The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organisation, has announced a major expansion of its presence in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region with the formation of two new advisory boards in India and China. The announcement was made on May 27, 2025, during the GBTA APAC Conference 2025, held in partnership with the WERC® Regional Summit at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
These newly launched advisory boards aim to strengthen GBTA’s engagement with local business travel communities by providing strategic guidance, market insights, and regional expertise. Comprised of senior professionals from leading organizations, the boards are part of GBTA’s broader commitment to empowering the APAC business travel ecosystem.
Ajay Bhatt, Group Head – Corporate Services at Godrej Industries Group, will chair the 15-member GBTA India Advisory Board. Members include:
- Siva Sankar Ala, Director- Travel & Hospitality, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.
- Sri Arardhi, Co-Founder, Fast Collab Systems Pvt Ltd.
- Rajan Bahadur, CEO, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council of India THSC
- Monica Bhatnagar, Assistant Project Officer, World Bank
- Rajan Dua, Founder & Managing Director, Udaan India Private Limited
- Dev Karvat, Founder & CEO, Asego
- Amarnath Lal Das, India Travel Lead and Global Crisis and Compliance, Accenture Solutions PVT. LTD
- Manian SGS, Associate Director, Mindsprint
- Gaurav Shekhar Nagwekar, Head Travel Logistics & Corporate Service Administration, Reliance Industries
- Jehangir Press, VP – Strategic Accounts Management Group & Commercial Director Qmin, Indian Hotel Company Limited
- Sudha Prasad, Sr Manager – Compliance (Travel Industry), Mphasis Limited
- Prasad Shriyan, Vice President – Corporate Travel, Thomas Cook
- Santosh Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, Foresee Aviation
- Sakshi Vij, Managing Director, Carzonrent India Pvt Ltd.
Meanwhile, the GBTA China Advisory Board includes 10 key leaders from organizations such as:
- Jonathan Kao, Managing Director, North Asia for BCD Travel
- Becky Cao, Vice President – Sales and Marketing, China, Langham Hospitality Group
- Michael Du, Managing Director, CIBT
- Lingyun Fan, APAC Travel Manager, General Motors
- Anja Jia, General Manager of Client Success, Trip.Biz
- Ibrahim Orhanli, General Manager, Eastern China, Turkish Airlines
- Liping Si, Travel Operations Lead – APJ, ExxonMobil
- Samuel Wang, Travel Manager, APAC, Adient
- Yoyo Wang, Regional Senior Sourcing Manager of General Service, MGS Commercial APMEA, Mars
- Sophie Xu, Global Procurement-Procurement Manager, BeiGene
The formation of these boards follows the successful establishment of a similar board in Australia earlier this year. GBTA has also strengthened its regional operations with dedicated staff based in Singapore, Australia, and India.
Commenting on the development, Catherine Logan, GBTA’s Regional Senior Vice President for EMEA and APAC, said, “Our mission in APAC is to empower the business travel community through meaningful connections and tailored support and offerings. By leveraging the insights of our advisory board members and fostering collaboration, we’re able to address the unique needs of the region, ensuring that APAC remains a dynamic hub for business travel.”
Elle Ng-Darmawan, Regional Director for APAC at GBTA, added, “India and China represent essential and growing markets for business travel with immense potential for innovation. Our regional initiatives such as our APAC Conference exemplify our commitment to dialogue and partnership in a region that plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the industry.”
