost a sevenor eight or 10 year period
during which during at least thefirst 25 years together where he
was able to take a break.
He was tenured and was on atenure track and could take a
(07:04):
sabbatical during one of thoseyears.
That was after our second sonwas born.
So we had some great juggling offamily and careers.
I was able to take some breaksalong the way throughout some of
those big industry shifts.
And I think that replenished usin a way that got us back and
fresh.
And then we were able to, bothgive it our, all with some
demanding careers.
(07:24):
And then yeah, certainly his jobmoved us from North Dakota to
Hawaii and my job moved us fromHawaii to Connecticut.
And then both of our jobs, wewere both, by then working at
the same telecom company movedus to Dallas, Texas.
And then in About probably about12 or 13 years into our Dallas,
Texas stint.
(07:45):
We we looked around.
I think our older son had justgotten to college by that point.
And our latchkey younger sondefinitely, I think he would
admit it.
Now he's almost, he's in hislate twenties.
He he would admit that he coulduse a bit more parental
supervision.
And so at that point, my husbandand I had this discussion.
My husband actually brought itup and he said, one of us should
(08:06):
stay at home.
And please let it be me.
He raised his hand.
So I think a lot like your ownstory, Dorothy.
I ended up with a stay-at-homehusband who really made sure
that, as I was rising up thecorporate ranks at various roles
as they became more morestrenuous, more travel involved,
certainly more and longer daysthat my husband picked up the
(08:27):
Picked up the reigns at home andjust became, we became a very
reverse couple in many ways.
And we're lucky now we moved toNew York, but one of our older
son was already living here andhe's still here.
Our younger son is since landedon the West coast.
But certainly those family timesare still super important to us.
And I think it's, cool that ourtwo sons see see their mom in
(08:48):
this kind of role because thatcertainly influences how they
think about the women in theirlives as well and what they do
with colleagues and others intheir own world.
So we certainly influence thoseeven when we don't have
daughters.
Dorothy Dowling (09:02):
First of all, thank you for sharing a lot of
that personal aspect of yourlife, Suzanne, cuz I know you
and I both know that having thatkind of foundational support is
the only way that we can reallytake on really demanding roles.
And I know Harvard BusinessReview wrote an article, I think
it was in the past 12 monthsthat really spoke about women
that are able to really breakthrough into senior rules.
(09:25):
Have a foundational partner thatreally takes a backseat to allow
them to take on a lot of thedemands of the job.
And I also concur with you thathaving sons I have won myself,
but being a role model to showthat women are, can be very
successful leaders, but they doneed that kind of support from
(09:45):
their partner, I know istransformational for them and
I'm sure for their.
Their partners once they makesome of those important
decisions for their life.
So I know your husband was a bigmentor and career champion to
you, but given all of theseamazing jobs that you've had
over your career, Suzanne, arethere other individuals that
(10:05):
were really important in shapingyour career journey that offered
you mentorship, allyship,sponsorship, all of the great
things that we all speak oftoday as being important to
fostering career development?
Suzanne Neufang (10:18):
Yeah, it's I think someone on my team
recently called building acareer analogous to growing a
garden, and that just reallyspoke to me because sometimes
your garden has has a lot ofgreat vegetables going and you
do something practical withthem.
And sometimes your garden justhas a bunch of flowers and you
just like to look at it.
And I think a career issometimes.
Like that.
(10:38):
And I think I would look back atmy old age and think about that
every boss I've had has been theright boss that I needed at the
time.
And every boss I've had has beensome kind of mentor to me.
I think I've learned both Thingsthat I should replicate and
things that I just wasn't gonnaput in my toolkit as a way that
I would do things.
And I think it's important tothen create that judgment that
(11:00):
judgment for you.
It's a little bit likeparenting, I think, that way
that you think about how yourfriends or your family parent
their children, you think aboutthe way that you're going to do
it.
Similarly in some ways anddifferently in others.
And I think that sort of bossrelationship is similar to me
that way because you spend somuch time, we spend so much time
at work often more times thanwith our families during certain
(11:23):
years.
And I think it's.
Really important that we'rearound people that can influence
us that way.
I certainly have to give bothGTE at a Fortune 50 level and
Saber at a smaller but stillpublic.
They went public and privateduring my years there.
Give them credit for reallysetting up structured
professional developmentprograms as well as coaches who
made a huge difference in how Iapproached my job, the company,
(11:46):
the role I'm in, and certainlythe industry opportunities.
One lasting memory I have aroundthis is from my saber days when
there were 12 or 15 of us in anexecutive development cohort and
one of those courses took us forone of those sessions to India.
And one of the last ones took usto London and we happened to be
(12:07):
all in London.
When ik, the Icelandic volcano,I've learned how to say the name
of it during this whole ordealwhen the volcano blew and we
were all stranded.
And certainly one of peermentorship, and this is probably
a story about peer mentorship.
Don't underestimate peers andthe kind of mentoring you can
give to each other.
I learned that if you're everstranded somewhere short of war
(12:31):
and some kind of terrible.
Predicament that is is difficultto get out of.
Something like an ash cloud.
The best people to be with are abunch of travel experts, someone
who knows airline distribution,someone who knows travel agency
side, and certainly on our busride from Paris.
From Paris all the way down toMadrid.
We had experts who were watchingtheir systems, making sure that
(12:53):
there were gonna be plane totake off in Madrid when we got
there.
And then the other ones that Iwould mention is that we also
ought to Look at digital nativeswho are coming into into the
workforce as Gen Z.
I've heard the term millennial,someone who's between a
millennial and a Gen Z.
And I think as consumers, aspeople who have, either went to
(13:15):
university or did their tradeskill upskilling during a time
that had so many more digitaltools available to them and the
way they think about culture andwhat opportunities especially
are in the travel world.
I learn a lot from the youngerfolks on our teams and in our
industry as well.
And I think that is, is some ofthe lasting sort of places that
(13:36):
I go to make sure that my gardenis growing well.
Dorothy Dowling (13:40):
I think that's a beautiful metaphor in terms of
really thinking about thestructure of our career.
And when I hear about theintentionality, Suzanne, of how
you have tried to straddlevarious elements of the sector,
various types of companies thatare in different stages of their
maturation, it reallystrengthens your capability in
whatever role you bring becauseyou have such a deep
(14:01):
appreciation of what differentorganizations are going through.
And I'm sure that.
Provides you with tremendouscapabilities in your current
role.
But what I also liked is thatanthropological approach that
you have taken in terms of theexperience of being in the role
and learning from others in therole and being very true to
yourself in terms of.
(14:23):
what you wanna put in yourtoolkit.
I loved that analogy.
And those that are maybe bettersuited for others.
So great advice for audience,and I thank you for sharing
that.
I'm wondering if I can movespecifically to something that I
just have enormous admirationfor you, Suzanne, and I think
I've shared with you.
I am always dazzled by you whenyou're on stage.
(14:44):
You are one of the mosteloquent, commanding speakers I
have observed in my career.
So I just love listening to you.
I love learning from you interms of the actual style that
you bring to the content thatyou deliver on stage.
And I'm just wondering if thereare any tips that you can offer
because communication is such animportant skillset for a leader
(15:06):
and you are at the top ofindividuals that I have seen in
that capability.
So please share some of yourwisdom with us.
Suzanne Neufang (15:16):
You're so kind.
I'm blushing.
I'm not sure if the video cameracan pick that up or not.
I'm lucky because I was on anearly stage.
My mom put us in, we, we grew upin on a farm in Western North
Dakota.
My mom.
Stuck, my brother and sister andme in all kinds of activities
that would put us, in a publicstage, either in a music concert
(15:36):
or on a public stage at four hor other things.
So that ability to speak infront of people was something
that honed early.
But even if that was not, and isnot your experience, I think
what and you don't have abroadcasting major like I do.
I think the other tools and tipsthat I would give is practice.
(15:56):
Certainly practice helps a lot.
It might not take away yournerves.
And I actually think some nervesbefore you go on a big or a
small stage are really helpfulbecause they help you hone in on
what your message is, what yourstory is.
If you've practiced, where youmight dive off into a place that
you shouldn't go if you don't.
Practice.
You might not know that.
But I think the other real thingthat it, that I would take full
(16:19):
advantage of, everybody has amobile phone.
Everybody seems to have, eithera selfie stick or a a tripod
that things work on.
Or you have your laptop, recordyourself, see how you look,
critique yourself.
There's great PR training andmedia training companies that
aren't that expensive.
Some consultants that would alsotake you aside.
(16:40):
And help you to fine tune a fewthings.
And again, I've been in roleswhere I've been lucky enough to
have formal media training notonly from the back of the
camera, which was, my bachelor'sdegree, but in the front of the
camera.
It's quite different.
And you also need to be awareof, when you're reading Talking
Points and you could stray offinto something that is something
(17:01):
the company doesn't want you totalk about, it just trains your
mind to be.
Thinking, listening and speakingall at the same time without
losing your track of thought.
So that does take practice.
I think I'm a much betterinterviewer than I am an
interviewee.
That is that it's fun to sit andtalk to people.
And I think if you can think ofyour audience as someone who can
(17:22):
learn something from you ifyou're comfortable teaching in a
small group that teaching.
Spot is also public speaking.
And if you teach and do othersin a smaller, big way, I think
you'll become more comfortable.
Everybody will become morecomfortable as well when they're
on a stage and they don't have,a rolling script that they can
read, but that they can go withtheir notes and be very
(17:45):
comfortable that they'resomewhere reaching someone in
the audience that needs to heartheir story.
Dorothy Dowling (17:50):
Well, a lot of great depths there and it is one
of those important qualitiesthat everyone speaks about in
terms of executive presence,Suzanne, but I do think that
intentionality about focusing onyour communication capabilities,
And I do think that element ofpreparation, that is something,
as I said I sit back and Iadmire because you have such a
(18:11):
broad role with G B T A, but youcan speak to so many topics with
such authority and I know thatyou put a lot of time into
making sure you're ready todeliver that message.
And I'm just grateful for theamazing role model.
You are too, women and allindividuals in terms of how to
be so commanding.
So I'm wondering if I can moveon to something else, because I
(18:33):
know you've been with G B T Anow for almost three years, but
you do have this amazingcapability to build and develop
strong teams, and you reallyhave done an amazing job with
some of the talent that you havebrought to G B T A.
And I'm just wondering if youcan share thoughts about your
ability to, the learnings thatyou've had in terms of building
(18:54):
great team followership and howyou really invest in your teams
today to really help them.
With their career journeys?
Suzanne Neufang (19:02):
Yeah.
I think that's such a greatquestion because we ultimately,
no matter how far you end up ona in an organization, how high
up you go you will always havedirect reports and you will have
people who look up to thosedirect reports.
And it is the way you show up isthe way that people around you
will show up as well.
And so that's certainlyimportant.
(19:24):
I'm a firm believer in havingpeople.
People who are smarter than meare very diverse in both
backgrounds as well asculturally, as well as who they
identify as, and making surethat cornucopia of talent and
skills and viewpoints issomething that makes every group
I've ever been in charge of.
(19:45):
Just better.
And I think more willing to workwith, than customers who might
not agree with what you thinkeither.
So I think that helps frame thatthat kind of sensibility that
you have.
From the first time I became amanager at GB, at G T e, lots of
Gs in my life at g t e, at thetelecom company in Connecticut.
(20:06):
I was forming a team who knewwho could do something with this
internet thing and they're.
There weren't even really peopleother than, if someone had
worked at a university in NewARPA or DARPA and had worked
with the government who knew howthis ultimately worldwide web
was going to work.
So I really watched for talentin agencies that we were working
with, and I think if you gotconsultants or you have you have
(20:28):
outsourced anything of yourbusiness, To other companies.
I've had such good luck findinggems of talent creative
thinkers, people who have astrong work ethic, people who
have a lot of global experiencewith those interactions.
I think every conference andconvention anybody goes to, they
(20:48):
should always be looking fortalent.
Someone who sparks theirinterest, just, try don't.
Try not to hang around withpeople you know, because that's
where you will find someone thathas something interesting or go
watch a session, a breakoutsession with people you don't
know and haven't met before.
I think there's ways to look forthat talent.
I'm also a big one for askingpeople I trust who don't work
(21:10):
for me if they know someone witha certain skillset that I'm
looking for.
If If someone doesn't pop intomy mind with an opening that we
have, and that's some of thatwas how we receded some of the
great people that we have at G BT A again and certainly how I've
placed people in roles in othergroups that I've had.
And I think finally, thankgoodness there are tools such as
(21:31):
LinkedIn.
I think when you really do havean a role that you just don't
know where the talent lies,associations are a great place
to look.
But you also have LinkedIn tostart scrolling through and even
just seeing what kind of jobdescriptions are describing what
you.
Also have, and make sure thatyour job description fits what
other other groups, not evencompetitors, but other groups
(21:55):
with the same kind of title.
And you can then look to seewhat kind of people have that
kind of, what looks like a sim,a skillset that could fit for
that.
And then I think it's reallyimportant to have a strong.
Structured interviewing panel tomake sure that, yeah, you might
love someone, but maybe there'ssomething that you didn't see
that was a weak spot that, or acultural fit that wasn't gonna
(22:19):
work.
And I've had these interviewpanels be part of why someone
doesn't make it through, eventhough maybe I worked with them
in the past, but that particularorganization, it wasn't gonna be
a good thing.
Fit.
So I think when you have strongleaders and people around you
and you've got a diversity ofthinking, I think you get better
results as that way as well.
And no more important topic tome than talent because talent is
(22:42):
both the willingness but alsothe the cultural fit in the way
that people, some people workharder longer, some people work
faster, shorter, and making sureyou've got that right balance.
Everybody who wor who is thesame, makes for, to me, a really
boring workplace.
And I certainly don't wanna workwith a bunch of people who are
just like me.
So it, that's really been one ofmy mantras in building teams.
(23:04):
I'd be curious about what yourexperience has been.
Dorothy, if we could turn thetables a little bit, what have
you found has worked in yourcareer?
Dorothy Dowling (23:12):
I was going to commend you for Suzanne because
there's so much there that youoffered in terms of leaning into
your network, and I know youhave a very powerful one, and
having trusted advisors thathelp guide you.
I also think, there were thingsthat you shared that I also do
in terms of looking at.
How people are positioning jobsin their organizations because
(23:33):
the world is continuing toshift, understanding the way
people are building employerbranding, and really the
language that they're using interms of developing up the roles
that they need for today andtomorrow.
But I also think just thatformalized practice that you
have of using panels, which ofcourse is a best practice that
(23:54):
everyone.
Speaks to you today in terms ofbeing very inclusive and
ensuring that you're being veryresponsive to diverse talent
pools.
So again I commend you becauseyou're on the bleeding edge,
leading edge of adopting whatgreat organizations are doing to
really build that talent base.
And I concur with you, Suzanne,in the world that we live today,
(24:15):
talent is everything.
They just bring the valuecreation to all of the business
partners that, that we all needto support in our careers.
I have some parallels in the waythat I look at team development,
and I fundamentally believe thatdiversity in your team makes
everyone stronger because we allteach and mentor each other.
So I thank you for sharing thatand Also suggests that I have
(24:39):
some parallel points of viewwith what you said today.
I'm wondering if I can move alittle bit onto G B T A because
obviously that's where we cameto know each other and I
obviously worked in anassociation environment myself,
it's a different challengebecause you have a lot of
different advisors in theorganization that want to
influence the organization'sdirection.
(25:00):
You're working with a veryactive board that also are
providing you with a lot offeedback in terms of the
governance and ideas that theyhave about the future.
But you have just done anamazing job at really
transforming G B K A buildingalignment really.
Developing up this globalcommitment to hearing voices
(25:21):
from other communities andreally embracing a lot of the
new governance expectations thatis being, touted by everyone
relative to sustainability and dei.
So I'm wondering if you canspeak a little bit about your
career and how thattransformative point of view has
really helped you shape the rolethat you're in and the value
creation that you're bringing toG B T A.
(25:43):
Yeah,
Suzanne Neufang (25:43):
this is I'm pretty sure I interviewed on
parts of these things that Ifelt was really important for G
B T A to bring to the table forits constituents.
So the board knew what they weregetting and in some ways, but at
the same time, that passioncomes from the board itself.
And I'm really lucky that tohave that consistent board
support since I got here aboutthese Sometimes es called e s G,
(26:06):
sometimes in other places,people on planet.
And certainly your support hasbeen there the whole time as
well when you were on the board.
They're big picture topics.
And while we didn't need tobuild everything from scratch,
the climate related things wedid and Some other,
transformation pieces were evenjust when I started it was, we
were still in the midst ofCovid, I think it was.
(26:29):
Delta was just kicking off theDelta variant.
We were still months away fromOmicron.
And those ups and downs werestill ahead, but, with.
With great industry polling andpolicy advocating, especially
within the US Ottawa and inBrussels we really helped.
Overall, I think, and I'velearned a lot in this process,
(26:51):
helped the industry tounderstand that business travel
is not the same as tourism.
That transformation, thinkingalso needed to be made at the
policy.
Maker level.
And while we, I think in a waywere underestimating duty of
care and wellness and the otherthings until the pandemic hit,
we certainly knew that thosewere the utmost importance to
(27:12):
companies that we call asmembers once we were in that
pandemic space and then.
Comes the sustainability part ofit, the climate action.
Really since November, 2021 whenwe kicked off really the biggest
new initiative that we've had insome time as an association we
we brought ourselves into theclimate action space and I would
(27:36):
say that the buyer enthusiasm,their one half of our
association.
But also the supplierenthusiasm.
The other half of ourassociation and the board
reflecting both has been justphenomenal in the way that
suppliers are giving of time andtreasure.
We have buyers who are giving ofstandards and best practices and
(27:56):
ability to create toolkits.
Because we also have a huge roleto play in education.
And everybody's starting from adifferent point.
So getting people to a similarstarting point, but then
learning from.
Of those who are a bit moreadvanced, some who are far
advanced and making sure thatthe existential threat that is
climate change for our entireindustry is one that we are
(28:19):
taking the reins helping tocreate the awareness at the
policymaker level that somethings like aviation are really
hard to solve compared to someother industries.
And that, but we're working onit.
And I think that givesconfidence and has been giving
confidence to the policymakersthat needs to be a blend of
carrot and stick.
We're really an industry that'spushing both carrot and stick.
(28:41):
The incentives that we now aregetting in the United States
through the IRA last fall andthe blenders tax credits and
other things that we've beendriving for are helping both
buyers and suppliers see thatwe're on their side.
And while at some level there,there are, there's right and
left thinking about this, Ithink from our industry as a
(29:02):
nonpartisan association, it'sbeen a great middle of the road
approach to thread the needleand make sure that we're
focusing on what the industryneeds and in smart ways that we
go about it.
As part of that journey we rereset up our 5 0 1 our
foundation, and knowing from my,I would say indirect foundation
(29:22):
experience back at G T E, whichwas self-funded through their
public endowment.
From our standpoint ourfoundation connected to our
association can still be aboutpublic good, and we put people
and planet related activitiesunder there.
So our great programs such asLadders, which is about
generational mentorship, win it,which is about women in travel
(29:44):
and gender equity.
Something you're very passionateabout and have been a strong
leader in this, as have othercolleagues of ours.
Those programs fit sobeautifully under the people.
Pillar of that.
And then the sustainability andclimate action fall under the
planet side.
So I.
As we are generating, we're noteven to year one of this yet, as
we are generating studies andfindings about where the
(30:06):
industry is actually at in thesespaces, I'm a firm believer in,
we don't know how far we have togo till we know where we are
today.
We're starting with that kind ofbaseline for many of those
things, and.
And then our job is really tocontinue working on the
harmonization of standards whenit comes to business travel and
measurements and climate action.
And certainly getting theindustry prepared for the hard
(30:29):
work ahead and talking to seniorleaders about where they see the
innovations coming in.
Cuz certainly tech andinnovation need to help save
this industry as well.
It's not just thinking that willget us to the finish line in
2050.
And certainly then we can play abig role in, in making sure that
the BBC B2C travel continues aswell.
Because B2B travel is moreorganized, we can make a bigger
(30:52):
impact faster than just going toone travelers one by one.
And that's really where we seeour mission in this overall
space.
Dorothy Dowling (30:59):
Again, a lot of content that you shared, but I
do think that forming thatalliance across the industry so
that there is unity andapproach, because as I often
think about it's everyone havinga foundation in terms of how
they communicate some of thesechanges within their own.
Platforms and really demystifiedfor the buyers and the procurers
(31:23):
in this space so that they havesome degree of appreciation of
what does this mean,particularly as some of the
Scope three evolution is goingto continue to drive some of the
performance.
Okay.
So we're coming up near the endof the interview, Suzanne, but
there's one particular area thatI'd really like to have you
speak to is that you are aglobal travel executive and you
(31:44):
make an enormous commitment toshow up.
For so many around the world,which I am extraordinarily
impressed by, and I know when wewere coordinating this interview
you just come off a 31 daytravel schedule.
So again, I just would like toget some insights that you might
offer audience, but how do youbalance some of your personal
commitments with thesesignificant career investments
(32:06):
that you're making on behalf ofG B T A.
Suzanne Neufang (32:10):
Yeah it I would say everybody should know your
passion.
M my passion from very early onI studied foreign languages.
I knew that I wanted to see theworld.
So this is part of my passion.
I'm so lucky that I can fulfillthis passion in the travel
industry, but also you have toknow your limits.
And I think we all learned alot.
Through Covid that all of thatdowntime when you couldn't
(32:33):
travel, it was both refreshingto get back out on the road.
But I think many of us, weincluded, have realized that
maybe our threshold is a littlebit different than the go-go pre
covid times.
So know your passion, but alsoknow your limits when you're
traveling.
Do show up with your whole self.
This isn't a multitaskinguniverse where every business
(32:54):
trip is a precious resource.
So treat it as such, I think,and meet the people and spend
time with the people that you'regoing to be with.
When our.
Kids were still at home.
It was certainly more, morechallenging.
And I, and for any young parentsthere listening, I'm sure it's
definitely hard, especially ifyou're balancing a two career
household.
But certainly my, my husband andI were able to work out where he
(33:17):
wanted to step back as I wastraveling more.
Now, today, I think.
There's still a way to besupportive of each other.
And even though my husband isretired now, it's, it's that
important FaceTime of checkingin with family when I'm gone,
making sure my adult kids knowwhere I'm going.
It certainly is part of that aswell.
And then don't forget, the teamsalso need to know where you're
(33:37):
going, and so I like to bringback.
News from my travels, as Iencourage anybody on my team who
is traveling to bring back thosestories because when you have a
privilege at a company or anorganization to travel, I think
it's important to bring those,what you learned on the road
back to the people that maybedon't travel as much or at all
or maybe don't want to.
(33:59):
So I think there's a way toblend all of that together.
And while 31 days on the road,I'm sure you've had some of
those months in your career wasa bit unexpected.
I found the perfect medium ofbeing able to do a trip to Asia
from a home base of Europe, andit was actually more sustainable
that way.
So there are.
Reasons to make make some ofthose what sound extraordinarily
(34:20):
complex trips worthwhile.
Because as we think about planetcare, that is one way to do
planet care by doing more stopswithin the same the same trips
going forward.
Dorothy Dowling (34:31):
Amazing advice, Suzanne and I do think it is
about us all thinking about, asyou said, our personal limits
and trying to leverage.
How we bring our best self towork, but also take that
personal care to make sure ourenergy and our personal needs
are always taken care of aswell.
But if I may just thank you forbeing so genuine, being so open
(34:53):
to sharing so much of thelearnings that you've had in
your career.
It's been truly a privilege tobe with you.
You today.
And if I may, I'd also like ourthank our audience because if
you have enjoyed this interviewwith Suzanne today, I hope
you'll visit our website, deiadvisors.org, where you will see
webcasts and podcasts from otherindustry leaders like Suzanne
that I hope will empower yourknowledge and feel your spirit
(35:14):
like she certainly has done forme today.
So Suzanne, thank you andappreciate you very much for
your ongoing leadership in our
Suzanne Neufang (35:21):
industry.
Thank you so much, Dorothy.
It was great to be with youtoday.
Thank
Dorothy Dowling (35:27):
you.
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