Lessons in leadership: reflections from our senior leaders for International Women's Day 2026
This International Women's Day 2026, we're taking a moment to look inward — and forward. Leadership in the travel industry has always demanded agility, but today's environment requires something more: the ability to lead with conviction when the path isn't clear, to unlearn what no longer serves, and to build others up while driving results.
We asked women senior leaders at Corporate Traveler to reflect on the lessons that shaped them, the beliefs they've outgrown, and what the future of leadership in the travel industry truly requires. Their insights aren't polished talking points. They're hard-earned truths from women who've navigated the complexities of leading in one of the most dynamic sectors in business: the corporate travel industry.
Their reflections span career-defining moments, necessary mindset shifts, and a forward-looking view of what leadership in travel must become.
The lessons that shape how women in travel leadership inspire
The best leaders don't emerge fully formed. They're formed by early experiences — often times challenging ones — that fundamentally change how they approach people, decisions, and growth. The lessons learned early regularly become the principles that guide everything that follows.
Trust and autonomy really shape career development.
-Kimberly Sweeney, VP of Marketing
For Kim, the realization that people thrive when given space to own their work became foundational to her leadership approach. It's not about stepping back — it's about stepping up differently. Trusting your team creates the conditions for real development, the kind that builds capability and confidence in equal measure.
Others echoed variations of this theme. Miling Harpur, Regional General Manager and Director of Sales, learned that "you just have to be yourself. You can't try and be someone else or try and be a certain type of leader. The only thing that works is authenticity." Amanda Vining, Global Chief Sales and Customer Officer, discovered early that "being the smartest person in the room is not what's actually going to afford you much opportunity. It's really thinking about how you can leverage everyone in the room and build them up simultaneously."
These aren't abstract concepts. They're the foundation of how these women in business leadership show up: for their teams, for their clients, and for the challenges that come with operating in an industry that never stands still.
Leading with confidence in uncertainty
The travel industry doesn't offer the luxury of certainty. Disruption is the baseline for a corporate travel agency. What separates strong leaders from the rest isn't having all the answers. It's knowing how to move forward without them, and doing so in a way that steadies everyone around you.
A key to leading with confidence is to always remain calm. You don't need to know the answers, you just need to remain calm and help everyone find the path to solve whatever the problem is.
— Tracy Loiacono, VP of Operations and Customer Success
Tracy's approach cuts through the noise that often paralyzes decision-making. In high-pressure moments, people don't need a leader who pretends to have it all figured out. They need someone who can create space to think clearly and problem-solve collaboratively.
Miling brings a similar philosophy to rapid decision-making: "You just have to make a decision and whatever you think is right, you need to go with. You're never going to know exactly what the right thing to do is. You just need to know that you've done the research, you know your stuff, and you need to go in with full confidence."
Amanda frames it through the lens of momentum: "Confidence isn't just going to come naturally. It's action that is going to inspire being confident. So for me, it's really about finding the momentum and getting in front of it, knowing that I'm leading with integrity and purpose."
What emerges from these perspectives is a shared understanding: confidence in uncertainty isn't about eliminating doubt. It's about acting despite it, with clarity of purpose and trust in the people around you.
The career beliefs we've outgrown
Growth requires unlearning. The beliefs that serve us at one stage of our careers can become limitations at another. Leadership evolves not just by acquiring new skills, but by letting go of outdated ideas about what success looks like.
I used to believe that you need to have all the answers to be able to start something. Sometimes you need to learn on the job, which is the best way to really understand and to grow.
— Ama Amsellem, VP of Product Management FinTech
For many women in leadership, confidence is built through experience, not external validation. Ama's shift from needing certainty to embracing learning as part of the process reflects a maturity that many leaders eventually reach — though often later than they'd like. Waiting for perfect knowledge before taking action is just another form of paralysis.
The pursuit of perfection came up repeatedly as something these leaders had to release. Miling described it clearly: "Be perfect with everything. Get everything done. Respond to everyone. Please, everyone. The more you progress through leadership, the less ability you have to do all those things. If you try and do those things, you end up losing focus on what's important."
Tracy had a similar realization: "I used to believe as a leader that you needed to know all of the answers, all of the time. I no longer believe that. I believe you just need to surround yourself with the right people to help get the job done."
Kim let go of the idea that success means doing everything yourself: "A career belief I once held was that you have to do it all in order to succeed. But real impact comes from deep prioritization — focusing on what matters, aligning with everyone around you and moving in that direction to deliver real results."
Amanda put it bluntly: "How can I be everywhere all at once and everything to everyone? Embrace the noise and learn to live around it, as opposed to really firing towards an unrealistic level of perfection."
These aren't small adjustments. They're fundamental recalibrations of what leadership in travel actually requires — and what it doesn't.
What we'd tell our younger selves
Some of the most valuable advice doesn't come with a title or a promotion. It comes from looking back and recognizing what you wish you'd known sooner — about confidence, about other people's opinions, about the power of simply starting.
Stop caring what other people think of you. I think I spent too much time being caught up wanting to please everybody else. Don't let fear or the notion of other people define how you're going to step forward in your life.
— Amanda Vining, Global Chief Sales and Customer Officer
Amanda's reflection gets at something many high-performing women in business leadership roles struggle with: the weight of external validation. The energy spent managing perceptions is energy that could be spent on the work itself, on growth, on building something meaningful.
Miling would tell her younger self something similar: "Stop worrying about what other people think about you because you have the confidence, you know what you're doing. Back yourself and you will be successful."
Tracy wished she'd released the pressure of perfection sooner: "You do not have to be perfect to be successful."
Kim would have told herself to seek support earlier: "You don't have to manage your career on your own. Find your mentors. Look for your advocates. Their guidance is really what's going to help you open doors and figure out the clarity on where you should move next."
And Ama offers perhaps the most freeing advice: "You don't have to have everything figured out today. Your career and your trajectory in life will kind of happen naturally on its own."
Looking ahead: the future of leadership in the travel industry
The earlier reflections looked back at lessons learned through experience. But leadership isn't just about understanding the past. It's about preparing for what comes next. The business travel industry is entering a new era, one that demands a different kind of leader.
You don't choose between performance and people. People are how you deliver performance.
— Prue Waters, VP of Commercial Finance
The future of leadership in the travel industry will be defined by leaders who understand that commercial performance and people-first leadership aren't competing priorities. They're inseparable. Leaders who try to separate the two will find themselves managing disengaged teams, struggling with retention, and ultimately falling short on the business outcomes they're chasing.
What's also changing is what people expect from their leaders. It's no longer enough to hit targets and manage up. The next generation of leaders needs to be transparent about challenges, willing to make space for different perspectives, and comfortable admitting when they don't have all the answers. That shift requires a different kind of confidence: one built on trust and authenticity rather than authority.
What International Women's Day 2026 tells us about tomorrow
The women leaders who will shape the future of travel are already here. They're the ones who've learned to lead without all the answers, who've let go of perfectionism in favor of progress, and who understand that confidence comes from action, not certainty. They're building the next generation of leaders while simultaneously reimagining what leadership itself can be.
That's not just the future of leadership in travel. That's leadership that matters everywhere.
At Corporate Traveler, leadership isn’t just about titles. It’s about impact. It’s how we build teams, serve clients, and shape the future of the travel industry. Learn more about our leadership team and how we’re redefining modern travel management.
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