The Return of Business Travel

Ben Minicucci serves as chief executive officer of Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, and is the CEO and president of Alaska Airlines. The combined airlines carry over 45 million guests a year on 1,300 daily flights to 115 destinations throughout the United States and to Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. Under the leadership of Ben and his team, Alaska is focused on low fares, profitable growth of the route network, and creating an airline people love. During Ben's 17-year career with Alaska, he has contributed in various roles of increasing responsibility, becoming CEO on March 31, 2021. In 2016, he was promoted to president of Alaska Airlines, and was also named CEO of Virgin America upon Alaska's acquisition of the airline in December 2016 until the airlines merged under a single operating certificate in January 2018. He oversaw the integration of Alaska and Virgin America’s operations, processes and work groups. As president of Alaska, Ben was responsible for both operations and commercial functions. He led the execution of the company’s strategic plan including a focus on Alaska’s network, flight schedule, sales, revenue management, safety and operations, marketing and real estate. In 2009, he was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. During this time, he directed the implementation of a customer service-guiding framework, which empowers employees to deliver personal and kind-hearted experiences to guests, recognizing their unique circumstances instead of being bound by rigid company policies. In 2007, Ben was named vice president of Seattle operations. He implemented an operational management process called the turn timeline which dramatically increased Alaska’s on-time performance and reliability. Ben joined Alaska in 2004 as staff vice president of maintenance. Before joining Alaska, Ben spent seven years serving in a variety of roles at Air Canada’s technical operations and, ultimately, vice president of heavy maintenance. He served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 14 years prior to joining the private aviation sector. Ben holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada. He’s currently on the board of directors for Alaska Air Group and the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business Center for Leadership & Strategic Thinking.

Stephanie Linnartz is the president of Marriott International, Inc., the world’s largest hospitality company with more than 7,600 properties across 133 countries and territories and 30 brands. It also has the travel industry’s largest customer-loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy™, which has more than 147 million members, and some of the most iconic brands in travel, including The Ritz-Carlton®, St. Regis® Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection®, Marriott Hotels®, Sheraton®, W® Hotels Worldwide, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, Westin®, Renaissance® Hotels, and Le Méridien®. In her role, she is responsible for developing and executing all aspects of the company’s global consumer strategy, including brand, marketing, sales, revenue management, customer engagement, technology, emerging businesses and loyalty strategies. In addition, she oversees Marriott’s global real estate development, design and operations services functions. Ms. Linnartz plays a critical role in spearheading the company’s work on growth and key issues including the intersection of technology and hospitality, the continued growth of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty platform, the excellence of Marriott’s brand portfolio, and environmental sustainability. Before her appointment as president in February 2021, Ms. Linnartz was Group President Consumer Operations, Technology and Emerging Businesses. Ms. Linnartz joined Marriott in 1997 as a financial analyst. Over the years, she worked in various roles within operations, finance, revenue management, sales, marketing, brand management, distribution, technology and digital. Under her leadership, the company launched a new home rental offering, Homes & Villas by Marriott International, and has expanded its consumer offerings to include travel categories beyond hotels, such as tours and activities, dining and transportation. Ms. Linnartz has been recognized for her industry leadership. Hotel Management named her one of the 30 Influential Women in Hospitality in 2017. She was honored by Brand Innovators as one of 2018’s Top 100 Women in Brand Marketing. In 2019, she joined Fast Company’s Impact Council in its inaugural year and was profiled as one of CNN’s 2019 Risk Takers. She has been a speaker at the World Economic Forum and is a sought-after conference panelist at global industry events. Ms. Linnartz is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, holds an MBA from William & Mary, and has completed additional graduate studies at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Development. She sits on the Marriott Board of Director’s Social Impact and Inclusion Committee and the company’s Green Council and also serves on the Board of Directors for The Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home improvement retailer; the Board of Trustees for the College of the Holy Cross; and, as an Advisory Board member of both Fair Chance and the Teach the World Foundation. Stephanie travels the world extensively, is passionate about fitness and wellness, and resides in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and two children.

Elliott Ferguson serves as President and CEO of Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organization for Washington, DC. A 30-year veteran of the travel and hospitality industry, Ferguson leads DDC’s efforts to generate economic opportunity for the District through meetings and tourism, overseeing the organization’s convention and tourism sales, marketing, finance and business development operations. Ferguson began his tenure with DDC in December 2001 as the Vice President of Convention Sales, became Senior Vice President of Convention Sales and Services in 2005 and has served as President and CEO since 2009. Prior to DDC, he was Director of Sales and Vice President of Sales at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and Director of Sales at the Savannah CVB. Ferguson was National Chair of the board of directors for the U.S. Travel Association from February 2019 to February 2021, where he guided the board and association’s efforts to advance policies that facilitate more international and domestic travel. He is currently chair of the compensation committee. In January 2021, he was named Board Chair of Tourism Diversity Matters, an organization focused on creating diversity, equity and inclusion opportunities at all levels of the workforce. He has been instrumental in advancing conversations about race and racism throughout the hospitality industry. As the tourism industry grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferguson is focused on strategic recovery with many organizations including DDC’s Recovery Advisory Committee, Connected DMV and the Downtown Recovery Work Group. He also serves on the board of directors of the following organizations: Advisory Board of the Smithsonian National Zoo; DC Jazz Festival; Ryan Kerrigan “Blitz for the Better” Foundation and the United Way of the National Capital Area. He represents DDC as part of the Hospitality Alliance of Washington, D.C. Ferguson received a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Business Administration from Savannah State University. His many industry memberships include Professional Conference Management Association, International Association of Exhibition Executives, Destinations International, National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners, Meeting Professionals International and American Society of Association Executives. Ferguson and his wife, Telesa Via, also a hospitality industry veteran, are longtime residents of Capitol Hill. He is active with Capital Partners for Education, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Delta Sigma Pi.