EVP 2021: interview with Yorick Charveriat, American Express GBT

How did you experience this EVP 2021, converted to hybrid?

Yorick Charveriat - The teams did a great job. The division Meetings & Events had already organised a number of virtual events, but the new restrictions meant that we had to decide whether or not to continue with EVP 2021. The participants and panellists almost all chose to confirm their attendance, applying the barrier gestures. After all, it was a hybrid meeting with a duplex component. Everything was managed very well.

This hybrid, live format allowed you to interact with the audience online: why not have them do more, in particular with questions and polls?

Yorick Charveriat - Because of a lack of time. Last year, we set up two fairly long round tables, and we took the time to ask questions, but I think we lost a few participants along the way... For this EVP 2021, we looked for a more dynamic format, with valuable speakers and very interesting exchanges, but it's true that we didn't have the time to take questions. We'll have to think about scheduling a question and answer session for the next EVP, perhaps by dedicating a panel to it. We were so keen to broadcast these debates, on a really important subject, that unfortunately we didn't have enough time.

What is your view on CSR, the leitmotiv of this EVP 2021?

Yorick Charveriat - We're finally going to be able to push this notion of responsibility further, and not just from the angle of thecarbon footprintThis is a crucial aspect of course. But we can't do anything on our own. It's far too cumbersome and complex. It requires a real community of companies to have a real impact. On the other hand, there are many things we can do individually, simple things, because responsibility starts with taking care of our employees and listening to them. It costs nothing and it shows a real state of mind. With the Comex of American Express GBT in France, we have begun a series of reflections on our vision. This involves asking ourselves what the company can contribute to society, starting with ourselves at GBT France. For many of our employees, the situation has been complicated over the past year, particularly psychologically. So we need to think about the support we can offer them as employers, particularly for people who are isolated. A few months ago, I asked our managers to check in with these employees on a daily basis, as they were facing a second lockdown in the autumn, to call them, not necessarily to talk business, but to share a virtual coffee, or whatever. It's very simple, and for me that's what being a responsible company is all about. American Express GBT, like any company, can always do better. That's something I want to instil in this Comex team.

So CSR wasn't a topic 'by default', because we couldn't talk about travel during this EVP 2021?

Yorick Charveriat - Sincerely, no. It's a real conviction. It reminds me of smartphone booking for business travellers: it's a subject that comes up regularly, yet take-up rates remain very low. For me, CSR has long been like that: we talk about it a lot, focusing on aspects that are certainly very important but not necessarily easy to put in place. Reducing our carbon footprint, using biofuels, all that has a cost. It's a path we need to embark on, but we can't do it alone. For me, the first thing is to be kind to our employees, who are our greatest asset, especially at the moment. Our industry is experiencing fairly low levels of business, but the recovery will come, and when it does we'll need our employees more than ever. Now is the time to look after them, to put things in place. I've had a lot of discussions with the Works Council since I was appointed, and there's a lot of feedback from the field, and one of the issues is to encourage internal mobility. For me, this is one of our main strengths.

And yet there is mobility, at least within the French management of American Express GBT...

Yorick Charveriat - My predecessors each contributed something, Guillaume Col relaunched the company, which was not necessarily in good shape, Julien Kauffman came up with a lot of ideas. They brought their own contribution to the project. We are a company like any other, which is reorganising, and Covid has turned the organisation of many companies upside down.

Isn't CSR a luxury in times of crisis?

Yorick Charveriat - For me, it's the opposite of a luxury, especially as it's an obligation. It's also worth noting that companies made substantial savings on their travel budgets in 2020, and this should also be the case this year. So now could be a good time to invest some of those savings in areas that really matter. We must also remember the 2030 deadline... There is a real awareness, a real obligation to achieve results. Of course, there is a cost involved: biofuel is five times more expensive than today's fuel, but that's also because it's still confidential. By making it more widely available, costs should come down. We just need to get the ball rolling.

In your opinion, has the paralysis caused by the crisis enabled companies to take a fresh look at certain issues and rethink their travel policy, in particular by promoting CSR?

Yorick Charveriat - Companies have taken advantage of this to realise that they can work differently, that they can count on extraordinary employees who are capable of finding treasures of creativity and solidarity. It's a great eye-opener. Some companies, including American Express GBT, have taken the opportunity to correct certain points that weren't working very well. But to say that all companies have changed their travel policies... I think they're waiting a while to see how things will evolve, particularly in terms of supplier costs for airlines and hotels. Everyone is starting to include the CSR component in their discussions, and asking for dedicated tools. We've launched new functions, such as the ability to filter flights according to CO2 emissions, to identify hotels according to health certifications, and we're going to release a function linked to hybrid and electric vehicles. We have also launched Travel Vitals, to help travellers prepare for their trip in this uncertain and, above all, constantly changing health context. From this point of view, the crisis has been salutary because it has pushed us to move much more quickly on certain technological investments, which will help our customers to improve the comfort of their travellers: a subject at the heart of the CSR issue.

To what extent should a "sustainable" TMC say to its customer: "don't make this trip, the benefits are too limited compared to the impact"?

Yorick Charveriat - We don't have the legitimacy to say that to a customer, to a traveller. We don't know what's really at stake. But we have to give them the right tools to make those choices. The subject of hybrids, discussed during the EVP in particular with Sebastien Imbert from Microsoft, is particularly interesting. La videoconferencing has been established for over a year. Like it or not, it doesn't replace everything, but it undeniably makes a lot of things easier. I can see it in my diary: I manage to get a lot more done in a day than when I was chasing meetings and traffic jams... I'm obviously campaigning for the return of business travel, I'm still convinced that we need to meet and exchange ideas, but we have to be clear: this new means of communication isn't going to go away when the borders reopen. We can bury our heads in the sand, or try to be clever, by working with this new model while resuming travel. And why not, at the end of a booking for a Paris-Marseille round trip, for example, offer travellers the videoconferencing alternative. We are working on this. I firmly believe that the two models can and must coexist.

What concrete role can a TMC play in the health sector? Many players are positioning themselves in the digital passport market, for example, but the agencies are fairly discreet...

Yorick Charveriat - We have a role to play. Jason [Geall,
Senior Vice President and Managing Director EMEA for American Express GBT] spoke at the EVP about the efforts being made to include tourism issues on the G7 agenda. As for the vaccination passportPersonally, I'm convinced that we'll have to go through this if we want to return to a 'normal' life. We are already seeing this in certain Asian countries. We want to play our part, and I'm trying to be much more present with the Travel companieswho are doing a fantastic job, particularly in terms of lobbying the government. We have to act, but we can't do it alone. These are important and complex issues. We don't have the philosopher's stone, we don't know everything about everything: we need to exchange ideas, and that's what we're doing through Entreprises du Voyage. I assured Jean-Pierre Mas and Valérie Boned that I wanted to get involved, to be present in the discussions, because as the leader in our market, we need to be. The industry needs to show solidarity, especially as the recovery in travel requires harmonisation, consultation and a common approach.

How do you see your offering evolving, particularly in the face of new virtual demand and new habits?

Yorick Charveriat - As you can see hybrid formats are becoming increasingly popular. We have real expertise in this area, and we need to push it more and more with our customers. Meeting & Events is therefore a key area in our strategy to continue to bring new things to our customers. In any case, our industry is really going to have to change. Of course, we're going to continue to issue tickets - that's our business - but we need to offer our customers much more. There's meetings & events, there's also consulting and in particular everything to do with data, including its use for CSR, or the technological side. I think thatacquisition of Neo is one of the best initiatives taken by American Express GBT. With this diversification into travel & expense, we can offer our customers many more services. It's also stimulating for our employees to be working for a company that has continued to invest, with the good fortune to be able to count on a shareholder who supports us. I think we'll come out of this crisis much stronger, better prepared, with the right tools to support our customers as they emerge from the crisis.