Procurement professionals take top posts at travel companies
By Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 12/15/2008 8:35:00 PM
Two purchasing professionals with years of travel procurement experience have recently taken new posts with suppliers of travel technology and services.
Kevin Iwamoto has joined travel technology provider StarCite as vice president of enterprise strategy. Iwamoto assumes the new role after 10 years with Hewlett-Packard, where as global commodity manager he oversaw development
and strategy for the company’s $1.2 billion global travel and meetings program
. While with HP, he was responsible for strategic planning, contract negotiations, supplier management and implementation of HP’s worldwide airline, corporate card, hotel, ground transportation and meeting programs.
Iwamoto has served as chairman and president of the National Business Travel Association board of directors, and has received the NBTA President’s Award for his industry contributions and leadership.
Previously, Iwamoto was senior travel account manager with The Walt Disney Co. and a corporate sales manager with Northwest Airlines. In his new post, Iwamoto will work in client and industry relations, helping guide StarCite’s overall strategy for engaging with buyers and suppliers.
Duane Futch has joined business travel procurement technology provider GetThere as vice president of travel procurement strategy.
Futch joins GetThere after 10 years as director of the global travel division at Wal-Mart, where he grew the company’s U.S. travel department to a global program, deployed in 12 countries serving 500,000 travelers. He holds an airline transport pilot certificate and served in several executive and regulatory positions in corporate aviation and the jet charter industry.
In his new role, Futch provides advisory services to clients, prospects and agency resellers, helping travel professionals analyze programs from a procurement perspective and devising strategies that leverage GetThere’s automation and support infrastructure.
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