Jennifer Steinke, director of travel, meetings and fleet for Moderna, was named the 2026 Travel Manager of the Year by Business Travel News. The recognition was announced during an award reception in Chicago as GBTA’s annual convention came to a close. Steinke also leads the Travel Buyer Think Tank for Business Travel Executive
Steinke, who received five nominations in the lead-up to the final announcement, has leaned hard into artificial intelligence for the Moderna travel program, according to an announcement. She has created within Moderna’s internal enterprise AI platforms a large language model interface, behind which sits an AI-first booking tool partner BizTrip.ai, an AI-first data system Cerebri.ai and midsize TMC Cain Travel to serve as a fulfillment partner
Travelers initiate bookingsompany policy and are personalized on dynamic profiles that live in the BizTrip.ai booking tool. Steinke uses internal benchmarking at the point of sale to provide an instant gut check — and sometimes an alert — to travelers about trip costs and how they compare for similar bookings made by Moderna travelers
Critically, said the announcement, the traveler profiles include not only their loyalty numbers with hotel and airline suppliers, but also their loyalty status levels, which have become the linchpin of Steinke’s value strategy. She calls it the Policy of One, and the platform she has created is Travel and Meetings Intelligence — or TAMI
Based on a traveler’s loyalty status, said the announcement, Steinke has created a model for understanding total trip cost and total itinerary value by creating a matrix of policy-permitted booking permutations and bumping that up against the traveler’s loyalty status to understand elements like how lounge access can offset meals, how loyalty might offset extra legroom charges and also allow for the probability of getting an upgrade. The impact of status on baggage fees is accounted for in that matrix and, ultimately, the ability to negotiate and display special amenities and promotions at the point of sale regardless of loyalty status is also baked into the tool.
