Business travel association the Institute of Travel Management has recently named Jamie Hindhaugh as vice chairman.

The institute appointed Mr Hindhaugh, himself a procurement specialist and former fleet manager, with a view to increasing awareness of the organisation and strengthening its standing within the fleet sector.

Mr Hindhaugh said: “In the past business travel was mostly thought of as being related to big ticket items such as air, rail and hotels, but there is a much more holistic approach to the facilitation of meetings emerging in UK company thinking and fleet plays as much of a part in that approach as rail, air or hotels.

Mr Hindhaugh explained that the ITM can help fleet managers and administrators with best practice advice and stressed how good fleet management can equate to a better run business.

“We bring best practice to anyone involved in fleet. It’s important to remember the reasons why a company has
fleet and that it is not managed just because fleet needs man-aging. It is a conduit for running a business.

“In today’s financial and environmental climate it’s more important than ever to challenge why and how fleet is managed the way it is and it needs to be viewed fully in context of a company’s raison d’etre,” he said.