Johan Persson has been hired from Reed and MacKay as head of
client strategy and will be leading the team's strategic focus and
initiatives reporting into Stephen Woodward, Portman's head of
customer management.
Michael Hare, chief executive of Portman Travel said: "In their
focus on the day-to-day detail of servicing clients, account
management teams can sometimes lose sight of the bigger strategic
picture. Our new structure and incremental resource will allow us
to focus on our clients' strategic needs and ultimately deliver
quantifiable value at the strategic level day in and day out.
"One of our major aims is to turn the huge amounts of
information we have on our clients and their travel needs into real
intelligence that helps shape the service we provide them in the
years ahead."
As part of its work, the new team will benchmark each client
against the average business travel expenditure for Portman's
entire client base and for peers in its specific industry sector,
helping clients to change their travel buying behaviour and shape
their internal culture with regard to how business travel is
procured.
In addition, Portman will use global market data on supplier
route performance to help negotiate better deals for its
clients.
The new team will also have a focus on forecasting trends in
their clients' sectors to provide innovative ways of working.
Hare continued: "We're going to be engaging with groups outside
of the travel industry to gain intelligence on the emerging trends
and patterns in our clients' sectors. With this insight we'll be
able to advise our clients and act accordingly, for example by
preparing and negotiating deals on new routes in advance of travel
taking place.