Key personnel

Anne Godfrey was appointed chief executive of the GTMC in October 2009. Well qualified for the role; her previous experience included positions at four very different membership organisations, including the Law Society, where she was director of commercial and membership services and the CBI where she was commercial director.

Anne quickly made her mark at the GTMC; reviewing and restructuring the relationship with members and partners and strengthening the GTMC’s lobbying activities.

Anne’s previous career was in professional publishing where she had a range of sales, marketing and business development roles within Thomson Reuters, Pearson and cassell plc.

Ajaya has sat on the GTMC executive council since 2009 and represents the GTMC as a board director for the Guild of European Business Travel Agents (GEBTA).

Ajaya Sodha founded Key Travel thirty-one years ago and has grown the company to become one of the UK’s top twenty travel management companies. The company specialises in the ‘Third Sector’’ – not for profit companies, charities, humanitarian, faith, missionary and academic organisations.

Michael Hare took on the role of Immediate Past Chairman in January 2012 following his two year chairmanship of the GTMC. Mike Hare, CEO of Portman Travel, is one of the industry’s most respected authorities on corporate travel management.  

A true entrepreneur, Michael began his career at the age of 16 and by the age of 19 started his own business travel company. His passion for corporate travel saw his company grow to be a Top 12 TMC before its sale to Portman Travel in 2008.

Michael joined the Portman Travel board as COO responsible for operations and technology in 2008. In October 2009, he was appointed CEO. Under his leadership Portman Travel now employs over 500 people operating from 17 locations. 

Maurice Veronique was originally an accountant by profession, until he founded The Appointment Group Limited with his business partner, John Gianquitto in 1988. The Group consists of four individual travel businesses, namely Travel by Appointment, Music by Appointment, Events by Appointment and Leisure by Appointment with officers in London, New York and Los Angeles.

Maurice was appointed GTMC Chairman in January 2008 and held the position for two years. Never one to be conventional, Maurice introduced many forward thinking, new initiatives to the GTMC, including the formation of the GTMC Twenty/20, a forum for middle managers in business travel. He also drove forward the lobbying activities of the GTMC with proactive meetings with Government, opinion-formers, decision makers and the media.

Maurice is currently the GTMC hon. Treasurer.