More Speakers Join Women Leading Travel Forum 2026 as the Agenda Takes Shape

The Women Leading Travel Forum 2026 is taking shape as a working session for senior travel executives. The new additions bring in leaders directly responsible for revenue growth, digital transformation, customer experience, and operational decision-making across hospitality, aviation, travel technology, and destination management.

The practical focus is deliberate. Travel companies are navigating AI acceleration, uneven demand, tighter margins and pressure to move faster with leaner teams. The conversations this program is building reflect that reality, not a version of it cleaned up for a conference stage.

AI, Technology and Operational Transformation

The technology sessions move past the theoretical. These leaders are inside organizations where AI is already changing how work gets done, how teams are structured and how decisions get made.

• Whitnee Hawthorne, Global Head of Travel and Hospitality, Snowflake 
• Henley Vazquez, Co-Founder, Fora 
• Ana Vergara, VP, Client Solutions, Travel and Hospitality, Teleperformance 
• Rebecca Brown, EVP, Business Development, Travel and Hospitality, Teleperformance

Commercial Strategy, Revenue, and Growth

Revenue leadership in travel has become more complex, not less. Booking behavior is shifting, distribution costs are rising and the pressure to grow is constant. These speakers are working through those problems now.

• Kristie Goshow, Chief Commercial Officer, Loews Hotels and Co. 
• Amanda Jamerson, Senior Director Revenue Management (RMCC), Hilton 
• Noreen Henry, Chief Revenue Officer, Aven Hospitality 
• Michelle Byerley, Vice President, Airline Partnerships, Flex Pay by Upgrade 
• Katie Chew, Managing Director, Treasury, United Airlines

Hospitality, Events, and Destination Leadership

• Diana Plazas-Trowbridge, Chief Lodging Product and Services Officer, Marriott International 
• Stephanie Turner, Senior Vice President, Convention Sales and Strategies, New Orleans and Company 
• Jan Lucas, Vice President of Sourcing and Strategic Partnership, Sage Hospitality 
• Hali Cooper, Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Encore 
• Kelly Toboja, Corporate Director of Events, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts

Emerging Leadership Voices

• Autumn Merritt, CWH Head of Membership, North America and Latin America, Soho House 
• Erin Burns, Deputy Director of Aviation for Customer Experience, Marketing and Communications, New Orleans Aviation Board 
• Julie Averill, Chief Impact Officer, Gold Thread LLC 
• Karen Laos, Global Speaker, Karen Laos 
• Emily Hartman, General Manager, North America, Allianz Partners

Why the Cross-Sector Mix Is the Point

One pattern runs through the agenda: the lines between functions are blurring. Revenue leaders are shaping customer experience strategy. Technology leaders are driving cultural change. Hospitality executives are managing workforce expectations alongside profitability. Destination organizations are competing for the same talent and attention as global brands.

That convergence is not incidental to the program. It is the program. The peer access created by a room this cross-functional, at this level of seniority, is where a significant part of the event's value sits. Not just on stage.

The Conversations Getting More Honest

Some of the strongest sessions this year are about leadership tension: making decisions without full information, retaining institutional knowledge, building internal influence, managing scrutiny and sustaining organizations people still want to work for.

That tone is increasingly necessary. Executives are looking for conversations grounded in operational reality. The Women Leading Travel Forum is built around that demand.

The Women Leading Travel Forum 2026 takes place June 8–10 in New Orleans.

Also Read: Announcing First Round of Speakers for Women Leading Travel Forum 2026