NBTA

Alexandria, VA (March 13, 2009) - The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) announced today that President Bill Clinton will speak at the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition, to be held August 23-26 in San Diego. President Clinton, whose appearance is being sponsored by Amadeus IT Group, will provide a presidential perspective into current and future global politics and economics.  

NBTA President & CEO, Kevin Maguire, CCTE, GLP, said, “We are so honored to host President Clinton at NBTA’s International Convention and thankful to Amadeus for making it happen. Clinton’s extensive geopolitical experience and presidential acclaim will make for an interesting and insightful look into the future of American politics, foreign policy and international trade.”

President Clinton was the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice – first in 1992 and then in 1996. Under his leadership, the country enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs.

After leaving the White House, President Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation with the mission to strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence.  Today the Foundation has 800 staff and volunteers around the world working to improve lives through several initiatives, including the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative which is helping 1.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS access lifesaving drugs. Other initiatives -- including the Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative, and the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative -- are applying a business-oriented approach worldwide to fight climate change and develop sustainable economic growth in Africa and Latin America. As a project of the Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative brings together global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. In the U.S., the Foundation is working to combat the alarming rise in childhood obesity, and is helping individuals and families succeed and small businesses grow.

Maguire continued: “Clinton’s vision for and efforts toward a united global community throughout his presidency and today compliment the corporate travel industry well. The thousands of business travel professionals from more than 30 countries who attend the NBTA Convention this year will be eager to hear about his actions and thoughts on a more unified global society.” 

For more information about the 2009 NBTA Convention, visit www.nbtaconvention.org. 

About the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition
Widely recognized as the must-attend event for business travel buyers, suppliers, industry leaders and business travel journalists, the 2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition will be held in San Diego August 23-26, 2009.  More than 5,000 travel professionals are expected to take advantage of the Convention’s programming, designed to empower attendees to maximize value for their companies, including more than 65 seminars on the most important topics in business travel, more than 400 companies exhibiting in the Expo and countless opportunities for networking with peers. For details, visit www.nbtaconvention.org.   

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Asia Pacific, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 15,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 4,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$200 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 10 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org