Mark Walton offers expertise in:

• Domestic and global sourcing initiatives
• Corporate/travel management company relationships
• Airline strategy and negotiation
• Travel policy
• Agency operational issues to benefit clients

Mr. Walton enjoys a successful career within the travel industry spanning 25 years. His 13-year tenure at Northwest Airlines, Inc. included numerous key positions in sales and marketing. As Manager of Commercial and International Sales and Marketing he was involved with key planning and implementation roles as it related to the corporate travel marketplace. In addition, Mr. Walton was responsible for determining Northwest’s strategic direction in the international arena, involving service to both Asia and Europe. His tenure at the airline marked some of the largest contracts in the airline’s history. As National Sales Manager, he was in part responsible for securing the single largest corporate agreement in the airline’s history and two of the largest automation system conversations (GDS) with General Motors and Carlson Travel.

He later joined Arrington Travel Center, one of the nation’s largest travel management companies where he assumed the position of Vice-President of Sales, Client Relations, and Operations. In only five years at Arrington, the agency’s volume grew by approximately fifty percent as Mr. Walton directed Arrington’s expansion from a Chicago market area to become a nationwide travel management company.

Prior to co-founding Consulting Strategies, he joined Workflow Solutions, a leading provider of expense management systems as Director, Business Development where he assisted in creating the Travel Systems Group Division. Mark Walton’s client base at Consulting Strategies has included such notable companies as Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Walgreens, Thomson Corporation, Microsoft, and DaimlerChrysler.

Industry executives and publications regularly seek his opinions; he has been quoted in Business Travel News, Travel Weekly, Business Travel Executive, Wall Street Journal On-Line and The New York Times. Mr. Walton’s multi-faceted background provides a unique insight into the industry. He has delivered numerous presentations at:

• ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives) Global Conferences
• NBTA (National Business Travel Association) Conventions
• Local NBTA chapters
• Regional ACTE forums