We recently went for a chat with American Express Global Business Travel’s Harris Manlutac. He kindly paid for lunch too (on his Platinum Edge Credit Card, of course).
The great thing about my job is….
The challenges of developing and executing strategies to help our stakeholders realise their strategic objectives.
On top of that, working with diverse and talented people across the world, learning from them, and recognising the similarities and differences of each culture is a great part of my job.
The challenge for the industry is…
Helping clients in optimising their travel spend without impacting traveller experience.
My greatest achievement is…
Personally: no doubt, having my family.
Professionally: witnessing my ideas and solutions become a company standard in our product and service offerings.
The biggest thing in MICE this year will be…
I’d like to think it’s the tool we are developing to help organisers efficiently forecast MICE budgets and identify the most optimised venue with ease.
I try to relax by…
Listening to good music while running. I also love sharing a beer and good conversation with good buddies.
I don’t understand why…
“Money makes the world go round.”
My favourite venue/destination is…
Home.
I’ve always wanted to travel to…
New York, Paris and South America.
I am scared to death of…
Big dogs. When I was young, I was chased by a big, angry dog. I guess I developed a phobia.
I can’t live without…
Food, water, coffee… and of course my family.
I really wish I had…
Superpowers.
If I could invite four people to a dinner party, they’d be…
Michael Jordan (I am a big fan, and he is my childhood sporting hero), Mahatma Gandhi (a great leader, and a man of integrity and principle), Warren Buffet and Jack Ma (these two remain very modest in spite of all their success and achievements, and are great role models).
For anyone starting out in the industry, one piece of advice I’d give would be…
Don’t be afraid to explore; be confident and persistent, because regardless of industry, everything at work is common sense.
