Antonio “Tony” Gutierrez Is All Business

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Chase started making headlines after officially launching Chase Travel Group last year, a leisure and corporate travel provider backed by the sheer size of its parent organization, JPMorganChase. But in addition to its financial muscle, the company sought out talent in the travel space, like Antonio “Tony” Gutierrez, general counsel for Chase Travel Group, to help the company find its legs.

When we last spoke with Gutierrez, the business and legal leader was heading up chief business affairs and GC roles at First in Service Travel. The entrepreneurial GC was with the company for seven years and helped build it into the global brand it is today. 

At first, Chase being in the travel space wasn’t on his radar. Then, during the pandemic and post-pandemic environment, several travel agencies shut down and others merged. FROSCH completed a high-profile acquisition of Valerie Wilson Travel, and Chase subsequently acquired FROSCH. Suddenly, Chase was a major player in travel.

“After learning about the Chase acquisition, I was excited about the prospect of joining another organization at the ground level and contributing to its growth,” Gutierrez says. “What stood out to me about Chase Travel Group was its growth mindset, with a strong focus on innovation and creative solutions. While it operates within JPMorganChase, it has a startup mentality.” 

“Fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and dynamic environments align with my skill set and are exactly where I thrive,” he continues. “There’s nothing like rolling up my sleeves, jumping in the trenches, and building something from scratch.”

Gutierrez explains he was equally excited about the opportunity to be a part of a company disrupting the travel industry by launching its own booking platform and rapidly gaining market share, especially amongst Chase’s credit card customers. Being at the intersection of credit cards and travel loyalty programs was a first for the GC, but he looked forward to the challenge.

“Being business-focused and being a good lawyer aren’t mutually exclusive. Part of my life’s work is to spread the gospel about what great in-house counsel can deliver. We’re not all the way there yet, but we’re on the journey.”

Antonio “Tony” Gutierrez

After multiple interviews, Gutierrez came aboard and quickly made an impact. Chase has singled out his legal team as especially valuable because of its business-first mindset. The team is finding ways to actively enable business.

“I’m sharing this not to highlight my own role, but to acknowledge the incredible work my team has accomplished,” the GC explains. “When I first joined, I encouraged my team to immerse themselves in the business. Given the limited number of lawyers with travel industry expertise, it was important for my team to understand how they could add value. They needed to grasp how we generate revenue, the challenges the industry faces, and the intricacies of how it operates.”

Gutierrez says a regular sticking point at any organization he’s been part of comes down to the rest of the business seeing the legal team as a cost center. Gutierrez has tried to deliver a different experience. The leader says he never wants his people to “overlawyer.” Rather, he wants them to provide practical and actionable advice for the rest of the business.

Gutierrez’s approach seems to be working wonders for Chase Travel Group. With new product launches like the luxury lodging program “The Edit by Chase Travel,” Chase Sapphire Reserve Travel Designers, and Chase Travel’s All-Access Trips, the company has been on a roll, improving its business and shaking up the industry at every turn.

Gutierrez and his global team have been instrumental in executing these programs. With a talented multilingual team across multiple countries and a deep bench of specialized outside counsel, Chase Travel Group Legal has propelled the business forward, helping it become a headline-maker as it climbs to a top spot as one of the largest leisure travel providers in the US.

“I’m relentless about hammering home the importance of being business-minded to my team,” Gutierrez says, laughing. “You have to understand and be sensitive to the business goals. Our job is to manage risk, but we also can’t inhibit progress.”

Progress comes in many forms. Outside of his role, Gutierrez has been an active member of the Hispanic National Bar Association’s PODER25 program. The program was developed to help increase the number of Hispanic general counsel in Fortune 500 companies.

“It’s important for me to give back and help the next generation of talent,” Gutierrez says.  As a father of two daughters, he is determined to help build a world where opportunities aren’t defined by gender or privilege.

At Chase Travel Group, Gutierrez says he will continue to not just help push the legal function forward but continue to be an ambassador for in-house counsel. The GC says GCs have to earn the right to be a trusted advisor but that it’s worth the investment.

“Being business-focused and being a good lawyer aren’t mutually exclusive,” the GC says. “Part of my life’s work is to spread the gospel about what great in-house counsel can deliver. We’re not all the way there yet, but we’re on the journey.”

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