Organisers at the annual Business Travel Market have confirmed Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), will be the keynote speaker at the event.

In his capacity as LOCOG chief executive, Deighton is currently working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to ensure the Olympic Park venues and other new infrastructure are delivered on time for the London 2012 Games.

As such he is an ideal, very topical candidate to share his wealth of experience with the event’s audience. 

The announcement of his participation reflects the variation of content available to attendees of BTM, with James Hogan already confirmed as keynote on day one of BTM, in addition to numerous educational sessions organised by ACTE.

Now in its third year, BTM, which takes place June 22nd and 23rd at London’s ExCel, promises to be a truly informative and useful event for all buyers in attendance.

Paul Deighton’s speaking slot is scheduled for 9:30-10:30 on the June 23rd and will take place in the Platinum Suite at ExCel, London and following a 20 minute speech he will take questions from the floor.

Deighton was appointed CEO of LOCOG in April 2006 and is responsible for leading the LOCOG team to deliver all operational plans according to the terms of the Host City Contract signed with the IOC and IPC and also takes responsibility for raising the £2 billion funding required from the private sector.

Deighton also leads LOCOG’s relationships with key stakeholders including the Government and all its agencies, the Mayor of London, the British Olympic Association, the British Paralympic Association and other organisations with an interest in the Games.

Prior to joining LOCOG, Deighton was European chief operating officer for Goldman Sachs and a member of its European Management Committee.

During his 22-year career with the firm Paul held a number of client facing and management roles and was made a partner in 1996.
 
BTM’s event director, Paul Robin, said: “It was a real coup to secure a speaker of the calibre of Paul Deighton for this year’s BTM.

“We are committed to providing interesting, current, informative content at the event and Paul’s speech will, I’m sure, provide some interesting insights into the opportunities and threats which exist for the travel industry around such a special event. I’m also looking forward to hearing the questions which our attendees will have about the Olympics.”