2026 Board of Directors Election Platform Statements

  GBTA Austin Board of Directors Candidate Platform Statments  

VICE PRESIDENT NOMINATION

Candidate Name: Heather Vickers
Professional Title and Company:  Director of Sales at Courtyard by Marriott Austin Pflugerville and Pflugerville Conference Center
Years Involved with GBTA Austin: 4

• Member Engagement: Creating meaningful opportunities for networking, education, and involvement.
• Strategic Partnerships: Strengthening relationships with our sponsors and developing new opportunities for collaboration.
• Professional Development: Supporting programs that help our members grow their careers and stay connected to an evolving travel industry.
• Leadership Development: Encouraging members to get involved and creating a strong pipeline of future chapter leaders.
• Continued Growth: Listening to our members and working collaboratively with the Board to identify new opportunities for GBTA Austin.

DIRECT DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS

Candidate Name: Lyle Grimes
Professional Title and Company: Senior Category Strategy Lead, Indirect Spend, Forcepoint
Years Involved with GBTA Austin: Involved with the chapter since 2011, including six years of Board leadership across two periods of service

1. Introduction and Chapter Involvement
I have been involved with GBTA Austin since 2011, first serving on the Board of Directors of the Austin Business Travel Association and as Government Relations Chairman, and later returning to serve four years as Treasurer from 2022 through 2025. I have also supported the broader Texas travel industry through service on the Texas Travel Industry Association Legislative Affairs Committee.

2. Why You Are Seeking This Position
I accepted the nomination because GBTA Austin has been an important part of my professional life for many years, and I believe I can continue giving back to an organization and industry that have given me so much. Returning to the Board as a Direct Director also gives me the opportunity to bring a new perspective to the chapter now that I have moved from the supplier side of the industry to the buyer side.

3. Experience and Strengths
I bring more than 30 years of travel industry experience, including 28 years with American Airlines, more than two years with Choice Hotels, and extensive experience managing major global corporate relationships. Today, as Senior Category Strategy Lead for Indirect Spend at Forcepoint, I oversee our global travel program as part of my responsibilities, giving me experience on both the supplier and buyer sides of corporate travel.

4. Priorities and Vision
My priorities would be strengthening engagement among both buyer and supplier members, increasing the value members receive from chapter programming, and creating opportunities to bring newer professionals into the organization and develop the next generation of GBTA Austin leaders. I would also like to use my experience on both sides of the industry to encourage meaningful conversations around sourcing, supplier partnerships, technology, and the changing needs of corporate travel programs.

5. Commitment to Serve
I understand the time, participation, collaboration, and accountability that Board service requires because I have had the privilege of serving this chapter before. If elected, I am committed to being an active Board member, supporting my fellow directors, participating in chapter activities, and helping GBTA Austin continue to grow and provide meaningful value to its members.

I would be honored to earn the support of the GBTA Austin membership and serve as your next Direct Director.

Candidate Name: Sharon McCandlis
Professional Title and Company:  Global Purchasing Director at Quest Software
Years Involved with GBTA Austin: 5

My name is Sharon McCandlis, and I manage global travel for a company of 1,800 employees. I've been an active member of GBTA Austin for over seven years, having previously served on the chapter's Board of Directors, supported RFP efforts for our monthly meetings, and spoken at a chapter program — I've stayed engaged in whatever way the chapter has needed.

I am requesting this role because GBTA Austin has been a consistent source of professional growth, connection, and industry insight throughout my career, and I want to keep giving back to a community that has given me so much. Serving on the Board again, specifically as Director of Global Purchasing, is a chance to help shape the chapter's direction at a time when member engagement and industry change both demand strong leadership.

Beyond my prior board service, my day-to-day experience managing travel programs at scale gives me a practical, buyer-side perspective on the challenges our members face. My background running RFPs and speaking to chapter audiences has sharpened both my industry knowledge and my ability to communicate clearly and lead collaboratively.

If elected, I would focus on three priorities:

1. Strengthening member engagement through more interactive and relevant programming.
2. Expanding volunteer and committee opportunities so more members can get involved, and ensuring the Austin chapter continues grow.
3. Delivering practical, real-world value as the travel industry evolves, especially within Austin as this city continues to expand. I see this role as a way to build on the chapter's current momentum with all Austin’s current changes while making sure every member — new or long-standing — feels the benefit of being part of GBTA Austin.

I understand and welcome the time, collaboration, and accountability required of a GBTA Austin Board member, and I'm fully prepared to meet that commitment. I would be honored to earn the support of the GBTA Austin membership and serve as your next Direct Director on the GBTA Austin Chapter Board of Directors.

ALLIED DIRECTOR NOMINATION

Candidate Name: Haley McIntyre
Professional Title and Company:  Associate Director, Business Development at Placemakr
Years Involved with GBTA Austin: 3

Candidate Name: Matt Assolin
Professional Title and Company:  Vice President at RMA Worldwide
Years Involved with GBTA Austin: 17

1. INTRODUCTION AND CHAPTER INVOLVEMENT

My name is Matt Assolin, and I have been connected to the GBTA Austin community for 17 years — through chapter events, committee participation, and the kind of ongoing industry relationships that only deepen over time. My involvement with this chapter has never been transactional; it has been one of the most consistent professional communities in my career, and one I have returned to at every stage of my journey as an operator, founder, and executive in the travel and ground transportation industry. That continuity of connection is what I bring to the board.

2. WHY I AM SEEKING THIS POSITION

After 17 years in and around this chapter — and two decades building a career entirely in service of the corporate travel buyer — I believe I am positioned to be one of the most effective Allied voices this board has had. Suppliers are not simply vendors in the GBTA ecosystem; we are partners in the travel program, and when we have a seat at the table, we can help buyers make better decisions, advocate for service standards that actually work in the field, and shape chapter programming that reflects the full commercial reality of business travel. I have sat across the table from travel managers, procurement teams, and C-suite buyers my entire career — I understand their pressures, their priorities, and what they need from their supplier relationships — and I want to bring that understanding to the board in a way that makes the chapter stronger for both sides of the aisle.

3. EXPERIENCE AND STRENGTHS

I bring to this position a combination of deep operational experience and national-level governance credibility that is relatively rare at the local chapter level. As Vice-Chair of the GBTA Global Government Relations Committee, I have led national advocacy campaigns, directed Day on the Hill lobbying events, and represented the travel industry directly to members of Congress — setting the all-time GBTA Chapter Challenge PAC fundraising record in the process. Complementing that national service, my tenure as a Board Member of the National Limousine Association gave me direct experience in association governance: overseeing PAC, legislative, and national convention committees, negotiating third-party contracts, and organizing national membership campaigns. As a founder, CEO, and current VP at one of the world's largest chauffeured transportation companies, I also carry 20+ years of P&L responsibility, team leadership, and commercial development in the corporate travel space — giving me the business judgment to be a useful board partner, not just a familiar face.

4. PRIORITIES AND VISION

My first priority is strengthening the supplier-buyer dialogue within the chapter. The most valuable thing an Allied member can do on a board is help translate the supplier perspective into programming, partnerships, and conversations that genuinely serve buyer members — and I want to be intentional

about building that two-way channel. My second priority is leveraging the chapter's connection to the national GBTA organization more aggressively; having operated at the national committee level for over a decade, I know how much value exists in that relationship and how much of it goes untapped at the local level. My third priority is restoring the chapter’s membership roster to 100 members and beyond. A larger, more diverse membership base strengthens everything the chapter does — the quality of programming, the depth of networking, and the collective voice we carry at the national level. I intend to bring a structured, commercial approach to membership growth, treating recruitment and retention with the same discipline I have applied to business development throughout my career. My fourth priority is membership engagement — particularly bringing younger and mid-career travel professionals into the chapter community in a meaningful way, because the long-term health of GBTA Austin depends on building the next generation of engaged members today.

5. COMMITMENT TO SERVE

I understand that board service is a commitment of time, energy, and accountability — not a title. I have demonstrated that commitment at the national level through years of consistent volunteer service with GBTA and the NLA, and I bring that same standard of follow-through to the Austin chapter. I am prepared to show up, contribute meaningfully, collaborate across the membership, and be accountable for results — not just for the term, but for the relationships and outcomes that outlast it.

I would be honored to earn the support of the GBTA Austin membership and serve as your next Allied Board Member.