‘The Power of CCTE’

Jens Liltorp

The CCTE graduating class of 2008, scheduled to receive the certificates that would make them Certified Corporate Travel Executives at the 40^th Annual NBTA International Convention & Exposition in Los Angles, were dismayed to learn that a member of the class was unable to attend. Jens Liltorp, CCTE, Director, Global Travel Management Services for Novo Nordisk in Denmark and a member of the Denmark BTA, sadly informed the group weeks before Convention that due to budgetary constraints he could not travel to the United States to join his classmates.

“Although it was important to the class to have all its participants present, the loss of Liltorp was especially felt,” said Alex Henriquez, CCTE, Manager Corporate Travel & Meetings, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. “The group grew very fond of Jens and was especially proud of his determination to travel to the United States to attend each Core Week and elective. We were looking forward to having him represent the international side of CCTE.”

Henriquez was confident his classmates would do what they could to help Jens, so under the guidance and care of Donna Watson, CCTE, Education Manager at NBTA, he sent an email to the group soliciting support. “The response was overwhelming,” he said. “Literally within a half hour I received replies offering help. It was a real group effort.”

Monica Young, Corporate Travel Manager for National Oilwell Varco, came forward with corporate miles for a first-class flight to Los Angeles. Another classmate, Steve Prats, Vice President at HelmsBriscoe, was able to upgrade his hotel room to a two-room suite, which he offered to share with Liltorp.

Funding was still required to cover the airfare taxes, which totaled to nearly $800. Another email was sent to the group and the response was the same – of course they would help. “We all decided to split it,” said Henriquez. “We each brought a $20 bill to Convention to cover the costs.”

Not surprisingly, Liltorp was appreciative of his group coming together to ensure his presence at graduation. “When I called Jens to inform him that he would be coming to Convention to graduate with his class, he was absolutely taken aback,” said Henriquez. “After we received our certificates and were official CCTE graduates, Jens tearfully thanked the whole group.”

Liltorp contacted Connecting News from Denmark to again express his gratitude. “It was truly amazing and I was quite emotional when Alex called me several times about arranging transportation,” he said. “This was way beyond what one could expect and I feel very grateful to be part of such a group of people. I believe this to be one of the strongest examples of friendship and networking that I have seen or heard of in my 25 years in the travel industry.”

Henriquez credits the closeness of the group to the dynamics of the CCTE course. Through the Core Week classes and electives, the group had the opportunity to work together closely and share ideas. “We were a group of professionals with anywhere from 20 years of experiences in the corporate travel industry to only a few, and everyone was more than willing to share what they knew,” he said

“We became friends,” said Henriquez. “We all wanted to excel in the program and graduate together. We wanted to make sure no one was left behind.”

Liltorp added, “Not only was the CCTE educational program beneficial, it also brought us together in a remarkable way that eventually is maybe even more valuable to each one of us and the companies we represent.”

The group still maintains close contact. They often reach out to each other with professional questions, advice and lessons learned. “There has even been talk about earning our GLP designations as a group to keep the momentum and brotherhood in tact,” said Liltorp.

“We all came together to help one of our own,” said Jorge Caamano, CCTE, NBTA Business Travel Analyst and member of the 2008 CCTE graduating class. “We worked together to achieve a professional development goal and wanted ensure all who participated were recognized for their work. I like to call this the ‘Power of CCTE.’”

CCTE Graduating Class of 2008