Pascal Jungfer attracts clients and talented consultants who share both his energy and passion for blazing the new trails that spark innovation. His lifelong drive to push boundaries and his love for the dynamics of travel management gave rise to Areka, which he founded in 2011, along with three long-trusted partners. From the start, Pascal and his Areka partners set out to work with clients who were curious, imaginative and pioneering. Today, Pascal’s consultants are each a driving force in their respective markets, known for tackling complex challenges with global perspective.

Over the years, Pascal’s work has prompted him to live in France, Singapore and Gabon and to become fluent in French, English and Spanish. He spent more than a decade in management consulting with Accenture, Capgemini and Mars & Co before jumping into travel. In 2005, he joined CWT as Global Vice President of Consulting, where he launched the industry’s first consulting division for a world-leading travel management company and grew that team to exceed 100 worldwide consultants.

Tauseef Hussain is Areka’s irrepressible chief data wizard. He has a passion transforming dirty data into enlightening insights that hold the answers to complex questions. Tauseef and his team manage Areka’s IT and digital transformation projects. Their superpower is the successful transformation of laborious manual analytical models into elegant visualizations and real-time intelligence.

Tauseef first joined Areka Consulting in 2016 after earning his Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University and his Masters in Information Systems from EPITA: Ecole d’Ingénieurs en Informatique. Following IT Analyst and project management roles at Accenture, Like International and AQOA, Tauseef joined Areka, where he rose from Consultant to Data Solutions Manager and then the Director of Data Science and Information Technology. Today, he oversees everything from data modelling and governance to machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Tauseef is one of those rare few whose professional career involves their personal passion. He has an incredible love for airlines and aviation in general. He is an “AvGeek” who can see a plane flying in the sky and name the exact make, model, and the company of the plane. He loves everything that is technology and sports. His free time is mostly spent on reading up on latest tech trends, understanding financial markets or watching live sports, including football, tennis and Formula 1.

For Tiphaine Grenot travel can be a transformative experience that no one should miss.  For her corporate travel clients, she knows that a well-designed travel program is more than a business imperative that promotes savings and efficiency.  It is also a cultural pillar this is inextricably linked to employee wellbeing.

With a Master’s degree in international marketing and management, Tiphaine first entered the travel industry as an implementation manager for CWT, overseeing on- and off-line implementations for the firm’s multinational clients.  There she gained expertise in travel operations and project engineering.  She then focused on account management, working as a regional manager before taking on the outsourced global travel manager role at L’Oreal.  In 2016, Tiphaine moved to Shanghai to oversee audit across the APAC region before returning to France to manage a global key accounts portfolio.

In 2021, Tiphaine joined Areka, where she designs program strategies and oversees the delivery of market-leading solutions for a broad array of challenging global clients.  She credits the firm’s global perspective, innovative solutions and her colleagues’ openness to willingly share expertise with making the decision to move simple.

Since childhood, Tiphaine’s love of travel and experiencing the world outsider her window have shaped her future.  She’s already passing that flame on to her young son and daughter.  Today, when she is not working, she continues to travel – and to dream up new adventures for her own next generation of travelers.

Kate Watson has dedicated her career to advancing the practice of travel management. Now serving as the Practice Lead for Areka Consulting in the U.K., Kate’s thought leadership and expertise have enabled her clients to revolutionize their programs with state-of-the-art approaches in procurement strategy, sourcing, change management, project management and governance.

Over the past 20 years, Kate has cemented her expertise with roles in the hotel sector, global distribution, a global TMC and travel technology. During her tenure with Credit Suisse, she rose to the role of VP, Global Commodities Manager for Travel where she was the global owner of supplier management, procurement and program implementation across all travel categories.

Since 2016, Kate has established Areka as an industry Leader in the UK and Nordics. She’s a trusted lead consultant for some of the most influential and advanced clients in many categories, including banking, technology and consumer goods.

Jean-Michel Kadaner is an Associate Partner and one of Areka’s resident gurus in the travel supply chain, supplier relationship optimization and technology outsourcing. For nearly 30 years, he has helped his clients navigate the changes and challenges in travel technology, payment systems, sourcing, and project management.

Born in Belgium and now living in Germany, Jean-Michel has lived in many countries and is fluent in English, French and German. He studied Law at the University of Brussels and earned his Master’s in Purchasing Management from the UFCIA in Antwerp. He built procurement expertise in some of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, including ITT, Alcatel and Alcatel Alstom and then ran his own consulting firm for 18 years before joining Areka in 2015.

Beyond the work he does for Areka clients, Jean-Michel loves to build up young talent. He’s a frequent speaker at travel industry events and procurement conferences, as well as an Advisory Council Member for Create Talent. He was a part-time professor at the European Institute of Purchasing Management in Geneva, and served as seminar leader at HEC Paris, one of Europe’s oldest business schools.

Jean-Michel’s pursuits extend well beyond travel. He’s a bona-fide “Petrolhead” having a passion for anything that rides, flies or sails. Lately, he been especially enamored with bikes and old Jaguars. He is a rock drummer, an amateur jazz pianist, and as of late, a saxophone rookie. His favorite getaway? Stealing time with his four kids and five beloved grandkids.

Martina Eggler’s love of cross-cultural experiences has been an influential thread throughout her life. From her early schooling in Germany to high school in Canada and a study program in Tokyo, Martina’s path has been shaped by her love of diverse, multi-cultural environments.

It was only logical that she’d end up in travel—an industry she’s now served for more than 30 years. With a deep conviction that respect and shared values fuel successful collaboration, Martina has held an array of leadership positions, including Chief Marketing Officer at ATG Worldwide, General Manager for the DACH region at ATG, Vice President of Global Accounts and Partnerships at HRS, and Vice President of Strategic Accounts at CWT.

As Senior Vice President of Areka, Martina is leading the growth and development of the DACH region. Additionally, she will contribute to the company’s marketing and communications efforts, helping to showcase the firm’s capabilities.

After hours, Martina loves to cycle. She has crossed China and biked to Mongolia. Running is another passion, highlighted by her run in the New York Marathon. With inspiration from her children and two grandchildren, Martina Eggler is a constant source of positive energy to Areka, her colleagues and clients.

Lotten Fowler is an accomplished and well-known leader in the business travel industry, having last served as head of the Swedish Business Travel Association (SBTA) for 12 years. She was also an active member of the GBTA Europe partners team and is a founding member of BT4Europe working to straengthen the voice of buyers of business travel services and travelers in Europe.

Living in Uganda as a child opened the world to Lotten, who since has lived, studied and worked in several countries. She holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Gothenburg and went back to “school” in 2023 to catch up on the Digital Transformation and Sustainability topics at Hyper Island.

Lotten brings extensive experience from her career in the travel industry, having worked at renowned organizations such as American Express, WORLDHOTELS, and the Rezidor Hotel Group. Her expertise spans business travel strategy, partnerships, and industry trends.

Beyond her work, Lotten has a passion for travel, so much so that she occasionally moonlights as a tour guide. She enjoys skiing, boating, reading, and spending quality time with her family, balancing her professional life with her personal interests and adventures.

With more than 30 years of experience in the travel industry, Maureen has held senior leadership positions in leading TMCs. Before that, Maureen led teams of Operations, Account Management, and Sales globally at BCD Travel, Ovation Travel, World Travel Inc., and Maritz. In both 2020 and 2024, she was named one of the Top 50 Women in Travel by GBTA-WINiT, recognizing her contributions to the industry.

Beyond her work, Maureen has a passion for travel, music, and mentoring. Maureen speaks Spanish fluently, and has been a volunteer tutor to teach English as a second language. She is a current advisor/mentor for West Virginia University’s Business School. Beyond travel, you’ll find Maureen sailing, hiking, going to concerts, or playing “Mom” to her Bernese Mountain Dog, Mia.

Catalin Ciobanu brings a wealth of experience in a broad range of data and Artificial Intelligence subjects.  His experience in business travel has generated innovative products such as the Travel Stress Index, the Travel & Expense Decision Tree, or the Trip RoI estimator, while his traveler-centric research has been featured in the Harvard Business Review  multiple times. Catalin has a strong expertise in R&D and leading technology teams, large or small.

Catalin’s professional career started in the field of experimental particle physics. His graduate research centered on using Artificial Intelligence to extract signals of interest from large amounts of data. His academic career continued at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the French CNRS, after which Catalin transitioned to the private sector. He joined CWT in 2010 where he worked on product marketing, product innovation, and consulting – with responsibilities spanning innovation, travel reporting, business intelligence, and advanced analytics. Following this experience, Catalin co-founded Boostrs, a company leveraging data science to connect people with jobs and learning opportunities. Catalin holds a PhD in Physics from The Ohio State University and an MBA degree from HEC Paris.

When he is not working, Catalin enjoys running or swimming, as well as teaching math and science to children of all ages.