Speakers

Lauren Anderson has played an instrumental role in building collaborative consumption into a global economy and movement over the last four years.  Over this time, she has developed Collaborativeconsumption.com to become the leading source of news, resources and examples about the space globally, and built a curator network covering news and...

Aya Aso, CPA, is the President & CEO, of Agora Hospitalities Co. Ltd, and Representative Director & CEO of Agora Hospitality Group Co. Ltd.  She manages Agora’s hotel portfolios, which are steadily increasing, such as two boutique resort hotels and an authentic Japanese Ryokan in Nagano Prefecture, a new style comfort hotel in Asakusa...

Bill Barnett is the Founder and Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks.  C9 is a leading hospitality, tourism and property advisory firm in Asia Pacific who work directly with developers, investors, financial institutions and hotel operators.  Their core business focus includes feasibility studies, asset management, operator selection and...

Kathrin Bhalla started her career in Asia Pacific with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where she held various revenue management positions in both the corporate office, as well as on property level as Director of Revenue Management at the St. Regis Singapore.  In her last role at Starwood, she was responsible for revenue management training, the...

Vivek Bhalla is Co-Founder & Managing Director of CASAM Hospitality, an asset management and consulting firm, providing customised solutions to maximise the long-term value of hospitality assets.  The company leadership has over 30 years of experience with top global hotel chains (Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Starwood) across 20 markets in...

Dr. Nay Zaw Aung @ Eugene is the Owner and Managing Director of Clover Hotels Group. Established in 2011, the group now has 3 properties; Clover Hotel, Clover Hotel City Center and Clover Hotel City Center Plus with the total room inventory of 206; all operating in Yangon, Myanmar.“Clover Hotel” is the very first property opened in June 2011. It...

Ted Fang is the founder of Tera Capital, a private investment firm that invests in hospitality related businesses in Asia Pacific. He co-founded Frontier Group, which acquired the Days Inn master franchise for Greater China in 2003. Together with his brothers, they successfully built Days Inn China the fastest growing and largest mid-market hotel...

Andreas Flaig is responsible for driving development strategies in growing Carlson Rezidor’s hotel portfolio in Asia Pacific across all brands – Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu®, Radisson®, Radisson Red, Park Plaza®, Park Inn® by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM.  He oversees the regional teams based in...

Vinay Gupta has over 20 years of experience in hotel operations and management.  Prior to joining SAMHI as Vice President – Asset Management, he has worked in England, Middle East, Australia and India with companies such as Accor, Hilton, Mirvac and Rydges Hotels & Resorts.  Vinay managed upper upscale resorts in Australia as General Manager ...

Edward Hananto is currently a Director-General on Hotel Fiducia, started as a small 40-rooms budget hotel in Central Jakarta, Hotel Fiducia has grown to 7 branches with total of over 500 rooms and more planned in the near future. True to its conception Hotel Fiducia was established to present a reliable and comfortable hotel in the budget...

Ms Heng Li Lang is the Director (Hotels) at the Singapore Tourism Board (“STB”), and a Board Member of the Singapore’s Hotels Licensing Board.    Prior to joining STB in April 2013, Li Lang held various senior appointments with the Media Development Authority of Singapore (“MDA”).  In her role as the Director of Capability Development and Media...

Bobby Hiranandani joined Royal Group in 2009 from graduation in building and construction.  He has done over ten projects in five years, including two boutique hotels in Chinatown, 35 Robinson Road – Sofitel So Singapore, KL Development, InterContinental Double Bay Sydney and two building offices.  Royal Group has a portfolio spanning through...

Irene Janti is Director of Tauzia Hotel Management and in charge of the POP! Hotels brand.  POP! Hotels is a brand of Tauzia Hotel Management for smart and eco-friendly travellers in budget segment.  She has successfully managed POP! Hotels network across Indonesia from the beginning in 2010.   Within only a few years, POP! Hotels has been...

TAJARA is the leading hospitality consulting and development company specializing in hotel, leisure and tourism developments in the Philippines.  Its in-depth knowledge and experience in mainstream and emerging destinations guide owners and investors in making informed decisions, including local intelligence to facilitate the projects’ development ...

Managing Director and Head of Real Estate §He plays an integral role in originating, structuring and executing debt and equity transactions with country and coverage bankers, and product teams globally §Since joining CIMB in 2011, he has been involved in the following landmark transactions: §Pavilion REIT US$221.9m or RM710.3m IPO in...

Mr. Zhou Jun is currently General Manager – Loha Suites of Super Hotel Co. Ltd.  After graduating from university, he worked at Nikko Shanghai, then InterContinental Hotels and followed by Sold Villa Resort Hotel 3.  Mr. Zhou spent the last 5 years in the Japan franchise of a family mart, managed two budget hotels in Superhotel from July 2013...

Venessa Koo first joined Accor Asia’s regional head office in Bangkok from 1996 to 2000 as Development Manager.  Prior to rejoining Accor in 2007 as General Manager, Development – Asia, she worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Hospitality & Leisure team in Singapore as Associate Director and later formed her own consulting...

Lawrence Lee is Regional Director, Development for IHG in Asia.  Currently based in Singapore, Lawrence has a strong focus on Southeast Asia, Korea and Maldives.  Lawrence has been with IHG for nine years.  Initially based in Shanghai, Lawrence started his career at IHG in development, covering North Asia.  He then moved to Hong Kong to take up...

Mr. Lien is a member of the investment committee and participates in acquisition, value enhancement and realization activities at RECAP with a special focus on Hospitality related investment opportunities throughout the region.  Prior to joining RECAP, Ian co-founded Octagon Capital Partners 2003 as an Asia Pacific focused hotel investment and...

  Robert McIntosh is the Executive Director, responsible for CBRE Hotels in Asia Pacific.  Based in Singapore, he has over 30 years of property experience, 20 of which are in hotels.  The division services the hotels and leisure industry, including resorts, golf courses, casinos, theme parks, pubs, hotels and motels.   Robert’s experience...

Peter Meyer is the Managing Director, Asia Pacific of Host Hotels & Resorts.  Based in the region for nearly 25 years, he is responsible for the overall management and origination of Host’s investments and business activities across Asia Pacific.   Under Peter, Host’s investment strategy is to build a portfolio in key gateway cities...

P.K. Mohankumar has been Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Roots Corporation Limited and drives the overall operations of Ginger Hotels across India.  Prior to taking on his current role, Mohankumar served as Chief Operating Officer of The Gateway Hotels & Resorts.  He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table ...

Mr. Bruce Musick is a 33-year veteran of the US, European and Asian hospitality and retail industries.  He has developed, operated and managed various hospitality businesses in Asia for the past 19 years.  Mr. Musick has worked in all areas of the industry, including manufacturing, distribution, operations and investment.  He has served in...

Jesper Palmqvist is based in Singapore as the current Area Director – Asia Pacific for STR Global, leading the regional team in sales, strategy and development for the region.  He has 20 years of experience in both supplier and aggregator sides in hospitality, online travel and IT through various verticals in regional European IT start-ups and...

Singaporean, Victor Pang joined Accor at the Novotel, Singapore.  He subsequently moved to Thailand, where he held several operational positions with Accor hotels and thereafter, appointed a regional role as Marketing Manager, Asia.  Victor returned to operations in 1994, assuming General Manager Positions in various Accor hotels throughout...

Michael Parsons is the Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Relationships for Accor in the Asia Pacific region.  He brings a wealth of brand marketing and hospitality experience, having worked for the Accor Group over the last 15 years in Australia, Thailand and now, Singapore.  Michael is passionate about travel, culture and driving...

Julius Ruslan is Chief Vision Officer at Milestone Pacific Group, Chairman and “Inspiration at Large”, Curator and more than anything else, also wants to be known as a “living brand”.  This means that living and breathing the philosophy as a visionary, and providing much of the motivation behind the Milestone Pacific Group.  Julius’ interests in ...

Tony Ryan has almost 30 years of experience providing commercial and legal services to the real estate and hotel and tourism industries across the Asia Pacific region.  He provides strategic and practical advice, assisting clients to grow their local and international businesses through both corporate and asset acquisitions.  Ryan Lawyers was...

Mr. Previndran Singhe is the CEO of Zerin Properties, a Malaysian-based real estate agency with international offices in Singapore, London and India.  He has been in the business for more than 20 years, with the past 12 years in Zerin Properties, which he formed in 14 January 2002.   Previn is highly involved in the corporate real estate...

Dr. Kurt Stahura is the Assistant Dean of UNLV Singapore, branch campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).  He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A.) and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with high honors (Phi Kappa Phi).  He previously...

Marc Steinmeyer, Founder & President Director of Tauzia Hotel Management, established in 2001 and has since 2002, pioneered hotel concepts in Indonesia such as Harris Hotels – A lifestyle and trendy midscale hotel; Preference Hotels – A label for a collection of exceptional charm hotels; POP! Hotels – A budget hotel for smart &...

James Stuart co-founded The Brand Company in 2002 and since then, has worked with hospitality clients across Asia, Europe, Russia and East Africa.  The company helps create outperforming businesses by aligning organisational and guest experiences with the brand focus.  Notable clients have included The Upper House, The Opposite...

David Sun has served as a Director & CEO of Home Inns since December 2004.  David has over ten years of experience in the consumer industry where under his leadership, Home Inns Hotel Group became the No. 1 economy hotel chain in China with over 2,200 hotels covering over 280 cities.  In October 2006, David led Home Inns to be successfully...

Mr. Tan Kim Seng is currently Managing Director of the Asia Pacific Region for IFH Worldwide, a global training and quality performance benchmarking service provider for the international hospitality industry.    A graduate of the prestigious Cornell University School of Hotel Management, Mr. Tan’s 30-year track record in hospitality and...

Mr. Dennis Tan has been involved in various businesses during his working life.  In 1988, he represented a group of investors in taking over “The Prince” Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, and upgraded it from a 3-star to a 4-star hotel, the “Park Avenue” Hotel, which was then sold to the Melia Group.  This turnaround and upgrade made RM 40 million in profits ...

Clarence Tan has been appointed IHG’s Chief Operating Officer for Southeast Asia & Resorts since May 2013, responsible for the growth of hotels, talent strategy, brand health, as well as growing InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) resorts portfolio in Southeast Asia after a successful stint in Japan.  This is Clarence's 9th year in IHG.  ...

Mr. Tan Chong Huat is a Managing Partner and one of the founding members of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing LLP.  He is Head of the firm's Banking, Finance & Capital Markets Practice.  He also serves as a Member of the International Management Board of Taylor Wessing. Chong Huat has extensive experience in corporate, banking and project finance...

In 2004, Mr. Prab Thakral founded Thailand-based Thakral Land Ltd and its related companies, the Boutique Group of Companies, where he is currently the Group CEO and a major shareholder.  After initiating his first serviced apartment development, Mr. Thakral spearheaded the rapid development of mid-market hospitality properties in Thailand that...

With a career spanning over 25 years within the hospitality industry, Harry Thaliwal’s extensive experience has taken him to nine different countries in a variety of operational and senior leadership roles.   After an initial grounding in a renowned Swiss Hospitality School, Harry’s career started with the Pan Pacific Group in hotel...

Mr. Martono currently holds the position of the Managing Director of KAGUM Hotels, a professional hotel/hospitality management company maintaining and organizing a collection of more than 30 establishments spread across Indonesia, with more establishments on the foreseeable future. a professional hotel/hospitality management company...

Erik van Keulen is Senior Vice President Development, Asia Pacific with Whitbread Asia Pacific and is responsible for the roll-out of Premier Inn across Asia. Premier Inn is UK’s largest economy hotel chain with over 600 locations offering quality accommodation at affordable prices. Premier Inn operates and owns economy hotels across the UK...

A native of Austria, Norbert Vas has more than 25 years of hotel industry experience in Indonesia, USA, Germany, Belgium and Spain.  Norbert, who also has worked several years for Ian Schraeger Hotels in New York City and Shangri-La, Mandarin Oriental, Swiss-Belhotel International and the InterContinental Hotels Group in Asia Pacific, was...

Mr. Eric Haibing Wu has extensive experience in corporate finance, governance and management. He currently serves as chief financial officer and executive director of Plateno Hotels Group (the parent company which owns along with the Carlyle Group and Sequoia, 7Days Inn, the largest economy hotel brand  in China）. Prior to that position, from May...