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Global Leadership Professional® Program

In partnership with the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, the GBTA’s Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Program is the only masters-level course for travel professionals. The strategic curriculum uses an interdisciplinary approach that addresses both the opportunities and challenges of conducting business in today’s evolving environment.

Benefits

Darden

The GLP Program offers a wide range of benefits to participants and their organizations, including:

  • Become part of a network of global peers
  • Understand advanced business principles
  • Interact with renowned Darden Faculty
  • Develop team approaches and strategies for solving problems
  • Earn recognition for your achievement


Courses

The Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Program consists of individual courses, the Certificate of Professional Development, as well as the Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Designation.

 

Course Competency
Strategic Data-Driven Marketing
August 11-12, 2018
San Diego, CA 		Marketing
Critical Thinking, Intuition, & Innovation
October 14-16, 2018
Alexandria, VA 		Management

 

Price:

GBTA Members:$1,150
Non-Members: $1,650

 

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Individual GLP Courses

Individual GLP Courses are designed to address one of the four primary competencies for mid to senior-level industry professionals to expand their knowledge and stay current with the latest trends in the industry.

The four main competencies are:
Management
Marketing
Leadership
Finance

Individuals are not required to enroll in the complete program and are welcome to attend any course that is offered.

 

Price:
GBTA Members:$1,150
Non-Members: $1,650

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Certificate of Professional Development

The Certificate of Professional Development is obtained by successfully completing four courses within twenty-four months (24), including one course in each of the four main competencies.

Successful completion of The Certificate of Professional Development is a prerequisite for the Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Designation.

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Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Designation

The Global Leadership Professional® Designation is the pinnacle of achievement for business travel professionals. This 12-month program consists of several components centered on a collaborative, industry-related project:

 

  • Begins with a 2-day, on-site session with Darden professors where work groups and projects will be assigned
  • 3 web-based virtual classrooms over a 9-month course
  • Additional instructions and opportunities to work with peers on your assigned project will be provided
  • A final 1-day, on-site session where projects will be finalized and presented at GBTA Convention

 

Please contact pd@gbta.org with any questions.

Price: $5,000

Scholarship Assistance

If you would like to be considered for a GLP scholarship, please complete this form and someone from GBTA will contact you if a scholarship becomes available.

The Darden Experience

Darden’s faculty, course design, and preparation/teaching methods have been ranked #1 globally by the Financial Times; The Economist ranked Darden #2 in the world in 2015; with top professors who are experts in the fields most relevant to the GLP.  Darden offers more than 55 years of teaching integrated strategic curricula to global senior executives via their “life-changing” advanced management course, The Executive Program.

Their versatile faculty in the Leadership, Management, Finance and Marketing disciplines will tailor their content to reflect the most pressing challenges facing the global business travel industry and its senior leaders.

Darden’s case study method is one of the best ways for participants to develop themselves into better business leaders. During the GLP program, you and your colleagues will actively examine real-life business situations, utilizing your experiences and insights in new ways while practicing your newly learned skills. Small group discussions and classroom debriefs ensure that you will benefit from the diversity of experience and perspective of your fellow classmates.




Faculty

Robert Carraway

Associate Professor of Business Administration
Area Coordinator, Quantitative Analysis
Education: B.S., MBA, East Carolina University; Ph.D., Purdue University

Robert Carraway, professor and former senior associate dean of the MBA program, is an authority on the appropriate and constructive use of quantitative analysis in making important decisions. He focuses on the relationship between intuition and rational analysis and how the two can complement one another, as well as on the role analysis can play in innovating more effectively and efficiently. 

He co-authored the book Quantitative Analysis Casebook with Professors Sam Bodily and Phillip Pfeifer and Professor Emeritus Sherwood Frey, as well as authored the articles “Big Data, Small Bets” and “Meeting the Big Data Challenge: DON’T Be Objective” for the Forbes/Batten Institute series.

Professor Carraway teaches Decision Making and Innovation in the Strategic Decision-Making, Management Development Program: High-Performance Leadership, and many custom programs for organizations across industry.

Paul Simko

Associate Professor of Business Administration
Associate Dean for Executive MBA Formats
Education: B.A., MAcc, University of Florida; Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin; CPA 

Paul J. Simko's research centers broadly on issues related to financial accounting information. He has received numerous national and university recognitions for his work. Simko is particularly interested in topics related to the effect of alternative accounting treatments on the decisions of investors and financial analysts and how investors assess firms' earnings quality. His current research examines the incentives and consequences of earnings management and valuation issues pertaining to earnings volatility and growth. He teaches courses in both accounting and financial statement analysis. 

Prior to joining the Darden faculty in 2002, Simko taught at Emory University, Indiana University and INSEAD. He is currently a research fellow with the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative at North Carolina State University, has worked as a Senior Analyst with Citicorp and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Morela Hernandez

Associate Professor of Business Administration
Education: B.A., Rice University; Ph.D., Fuqua School of Business 

Morela Hernandez is an Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Leadership and Organizational Behavior area at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia and Academic Director of Behavioral Research at Darden (BRAD). She received her Ph.D. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Prior to academia, Prof. Hernandez worked in finance at Enron in Houston, Texas - experiencing the roller-coaster ride of this now infamous business case. 

Her research interests and expertise focus on the ethics of leadership. She also studies the role of diversity in organizational systems and decision-making practices. She is widely published in top-tier academic journals, including Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Human Resource Management, and American Psychologist. 

Dr. Hernandez’ work has also appeared in numerous media outlets such as Time magazine, Financial Times, Huffington Post, and Washington Post, as well as featured on National Public Radio (NPR). She teaches courses on leadership at Darden, has worked as a leadership development coach for senior-level executives in the executive education programs at Duke and the London Business School, and consults with a number of government agencies, social profit organizations, and global companies. Originally from Brazil and Honduras, Prof. Hernandez speaks four languages.

Rajkumar Venkatesan

Bank of America Research Professor of Business Administration
Education: B.E., Computer Science, University of Madras, India; Ph.D., Marketing, University of Houston 

Professor of Business Administration Rajkumar Venkatesan teaches First Year Marketing and Marketing Analytics at Darden. Venkatesan's research focuses on analytics as it relates to marketing return on investment, customer lifetime value, mobile marketing, and the global political economy. Venkatesan's research has appeared in several journals including The Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science and the Harvard Business Review. Many of his research publications have been recognized with prestigious awards, such as the Don Lehmann Award for the best dissertation-based article published in the Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research, the MSI Alden G. Clayton Award for the best marketing dissertation proposal and the ISBM Outstanding Dissertation Proposal Award. He was selected as one of the top 20 rising young scholars in marketing by the Marketing Science Institute and one of the top 40 professors under 40 by the Poets and Quants magazine. 

He has consulted with firms in the technology, retailing and pharmaceutical industries on their marketing analytics initiatives. For his work with IBM, he was recognized as one of the finalists for the Informs Practice Prize Competition. He is also a co-author of the book Cutting-Edge Marketing Analytics.

Before coming to Darden, Venkatesan taught database marketing, marketing research and quantitative marketing models to graduate students at the University of Connecticut. There, he was the recipient of the MBA Teacher of the Year Award. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Houston and his BE in computer engineering from the University of Madras.

GLP Frequently Asked Questions

What is the GLP Program?

GLP is GBTA’s highly prestigious Global Leadership Professional® Program. The GLP Program offers the only masters-level courses for travel professionals. The strategic curriculum uses an interdisciplinary approach that addresses both the opportunities and challenges of conducting business in today’s fast-paced environment.

The GLP® Program consists of individual courses, the Certificate of Professional Development as well as the Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Designation.

Do I have to enroll in the complete program?

No. You are welcome to attend any course that is offered. Enrollment is per course for the Certificate of Professional Development component.

What is the cost for a course?

$1,150 for members and $1,650 for non-members. Registration includes tuition, extensive program materials and some meals. Fees do not include travel costs.

What is the Certificate of Professional Development?

The Certificate of Professional Development is obtained by successfully completing four sessions within twenty-four months, including one session in each of the four main competencies:

Management
Marketing
Leadership
Finance

Can I participate in the Certificate of Professional Development program and not pursue the Designation?

Yes. In fact, you can participate in any course that is offered as part of the Certificate program. Should you choose to complete four (4) (one in each competency) you will receive your Certificate of Professional Development.
The Certificate of Professional Development is bestowed on behalf of GBTA and Darden School of Business of the University of Virginia and is a prerequisite for the Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Designation.

How do I get my GLP Designation?

You must complete both the Certificate of Professional Development as well as a Global Leadership Professional® (GLP) Designation in order to officially complete the program, earning the use of the designation.

What happens after I complete the Certificate of Professional Development? What is the Global Leadership Professional Designation?

After you complete the Certificate of Professional Development, you are then eligible to start the Global Leadership Professional® Designation. The Global Leadership Professional® Designation consists of several components:

- An in-person session with program Academic Director
- Over the following 12 months participants will work independently within their cohort on a project deliverable to benefit the business travel industry
- Presentation of cohort projects to their industry peers at the upcoming GBTA Convention

How often is the GLP Designation offered?

The Designation program is offered every other year; 2017, 2019, 2021, etc.

How much does the GLP Designation Program cost?

The Designation Program is $5,000 and you must be a GBTA member. Registration includes tuition, extensive program materials and some meals. Fees do not include travel costs.

What is your cancellation policy?

ALL cancellations must be in writing and faxed or mailed to the GBTA Foundation. Registrants who cancel prior to four (4) weeks of the start of the session will receive a refund less a $200 administrative fee. No refunds are given within four (4) weeks of the start of any given session.

What are some of the benefits of participating in the program?

The program offers a wide range of benefits to participants and their organizations:

Join a network of global peers. In addition to senior corporate travel managers, the program attracts executives from major travel suppliers and agencies from around the world so every class offers broad perspectives from diverse industry segments and geographic regions. Building collaborative relationships will positively contribute to the overall experience of an attendee.

Understand core business knowledge: The Global Leadership Program provides essential business knowledge in the major business disciplines of leadership, finance, marketing and management.

Interact with top-ranked University of Virginia Darden School of Business Faculty: Darden’s faculty members are leading thinkers in various fields of business, offering expertise in the best current management practice from their own research and consulting with organizations in diverse industries around the globe. They are experienced at blending theoretical knowledge with real-time, real-world business applications.

Apply learning to real-world business challenges: Participants are encouraged to bring a current challenge from their organizations to work on while they are at Darden. This is an opportunity to directly apply your new knowledge.

Earn recognition for your achievement: Participants who complete four sessions in a 24-month period are recognized with a Certificate of Professional Development.

Where can I find a schedule of the courses?

You can view the schedule here 

Why did GBTA choose to partner with the Darden School of Business of the University of Virginia?

The Darden School of Business faculty have been ranked #1 globally since 2004 by the Financial Times; The Economist ranked Darden #2 in the world in 2015.