CONTACT:      
Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 138, ctiller@nbta.org
Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836 ext. 133, nhayes@nbta.org 

Alexandria, VA (March 3, 2010) – The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) this week welcomed three executive-level staff members in newly created positions to bring fresh energy and expertise to the association and the NBTA Foundation.

Edward Silver will serve as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He will be responsible for providing new technical leadership to NBTA and the NBTA Foundation. Silver comes to NBTA from Hudson Crossing, where he served as a Partner focused on technology and product development. He was previously co-founder, Vice President of Technology and Operations, and Chief Operation Officer at Lodging.com, where he managed a product development team, operations, and technology infrastructure.

Mike McCormick, NBTA Executive Director and COO, said, “Ed comes to NBTA with an extensive technology background specifically within the travel and hospitality industries. He is an accomplished senior executive who is especially adept at understanding the specialized intricacies of complex technology systems and their impact on business growth. His experience and insights are sure to lead our growing global association into the next era of advanced technology.”

Diane Young has accepted a position as Vice President, Finance and Controller. She will take on the responsibility of growing NBTA finance and accounting processes and resources to support the association’s global operations. Young is a CFO-level professional with more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience encompassing both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Formerly director of finance and administration at the American Industrial Hygiene Association, Inc. (AIHA) in Fairfax, VA., Young was responsible for the financial and operational integrity of the association, its two LLCs and its foundation.

“Diane is a seasoned professional with proven success in financial and operations management,” said McCormick. “During her career, Diane has been instrumental in achieving significant cost reductions and profit improvements through re-engineering, team building and leadership expertise. We’ve had the benefit of having Diane on board in a contractor capacity since November and are pleased to have her join us full-time.”

The NBTA Foundation has added Joseph Bates as Director, Research and Project Management. Bates has extensive experience in the association world, having served as Director of Research at the Consumer Electronics Association for more than 7 years as part of his 15-year career. 

Daphne Bryant, Executive Director of the NBTA Foundation, said, “Joe comes to us with a strong research, analysis and project management background. As the Foundation’s role in research continues to expand and with greater demand for global studies, we are excited to welcome Joe’s leadership and expertise in this area.”

In addition to new hires, NBTA also announced that Sallie Dietz, CTE, PHR, formerly Human Resources Administrator/Office Manager, has been promoted to Director of Human Resources. Dietz has been with NBTA for five years, managing all human resources, recruitment, benefits and administrative operations.

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Australia / New Zealand, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Europe, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 17,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org