How One Travel Manager Achieved Career Success By Choosing Innovation
Nicola Kelly
In a profession notorious for slow adoption and legacy systems, one travel manager’s strategic career progression proves that choosing proven innovation — and mastering it — can create opportunities that extend far beyond cost savings.
I recently interviewed Alyssa Young, a seasoned travel manager based in Miami, Florida. Having built her career around strategic technology adoption, one thing became crystal clear — her willingness to embrace innovative travel technology hasn’t just made her programs more successful, it’s been the driving force behind her entire career trajectory.
Alyssa has been a long-standing power user of Navan. She used Navan to implement global changes across multiple industries and build a travel programme from scratch at a major fintech company. And her journey illustrates a fundamental truth about travel management careers today: Those who choose innovative solutions over legacy systems don’t just have the opportunity to build better programmes; they also embrace the chance to build more successful careers.
Strategic Career Architecture
What sets Alyssa apart isn’t just her technical expertise — it’s how she’s strategically used each role to build toward bigger opportunities. “I jumped around because I was always trying to find a programme that I was capable of managing myself,” she said.
Her progression tells the story. She started with a small real estate company where “I could get my hands around it and do it all myself,” she said, then moved to healthcare to add “other elements of the travel programme into the role, like an expense programme and a corporate card programme.”
Those experiences landed her at a global fintech company with an opportunity to “build a travel programme from the ground up,” she said. “It was a blank canvas, more or less, and I felt like I was equipped with the tools to paint the canvas.”
Alyssa was engaged not in career-hopping, but career architecture. Each role built strategic competencies that made her indispensable for the next opportunity.
Innovation Champion Across Industries
Alyssa didn’t earn her success just by working for progressive companies; she became the person who brought innovation to every organisation. Her approach has worked across diverse industries — from real estate to healthcare and fintech — proving that the right mindset and tools can drive transformation anywhere.
When she implemented a new TMC at her real estate company, leaving behind legacy tools like Concur and Chrome River, the transformation was dramatic. “There was so much positive feedback,” she said. “Navan was very different from what the company was used to ... it really surprised people in a very positive way.”
At her current company, starting from zero, she’s achieved adoption rates “in the mid to upper nineties” — positioning her as a strategic business partner who drives measurable outcomes.
Challenging the Status Quo
Perhaps the most crucial element of Alyssa’s career is her philosophy of challenging existing systems. From the moment she joined the real estate company, she made it a priority to question established processes. She immediately advocated for a fresh approach to the TMC RFP and highlighted the importance of rethinking what wasn’t working.
“You have to prove your value in your role,” said Alyssa. “You’re not gonna do that if everything is stagnant and average.” For travel managers feeling stuck, this approach offers a clear path forward: Become the person who identifies opportunities for improvement and has the expertise to implement solutions.
Technology Mastery as Career Currency
What truly differentiates Alyssa is how deeply she invests in understanding platform capabilities. “I always have a Navan window open on my desktop, and a quarter of my day at minimum is spent within the tool. If everyone is coming to me for travel help, I need to be the expert.”
This expertise became literal career currency when her current company was specifically looking for someone with modern travel platform experience. “Part of my intro to the company in my cover letter was just like, ‘Hey, FYI! I’ve just left a company where I implemented Navan fully from start to finish, from RFP to implementation.’”
The value to her employer was immediate: as an existing power user, Alyssa could leverage advanced capabilities from day one. She could “focus on building out our program as a whole ... rather than worry about learning all the things that were recently in place.” This demonstrates why companies increasingly seek travel managers with proven platform expertise — they can immediately optimise configurations, maximise feature utilisation, and drive faster programme success.
Strategic Networking and Role Elevation
Alyssa’s involvement with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) as past president highlights the importance of building networks around innovation. “The connections are key,” she said. “Being a part of that association was so helpful because you’re bringing in people from every aspect of the industry.”
Modern travel technology has also fundamentally changed what’s possible in the role. Alyssa contrasts current capabilities with legacy systems: “Reporting was always my number one challenge with any legacy TMC ... it was like watching paint dry. So to have a technology partner that gives you the capabilities to do it yourself allows me to do so much more.”
“Navan really elevates the role of the travel manager,” she said. “Because there’s so much more that you’re able to do and provide to the company.”
Key Takeaways for Travel Managers
For travel managers wondering whether to embrace innovative solutions, Alyssa’s story offers some compelling insights:
The Path Forward
As Alyssa puts it: “People are naturally comfortable taking the path of least resistance. But that’s not always what’s going to create growth or bring about change in a positive way.”
Her current role overseeing a travel programme for a global fintech company — with adoption rates in the high 90s and the ability to influence business strategy — didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of years of strategic decisions to choose proven technology solutions and become an expert in the tools that drive results.
The question for travel managers isn’t whether advanced platforms will eventually replace legacy systems — it’s whether you’ll be leading that transformation or struggling to catch up. Those who choose proven technology solutions early and master them completely don’t just build better programmes; they build the kind of careers that define industry leadership.
Start today. Your future strategic role is waiting.
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