Third time’s the charm! Yes, that’s right: Women Leading Travel & Hospitality will be hosting our THIRD Roundtable event in Dallas on Dec. 5 and we can hardly wait!

We’re also thrilled to announce our keynote speaker: Lauren Woods, senior vice president, technology and chief information officer at Southwest Airlines!

Woods provides strategic and innovative leadership at Southwest Airlines. Her vision is to provide Southwest with the most reliable, secure and effective technology solutions in the airline industry. Since joining Southwest in 2010, Woods has led key initiatives across Southwest’s technology department, supporting Southwest’s digital and customer channels and various operations teams and platforms.

Woods was instrumental in establishing Southwest’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure, creating a new development and delivery platform for complex application ecosystems. She also focused heavily on the transformation of Southwest’s enterprise data platforms that drive the company’s data science, analytics, optimization, and system integrations.

Prior to Southwest, Woods worked in the management consulting firm Diamond Management & Technology (now PwC) with clients such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Travelers Insurance. Her consulting experience laid the foundation for her launch into technology at Southwest.

In her keynote, Woods will discuss her career journey, leadership lessons she has gleaned from her many different roles, industry trends she is tracking, and so much more. You won’t want to miss it!

We also have several additional speakers signed on, including:

  • Farah Bhayani, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, G6 Hospitality
  • Talia Castellanos, Managing Director, Customer Service Recovery and Contact Centers Planning and Operations, American Airlines
  • Minnie Munoz, Vice President of Sales, Visit Dallas
  • Jodie Brinkerhoff, Vice President of Innovation, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Our Roundtable events bring together leading travel and hospitality executives for an evening of networking and education. Attendees make valuable connections with peers, learn from a panel discussion featuring industry experts, and have some fun in the process. You’ll leave Women Leading Travel & Hospitality Roundtable events with fresh ideas and new contacts that can help springboard your career and company’s success.

You can register for our Dallas event now! Each Roundtable event is free for Women Leading Travel & Hospitality members and $79 for nonmembers. Members can email Sally Holtgrieve at Sholtgrieve@napco.com for the discount code.

If you are an executive-level woman in the industry and would like to join Women Leading Travel & Hospitality, you can find information about us here.