Ian Spearing, a leader in travel technology and former EY travel manager, has joined Arcadis as the company’s new global travel director.
Spearing steps back into the corporate world after founding Travel Evolution Consulting in January 2024. He also served as the chief commercial officer for Travlr ID, a decentralized traveller identity network.
In his new role at Arcadis, Spearing aims to “create a connected, future-ready travel experience for Arcadis employees.” He also plans to build a robust ecosystem to help navigate the complexities of a fragmented travel market.
A major focus of Spearing’s work will be to transform the travel manager role into a digitalised position. He envisions using intelligent tools, real-time data, and automation to make the function more strategic, agile, and responsive to both business and traveller needs.
Spearing, who was named a Best Practitioner at BTN’s Travel Manager of the Year awards in 2023, takes over from Nikki Parsons. Parsons recently joined Jane Street, a US-based trading firm, as their global travel head.
Before her move to Jane Street, Parsons was the global head of travel and meetings at AIG for nine years. She has also held leadership roles in travel management with Merrill Lynch, Standard Bank in London, and Citi in Singapore.
In addition to her new role at Jane Street, Parsons will soon step down as chair of the UK’s Institute of Travel Management (ITM). Her replacement, Gemma King, Omnicom’s VP of global corporate travel, will take over next month.
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