John Coffman is the Chief Financial Officer of Direct Travel, a leading corporate Travel Management Company that provides solutions and innovations in business travel to its clients.

A Certified Public Accountant, John possesses over 30 years of experience, including 13 years of public accounting and 17 years of industry experience in various finance positions. As CFO, John is responsible for the overall financial management of the company, its financial reporting and transparency, mergers and acquisitions and long-term planning.

Prior to this position, John served as Vice President of Global Mergers and Acquisitions at Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) for five years, where he directed the completion of seven acquisitions, across four continents.

Previous to his tenure at CWT, John held key finance roles at TQ3Navigant over a period of nine years, ultimately serving as Chief Accounting Officer where he was instrumental in developing and executing the overall business strategy and growth initiatives for the company.

John also served on the Audit and Business Advisory team at Price Waterhouse for 12 years, where his excellent industry knowledge and business acumen was instrumental in managing numerous auditing and acquisition engagements. John earned his Bachelor of Science in Business through the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Responsible for Direct Travel’s overall data strategy, Darryl Hoover is focused on ensuring real-time availability of high-quality data and creating insights for repeatable success at scale. This data in turn informs and enhance every aspect of Direct Travel’s client and supplier strategies.

Darryl has spent the past 20+ years of his career in the travel technology space, holding various global roles with Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), Navigant International, and Associated Travel. Over the course of his career he has integrated over 70 agency acquisitions, innovated products that are still in service today, managed development for key financial and automation systems and implemented numerous cloud-based services. Leveraging his past successes coupled with keeping a keen eye on emerging technologies outside the Direct Travel organization, Darryl brings tremendous value to the agency and measurable benefits to Direct Travel’s customer base.

Darryl is an extremely enthusiastic speaker and has been a panelist on The Beat Live, produced by The Beat, an industry-leading publisher of core products for business travel distribution and technology and part of Northstar Travel Media. At Direct Travel, Darryl conducts various Technology Forums throughout the country for current and prospective customers. In doing so, he harnesses the perspective not only of industry experts but from those outside the travel industry, allowing for lively, provocative and innovative discussions.

A graduate of Texas Lutheran College (TLC) in Seguin, Texas, Darryl holds a degree in Marketing and Business. Darryl enjoys plant breeding and, of course, traveling. He resides in Denver near Direct Travel’s Executive Offices.

Scott Schwisow is the Chief Information Officer at Direct Travel, where he leads the expansion of technology initiatives and the implementation of Direct Travel’s technology stack, Avenir. He collaborates with Operations, IT, Finance, and other departments to drive technological advancements and improve internal systems and processes.

Scott’s expertise spans acquisition integration, go-to-market strategies, customer journey optimization, and business transformation. He excels in guiding teams through complex transformations, delivering strategic value, driving growth, and achieving operational scale.

Prior to Direct Travel, Scott led the Business Transformation team at SAP Concur, overseeing strategic corporate-wide initiatives. Joining SAP Concur in its start-up phase in 1996, he held senior roles in consulting services, cloud operations, customer success, PMO, and mergers & acquisitions. Earlier in his career, Scott spent a decade as a consultant with Accenture and Epicor Software.

Scott’s leadership and strategic vision are key to Direct Travel’s technological innovation and operational excellence.

Todd Pelletier is a seasoned sales executive with extensive experience spanning more than 50 countries. With over 30 years of experience in enterprise and cloud-based sales and management, Todd understands how to align large sales organizations to achieve success at scale.

In his role as Direct Travel’s Chief Sales Officer, Todd works with the sales leadership team to determine the people, systems, processes, and support required to exceed customers’ expectations, increase win rates, and accelerate expansion. He is keenly focused on finding synergies across regions and business lines, seeking opportunities to use proven sales motions to drive growth and profitability.

Todd is highly skilled at building and executing strategic plans. He has a successful track record of coaching high-producing teams that deliver growth while maintaining customer satisfaction and retention.

Prior to Direct Travel, Todd worked at Talend, leading some of the data management company’s key strategic accounts as SVP and GM of Enterprise Americas. Todd also had a long and successful sales career at Concur. As a leader of a global team that included sales, pre-sales, account management, and marketing, he was responsible for managing more than 200 of the company’s top customers. Todd’s team consistently exceeded quota and achieved a win rate of over 60%.

He has also served in a board and advisor capacity for multiple innovation-focused organizations, including GROUP OF HUMANS, Periodic Products, and Nova Southeastern University.

As Chief People Officer for Direct Travel, Michelle Sitzman is responsible for leading the company’s talent strategy, focusing on enhancing employee experience and cultivating company culture.

Through creating employee-centric initiatives and promoting inclusive policies, her work impacts the engagement of our people, fosters inclusion and diversity, and drives collaboration. In her role as culture champion, she works closely with the Leadership Team to ensure our talent strategy is aligned with business goals and objectives.

Michelle brings more than 30 years of experience to the team, having worked at such transformative global companies as LinkedIn, VMware, Dolby, and Equinix. Most recently, she served as Chief People Officer at Talend, working alongside CEO Christal Bemont.

Michelle holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from California State University – Long Beach. She has also been named one of the Top 33 Innovative HR Leaders by Business Insider.

Helen Leon is President of Direct Travel’s US Western Region, having assumed the position in January of 2017 following the retirement of Tyler Peak. Previously, Helen served as Executive Vice President of Peak Travel Group (Peak Travel), working with Tyler Peak through the San Jose, California-based agency’s acquisition by and subsequent integration with Direct Travel.

Helen brings 30 years of operational experience to the role and is responsible for all business operations, sales, growth and employee retention for the Western Region. With a background in technology, Helen encourages her team to utilize innovative enterprise solutions, which help build scalable processes and drive efficiencies while maximizing the customer experience.

Prior to this position, Helen served as Senior Vice President and member of the ESOP Board and Board of Directors for Norfolk, Virginia-based CI Travel. During her 26 year tenure with CI, Leon worked as Project Manager for NASA Travel, and was instrumental in a second contract award for this prestigious business. Leon has been involved in operations throughout her career and was responsible for the financial management and operational direction of CI Travel throughout her affiliation with the company.

Helen is a member of Travel Council, served as President of SEAT for two years and is active in various local Business Travel Chapters. She is also a participant on Travelport’s customer Advisory Board.

As President of the US Central Region, Lisa Buckner oversees all business operations and account management initiatives, which is comprised of nearly 350 employees in over 15 locations through the U.S. Lisa is responsible for customer retention, sales growth, and overall employee relations. She is instrumental in strategic planning and specializes in building a culture that consistently gives extremely high customer and employee survey results, some of the best in the industry.

Lisa is a travel industry veteran with over 35 years of travel industry experience in various leadership positions including President, Northwestern Travel, and President/ COO of Corporate Travel Solutions. Lisa has completed an MBA from the University of St. Thomas as well as the Minnesota Management Institute through the University of Minnesota. Lisa is known for her industry expertise, experience moderating industry panels, speaking engagements and overall building partnerships with suppliers and customers.

Under Lisa’s lead, the region was named a “Small Business Success Story” by Twin Cities Business Magazine. Additionally, they are a three-time recipient of the coveted Peak of Excellence award from Sabre Travel Network.

Lisa has served on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Airport Foundation, the Delta Agency Advisory Board, Travel + Leisure Advisory Board, and is a founding member of the United Way’s Executive Leadership Council. She is active on the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) Chairman’s Advisory Council (CAC), Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), and Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), and Vistage—an executive networking and CEO business association.

Sam DeFranco is the President of the Direct Travel’s US East Region, a leading corporate Travel Management Company that provides solutions and innovations in business travel to its clients.

In his role, Sam oversees all business operations including account development and client relations. Sam joined Direct Travel in 2013, and brings more than 40 years of travel industry experience to his position.

A keen observer of the business travel industry, Sam possesses a unique skillset that has allowed him to flourish in both travel management as well as in supplier sales and automation. An accomplished travel management executive, he specializes in negotiations, balancing client and corporate needs, employee empowerment and increasing profitability.

Prior to joining Direct Travel, Sam held numerous key leadership roles, most recently serving as Senior Vice President, US National Clients for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, North America. Sam came to that position as co-owner of McGregor Travel Management, which was acquired by Navigant International, and later sold to Carlson. He was instrumental in the development of the Navigant brand and played a vital role in what became the nation’s first publically-traded travel management company. Sam also held key positions at American Airlines, in the areas of automation, revenue enhancement and sales.

Sam has served as a member of the Stamford Zoning Board of Appeals and presently devotes time to numerous charitable organizations including the American Red Cross, March of Dimes, Leukemia Foundation, Stamford and Westchester County Food Banks and United Way. Among a variety of awards and distinctions, Sam is a respected recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Sam earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business through the University of Tampa. He enjoys traveling throughout the US and Europe, playing golf and spending time with his three daughters.

Janet Traphagen is a 30+ year veteran of the meetings and events industry. She joined the company in 1996 as an account manager and transitioned into sales in 1999. She held positions of increasing responsibility leading up to her promotion to president in 2014. Prior to Creative Group, she worked for Motivation Excellence and Cardinal Health.

Traphagen is a member of the Sales Management Summit, a board for senior sales executives; is Chairman of the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF); sits on the Four Seasons Advisory Board and frequently participates in industry panel discussions with Starwood, Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Hotels. She is also a board member for Humor for Hope, a nonprofit that provides laughter for critically ill children. She studied marketing and communications at Ohio’s Cedarville University and Illinois’ North Central College.

As president of the Canada West region, Brian is responsible for leading sales and operations for 500 team members across multiple locations within Canada. Under his leadership, Direct Travel has carved a niche in these Canadian markets as an industry leader in corporate and luxury travel through the marriage of good old-fashioned high-touch customer service, and innovative high-tech solutions.

In 1999, Rogers TravelPlus formed a strategic alliance with The Roos Travel Group. A year later, the two companies merged operations and Brian became President of Vision 2000 Travel Group in Ontario. At the same time, three affiliated travel companies merged in Quebec to become Le Groupe Voyages Vision Inc. In 2001, with the addition of regional offices in Alberta and British Columbia, Vision 2000 Travel Group, now Vision Travel Solutions was formed into a national company with head offices in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

Brian achieved the Global Leadership Professional (GLP) designation from the GBTA Foundation – Global Leadership Program with The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and the Global Travel Professional (GTP) designation from the Global Business Travel Association. He is a member (and previous board member) of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).

Brian is a global travel industry insider, with a unique view on the trends and issues that shape the industry. He has contributed thought leadership pieces to various publications and regularly offers his perspective at industry conferences.

Joel Ostrov is President of the Canada East Region of Direct Travel. A founder of Partner In Travel, a Montreal based travel agency, Joel opened his doors in 1977 after graduating from McGill University with a Bachelor Degree in Economics.

Joel grew the company thru the 80s and 90s, bringing the agency to the forefront of Quebec’s corporate travel scene. In 2000, it was the strategic decision to merge Partners In Travel with two other well respected agencies in Montreal, Future Travel and Options Voyages to create the Vision 2000 Travel Group (Quebec) that set the stage for the company’s impressive growth since its creation.

Simultaneous to the merger in Quebec, Brian Robertson merged his Toronto agency Rogers Travel with Roos Travel, becoming Vision Travel’s COO. Suddenly Vision Travel was a $150 million per year Travel Management Company with offices in Canada’s two largest cities. Over the course of the next 15 years, Joel, Brian and the team grew Vision 2000 into Canada’s largest independently owned TMC, rebranding to become Vision Travel Solutions in the fall of 2014, and achieving an impressive $600 million sales volume by year end 2015 with 16 offices from Montreal to Victoria.

Today Joel’s role consists of leading the day to day operations of the Montreal headquarters where over 200 team members are located, as well as managing business relationship with the company’s most important strategic supplier, Air Canada.

As President of Leisure Travel at Direct, Gerard Bellino is responsible for expanding Direct Travel’s leisure travel segment through business development and marketing. Additionally, he is responsible for the integration of the company’s leisure acquisitions along with evaluating and implementing innovative technologies that support the company’s leisure division, enterprise-wide.

For more than 40 years, Gerard has been an active travel industry professional, holding high-level positions such as Executive Vice President U.S. Leisure Travel, Vice President Supplier Management and Regional Vice President with travel companies such as Navigant International, First Travel Corp., Worldview Travel, and Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

Gerard is known for his proactive leadership approach and rapid response to changing business environments. He is driven to create initiatives that will enable Direct Travel to continue being a leading leisure provider in the premium and luxury leisure travel markets. His areas of focus include supplier management and business development for the company’s leisure sales team and rapidly growing independent contractor program.

Gerard’s knowledge and expertise in the luxury market allows him to provide invaluable guidance and advice for Direct Travel’s travel advisors. His hands-on approach to daily business, including engagement with technology, marketing, vendor initiatives and client interaction support the growth and long term success of the Direct Travel organization.

Gerard resides and works from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina.