CMAC Group’s Leanne Riley Reveals Technology and Global Growth Are Transforming International Business Travel

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Leanne Riley, Director of Business Development at CMAC Group, outlined how the company is accelerating international business travel growth by tackling the fragmented nature of corporate ground transport and accommodation management. Speaking to Travel And Tour World (TTW), Riley highlighted CMAC’s focus on expanding across Europe, the US, Australia and Southeast Asia, supported by a global supplier network, traveller tracking, consolidated billing, API connectivity and 24/7 human support. She explained that CMAC’s managed platform simplifies international bookings by bringing pre-approved suppliers, reporting and operational oversight into a single system. With duty of care becoming increasingly important, the company provides real-time journey visibility, live updates and rapid disruption support to improve traveller safety and business continuity. Riley also stressed the growing role of travel technology, including the enhanced traveller app and seamless API integrations, in reducing administration, improving data accuracy and giving organisations greater visibility, connectivity and control over increasingly complex global travel programmes.

Introducing your strategic role at the company, you oversee CMAC’s market growth. As you look ahead to the next twelve months, what are the primary expansion objectives and market sectors you are prioritizing? 

As Director of Business Development, I lead CMAC’s new customer acquisition strategy, identifying new market opportunities and driving commercial expansion. I work closely with customers and industry partners to ensure CMAC continues to offer customer-focused solutions.

Our focus is on coordinating integrated transport and accommodation solutions for a diverse client base, including private and public sector organisations, airlines, train operating companies, and the breakdown and insurance sectors. 

As Director of Business Development, what are CMAC Group’s primary growth and expansion objectives for the upcoming year? 

Our Business Travel Manager Report reveals that ground transport has become the most fragmented and least visible part of the corporate travel programme. The domestic-first programmes that businesses rely on aren’t fit for purpose internationally. This is leaving employees at risk as they choose convenience over compliance. Businesses that outsource their ground transport programme to a managed service provider gain the convenience their travellers expect alongside the visibility and control that their travel managers need.

Our growth objective is to expand CMAC’s international business travel offering and strengthen our ability to support businesses operating across multiple markets. Our international business travel proposition combines a global supplier network with traveller tracking, consolidated billing, API connectivity and 24/7 human support through a single managed platform. We continue to bolster our capabilities, extending our service offering across Europe, the US, Australia, Southeast Asia and beyond to ensure our customers can access the necessary support no matter where they are in the world.

Corporate ground transport is famously fragmented across borders; how is your platform standardizing and simplifying this process for travel managers? 

Managing ground transport internationally can be complex, with multiple suppliers, booking systems and varying service standards. Our research suggests Travel Managers want a simpler, more connected approach internationally as 70% want their existing suppliers coordinated through a single central platform and three quarters (76%) say simplified international booking with 24/7 support is highly valuable. 

Our solution brings everything together into one managed platform, giving Travel Managers access to a network of pre-approved suppliers through a single booking experience.

Through combining technology with dedicated account support, we reduce the administration burden by providing consolidated reporting, improving operational visibility and in turn, safety by maintaining consistent service standards across every journey, wherever their employees are travelling.

With duty of care being a top priority for UK businesses, how does CMAC provide enhanced operational visibility and ensure traveler safety? 

Our research reveals that a quarter (24%) of UK businesses say safety is a key concern when employees are travelling overseas. Duty of care is central to everything we do as a business. We give organisations the confidence that they know where their travellers are to ensure they arrive safely at their destination. 

Our solution gives customers real-time journey visibility, traveller tracking and live journey updates, while our 24/7 operations team is always on hand to manage changes and support business travellers. Combined with our trusted global supplier network, organisations can respond rapidly to disruption, reduce traveller risk and maintain business continuity. 

How are recent tech innovations, such as your updated traveler app and API integrations, actively shaping the future of international corporate travel?

Technology is transforming business travel by giving organisations greater visibility, connectivity and control across every stage of the journey. Our enhanced traveller app gives users real-time journey information and updates throughout their trip, and our solutions can be integrated seamlessly into customers’ existing travel and expense systems.

This significantly reduces manual administration, improves data accuracy and gives organisations a clear and complete view of their corporate travel programme. Technology will always be essential in helping organisations coordinate increasingly complex international travel, and we’re committed to continually evolving our platform to meet those changing needs.

Leanne Riley is Director of Business Development at CMAC Group, where she is responsible for identifying the company’s new commercial partnerships and supporting the growth of its transport and accommodation services. Working with customers and industry partners across multiple sectors, she helps organisations build more efficient, resilient travel programmes while supporting CMAC’s continued international growth.