Last week I had a wonderful lunch in London with John McEwan, CEO of travel management company CTI, an outbound incentive buyer.

It was so great to see him, to hear about all of his news, and to pick his brains about Connections, and how we can keep evolving our concept.

John is someone who has been a valuable mentor to me for some time! He had some fantastic ideas for our new series, Connections Adventure – launching in Slovenia this October for high-end adventure travel buyers and suppliers – and after our lunch, my mind was buzzing with possibilities.

John’s experience in the travel industry is unbelievable – he’s the former chairman of ABTA and Advantage Travel, and, as well as his role at CTI, he continues to act as chairman for Latin Routes, Ski Solutions, Holidays Please Limited and Pebble Travel – so a busy guy!

It’s been brilliant to have been able to turn to John for advice over the years, and I truly appreciate all the support he’s shown for Connections from the start.