John Simmons has joined the Advantage Travel Partnership from American Express in a newly-created business travel role.
He has more than 15 years experience in the corporate travel sector, initially working in operational roles for Hogg Robinson, Fleet Street Travel, Portman Travel, Statesman Travel and Travel & Transport.
As business development manager (business travel) for Advantage Managed Services, he will be responsible for day-to-day development opportunities as well as bringing in new business for members operating under its AMS model.
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He was most recently working for American Express as a client account manager for SMEs on a European and global basis.
His appointment came as there consortium marked the 15th anniversary of its AMS model.
Advantage introduced the option to alleviate the time and resources needed to run the operational side of a travel business and allow more time for members to focus on sales and customer service.
Membership now includes 76 branches, which collectively generate an annual turnover of £150 million.
AMS Global Business Travel has seen “significant development” with newly adopted technology products over the past year, according to Advantage.
Simmons said: “The managed services model is growing at pace, and my aim is to develop this programme further by presenting the benefits and opportunities to prospective members to help their businesses to grow and thrive.
“I look forward to working with the existing members and adding value to their business by offering day-to-day support in the ever-changing landscape of business travel.”
Advantage global business travel head of business development Andy Boorman said: “John will be instrumental in delivering best-in-class service and solutions to our members operating under our AMS model and their clients. In addition, John will play a key role in growing our AMS membership.”
Global business travel managing director Andrea Caulfield-Smith added: “John’s appointment is the latest step towards achieving our overall goals for our global business travel division and we’re looking forward to having him onboard.
“Our global business travel division plays an important role within our partnership, offering a comprehensive proposition to the TMC community, including a strong commercial proposition.
“We continue to offer our members a one-stop-business-hub approach and having a strong AMS offering is a key part of our global strategy.”