Meet
The Team
You can even take a glimpse at out team members, all of whom are exceptionally qualified in their specific disciplines. With their collective experience of over 200 years, they will be able to guide you through all your Travel Branding problems and get your organization to reach a new pinnacle of success. You can read through their biographical sketches and rich industry as well as work experience and also work with them to get the most apposite advice from our International Travel Consulting Business at TTC.
 Mike
Putman, Founder
Position: Growth Strategy, E-commerce
Specialist Number of Years in Travel:
20
Number of Business Owned: 3
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me
With over 20 years of industry experience,
Mike Putman has acquired in-depth knowledge
in nearly every facet of the travel industry.
He started his career with a single travel
agency, Putman Travel, which grew to become
one of the largest privately held agencies
in the Southeast.
In the late 1990s, Mike uncovered a niche
in the marketplace – last minute travel.
The Internet was the ideal forum to sell
this near-term inventory, so he founded
11thHour.com, which now offers affordable
vacation packages and cruises to destinations
worldwide.
After just a few short years in operation,
OneTravel, Inc., a prominent player in
the online travel space, acquired the
web site in April 2001. 11thHour.com maintained
its unique branding, yet became integrated
as the vacation and cruise arm of its
parent company.
As a result of the merger, Mike took
a strategic position as Senior Vice President
of Supplier Relations with OneTravel,
initiating and maintaining relationships
with many of the key industry suppliers.
In addition, under Mike’s stewardship,
the company created one of the first API-based
online cruise booking engines.
In late 2004, Mike once again heard opportunity
knocking, but this time in the form of
a consultancy group to take on the increasing
demand for a variety of specialized travel
services. Travel Team Consulting was born
to meet the needs of companies of all
sizes, whether small businesses or large,
multimillion dollar corporations.
Mike realized companies in all spectrums
of the travel industry – including online
intermediaries, brick-and-mortar agencies,
hotels and resorts, airlines, and more
– often require expertise on-demand. Travel
Team Consulting was formed to answer that
call and provide know-how in all facets
of the industry.
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 Annette
Cavanaugh
Position: Branding, Strategic Marketing,
& Consumer Insight Research
Number of Years in Travel: 15
Claim to Fame: Worked on an RCCL repositioning
campaign, which won a Gold EFFIE
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me
As owner of MMI Marketing, Inc., a firm
specializing in marketing for the travel
industry, Annette Cavanaugh has proven
her skills with a variety of elite clientele.
From Couples Resorts to Travel Guard International,
Annette guides her clients on key initiatives
such as brand development, consumer insight
research, and strategic marketing.
Her 15-year tenure in the travel industry
has added companies such as Avis Rent-A-Car,
Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International,
The Florida Keys Visitor’s Bureau, and
many others to her roster.
When serving as the Director of Marketing
for Royal Caribbean International, Annette
worked on the Lust for Life advertising
campaign, which was awarded a prestigious
Gold EFFIE, considered the global benchmark
for effective advertising. Also during
her tenure with the line, Annette helped
launch the renowned Voyager Class Vessels.
In addition to holding a Bachelor of
Science degree in Marketing from the University
of Maryland, College Park, Annette has
also recently completed a variety of executive
education courses at Harvard University.
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 Jack
Westman
Position: Start Ups, Supplier Relations,
& Tour Operator/Hotel/Resort Specialist
Number of Years in Travel: 38
Number of Business Owned: 2
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me
A travel industry veteran of 38 years,
Jack Westman currently serves as the President
of Room Results, Inc., a company specializing
in Internet revenue management for the
lodging industry. Through relationships
with the top online intermediaries, such
as Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz, Jack’s
company oversees his clients’ on-site
positioning, marketing, inventory, and
pricing. Room Results helps lodging suppliers,
from hotels and resorts to condominiums,
villas, and homes, obtain greater exposure,
reach, and ultimately sales, through online
channels.
In previous posts, Jack has served not
only in the lodging industry, but also
for airlines, tour operators, as well
as for online travel web sites.
He began his career working for Delta
Airlines, holding various roles of increasing
responsibility throughout his 22-year
tenure with the company. While there,
Jack was assigned to lead Delta’s expansion
into Cleveland and Northern Ohio and subsequently
went on to manage the sales and marketing
efforts when the airline established Dallas
as a hub.
Additionally, Jack successfully created
Delta’s International Market Development
department, which housed a total of 23
field marketing representatives who worked
to support the airline’s international
interests.
While serving as the Director of National
Accounts with Wyndham Hotels and Resorts,
Jack oversaw sales and marketing efforts
for seven offshore resorts, including
the acquisition and renovation of the
Wyndham Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay,
Jamaica. The resort became one of the
most profitable in the Wyndham brand.
His start up experience includes the
likes of South Seas Resort Company, where
he served as Vice President of Sales for
the brand’s eight resorts. While there,
he opened and ran the company’s vacation
planning center. More over, Jack worked
with Air Jamaica to assist the airline
develop its own tour company that came
to be known as Air Jamaica Vacations.
Finally, before starting his own firm,
Jack held the post of Vice President of
11thHour.com, managing the company’s supplier
relations and product development. During
his term, Jack took the company’s product
offering from 256,000 SKUs in 2001 to
over 14 million by 2004.
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 Gerry
Epstein
Position: Airline, Distribution, &
Partnership Specialist
Number of Years in Travel: 30
Claim to Fame: Established initial agreements
between BA and emerging online intermediaries
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me
Gerry Epstein is intimately aware of
all things airline. Having spent 30 years
at British Airways, Gerry has held a multitude
positions – starting from a telephone
sales agent to a manager of online distribution
and everything in between.
During her tenure with the airline, Gerry
oversaw development of the groundbreaking
codeshare agreement between British Airways
and US Airways, including product design,
systems development, and schedule coordination.
As manager of online distribution, while
much of the industry still believed the
Internet was only about direct selling,
Gerry read the marketplace trends and
established broad marketing agreements
with the major online intermediaries.
Additionally, Gerry worked as project
manager on the team that developed the
industry’s first calendar-based, real-time
availability display for international
airfares.
Along with her experience in online distribution,
Gerry also has an extensive background
in building strategic relationships as
well as business analysis and development.
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 Marc
Bolick
Position: Strategic Marketing & Growth
Number of Years in Travel: 5
Claim to Fame: A passion for product development
and marketing
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me
Marc Bolick founded and operates Dmarc8
International, a company specializing
in marketing and business development
services for high growth, technology-based
companies. Prior to Dmarc8, he co-founded
MobiQuis, a company providing infotainment
services to the mobile telecoms industry.
Marc’s previous experience includes nine
years at General Electric and two years
at Nucletron/Delft Instruments in medical
devices marketing and product management.
Marc received his MBA from Rotterdam School
of Management and his BS degree in Mechanical
Engineering
from Clemson University (USA).
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 Lou
Phillips
Position: Multicultural Marketing with
an emphasis on African Americans
Number of Years in Travel: 32
Number of Business Owned: 4
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me
After 27 years of service at American
Airlines, Inc, Lou took an early retirement
from his position as Managing Director
of Urban and Community Relations (a department
that he established in 1995) to become
founder and President of the Multicultural
Tourism Development Alliance (www.mtda.org).
A non-profit (501c6) travel industry organization
dedicated to preserving, protecting and
promoting the rich history and culture
of African, Latin/Hispanic, Asian and
Native Americans. This effort began with
the establishment of Ethnotravel.com (www.ethnotravel.com)
in early 2001.
His 32 years of marketing and management
experience is now being directed toward
legacy preservation and inclusion of traditional
minority segments into America’s tourism
mega-industry. MTDA demonstrated its vision
“real time” by raising $1.3 million dollars
in donations for the restoration of Princeville,
North Carolina (the first town chartered
in America by freed slaves). Through its
coordination of resources from corporations,
government officials, professional &
social organizations, churches, entertainers
and everyday citizens, MTDA demonstrated
how corporate social activism can have
a direct impact on the bottom-line.
In early 2001, Lou developed an interest
in the plight of the home of Dr. Carter
G. Woodson and dedicated himself to organizing
an effort to restore the home of this
great American. Lou committed the resources
of MTDA to the Association for the Study
of African American Life & History
(founded by Dr. Woodson in 1915) and sought
to save the home from destruction. It
has now been added to the inventory of
the federal government under the auspices
of the National Park Service.
This experience led to Lou founding a
Northern Virginia branch of Dr. Woodson’s
association (www.cartergwodson.com) with
the goal of launching strategies to celebrate
Black History on a daily basis. In 2002,
he launched “The Clio Exchange” television
show (www.clioexchange.com) as a tool
to affect that celebration and expand
public awareness of Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
Lou has served on the Board of Directors
of the Washington YMCA, Washington Urban
League, Big Brothers of the National Capital
Area, the Jackie Robinson Foundation,
the Woodholme Foundation and a number
of Advisory Boards to include The Association
for the Study of African American Life
& History and the Board of Trustees
at Potomac College.
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 Dick
Knodt
Position: Business Growth Strategist
Number of Years in Travel: 30+
Claim to Fame: Redefinition of the travel
industry with Vacation.com
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me
Dick Knodt, CTC, president
and CEO of Vacation.com, the travel industry’s
largest agency marketing group, recently
announced his retirement. During his tenure
at Vacation.com, Knodt gained a reputation
as an innovative, decisive executive who
broke new ground in technology, marketing,
and travel agent education.
Knodt took over as president and CEO
of Vacation.com in 2001 after serving
as the organization’s COO. He melded six
agency groups into Vacation.com, creating
a leisure travel powerhouse fueled by
technology and marketing tools. With over
6,000 agency locations throughout North
America, the company’s annual sales are
estimated at $17 billion.
During his three decades in the travel
industry, Knodt has been a multi-location
travel agency owner, an educator and an
executive, and twice served as the top
staff executive running ASTA. Knodt continues
to be, an outstanding influence – both
to agents just starting out and to industry
veterans. His professional activities
have advanced the status of travel agents.
Through his commitment to fostering agent
education, he has given his personal time
to teach others and launched a travel
school, now a prototype for a network
of schools across the country.
Knodt earned his CTC in 1978 and served
as a member of the Institute of Certified
Travel Agents (ICTA) Board of Trustees
as its Vice Chairman. He has also served
as a member of the Board of Directors
of the Travel Industry Association (TIA),
chaired the Tourism Works for America
Council, and sat on the advisory board
for the Academy of Travel and Tourism.
He presently serves on the Advisory Boards
for Rail Europe, Classic Custom Vacations,
Globus/Cosmos Tours, the Canadian Travel
Commission and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
As a consultant, Knodt shares his extensive
experience in corporate travel management,
franchise system development and leisure
marketing programs with many of the country’s
leading travel organizations and companies.
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 John
Melchior
Position: International Travel Sales Specialist
Number of Years in Travel: 26
Claim to Fame: International travel sales,
marketing and negotiation
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me
John Melchior is an experienced senior
executive with vast international experience
in the travel industry. His experience
includes senior positions in general management,
sales and marketing, including launching
new companies and products, driving change,
and the supervision and motivation of
large staffs. Melchior is especially well
known in the hotel industry thanks to
his development of one of the world’s
most renowned preferred hotel programs
for RADIUS.
Until June 2005, John served for 14 years
as executive vice president for RADIUS
– The Global Travel Company (previously
known as Woodside Travel Trust). In that
capacity, Melchior developed and supported
an international network of travel agencies
spanning 80+ countries. His responsibilities
included development of multinational
sales, international agency recruitment,
product and network marketing and public
relations efforts. He also negotiated
preferred relationships with travel related
suppliers on behalf of member agencies,
negotiating pricing and sales both to
travel agencies and corporate buyers.
He frequently speaks internationally on
industry issues and served on numerous
hotel companies’ advisory boards.
Born and educated in Denmark, Melchior
began his career in travel with his training
at the Danish Travelcenter, before moving
into the corporate travel industry with
Maersk Travel in 1979. In 1981, with the
opening of Maersk’s first international
agency, Melchior was appointed managing
director where he served until 1988. During
this period, he launched Scanscape Holidays
which became the leading independent tour
operator to Scandinavia.
Melchior helped to establish Maersk Travel
operations in Hong Kong and Singapore,
as well as the Maersk entry into the scheduled
air market in the United
Kingdom. When Maersk bought into Birmingham
European Airways in 1988, Melchoir was
named director, sales and marketing. There
he helped improve the image of the airline
by transitioning from turboprops to jets
resulting in an increase in the passenger
base from 50,000 to 300,000.
Since his departure from RADIUS in 2005,
Melchior’s passion is consulting travel
management companies, hotel chains, distributors
and corporate buyers of travel internationally.
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 Howard Weiss
Howard Weiss began his travel career selling ski trips to his classmates at Forest Hills High School in New York at the age of 16. "Why pay to ski when if I get 10 friends together I can go for free?" This was Howard’s introduction to the world of travel. At the age of 17 he brought friends to Miami Beach for Easter Vacation. After graduation from High School, Howard was hired at a major Travel Agency in New York. While carrying a full course load at Queens College, Howard managed a 40 hour work week and spent weekends in Miami, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. After honing his sales skills for his employer and earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees, Howard left to start his own travel agency, the first of many in New York and Los Angeles.
In 1982, Howard started another career in the mailroom of a major publishing company. One day while photocopying a manuscript for a magazine editor, Howard corrected the grammar and spelling and left it on the editor’s desk. The editor was surprised and pleased and when the editor of TEEN BEAT Magazine quit unexpectedly a few days later, Howard was thrown into the job and told to sink or swim. He completed the next issue in just 2 weeks and it went on to sell more than the previous issues. Unfortunately the company went bankrupt and Howard was out of a job. This period of unemployment lasted 48 hours. Howard was hired by the competition and given 30 days to create a new teen magazine. Titled TEEN MACHINE, the premiere issue went on to outsell the company’s other leading magazine. After a year Howard was moved to Los Angeles to open the west coast office of the company. After six months he resigned and started the first of many of his own teen magazines TEEN SET.
In 1988 the publishing industry was suffering from poor sales. Howard sold his magazines and took a vacation to Australia. Since it rained for 10 straight days, one afternoon he picked up a copy of an Australian fan magazine TV HITS and called the publisher to compare notes. They had coffee and a chat and by the time Howard’s plane landed back in Los Angeles he was hired to do a teen gossip column for TV HITS Australia. Within one year, Howard was accredited by the MPAA and was doing monthly columns in the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Holland and the Czech Republic. These assignments led to live by satellite TV segments on SHOWBIZ UK for the BBC SKY Broadcasting network in the UK and live by phone segments on several Australian radio shows. When in London or Sydney Howard was a frequent live guest on these shows.
In 1985 Howard was given a co-starring role in the independent horror film EVIL LAUGH which went on to become a cult classic. The DVD is still on sale today. Howard’s portrayal of a bumbling real estate agent had audiences laughing non stop from his opening scene to his death at the hands of the sadistic killer.
While covering major events including the Academy Awards, Howard made many entertainment contacts and interviewed just about every major teen and young TV, film and music star. His personal relationships with these celebrities found Howard helping with travel advice. Since he had never completely given up his travel agency, he began an entertainment division and soon was handling full film productions and traveling with his clients to film sets all over the world.
In the late 1990s, the internet took away Howard’s assignments because the foreign press found it easier and cheaper to get immediate stories online. This presented another opportunity for Howard to go back to full time travel work with his ever growing list of celebrity clients.
In 2001, Howard moved to Boca Raton Florida where he operates his successful travel agency with a 90% sports and entertainment client base.
In 2006 Howard was hired by BUSINESS TRAVEL USA Magazine as the consulting editor. The monthly magazine features Howard’s regular "fare deals" column as well as reviews of airlines, hotels and cruise ships.
Howard has logged more than 3 million air miles circling the globe by air, sea and land and has visited more than 100 countries on 6 continents. He holds top tier membership in many of the airline frequent flier and hotel and cruise line frequent traveler programs. When Queen Mary 2 made its maiden transatlantic crossing from New York to England in 2004 Howard was on board. There is not a single aircraft flying today that Howard hasn’t personally flown. Prior to the end of the supersonic Concorde era, Howard had flown it 14 times.
Many of Howard’s clients call him "The best kept secret in the travel industry" due to his expertise in the travel and airline industries. From all of his personal travels, Howard knows many of the secrets of the airline industry that they would prefer never to be made public. Howard still manages to log over 100,000 miles a year on land, sea and air and is at home in Europe as much as in the US. Anyone who invites Howard to dinner or a party can count on being mesmerized by his stories.
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