Idea into reality
In 1987, van Vlissingen and Alexander purchased their first travel company, WorldTravel Advisors, with 60 employees. From there, nonstop growth led to the 2006 creation of industry leader BCD Travel.
“I’m grateful to John for asking me to be the founding CEO of what later became BCD Travel,” Alexander said. BCD’s early team included current BCD Travel CEO and President John Snyder.
A team like no other
“That team was like no other, and their skills and passion were supported by so many people who gave the company incredible depth of competence and character and brought an unmatched desire to serve,” he said. “It changed me forever to see thousands of employees sacrificing and serving customers and each other.”
Jack served as CEO from 1987 to 2002. During that time, the company grew nearly 50% annually to become the No. 2 agency in the U.S. Alexander credits the growth to three major decisions: purchasing tech company TTG in 1990, becoming an Olympic Games sponsor in 1996 and acquiring BTI Americas in 1998. Today, BCD is one of the top three travel management companies and serves clients in 106 countries with a global client retention rate of 97%, the highest in the industry.
Over the last 20 years, Jack has served as chairman or CEO of four companies. He is an entrepreneur, speaker, and author. He has produced and distributed over 40 high-impact short films used by 2,000+ nonprofits to inspire people to embrace holistic generosity.
The 11th Annual Business Travel Hall of Fame induction ceremony and dinner was hosted by BTN Group on December 5 at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Other BTN Hall of Fame inductees from BCD include its founder van Vlissingen (2011) and the late Danny Hood (2013), a former President-Americas.
