We are pleased to introduce Frédéric Frère, Founder and Group Leader of Embrace Group, a Portugal-based organisation operating across travel, events, branding, and technology.
Through brands including Travelstore American Express GBT, Meetique, Lab, Emotionstore, Mundiconvenius, Allways, BMS and Around Vector, Embrace supports organisations and individuals in designing and delivering meaningful journeys, whether for business, strategic gatherings or personal exploration.
In this conversation, Frédéric shares his perspective on entrepreneurship, the evolving expectations of clients, and how integrated experience design is shaping the future of the industry
Can you briefly share your entrepreneurial journey and how Embrace Group has evolved from its origins in travel management into a broader, multi-disciplinary platform?
My journey started in corporate travel, a sector where precision, trust, and long-term relationships are essential. Over time, it became clear that travel was only one part of a broader equation: organisations increasingly needed support in how they connect, engage, and create meaningful experiences.
This led to the gradual evolution of Embrace into a more integrated group, combining travel, events, luxury experiences, branding, and technology. Rather than diversifying for the sake of scale, we expanded to better respond to client needs. Today, Embrace is less about just “managing travel” and more about designing interactions that create impact.
2. Embrace today combines corporate travel, events, luxury experiences, branding and technology. What is the vision behind this integrated model?
The vision is built on a strong conviction: in an increasingly complex environment, only true specialists are able to create meaningful value for their clients.
This is why, over time, we have structured Embrace into distinct brands and business units, each focused on a specific field, whether corporate travel, events, luxury experiences, branding, or technology. This level of focus allows each team to develop deep expertise, while maintaining a clear positioning in the market.
At the same time, clients do not think in silos. They expect coherence across all touchpoints. Our role is therefore to combine specialisation with integration to orchestrate these expertises into a seamless and consistent experience.
There is also a broader shift at play. As technology and automation become more present, the human dimension becomes more, not less, important. Clients increasingly value insight, judgement, creativity, and genuine understanding, things that cannot be commoditised.
Our model reflects this balance: specialised expertise, enhanced by technology, but always guided by human intelligence and relationships.
3. Client expectations have evolved significantly in recent years. What do organisations and travellers value most today, and how has Embrace adapted?
Expectations have shifted from efficiency alone to a combination of relevance, personalisation and meaning. Clients want experiences that reflect their identity, support their objectives and deliver measurable impact.
At the same time, there is a growing demand for simplicity in an increasingly complex world. This applies both to corporate clients and high-end leisure travellers.
At Embrace, we have adapted by focusing on deeper understanding of the client’s strategy, culture, and audience. This allows us to move from execution to advisory. Whether in travel, events, or communication, the goal is to design experiences that resonate, rather than simply deliver services.
4. With the addition of branding (BMS) and technology (Around Vector), how important is the combination of experience, content and innovation in your approach?
It is absolutely central. Experience alone is no longer enough as it needs to be supported by strong content and enhanced by technology.
Branding ensures that experiences are aligned with a clear narrative and identity. Technology, on the other hand, allows us to improve efficiency, personalise at scale and generate insights.
The combination of the three creates a much stronger proposition: experiences that are not only well executed, but also meaningful, measurable, and consistent. This is where we believe the industry is heading and it is a key driver behind the evolution of Embrace.
5. Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for Embrace Group and how do you see the future of the travel and experience economy?
Our ambition is to continue strengthening Embrace as an integrated platform, capable of supporting clients across multiple dimensions of their journey, from strategy to execution.
We will continue to invest in innovation, particularly in areas such as AI and process optimisation, while maintaining a strong human-centric approach.
More broadly, I believe the travel and experience economy will become increasingly intentional. It will be less about volume and more about value, how experiences contribute to business objectives, personal enrichment or meaningful connection.
In that context, our role is to help clients navigate complexity and design experiences that truly matter.
Frédéric Frère
Co-Founder & Group Leader at Embrace