Robert Ambrozy Exec VP Global Sales GBTA interviewed by Dorothy Dowling

Leadership Built on Trust, Curiosity, and Global Partnership

Robert Ambrozy’s leadership journey began with a passion for travel, languages, and hospitality that emerged during his teenage years while traveling across Europe with his family. Those early experiences exposed him to different cultures and perspectives, reinforcing his belief that people, relationships, and travel would become both his career and his purpose. Working internationally pushed him beyond his comfort zone, teaching him to adapt quickly, embrace change, and appreciate that success is never a final destination but a milestone that continually raises the bar. Throughout his career across hospitality, travel technology, and now GBTA, he has remained committed to continuous learning, cultural awareness, and building meaningful relationships.

As Executive Vice President of Global Sales at GBTA, Ambrozy describes a shift from commercial execution to partnership, empowerment, and trust. He believes leaders create value by listening first, understanding shared goals, and aligning diverse stakeholders around a common purpose. His leadership philosophy emphasizes clarity, transparency, prioritization, and helping others succeed before seeking personal recognition. Whether discussing global partnerships, intentional business travel, or developing future leaders, he consistently returns to curiosity, integrity, and creating long-term value. For Ambrozy, commercial success follows naturally when relationships are built with authenticity, consistency, and genuine care for others.

Transcript

Dorothy Dowling 0:07

Robert, welcome to It's Personal Stories. I'm so pleased to have you here. At It's Personal Stories, we focus on the human side of leadership, the experiences, choices, inflection points, and personal disciplines that shape how leaders grow, adapt, and show up over time. Your career brings together so many dimensions of our industry that I know will be meaningful for our audience. You've worked across hotel operations, sales, business development, global partnerships, travel technology, and now association leadership with GBTA. You have built teams, developed commercial relationships, worked across geographies, and helped support one of the most important global communities in business travel. What I especially am looking forward to today is going a layer deeper. I'd love to understand the personal journey behind the professional accomplishments, including some of your early experiences that shaped your leadership style, and how your international background has really influenced the way you build relationships, and what you have learned moving from the private sector into a not-for-profit association environment with a very broad and diverse stakeholder community. We'll also talk about what it takes to lead with global responsibility, how you manage competing priorities across members, partners, sponsors, boards, chapters, regions, and internal teams, and what advice you would offer to emerging leaders who want to build careers with both commercial impact and personal meaning. So welcome, Robert. It's delightful to have you with us.

Robert Ambrozy 1:33

Dorothy, thank you so much for having me. It is honor to be invited to your studio and share a story of my journey. I have to say, I'll jump directly to your question. I feel very fortunate that my job is truly my hobby and a passion. It... Basically I don't really work. I just I'm just accomplish and fulfilling my hobby, so it doesn't really feel like a regular job. My passion for hospitality really started early when I was a teenager. I was traveling with my parents and I was staying in hotels. So along with that, they were also pushing me to language program schools abroad, so I was very fortunate to have this experience and travel in Europe learning the different cultures and and experiences, right? So from that early age I knew that this would be my future. I always knew, I always felt like this is something that is gonna be a passion because I really enjoy it. I also quickly realized that everything I truly like in my life means people and relationships as well travel. This is the place and this is the purpose for my career

Dorothy Dowling 2:43

I have to say, Robert I'm always very admiring, particularly of people that have had sort of a growth journey in Europe, because I just think the way they embrace learning multiple languages and understanding different cultures across the region I just think gives people a much deeper capability to working with people in many places in the world. So it's amazing that your parents took you on that journey and opened all those doors so early for you in your life. So Robert I'm wondering if you can share with us how that international background has really shaped your leadership and really in terms of, beyond the technical skills of the business.

Robert Ambrozy 3:22

Very good question. Starting my career internationally truly gave me confidence only because I was exposed to new. I was pushed outso- outside of my comfort zone. It taught me to learn how to adapt quickly work across different cultures different people, and being... staying open to changes. I always believe that success is not a final destination. It's like a milestone. Each achievement really simply raises my bar. And honestly, one sentence that always resonates from the beginning of my career, success is never end. So it's always raising the bar, always pushing myself. This is just a journey. This is just a moment in the process. What's next? I always like to challenge myself.

Dorothy Dowling 4:12

I love that statement about success is not the destination, that it's part of the journey. And the other part that I really loved what you brought to the table, Robert, is just being pushed outside your comfort zone in terms of, being put into different situations, how that broadened your capability to be open and to think differently, and to, I'm sure, accept other people's points of view in a very different way. So thank you for sharing that. I'm wondering if there is anything that you would offer to our audience in terms of leaders when they're working globally. What do they need to understand in terms of, being a good partner in, in a global business environment? I

Robert Ambrozy 4:52

mean, skills must come, right? But beyond the technical skills global leaders needs to learn the culture, the awareness of differences. Emotional intelligence is extremely important as well as strong communication. It's really about understanding different perspectives, Very often quickly adjust your style and responding to it, as well building alignment across very different teams. Different teams, different cultures, different backgrounds. Equally, what's what is really important, I believe, is creating clarity and trust so people can really in those different markets see the same value and the same direction and the long-term partnership.

Dorothy Dowling 5:37

I th- I think that's great advice, and I do think that whole element of being clear in terms of expectations and being open to really understanding different cultural things, 'cause often we come with a lens where we might judge as opposed to recognizing that the signal that is being sent is maybe not the signal that was intended. So I do think that element of understanding some of those cultural nuances is really important. I'm wondering if we can talk a little bit, because you were, worked in the private sector for most of your career, and then of course now are in a not-for-profit environment. I'm just wondering if you could share in terms of- some of the differences in metrics, because private sector is obviously very focused on commercial outcomes. There's a lot more softer elements that you have to be addressing in the role that you are today. I'm wondering if you could expand on that for us.

Robert Ambrozy 6:28

Happy to do I think the biggest adjustment was really shifting from being focused so primarily on commercial aspects and result-driven environments. We're really looking more into balancing multiple different stakeholders' perspectives their priorities across the globe, right? So in different markets they might have a different needs. So the objectives of my clients, of our partners, are my objectives. That, I think, is the biggest shift, where you basically becoming the extension of the teams. You are now part of their journey. The growth of the industry is through them and through the partnership that we build together.

Dorothy Dowling 7:11

That's a very interesting perspective. So it is about you joining their team and being part of their team, and really qualifying the kinds of needs and expectations they have so that you can meet their needs. I'm wondering if you can expand on that a little bit, because when I think about the complexity of some of the differences, like we spoke earlier just about, m- how impressed I was at the Singapore event that I had the privilege of being at recently. Just the profess- Thank you

Robert Ambrozy 7:37

for being there.

Dorothy Dowling 7:39

Yes. The, just the professionalism of that event was extraordinary, Robert, and that was quite a change that you had to bring. I'm wondering if there's anything that you could share in terms of what that journey and how you really built that level of growth and professionalism at that particular event.

Robert Ambrozy 7:57

I think what really made a difference, and it's a constant work on strategies on the partnership, but you're becoming more a consultant. So it's really approaching partnerships and decision-making for all our suppliers and partners in a consultative way. Foc- focusing less on the speed alone and reaching the commercials, and really more aligning with with the impact and the long-term results. We're really looking at strategy where we can support our partners, we can support their objectives, and I think that's what really makes a massive impact as a result. That's going back to, To that shift moving from just commercial viewpoint to the partnership and big s- big picture. Big picture, big- bigger result, bigger impact,

Dorothy Dowling 8:55

Could you tell us a little bit more about the how piece can you unpack that in a little more detail when you're sitting down with an individual partner to really help drives that success for them in terms of their partnership with GBTA, what does the specifics look like in terms of building that partnership bridge with them?

Robert Ambrozy 9:13

I think something that resonates first in my head it's really going back to our core mission, which is many voices, one purpose. It's really symbolize what we think is right for buyers community, suppliers, and the industry professional, like across the globe. Seriously it's about helping and advocating and elevating the future of the business travel, but together. Is it really a partnership? The next pillar, I think it would be, again, I've probably already mentioned it, but always listen. I focus on clarity of the purpose and shared goals. Again, it is a partnership and building the trust. With so many different stakeholders it's about creating alignment around what serves the broader mission and making sure everyone understands, and that's really clear, and how they can contribute to the big picture and success of the industry.

Dorothy Dowling 10:08

So what I'm hearing you saying it's that shared sense of understanding what some of the GBTA's goals are in terms of really bridging business travel needs and how the industry's evolving, and then understanding the particular partner's needs and how you can build that hub and spoke solution for them to really leverage some of those opportunities through the partnership.

Robert Ambrozy 10:31

Now that I think also I would love to share other perspective like-

Dorothy Dowling 10:35

Yeah

Robert Ambrozy 10:36

prioritization. How we are prioritizing based on the impact. Not everything is right now important. It's really on a bigger scale. What's the biggest impact? Where my involvement can be can unlock alignment, my job and our job as associations really remove those blocks, creating meaningful value in the system. Not everything has to be done right away. It's again prioritizing things and, but always stay right things needs, that needs to be focused on. At the very end, it's about the big picture and the biggest impact that we can make with our partners.

Dorothy Dowling 11:17

So what I'm hearing, it's really understanding some of the short-term priorities, but it's also understanding what their long-term goals are so that you can actually build that roadmap with them over presumably multiple years to really drive that partnership value.

Robert Ambrozy 11:32

Correct. The other element I think worth to mention is trust. Trust to me is everything. I've learned that influence comes from listening first. I always, from the beginning of my career, I would always say to all my sales folks, "Don't start pitching." Go to the table, go to the meeting, ask the question. You listen, you learn, you building up the information that will be relevant, right? Communicating clearly and building the trust over the time. It is a process, but I truly believe in the relationship. It's friendship- partnership, relationship. The process is the same. Align- alignment is rarely instant, to be honest. It's created through consistency, transparency as well ongoing communication, and that's to me what partnership and relationship means.

Dorothy Dowling 12:23

Yeah. I think that whole element of being a really good listener and being open when you start a conversation, that, that's really a fundamental message Robert, because I see s- still in selling today, lots of people are still pushing product, and they're not necessarily really trying to qualify, understand what the customer's needs are, and then really look at where that mutual value creation is. So I think that is really important advice because everyone sees the world a little bit differently, and we have to understand their perspective to be able to be a good business partner. I'm just wondering if we can talk a little bit about the role that you have today at GBTA, 'cause GBTA is a hub of so much in terms of what's going on in the industry, and so you're on that future ledge of really understanding where a lot of this change is continuing to evolve. And I'm wondering if there's any thoughts that you would like to offer the audience in terms of how business travel is evolving today versus yesterday or maybe, last year or two years ago.

Robert Ambrozy 13:26

Wow, that's a very good one. Most, most notable we see shift to more intentional travel, and more strategic. The value of business travel has not diminished. What we see that just a trends to travel smart. So it doesn't mean you don't have to travel. We hear about sustainability we hear about risk management and everything that is happening in the, in today's world it's all about traveling smart. Can we combine number of meetings? Can we can we focus on priorities and travel smart? That's what I be- I believe this is the direction where the industry is going, and we already- Yeah see this today.

Dorothy Dowling 14:08

Yeah. And I think that is a really important shift because I think there was a natural boom in travel post COVID. But now I do think this whole element of intentionality and being very strategic about time and investments in travel and making sure that you can have a plan against how to really optimize, the time invested and also the the dollars invested in the travel experience.

Robert Ambrozy 14:32

Absolutely. On that note, yes, ROI still remains for everyone. We might say we travel with a purpose and we have a mission, but at the end, our partners our customers, they have commercial objectives that we are extension of the sales. We are helping- them to achieve those. We're we are seeing a much stronger focus currently on, on focus on duty of care and risk management. But within the global events that are happening what we see on the news it's shifting it's moving sometimes more towards safety versus... we gotta pause it. We gotta reverse. Okay.

Dorothy Dowling 15:11

Yeah.

Robert Ambrozy 15:12

I will I can jump right away- Yeah to the answer. We are seeing a stronger focus on duty of care and risk management, because of the recent global events. At the same time, buyers are becoming more strategic focused. So it's not only about the ROI, but it's also about the efficiency. How smart we travel, as well what kind of value we are creating for day travelers. For suppliers and partners current situation and market shifts are driving constant adoption with much sharper focus on relevance and impact on changing environments. And I think this is beautiful to observe and be part of the learning and what's next, and how we as a association can help and support all these partners.

Dorothy Dowling 15:56

Yeah. No, and I see that with the kind of events that you host, Robert, because a lot of people are using that as a launching pad for many other meetings. So they attend it, but then they may be doing some additional meetings in market to really maximize the value of that trip and make sure that, everyone is getting the right kind of business outcomes. I'm wondering if we can talk a little bit about leadership, because that is something our audience loves to hear. And you've been in the industry for quite a number of years now, and I'm wondering as you've gone through, your leadership journey, what kind of changes it, it has affected on your leadership itself?

Robert Ambrozy 16:37

I think the biggest learning that I observe in my journey it's the shift from leading through execution to leading through empowerment, alignment, and trust. As a leader, I can't achieve myself. It's all about the team. It's all about the relationship that we build with the internal and external h- stakeholders. I think if we cover those three elements with empowering our teams our folks to make the decision working with the partners and building that relationship and the trust, I think this is a basic. For me, it's a core. And other piece I would say, feedback is a gold. That's something that is really close to me. One of the leaders in the past told me that, and we not always wants to hear that, if you know what I'm saying. But sometimes the truth can hurt, and we're like, "Oh, this is not what I wanna hear." But it's up to you what you do with it. I honestly learn and I believe through my three decades being in this industry that truly feedback is a gold. The other pieces I would say stay curious, keep learning, because everything is evolving. What we learned yesterday, today might be not relevant. And focus really on what matters. You can't be everywhere always at every minute. Focus on priorities and always raise the bar for yourself, just like I do for myself- and for my team

Dorothy Dowling 18:04

I loved how you opened with talking about shifting from execution to empowerment, 'cause I think that really is a brilliant way to frame up the leadership through others. And I also love what you have really identified in terms of being very focused in terms of the priorities and staying true to those, because I do think that keeps the clarity that you spoke about earlier in terms of everyone understanding expectations. I'm wondering with your schedule, because you're traveling a lot globally, you have a lot of demands on your time, I'm wondering how do you create space for the strategic thinking that you need to keep the business moving forward?

Robert Ambrozy 18:46

I love that question. Let me think. Probably you have to pause every now and then to see the big picture. I intentionally protect time to step back and look and prioritize. In the in the amount of information and priorities that we are tasked daily, sometimes it might be overwhelming, so it's really important to pause, look at, and prioritize, and focus on long-term impact. That is not just immediate demands, it is a long-term win in my view. Yeah.

Dorothy Dowling 19:20

No, I love that advice, is that finding time to pause, because I do think sometimes we get busy and we get very driven in some of that executional mindset. But taking some time out to see the big picture, as you've noted, Robert, I think that makes us a much better leader, and it helps evolve our thinking. So I think that's really great advice. I'm wondering for emerging leaders, given the role that you have at GBTA and the role that you've had as a business leader, what advice would you offer in terms of how do they build their network and build it in a meaningful way rather than just a transactional way?

Robert Ambrozy 20:01

Oh, then, it would be easy just to ask you because for me you're an icon in the industry, and you built this career- Oh, thank you and we have so much respect from all of us. But if I can share from my view curiosity. I always say go deeper, learn deeper, find out more. Adapt. Adapting to changes being m- mind open to what reactions from the markets and partners are. It doesn't have to be always your way. I think that this goes to emotional intelligence and the ability to build a meaningful relationship. At the very end, the partner you're working today might work tomorrow in different company. But that relationship that you built is gonna last for years. Who knows? We always meet twice or three times. That industry is very small. Also from the skills perspective stay up to date. So technology will keep evolving but people will trust the relationship. So as you are learning, yes, how much you can be efficient, learn that. Dedicate the time to learn, but don't forget about the human aspect, which is relationship driven.

Dorothy Dowling 21:17

Yeah. No, I think that message of how the industry, it is a very small industry in so many ways, and we cross paths often with individuals over multiple times during that experience of our journey. And I do think that element of thinking about long-term relationship development and putting deposits in people's bank accounts from a personal side of things is critically important because those relationships I think empower us in many ways. I also the whole element of commitment to learning I think is critically important, and particularly today the way the world is shifting, that if we don't stay up to speed in terms of understanding, then we don't, we're not relevant, which is a message that I continually to hear through this story that you're telling. I, I'm just wondering, 'cause we're coming up near the end of the interview, Robert, is as you think about your own journey obviously starting out with a very international exposure through your parents what would you say to someone who's very early in their career in terms of how they might build that commercial success and a career that's going to be meaningful? Because I know you spoke about the choices you made were so meaningful earlier in your career.

Robert Ambrozy 22:33

Thank you. I love that question for our closing session. Let's say my success comes from success of the people I work with. Removing roadblocks for the people that work for you on your team and supporting you it's priority to me. Raising the bar for yourself, it's motivating for others. It motivates your team, but also inspire your partners and customers. You gotta continue staying curious. You gotta keep learning and always lead with the integrity. Focus on creating the value for others. It's just not about achieving personal success. I celebrate successes of my colleagues, of my teams. I always try to put the spotlight on others. I truly am enjoying when I see someone succeeding, someone winning. I think that is still such an important piece, not forgetting what's human factor is in being in this industry. We're very fortunate that we are working in hospitality and travel and business travel. So I... Again I always feel like it will shine on you when you shine on the others. Lift the others, inspire others, and all that together if you do that con- consistently, it will bring the commercial success, but also on the personal level will fulfill you and make you happy. So as long you're happy in your job, you're gonna be successful. You're gonna enjoy. We have one life to live.

Dorothy Dowling 24:03

I have to say, Robert, just the way you spoke about that generosity of spirit and celebrating others and offering that kind of inspiration I think is really meaningful. Because particularly in the world that we are in today, I think it is very much appreciated. But I also think it drives the likability factor, and you are an incredibly likable individual, and I think that's what makes you so successful at business development, is that when people like you they're with you, and they wanna support you on that journey. So I think that through line of, investing in relationships and really supporting others is a very important message for our audience. So I thank you for sharing that. I thank you for also sharing the learning that you had with being an international student of the game, because I do think understanding cultures and languages makes us much more intelligent about how we deal with others in the world that we live in today. So thank you for being so thoughtful. Thank you for bringing the time and that global lens to our conversation today, and thank you for all that you do in terms of the leadership you bring to our industry every day, Robert. It's very meaningful, and I appreciate you, so thank you.

Robert Ambrozy 25:11

Thank you so much, Dorothy. It means so much coming from you. I really appreciate, and I'm looking forward to see you at our convention in couple of weeks. Yes. Me too. So thank you for all the support that you are, I always feel like you are part of GBTA. You are part of the team, so thank you for being such a role model for many of us in this space. And I'm looking forward to, to partner with you on new projects, new ideas, and always open to hear new concepts that we can work together to make it better for the industry.

Dorothy Dowling 25:42

Thank you, Robert. Thank you. And if I may, I'd also like to thank our audience for joining us today, and if today's conversation resonated with you, I invite you to explore more interviews at itspersonalstories.com where we share stories from leaders across our industry like Robert, leaders who are building meaningful careers, shaping the future of hospitality and travel, and reminding us that leadership is at its core deeply personal. We hope you'll join us again soon. Thank you.