Members of the Global Business Travel Association's Risk
Committee have vowed to collectively resign if GBTA CEO Scott Solombrino
remains with the organization, according to a memo the committee sent to the
GBTA board of directors and obtained by BTN.
Solombrino currently is on
leave from GBTA amid allegations
of misconduct.
The memo specifies that the members of the Risk Committee
"will respectfully and collectively resign from our duties as a
committee should Mr. Solombrino remain in place as CEO or in any capacity
with the GBTA."
The memo also advocates a full review of the board members
and the GBTA bylaws that allowed the board to appoint Solombrino CEO in order
"to circumvent these issues from occurring in the future," according
to the memo.
A member of the committee, who wished to remain anonymous,
told BTN, "There's no acceptable outcome vis-a-vis Scott remaining in the
organization, and the entire committee feels this unanimously." The source
cited, "many people I've talked to rail on about this guy's behavior over
the years—not just now—and it's so disturbing, if even half is true."
Another source close to the matter, who also wished to
remain anonymous, told BTN in an email that other committees "have similar
thoughts."
Responding to a request to confirm the board had received
the memo from the Risk Committee, the GBTA crisis communications manager sent
the following statement:
"The GBTA Board has heard from many GBTA members and
committee members about this matter and the Board is taking all their
input with the utmost seriousness. The Board, too, wants GBTA to be beyond
reproach and a leading voice for the business travel industry.
"At the same time, as an employer, the Board must respect
due process and the privacy of our employees. Thus, we cannot speak to the
details of communications we've received until the internal review has
been completed."
Risk Committee chair Ray Greeve confirmed via email the authenticity of the memo, but declined to make further comments, claiming the memo "speaks for itself." Fourteen members of the Risk Committee signed the memo, but it
was not immediately clear if that comprised the entirety of the committee.