Innovative Hospitality Veteran John F. Davis III Joins 2012 GBTA Masters Program Keynote Panel Featuring Leading Industry Game Changers

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)—the voice of the global business travel industry—today announced the addition of one of the most pioneering members of the online travel community,  Room Key's John F. Davis III.  Mr. Davis joins fellow trailblazers, TripIt's Gregg Brockway and Hipmunk's Adam Goldstein, as participants in the 2012 Masters Program keynote panel, Game Changers in the Dynamics of Distribution.  The 2012 GBTA Masters Program, the premier executive forum for corporate travel industry leaders, is scheduled to take place on February 6-7, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

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"These panelists represent some of the best in entrepreneurial and innovative thinking within the travel industry," said Michael W. McCormick, GBTA executive director and COO. "We are excited to welcome these industry game changers to the stage and look forward to hearing their perspective on the future of distribution systems, among other topics."

The Game Changers in the Dynamics of Distribution panel will bring together leaders of industry-transforming companies to discuss their leadership styles, original business models and how they have shaken up the dynamics of distribution systems.

This exciting panel will be moderated by long time industry veteran Trip Davis, co-founder and non-executive chairman, TRX, Inc., and president of the Darden School Foundation, University of Virginia.

John F. Davis, III is the chief executive officer of Room Key, a new venture founded by six of the world's leading hotel companies, which launched its innovative new online hotel search engine, Roomkey.com, on January 11, 2012.  Mr. Davis is a highly experienced hospitality industry visionary with a history of entrepreneurial successes.  Known for his track record of successful industry "firsts," Mr. Davis founded Pegasus, the first hotel distribution switch technology which streamlined GBS and Internet connectivity for hotels worldwide, as well as the Web's first hotel online booking service.  Mr. Davis most recently served as CEO of BirchStreet, a leading provider of e-procurement and purchasing solutions to hotel companies.  He has received numerous industry honors, including induction into the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professional's Hall of Fame.

Gregg Brockway is the executive vice president, general manager and co-founder of TripIt, the leading mobile travel organizer that makes it easy for millions of travelers to organize and share trips, no matter where they book.  Mr. Brockway also led the company to acquisition by global travel and expense leader Concur in 2011.  As an online travel industry veteran, former co-founder of discount online travel company Hotwire and former president of Expedia's luxury travel company Classic Vacations, Inc., Mr. Brockway knows the ins and outs of travel and technology.  He was named one of the "25 Most Influential Executives of the Business Travel Industry for 2010."

Adam Goldstein is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Hipmunk, the site that takes the agony out of searching for travel.  Mr. Goldstein was a co-founder of BookTour.  At 16 years old, he was the youngest author ever at O'Reilly, writing Applescript: The Missing Manual. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010 with a degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering, and was North American Debating Champion in 2010.

For more information on the 2012 Masters Program, please visit www.gbta.org/masters.

About the Global Business Travel Association

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premier business travel and meetings organization.  Collectively, GBTA's 5,000-plus members manage over $340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually.  GBTA provides its network of 17,000 business and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers, with networking events, news, education & professional development, research, and advocacy. For more information, visit gbta.org. 

SOURCE Global Business Travel Association