Director - Corporate Travel Expense

📋 Description

• • Own the end-to-end vision and execution of Freshworks’ global travel and expense program, transforming it from a patchwork of regional practices into a single, world-class system that delights employees and saves millions.
• • Architect and roll out a brand-new Travel Management Company (TMC) and Online Booking Tool (OBT) across 15+ countries, ensuring every employee—from San Mateo to Chennai—can book travel in under three clicks while staying 100 % policy-compliant.
• • Build the business case, vendor scorecards, and implementation roadmap for a next-generation expense management platform; you will pick the tool, configure the workflows, and train thousands of users before the first invoice is ever submitted.
• • Negotiate and manage strategic contracts with airlines, global hotel chains, ground-transport aggregators, and card issuers, leveraging Freshworks’ fast-growing spend to secure best-in-market rates, perks, and duty-of-care services.
• • Establish a real-time analytics engine that surfaces spend patterns, policy deviations, and traveler-safety alerts to executives on a live dashboard; turn raw data into actionable insights that drive continuous cost reduction and risk mitigation.
• • Craft and enforce a concise, culturally aware global T&E policy that balances fiscal discipline with employee experience; socialize it through lunch-and-learns, micro-videos, and Slack AMAs so that every traveler knows exactly what “compliant” looks like.
• • Serve as the final escalation point for complex travel exceptions—whether it’s an emergency business-class upgrade or a multi-leg, multi-country sales tour—balancing fairness, budget, and traveler safety in every decision.
• • Partner with FP&A to own the $25 M+ annual travel budget, delivering 5–7 % year-over-year savings through dynamic pricing, preferred-vendor leakage reduction, and strategic advance-purchase programs.
• • Collaborate with the Meetings & Events team to bundle hotel blocks, airlift, and ground transport for 50+ global summits and customer events, driving six-figure savings while elevating attendee experience.
• • Design a ground-transport strategy specifically for India that integrates safety tracking, negotiated flat-rate zones, and seamless reimbursement—turning a historically painful process into a competitive advantage for recruiting top talent.
• • Lead a small but mighty T&E operations pod (analysts, coordinators, and vendor partners), mentoring them into a high-performing team known for white-glove service and data-driven decisions.
• • Champion traveler well-being and sustainability initiatives—carbon-offset options, preferred eco-friendly hotels, and 24/7 emergency support—making Freshworks a recognized industry leader in responsible travel.
• • Continuously scan the horizon for emerging technologies (AI-driven booking bots, virtual cards, duty-of-care apps) and pilot them in controlled sandboxes before scaling globally.
• • Present quarterly program health reports to the CFO and executive staff, translating metrics into stories that secure ongoing investment and executive sponsorship.