Founded on the common desire of a dozen travel managers from French blue-chip companies and chaired by Michel Dieleman, travel manager for the Orange group, the principal attraction of the French Association of Travel Managers (AFTM) is a real opportunity for all industry players to share good practice, meet experienced managers and acquire key skills.
What’s behind the creation of an association like this?
Michel Dieleman: The experience I’ve acquired over many years organizing and purchasing business travel has given me an insight into some of the shortcomings of the industry. Although the role of Travel Manager has long since been recognized in the USA, UK and other countries, it has only recently come into existence in France, and up until now it was difficult to introduce myself as a Travel Manager. What’s more, in the public sector which I know well since France Telecom started in the public sector, I tend to introduce myself as “Head of Business Travel”. Those who are just now coming into this market are not very sure of where it’s going. It’s only through forums like this one, Ulysse Travel Day, various meetings, dinners, cocktail parties and such, that people learn so much more about the role of a Travel Manager. It appeared to us that there was a gap to be filled and, at the initiative of a dozen Travel Managers from large companies, including some listed on the CAC 40, a decision was made to form the French Association of Travel Managers (AFTM).
What are the aims of the AFTM?
Michel Dieleman: This association is not reserved exclusively for the travel professionals from blue-chip companies, far from it; it seeks to unite all people interested in the organization and purchasing of business travel, regardless of the varying degree of influence they have in the industry, because a Travel Manager working in an SME will not necessary have the same responsibilities as in a large group. We would like to share good practice with these people, pass on our knowledge, skills and expertise. In short, we would like to help them.
The goal of this association is also to be independent. We all have partners and suppliers, and we need them. The association will need them to survive, but we are going to try to be dependent on them as little as possible.
The priority is for everyone to get the most out of it (Travel Organizers, Travel Managers, Buyers, etc.), and for each and everyone, whether they work in the public sector or for a large company, to be able to showcase and explain what’s going on elsewhere, but also make themselves known, because that is one of the difficulties.
So it’s a forum for exchanges, sharing and good practice…
Michel Dieleman: And above all, it’s not just for Travel Managers working with corporate accounts! We now have a website – http://www.aftm.fr – which is still under construction given that the association is still in its very early days. In fact, we really only came on stage officially on 12 June 2008.
Visit the AFTM website: http://www.aftm.fr/
AFTM founders:
Estelle Camusard (Aéroports de Paris)
Estelle Carucci (Groupe Lafarge)
Sonya Basmadian (Total)
Serge Bacchus (Unisys)
Abdelaziz Bougja (Veolia)
Pierre Blondeau (Limagrain)
Michel Dieleman (Orange)
Jerôme Drevon-Barreaux (Capgemini)
Marc Dumas (Business expression)
Bernard Herault (Orange)
Lucien Isnard (EDF)
Claude Lelièvre (Legrand)
Marcel Lévy (Voyages et business)
Editorial: Indexel – www.indexel.com
