Meeting/Event Information
We are excited to host our 3rd Quarter 2026 meeting at Hotel Carmichael in Carmel, IN! We are currently finalizing our speaker lineup and will continue our AI Pulse series. The full agenda will be shared soon.
Based on positive feedback, we’ll be bringing back our Kahoot! quizzes in a fun and engaging way. We will also provide an update on our chapter’s progress toward the 2026 goals. As always, the day will be filled with valuable education, meaningful networking, and a strong return on your investment of time and membership.
This quarter, we’ve introduced a separate complimentary registration for the networking event. You only need to sign up for this if you are not attending the Education Day. If you are registered for Education Day, your networking attendance is already included—no need to register twice. We appreciate your patience as we continue improving our website to better meet our needs.
A sincere thank you to our annual sponsors, who will be featured on our banner display throughout the year and in our social media. We also extend our gratitude to Hotel Carmichael for their generous venue sponsorship. Additional sponsorship opportunities may be available—our communications reach an audience of over 800, so stay tuned if you're interested.
We look forward to seeing you in Carmel, IN this September!
OVBTA June Meeting
June 06, 2017
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Drury Plaza Hotel Indianapolis Carmel
9625 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN 46290
https://druryhotels.com/locations/indianapolis-in/drury-plaza-hotel-indianapolis-carmel
Directions
OVBTA June Meeting
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Drury Plaza Hotel Indianapolis Carmel
Meeting Presentations
GBTA Ladders PowerPoint
Monday, June 5
OVBTA Board of Directors Meeting: 4:30PM - 6:30PM
2nd Annual Trade Show & Networking Reception: 7:00PM - 9:00PM
Tuesday, June 6
8:00 AM Networking Breakfast, Registration
8:00 AM New Member Orientation
8:30 AM Welcome, Review Agenda, Announcements, and New Member Recognition
8:45 AM "Building a Best in Class Travel Program" - Conversation with Cindy Heston, Director Travel and Events, Anthem Inc., BTN 2016 Most Influential 25
9:45 AM Morning Networking Break
10:00 AM "Presidential Address" - Christle Johnson, GLP, GTP, GBTA President, VP Travel & Business Services, Johnson Downie, LLC
Christle Johnson currently serves as the Vice President, Travel & Business Services for Johnson Downie, and President for the Global Business Travel Association.
Christle launched her career in the travel industry 25 years ago as a Sales Manager for a large regional travel agency. She then spent almost 15 years with National Car Rental as a Director, Strategic Accounts, where her existing and prospective accounts spent approximately ($1.9 billion in air) annually.
Christle transitioned to the “buyer” side of the industry eight years ago when she moved to Johnson Downie, a boutique executive search firm that specializes solely in partners of law firms, mergers and acquisitions, and new openings of law firms. In addition to overseeing the agreements, meetings, and travel for the employees, recruiters, candidates, and firms they are working with, she is currently tasked with the design and development of their new office space located in downtown Houston.
11:30 AM Legislative Update - GBTA Legislative Summit
12:00 PM Welcome from Host Hotel & Lunch
1:00 PM GBTA Ladders Program
1:45 PM "Fundamentals and Advanced Principals of Business Travel Management" - Rick Wakida, CTE, CCTE, GLP Global Travel Manager, Informatica
This interactive session is designed as an integrated overview of two of the GBTA Academy’s education programs, Fundamentals of Business Travel Management and Advanced Principals of Business Travel Management.
Rick will review key facets and competences of managed travel required of business travel professionals, including policy, travel risk management, buyer/supplier relations, travel technology, and analytics.
Rick Wakida began his career in corporate travel management in 1995 and has developed and managed travel programs for both public and private companies in various industries, including financial services, bio-pharmaceutical, telecommunications, software and semiconductor. He is a subject matter expert in global travel management, travel sourcing and procurement, expense reporting management, commercial card programs and strategic meetings management.
Rick is an active leader in the industry, previously serving as President of the Silicon Valley BTA and Chairman of the NBTA Hotel Committee, and is currently Co-Chair of the GBTA Advocacy Committee. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA in Finance and, prior to entering travel management, worked for ten years in Finance at Bank of America.
3:45 PM Closing Remarks, Announcements
*** This Meeting is Approved for 5 GTP Recertification Credits ***
Thank you in part to:
Tickets
$40.00 Single OVBTA Member
$60.00 after 11:00 pm May 29
$100.00 Single Guest Ticket
$120.00 after 11:00 pm May 29
