Tech Innovator Individual Award Winner – HeadBox

Congratulations on winning the Tech Innovator Award! What does this recognition mean to you?

It means the world to me. The ITM community is full of experts, innovators and leaders across our industry, so to be recognised by them is a real honour.

Meetings and events are a small but mighty part of business travel, and it's fantastic to see ITM leading the way by putting this part of the industry front and centre.

What problem were you trying to solve that led to this innovation?

Meetings and events have long been the forgotten part of global travel, with fewer technological advances than other areas of the industry. Now, with 91% of travel managers taking responsibility for meetings and events, that gap is wider than ever.

The challenges remain the same: inefficiencies, limited visibility and control over spend, manual processes and poor user experiences. It's a growing problem, and travel managers haven't always had the tools they need to solve it.

The question we asked ourselves was: how do we give travel managers the right tools to capture meetings and events spend, so they can build programmes that are well-managed, sustainable and truly transformational?

How do you identify opportunities for innovation in such a rapidly evolving industry?

At HeadBox, we have a strong culture of innovation. Curiosity is one of our core values, so innovation happens every day.

In my role, it's important to ask questions and stay close to the product. I use our tools every day, but ultimately it's all about the people who use them. I spend time talking to customers, watching them interact with our platform and understanding exactly where their pain points are.

We're also big believers in "failing fast". If we build something that doesn't work for our customers, we go back to the drawing board and improve it. That confidence to learn, adapt and build something better is what keeps innovation moving forward.

What emerging technology or trend are you most excited about over the next few years?

What excites me most is the level of personalisation that's now possible through AI, and how it can transform the event experience from beginning to end.

We're already seeing personalised networking, tailored event content, customised itineraries and smarter matchmaking tools. Behind the scenes, AI is also making life much easier for travel managers and event planners.

At HeadBox, we're using AI-powered venue shortlisting to reduce hours of searching into minutes, while generating bespoke proposals and providing customers with personalised insights into their events. This helps reduce untracked spend and improve visibility across areas that have traditionally been overlooked.

Looking ahead, we'll expand these capabilities into contracts and policies, while using the efficiency AI provides to reach even more customers around the world.

The possibilities are enormous, and AI is transforming events from a single on-site experience into an end-to-end journey with meaningful engagement and lasting impact.

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, with no limits on budget or agenda, where would you go and why?

I'd travel to Dominica, a beautiful Caribbean island renowned for its untouched landscapes, incredible natural beauty and sustainable, off-grid experiences.

It's where my grandparents were born before moving to the UK as part of the Windrush generation, so it's a place I'm incredibly proud to call part of my heritage. I'd love to explore it properly and share its one-of-a-kind beauty with more people.
 

Discover all of our 2026 Achievement Award winners and browse the event images.