AWTE honours TTG Media boss as 'champion of diversity'

The honour, which recognises a travel industry male professional who actively encourages, enables, and supports women in business, was awarded during the association’s annual Christmas lunch on Monday (5 December). 

AWTE described Pearce as a “fierce champion and vocal supporter of diversity and inclusion” and praised his commitment to “driving equality in travel”.

“Since taking the helm at TTG in 2010, Dan has made it his mission to push for a smarter, better and fairer travel industry, offering everyone the opportunity to succeed regardless of their gender, sexuality, age or ethnicity,” said AWTE. 

Also in the category, Phil Donnelly, Travelport’s chief people officer, received a high commendation for his work around diversity, equity and inclusion, which AWTE said had “significant benefits for our female leaders”.

Meanwhile, Alessandro Alonso, the founder of Women in Travel CIC, was the recipient of AWTE’s Honorary Award, given to a female travel figure “who has gone above and beyond in the past year”. 

AWTE said Alonso had “dedicated her life to economically empowering women, particularly the most disadvantaged, vulnerable, and underrepresented” and recognised her as “a trailblazer in gender empowerment”.

Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said was highly commended in the same category for her “exceptional” leadership. 

Gail Kenny, co-founder of Gail Kenny Executive Recruitment, won AWTE’s Start Up of the Year award, for launching the Best Workplaces in Travel initiative.

Kenny was praised for being “inspiring and courageous” in starting a new business during the pandemic and for having “the foresight to see the gap in the market, with a concept that could support industry recovery”.