Speaker Biographies

Pierre Albano, Vice-President Environment, Air France

Pierre Albano, graduated from french Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and has over 20 years of experience in air transport industry. He is VP Environment for Air France. Prior to that, he has held several positions in Air France in field of network management, pricing, customer marketing and alliances.



Peggy R. Bendel, Senior Vice President/Travel Marketing, Development Counsellors International

Peggy Bendel has headed the Tourism Division of Development Counsellors International (DCI) since 1985, working with such clients as Australia, Dubai, South Africa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Maine, Massachusetts, Miami, Metro Portland, St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Scotland, Tasmania and more.

A principal in the seminal I Love New York campaign, Peggy began her career as a travel writer for the State of New York, and worked in economic development and international trade as well as tourism.

In 2006, Peggy received The Winthrop Grice Lifetime Achievement in Public Relations award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI).

She sits on the Boards of the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) and the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Travel & Tourism section, and is an active member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW) and other industry organizations. She chairs SATW’s Phoenix Awards committee, and as a past winner, now serves on the awards committee for HSMAI.

A frequent speaker at conferences around the U.S. and internationally on the topics of branding, crisis communications, marketing and public relations, Peggy is also DCI’s lead media coach and trainer.

A graduate of Georgian Court College (now University), Peggy was named to their “Court of Honor” in 2008. She also studied at NYU’s Graduate School of Public Administration.



Laura Chmielewski, City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago Office of Tourism

As Deputy Director of the Chicago Office of Tourism, Laura Chmielewski promotes the City of Chicago as a leisure and travel destination, both domestically and internationally, through Cultural Programming initiatives, advertising, marketing, media relations, visitor services and tour programs. Last year Chicago welcomed over 43 million visitors who contributed 11.5 billion dollars to the local economy. She has spear-headed numerous award-winning projects, including the 2007 American Association of Museums MUSE Award in Media and Technology and the 2009 Illinois Governor’s Award for Best Festival. Prior to her work with the city, she was self-employed as a free-lance film producer and made hundred of music videos, including CMT Video of the Year in 1997.



Peter Crosbie, Manager, Global Accounts, American Airlines

Peter Crosbie is the Global Account Manager for American Airlines responsible for the Global partnership with American Express Travel. He’s been in that role for three years after spending seven years as the Global Account Manager for a number of Fortune 500 companies. Peter came to Global Sales from Ottawa Canada where he was the District Sales Manager, responsible for developing the airline’s revenue from a number of high tech companies and Canadian government departments in Canada’s capital region. Prior to joining American, he spent a majority of his career in the media business as a broadcaster, marketing director and publisher at a number of radio stations, newspapers and magazines including Newsweek International.



John Davies, Vice-President GreenBiz Intelligence, Greener World Media

John is an experienced entrepreneur and innovator who has applied his business and management skills to launching start-ups as well as improving the operations of existing businesses. Mr. Davies heads up research efforts for Greener World Media and leads the GreenBiz Executive Network, a member-based, peer-to-peer learning forum for sustainability professionals. The network is made up of senior executives from $1B+ corporations working together to share best practices and lessons learned for implementing sustainable development programs. John is a frequent keynote speaker at international events, is well-known for his supply chain expertise and is the author of numerous articles in business, industry, and educational publications. His book "The $100,000+ Career: The New Approach to Networking for Executive Job Change" was published in 2006 by Sourcebooks. Most recently, John was Vice President of Green Technology Research for AMR Research. John received his BA from SUNY at Fredonia and his MA from the University of Delaware.



Steve Faulstick, General Manager, Portland Doubletree

Steve Faulstick is the General Manager of the Doubletree Hotel in Portland Oregon. Steve’s hospitality career spans over 20 years, including positions with Hilton, Red Lion, and Doubletree Hotels in San Jose, San Diego and Scottsdale, before coming to Portland in 1999.

The Doubletree Portland features 477 guest rooms complimented by 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, and 4 restaurant/ bars.

In 2006, the hotel became Oregon’s first Green Seal Certified Hotel. Since then, the property has become an industry leader in sustainability, receiving local-, state- and national-level recognition for their efforts. This summer the hotel was recognized with the AH&LA’s ‘Good Earthkeeping’ award for their leadership in this area.

Steve is also an active Board member with Travel Portland, Tri-County Lodging, Lloyd Transportation Management Association, The Natural Step, Green Meetings Industry Council and the Oregon Lodging Association.



Suzanne Fletcher, Director of Travel Management, Concur and former NBTA CEO and President

Suzanne Fletcher is the Director of Travel/Industry Relations for Concur.  Suzanne joined Concur in January 08 based in Europe, but has recently returned to the Seattle Headquarters. Prior to her current role, Suzanne was Director of Travel and Meeting Management. Fleet, Transportation, and Food Service for Weyerhaeuser Corporation (1996-2006), and Director of Travel and Meeting for Nestle USA from 1991 to 1996.  
 
In August 2005, Fletcher was elected President & CEO of the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), and is currently Past President and Chairman of the Board.  Fletcher continues to serve on the Board of Business for Diplomatic Action, an organization of preeminent communications, marketing, political science, global development and media professionals dedicated to creating business solutions to the challenges of public diplomacy.

Fletcher has long been active in leadership roles within NBTA, both nationally and within local Chapters In 2003, Fletcher was honored with the NBTA President’s Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution as an NBTA Direct Member who provides leadership and vision within NBTA, and who advances the travel management industry.  Business Travel News recognized Fletcher in 2006 by naming her to the Top 25 Most Influential Executives in corporate travel for her outstanding contributions to the industry.  In 2007, Forbes identified Suzanne as one of the most influential women in travel.



Mary Ellen George, General Manager, Advito

As General Manager of Advito, Mary Ellen George oversees BCD Travel’s global consulting practice focused on delivering travel advisory and project management services. In addition, she leads the intelligence & innovation and business solutions teams that support BCD Travel's commercial initiatives. Prior to her current role, Mary Ellen was head of sales and marketing, with responsibility for business development and strategic marketing initiatives in the United States. Mary Ellen previously served as president of BCD Travel’s West Division, a 13-state area with annual sales of more than $1 billion. Under her leadership, the West Division increased revenues more than 20-fold during a 10-year period. Mary Ellen also launched and served as president of Corporate Fulfillment Services, BCD Travel’s online fulfillment services operation.

Mary Ellen serves as executive sponsor for BCD Travel’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and is responsible for steering the adoption of the company’s CSR principles in all wholly owned countries. She is also the chairperson for BCD Holdings “Making a Difference” philanthropic program which supports projects benefiting children in 14 countries through the John and Marine van Vlissingen Foundation.

She received an associate’s degree in hotel and restaurant management and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwood University. She also has completed post graduate coursework at the Kellogg Graduate School of Business Management.

John Grosshandler, eComXpo Founder and Virtual Event Consultant

In 2004, John launched a virtual trade show and job fair called eComXpo (www.ecomxpo.com). Held twice each year, eComXpo has become the largest, highest-grossing, longest-running virtual trade show with over 8,000 attendees and hundreds of exhibitors, including Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Target and eBay. eComXpo’s market success is evidenced by it having achieved the #1 listing on Google, out of 6 million results, for the keywords virtual trade show. On March 31, 2008, John completed the first-ever sale of a virtual trade show by selling eComXpo to Worldwide Business Research, a leading physical event producer.

While still running eComXpo, John was contracted by InXpo (the technology provider for eComXpo) to leverage his experience and help sell and implement InXpo’s virtual event platform. In this role, John worked with corporations including IBM, ATT, SAP, Procter & Gamble, Monster.com, Sun Microsystems, Agilent and Cognos; publishers including IDG, CMP, Ziff-Davis and the Wall Street Journal and associations including National Association of Realtors and HIMSS.

John is now a consultant working with firms to accelerate their virtual event success by providing hands-on assistance with strategy, sales and marketing activities. While John’s knowledge cuts across different technology platforms, he has specific experience with the leading providers in the space, including InXpo, Unisfair, On24, iCongo, CGS, Design Reactor and Second Life.

Before starting eComXpo, John had a successful 20 year career in sales and marketing roles for high technology firms, including 8 years at BEA Systems where John became their Number 1 sales representative out of 230 in North America.

John’s views on maximizing the potential of virtual events and communities have been shared as a frequent presenter, including at American Business Media’s Top Management Meeting and for the Professional Convention Management Association, as well as being featured in numerous articles in Trade Show Week, Trade Show Executive, B2B Magazine, and The Chicago Tribune. He’s also been a recurring guest on Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show.

John lives in a suburb of Chicago with his wife and four young sons and can be reached at john@ecomxpo.com.



Michelle Heston, Reg. Dir. of Public Relations, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Michelle Heston currently serves as the Regional Director of Public Relations for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. In this role she oversees the marketing communication and public relations efforts for eight luxury holdings in the western US and Hawaii.

In addition to media outreach, advertising and brand communication activities, she is responsible for exploring, cultivating and leveraging cross marketing relationships for the brand. She proudly spearheads the brand’s “green” marketing efforts. Working with the California Coastal Commission in late 2008, Heston coordinated Fairmont’s five drop-in cleanup sites across the state (Newport Beach, Santa Monica, San Jose, San Francisco and Sonoma) where volunteers hauled off everything from cigarette butts to a dishwasher. One thousand colleagues of California Fairmont Hotels & Resorts accompanied by friends, family members and recruits scoured the state’s inland waterways and beaches for litter as part of the 24th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. Fairmont employees, friends and families collected over 8 tons of trash and recyclables from around the state. She also mentors hotels in the region to serve as environmental ambassadors in their local communities. Working with each property’s green team she leads the design and implementation of the each property’s eco-signature projects. These projects currently include an ongoing relationship with Heal the Bay in Southern California and the Sonoma Ecology Center in Northern California.

Immediately prior to her post with Fairmont, she served as Director of Public Relations for the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. In that role she was awarded “Best of the Best” from InterContinental Hotels. Michelle has held numerous sales and managerial food and beverage positions within the hospitality industry including stints with Sheraton Hotels and the Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel.

She was a nationally ranked collegiate athlete (alpine skiing) for the University of Colorado, Boulder and from that institute she earned a B.S. in Business. She also holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from California State University, Long Beach.

An adjunct professor at Golden Gate University, she regularly lectures in the areas of marketing, public relations and advertising. She also serves as an Executive Committee member of the Sonoma County Tourism Program.



Phillip C. Hill, Assistant General Manager & COO, Los Angeles Convention Center

Mr. Hill serves as Assistant General Manager & COO of the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC). The award-winning LACC is a gateway-class convention and exhibition facility, positioning Los Angeles as the only destination of choice for high-value, high-impact events. With over 2.5 million visitors and 440 events annually, the LACC is an economic and employment engine for the region, generating $1.1 billion in total sales annually and supporting the hospitality, entertainment, retail, and transportation sectors.

Hurricane Katrina and the San Diego wildfires have highlighted the importance of the nation’s mega-venues for disaster support and coordination. Mr. Hill also serves as the director of the LACC’s emergency and disaster preparedness and management programs. In this capacity, Mr. Hill provides leadership for emergency planning and management, and collaborates with a wide variety of external organizations in support of risk identification and mitigation, interoperability, and effective emergency response and management.

Prior to his leadership within the LACC, Mr. Hill served as Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Quality and Productivity Commission, supporting fifteen commissioners in the enhancement of governmental work and service delivery processes. Additionally, Mr. Hill is an experienced engineering manager, and has extensive experience in support of Department of Defense and Department of Energy missions in specialties such as electronic warfare, radar and signal systems, information systems, and space-based systems, and has received multiple professional awards.

In a volunteer capacity, Mr. Hill serves as co-chair of the South Park Business Improvement and Community Benefit District, serving the business and residential community surrounding the Convention Center, and serves on the Emergency Response Board for the Greater Los Angeles American Red Cross. He has also served as a board member of the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management Alumni Board, as Foster Care Committee co-chair for the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, as a board member of the Central Area Police Advisory Board, and in multiple other volunteer positions.

Mr. Hill received an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Hill is also an FAA certified Commercial Pilot, Instrument Pilot, and Flight Instructor, and is a County of Los Angeles Ambulance Emergency Medical Technician with an expanded scope certification.



John E. Jackson, III, Director, Passenger Marketing and Sales,
Korean Air

John E. Jackson, III, is Director of Passenger Marketing and Sales for Korean Air’s Americas region. He’s the first non-Korean to hold this executive position. He has responsibility for all passenger marketing and sales functions including reservations, frequent flyer, corporate and agency sales, internet sales, advertising, PR, alliances, and pricing. John earned a BA-History at the University of Georgia, and attended the University of Denver School of Law and Warwick University (UK) Graduate School of Business. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, is married with two children, and resides in Valencia, California.

David Michael Jerome, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, InterContinental Hotels

David Michael Jerome is the Senior Vice President for Corporate Responsibility at InterContinental Hotels Group based in Windsor, United Kingdom. IHG leads the industry in environmental innovation with its guide to sustainable hotel building, siting and construction. IHG is also leading in community investment and local economic development, with over 3800 hotels globally.

Before joining IHG in 2006, David led Corporate Affairs for InBev, the world’s largest brewer. Prior to InBev, David worked for General Motors in a variety of staff and operational roles. He was head of GM Korea before assuming responsibility for GM’s global reputation management activity. David practiced law in Washington, D.C. before joining GM.



Charlie Kao, CEO, TravelMole

During the past 30 years, Charlie Kao has served as CEO or Chairman of a number of travel related companies; travel technology, and eCommerce companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia/China. Charlie currently serves TravelMole.com and TravelMole TV as Group Chairman; Green Globe International as Vice-Chairman; Innovation for Sustainable Development as Chairman of this non-profit organization he founded, and Chairman of Sustainability Intelligence. He servers as special advisor for UNESCO World Heritage, International Hotel & Restaurant Association and other NGO and associations.



Leilani C. Latimer, Director, Sustainability Initiatives, Sabre Holdings

Leilani C. Latimer leads Global Sustainability Initiatives for Sabre Holdings, the world’s leading travel marketing and distribution provider. She develops and directs the company’s initiatives in collaboration with business leaders across the corporation. Her range of duties extends from delineating the company’s efforts in the areas of products and services, to developing a platform for industry advocacy and corporate stewardship.

Ms. Latimer is an innovative marketing professional with expertise in global marketing and business strategies. In her previous role she led worldwide marketing planning for Sabre Travel Network. Previously, she held positions in Sales and Marketing both in North America as well as Europe, where she began her career with Sabre 18 years ago.

Ms. Latimer is holds a graduate Certificate in Sustainable Management from the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco where she works and resides. She co-chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee for the National Business Travel Association and is an active member of the Silicon Valley Italian Executive Council. She is fluent in Italian, and holds both US and EEC citizenship.



Kinley Levack, Managing Editor, Successful Meetings, Nielsen Business Media

Kinley Levack is the managing editor of Successful Meetings magazine, a Nielsen Business Media title that reaches more than 70,000 meeting, convention, trade show, and incentive planners each month and places a strong emphasis on the importance of education. She also serves as a contributing editor for Successful Meetings’ sister publication, MeetingNews magazine, which has a circulation of more than 41,000 professional planners.

Kinley has been following the green travel movement for some time and helped to coordinate a November 2008 issue dedicated to the subject—the personal highlight of which was an interview with actor and activist Ed Begley Jr. about the changes people can make that will move us toward a greener world. She also spoke at a Virtual Meeting World event in 2008 on “Most Effective Ways to Green Your Meeting.”



Ted Martens, Director of Outreach and Development, Sustainable Travel International

Ted Martens is Director of Outreach and Development for Sustainable Travel International (STI) and Manager of STI's Colorado office. Ted has been working both locally and globally, helping businesses in the Rocky Mountain region mitigate their environmental footprint while also promoting sustainable tourism development throughout the world. Before joining the STI team, Ted was a researcher and instructor for Arizona State University's Tourism Development and Management program where his work focused on ecotourism development in Central America. Ted holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master's Degree in Tourism Studies from Arizona State University. When not working to improve the quality of the tourism industry, Ted can be found on the slopes and trails of Colorado's backcountry.



Pirjo E. Niemi, President, Earthbound Events, Inc.

For the past 30 years Pirjo Niemi has been working in the business conference, performance improvement and tradeshow field covering all aspects from planning to program operation. She has been in Sr. management positions in three Meeting & Incentive companies ending at Ambassadors, LLC about 10 years ago. Pirjo is active in SITE and serves on the International SITE Foundation Board of Trustees and other organizations focusing on education in the Conference & Incentive fields. She is a regular guest speaker at local colleges.

Pirjo has served on the advisory boards of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Hotels, KSL Resorts, InterContinental Hotels and two cruise lines.

Pirjo was born and raised in Finland and speaks several languages. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Helsinki School of Economics and two years of Graduate Study in Economics at Michigan State University and University of Nevada.

Leah Raney, Managing Director, Global Environmental Affairs, Continental Airlines

Leah Raney is the Managing Director of Global Environmental Affairs for Continental Airlines and has responsibility for environmental, noise, and sustainability issues worldwide. She handles everything from environmental clearances for new terminal and runway construction to day-to-day compliance with state and federal environmental regulations to emerging global climate change initiatives. Leah has been with Continental for 12 years and in the environmental profession for a total of 20 years after getting her civil engineering degree from Texas A & M University. Although she is married with two children, she is also active in the International Air Transport Association, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and is currently the Air Transport Association (ATA) International Noise and Emissions Chair.



David J. Refkin, Former Director of Sustainable Development,
Time, Inc.

David J. Refkin is an internationally recognized sustainability expert with a focus on issues related to business and paper including climate change, forestry and recycling. Mr. Refkin has developed and executed innovative programs to minimize environmental footprints and reduce business costs and risks. He has partnered with other leading companies to bring parties with differing perspectives together to find mutually beneficial solutions to difficult sustainability challenges.

The leadership activities David has accomplished include: developing creative recycling programs (ReMix) in New York, Boston and other cities, leading the forest products industry to significantly increase its sustainable forestry practices in the US and other countries, conducting a landmark carbon footprint life cycle analysis of major US consumer magazines and turning sustainability into a business opportunity. He was one of the authors of “Buying and Using Environmentally Preferable Paper”, published by the Environmental Defense Fund’s Paper Task Force, was a major contributor to Metafore’s Paper Working Group (developers of the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool) and was a key participant in “From Russia with Transparency” an international multi-party effort to bring sustainability to the Russian forestry sector. David has interacted with a broad range of stakeholders, including ENGO’s, governments, universities and corporate leaders.

With a background in accounting and finance (BS Accounting, SUNY-Albany, MBA, Finance - Iona College), Mr. Refkin has worked in a series of financial, purchasing and sustainability positions. Following a career in public accounting, he spent 26 years at Time Inc., including positions as Business Manager, President of TI Paperco, the paper purchasing arm of the company, and as Director of Sustainable Development. David has served as President of the National Recycling Coalition since 2006 and is a member of the Board of Trustees and Treasurer of the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.

Mr. Refkin served as Time Warner’s liaison delegate to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and as an active member of the Sustainable Forest Products Working Group. He was also responsible for Time Inc.’s award winning 2005 and 2007/2008 Sustainability Reports. David was a winner of the 2004 Rainforest Alliance Green Globe Award for leadership in forest certification and was recognized by Forest Leadership.com as its first ever Leadership Award winner.



Megan Rooksby, CMP, Procurement Specialist, American Express Corporate Meeting Solutions

She is chapter President of the Pacific Northwest Green Meeting Industry Council, which is responsible for building and developing the chapter’s strategic direction to bring education to those who touch the meetings & travel industry. In addition, she serves as Board of Director for the MPI Oregon Chapter and the APEX Green Meetings accommodations committee. Prior to joining American Express in 2007, Megan represented national hotel brands in sales, marketing and revenue management for resorts and hotels in North America. Megan is passionate about the meetings industry and toward taking action to educate and promote sustainable meeting practices. She is based in and inspired by Portland, Oregon, the greenest city in America; she likes jazz music and loves to laugh.



Auden Schendler, Executive Director, Sustainability, Aspen Skiing Company, author, Getting Green Done

Auden Schendler is Executive Director of Sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company. Previously research associate in corporate sustainability at Rocky Mountain Institute, Auden has been a trailer insulator, burger flipper, ambulance medic, Outward Bound instructor, high school math and English teacher, freelance writer, and Forest Service goose nest island builder. An avid outdoorsman, Auden has climbed Denali, North America's highest peak, and kayaked the Grand Canyon in winter. His writing has been published in Harvard Business Review, the L.A. Times, Rock and Ice, and Salon.com, among other places. A LEED accredited professional, Auden was named a global warming innovator by TIME magazine in 2006, and in 2007 he testified to Congress on the impact of climate change on public lands. He lives in Basalt, Colorado with his wife Ellen and their children Willa and Elias.



Frank Schnur, Innovation VP, Global Advisory Services, American Express Business Travel

Frank Schnur, Jr. is Vice President of Innovation, Global Advisory Services. He leads product development and marketing for Advisory Services. His passion is creating products and solutions that drive incremental value to customers and creating a value proposition that distinguishes American Express Business Travel from its competitors.

Mr. Schnur has led the dramatic improvements in customer satisfaction and 100% growth of travel procurement, change management services and meetings services in the last 2 years. Advisory Services now serves more than 100 large clients and hundreds of mid-market clients.

Before joining Advisory Services department, Mr. Schnur served as the Head of Global Consulting for American Express Commercial Card.

He also revitalized the American Express Canadian consulting business as Vice President of Consulting in Canada. His accomplishments here included a 30-fold increase in business and 100% client satisfaction in all core offering areas.

Among his many career accomplishments, he created an automated expense reporting practice within American Express’ U.S. consulting practice, and implemented a leading corporate travel management program at Harvard University. As the director of travel for Harvard University, Mr. Schnur implemented a new corporate travel program. Through internal marketing and communications he created the most successful university travel program in the country.

Mr. Schnur holds an MBA in Marketing from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from Columbia University.

He is based in Hopkinton, Mass.



Dr. Stephen Stokes, Vice President, Sustainability and Green Travel Technologies, AMR Research

Dr. Stephen Stokes, VP Sustainability and Green Technologies, AMR Research, Inc. brings over 20 years of experience working at the interface of climate change, research, teaching, and consultancy to AMR Research. His primary responsibility is guiding companies in understanding risks and exploring opportunities presented by the challenges of climate change and sustainability. Stephen additionally contributes to aspects of research and advisory services in the mining and industrial chemicals sectors.

Before joining AMR Research, Stephen worked as a Resources and Environmental Manager at Perry Resources Ltd. He also served as CEO and Executive Director at Andrew.Stewart Holdings Ltd, which provides advisory, IT solutions, planning, and carbon management services to business interests and local government in Australasia.

Stephen earned his MSc in Earth Sciences from the University of Waikato, his MBA from the University of Auckland, and his Doctorate in Climate Change and Applied Physics from the University of Oxford. Stephen remained at Oxford for much of the earlier portions of his career where he researched, consulted, and taught on the Environment Change and Management program and other interdisciplinary programs.



Jamie Sweeting, Vice President, Environmental Stewardship & Global Chief Environmental Officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Jamie Sweeting is Vice President, Environmental Stewardship and Global Chief Environmental Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Sweeting is responsible for establishing the company’s long-term environmental strategy, including goals and objectives that ensure responsible corporate environmental performance. These objectives incorporate factors such as climate change, destination stewardship, current and future environmental regulations and agreements, and programs that lead to sound environmental policy, compliance, incident response and training.

In his role with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Sweeting’s aim is to strengthen the company’s ongoing commitment to serve as a responsible steward of the environment. Having worked with many corporations to help them become more environmentally responsible and maximize their contributions to conservation, Sweeting’s expertise guides Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s work to preserve and protect the environment.

Sweeting has more than 15 years of experience in tourism, conservation and business management. Most recently, he served as senior business advisor for Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. Previously, he served as the Center’s senior director of the Travel and Leisure program, where he helped companies realize the benefits of becoming industry leaders in conservation and community development. Prior to that, Sweeting was Manager of Conservation International’s Ecotourism Department, where he helped develop and implement over 35 ecotourism projects in more than 17 countries, and oversaw the launch of the Ecotravel Center, a pioneering, comprehensive ecotourism Internet resource. Sweeting also has worked for The International Ecotourism Society, and previously conducted a special management project on ecotourism in the Caribbean.

Sweeting received a Master of Tourism Administration from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a B.A. honors in Leisure and Business Management from Manchester University in England.



Olivia Zaleski, Host, "Business of Green" at CNNMoney

Olivia Zaleski is an award-winning journalist specializing in sustainable business practices and corporate environmentalism.

Zaleski joined CNNMoney.com's series "The Business of Green" from The Huffington Post where she launched HuffPo Green, leading the site's coverage of critical issues affecting environmentalism today.

In addition to HuffPo Green, Zaleski is a contributing editor for Hearst Magazine's "The Daily Green" and regular guest expert on ABC's "Good Morning America Now." Zaleski has also contributed green commentary and advice to Discovery Channel's TreehuggerTV, PlumTV, the CW and nationally syndicated morning news program The Daily Buzz.

Zaleski graduated with awards from Dartmouth College. She lives in New York City.