Shelley Hunter

Founder, Gift Card Reform

Shelley Hunter, formerly Gift Card Girlfriend, now leads GiftCardReform.com. As a dedicated consumer advocate, she collaborates with retailers, gift card issuers, and legislators, striving to restore gift cards to their intended purpose as user-friendly, secure, and reliable gifts.

Ruwani Hewa

Product & Propositions Director

Ruwai Hewa is an experienced payments and loyalty professional, who has created customer-centric solutions for over 16 years within tech, product, and propositions teams. She has been successfully delivering large and complex solutions globally, recently with EML/Nuapay and previously with Amadeus Payments, Collinson, Barclaycard and American Express.

Georgiana Hera

Product Owner

As a Product Owner of the anti-fraud solution, Protectmaxx, Georgiana Hera is critical in translating business and market needs into a clear product vision. She leads her team to embody this vision, serving as a thought leader for the company’s products. Georgiana is also an accomplished Senior Software Developer with a proven track record of delivering projects on time. Her contributions are pivotal in the company’s quest to become a leading revenue boosting platform.

Michael Smith

Co-Founder

Before becoming a Managing Partner and Board Advisor to Airline Information, Michael worked in Loyalty at British Airways as Board Director of British Airways Global Financial Services Limited. His responsibilities at BA also included managing its co-branded credit cards and developing mileage sales with partners, such as American Express, GE Insurance, Avis, and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. He was among the first airline executives to include ancillary services in the airline’s booking flow. At BA, he also developed strong knowledge about loyalty program fraud.

Prior to joining BA, Michael was the Marketing and Administration Director for the Financial Services Division of Great Universal Stores plc – at the time, the UK’s largest mail-order company.

Michael is one of the co-founders of the Loyalty Security Association.

Chris Staab

Co-Founder, President

Chris began his career in the airline industry as a Tariff Analyst at ATPCO in Washington D.C. and later worked as an Aviation Analyst at the U.S. Department of Transportation and as Manager of Revenue Management at Amtrak. Prior to co-founding Airline Information, Chris worked as a Business Development Manager at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in both Miami and Geneva, Switzerland. Through his work at Airline Information, he has gained a passion for fighting fraud in the Airline & Travel Industry, encouraging him to be a Co-Founder of the Loyalty Security Alliance.

Hadie Perkas

Founder, The Gift Club

Hadie is a community builder who is happiest when she brings two companies or parties together to do business. She built The Gift Club three years ago, a marketing and events business and a solution for companies wanting more national and international brand awareness and exposure in the gift cards and loyalty industries.

She also co-founded The BIG Handshake in 2022, a flagship in-person event that delivers networking and learning events for anyone associated with gift cards, incentives, and loyalty across the world! Most recently, in October 2023, she also co-founded the European Loyalty Association (ELA). An exclusive membership association for loyalty practitioners from brands and retailers in Europe.

Hadie was recognized in 2021 for her contribution to the industry and won the very first Women in Incentives Award (WIIN) at the Incentive Awards in London.