A graduate from the Delhi University, Mr. Koul completed a 3 years Diploma in Hotel Management from the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa in 1981. He started his career as a Management Trainee with Jaypee Group at their hotels in New Delhi, and subsequently worked with the Hotel Corporation of India, Indotels Hotels Management Services Private Limited, and Tourism Finance Corporation of India (TFCI) in 1990 where he was responsible for appraising more than 200 hotel projects. In 1996 he created a specialized Tourism Consultancy Organisation providing need-based service to new entrants in the hospitality trade under the banner Naaz Hotel Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

Anil Sharma graduated from IIT Roorkee in the year 1982 and started his career with Bharadwaj & Associates in the year 1982 and worked with them till 1984. Thereafter, he joined Kabil Associates—a USA based firm and worked with them until 1989. He worked with them on various prestigious projects namely USIS Calcutta, US Chancery Burma, US Consulate & Consular Residence in Lahore. In addition he also worked in the US office of Kabil Associates for 6 months. In the year 1989 he started his own practice of Architecture by the name of ASA (Anil Sharma Associates). His first project in Pune was later on branded as Holiday Inn Pune. It was also awarded "The Best New Hotel of the Year in Asia Pacific Region" by Holiday Inn worldwide. Since then ASA has been involved in various reputed Hotel projects all over India and has designed two projects in Kazakhstan.

Prem Thakur is Director Design & Project Management – Global Design Asia Pacific- Marriott International, handling various Projects across South Asia. He has over two decades of experience in Project Design & Management, engineering operations, architectural and engineering consulting services.
He has designed and built many hotels from Luxury brands to budget hotels. And also has extensive experience of managing engineering operations of complex properties like Renaissance Mumbai, Grand Hyatt Mumbai, and Oberoi Mumbai.
A Member of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors MRICS and an Accredited Professional of IGBC & ISHRAE Mumbai.

A post graduate in Business Administration, Dhruva Rathore has been in the hospitality industry for over twenty years. He started his career as a Sales & Marketing management trainee with Indian Hotels Company Limited followed by a stint with ITC Hotels Limited. He subsequently occupied leadership positions in Sales & Marketing at Parkroyal New Delhi and with Indian Hotels Company Limited in New Delhi. He joined Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in February 2005 to set up the sales organisation in India, moved to the Development function in 2008 and is currently Vice President – Development responsible for the Indian subcontinent.

Raj Rana is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, South Asia. Raj started his hotel career in India and went overseas in 1991. After working in various senior executive positions in Europe and U.S.A, Raj returned full circle to India in April of this year. Previously Raj was head of Radisson Franchised Operations, for Carlson based at the company’s world headquarters in Minneapolis. His broad spectrum experience includes brand growth and expansion, opening hotels, managing brand conversions and ensuring profitable business operations. Raj did his Hotel Management from Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi and MBA from New York.

Sanjay Dhingra graduated from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi in the year 1990. He started his career with Architect Sudhir Vohra and worked with him as an ARCHITECT till March 1994 and as an ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT till December 1996, on a wide range and scale of projects with varied degree of involvement. Nature of projects of having been associated with, included various outlets of NIRULA’S chain of Restaurants and other Restaurants’ Interiors; Building and Interior Design of a 40 room Hotel; Bank Branch and Departmental Store Interiors; Residential and Commercial Building Designs; Conceptual Proposal of a Highway Resort; Plotted Residential Estate for senior executives; Industrial Kitchen Planning and Equipment Design; Property Evaluation and Cost Estimation assignments. He was also involved with the Interiors’ of Littlewoods departmental stores in Bangalore and Hyderabad. In the year 1997, he started his own practice of Architecture/ Interior Design/ Project Management by the name M/s SDC (Sanjay Dhingra Consultants). From 1997 till 2000, he had rendered Interior Design Consultancy and Project Management & Site Coordination Services for Domino’s & McDonald’s outlets across India. High point of his career includes Refurbishment of Public areas at Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road, New Delhi for providing Interior Coordination Assistance in the year 2000. He had also rendered Interior Design Consultancy services for Barista Bars at Chennai and Bangalore in the year 2001.

After graduating from Institute of Hotel Management, Bhopal in 1994, he joined the renowned Ambassador Group of hotels as a Trainee Management Chef and gradually he was became the head of the Sky Chef division as Master Chef. Later on he moved to Suman Motels into Corporate Planning and was instrumental in the opening of resorts and motels. After a successful tenure in hotels, Rajat joined a consulting firm specialising in food service design. He promoted HPG consulting in 1999, and today it's a well-known Consulting Company specialising in food service design, laundry design and facility planning for hospitality projects. HPG Consulting has already associated with projects for international brands like Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Accor, Starwood, Langham Hotels, Dusit International, Millennium Group, Taj Hotels, besides the local hotel groups in India.

Born to design, A Man of distinctive taste and few words, he is David Tokiwa. The founder/owner of one of the leading international design firms, DBTA International Pte Ltd is a third-generation Japanese-Canadian descent. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design from Ryerson University in Canada, he is also a certified music lover having earned a Certification from the Conservatory of Music in Canada. He creates designs like a rhythm that comes from vivid visualization of the space coupled with passion to create timeless pieces of “habitable works of art”. DBTA International is a Singapore-based design firm established in 1995. Since our inception, DBTA has been fortunate to be associated with the big players in the industry such as Starwood Hotels Group, InterContinental Hotels Group, Carlson Rezidor, Taj Hotels, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Resorts World At Sentosa Pte Ltd, DYP Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Duet India Hotels Pvt Ltd, Mandara Spa, Capitaland to name a few, spanning Middle East, India, Central Asia and Asia Pacific region.

Ajay Bakaya is the Executive Director of Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. He oversees the operations and development of the group with over 75 hotels across 50 destinations in India and Africa. Ajay is a 1980 graduate of The Oberoi School and holds a postgraduate degree from Cornell-Essec, France. He brings with him a stellar 36 years of international hotel experience includes assignments in Africa, Australia, France, India and the UK. Some previous assignments he worked on are as General Manager with Oberoi Hotels, Director - Rooms at Australia's largest hotel, the 650 room Four Points by Sheraton, Sydney and also as the AGM at The Sheraton on the Park, Sydney, a 600 room deluxe hotel, part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection. Ajay is a keen mountaineer and a half marathon runner. He has been the highest fundraiser for the Delhi half marathon for several years. He was also awarded the “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India.

Mr. Vilas Pawar joined Choice Hospitality India as Chief Executive Officer in January 2006. He is responsible for developingand managing the operations of the company in the Indian region for Choice Hotel International. Choice Hotels India is wholly owned subsidiary of Choice Hotels International, one of the largest and most widespread lodging franchisor of the world with over 6500 hotels worldwide. CHI currently operates 25 hotels in important business and leisure cities across India and has over 14 properties in the pipeline. Choice Hotels Indiawould tap the potential in the mid market segment;will increase room capacity to 3500 from current 2000 rooms. Vilas Pawar graduated from the Institute of Hotel Management-Mumbai. He has a rich hospitality experience for over 25 years, for setting up, operating and managing hospitality organizations. He worked with the Taj Group of Hotels, Hyatt and Carlson.

Spent Childhood and grew in Shimla. Schooling from St. Edwards School and then Economics Honours from S.R.C.C, Delhi University. Joined Oberoi Hotels as management Trainee in 1973 and became General Manager of Oberoi Palace Hotel, Srinagar in 1980. Till 2011 grew in the Industry and worked with Global and Multinational Hotel Organizations. Notable were stints as CEO of BASS Group ( now IHG ) for South and West Asia and finally as President of ITC WelcomHeritage Hotels, where I pioneered the Heritage Tourism movement in India before retirement in 2011. Am now Director and Principal Advisor of ZINC Hospitality, CrossRoads Hotels and Speciality Restaurants Limited. Am also on Governing Bodies of Hotel Management Institute Pusa, PATA India Chapter, Heritage Hotels Association, and Founder V.P. of The Eco Tourism Society of India. Am Honourary President of Save The Children India and The Reynoo Mathur Charitable Foundation. Both are focussed on Education and Health. Recipient of The Karamveer Patra from ICONGO for pioneering the Code of Conduct for Safe and Honourable Tourism, officially endorsed by UNODC and adopted by the Ministry of Tourism.

With over 34 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Rattan Keswani is the Deputy Managing Director of Lemon Tree Group. He is also the Chairman of Carnation Hotels Pvt. Ltd. (A joint venture between Lemon Tree Hotels and Rattan Keswani). Prior to joining Lemon Tree Hotels, he was associated with Trident Hotels (part of The Oberoi Group) as President from April 2008 till April 2012. Rattan was responsible for ten Trident Hotels in India. In addition, he oversaw Maidens Hotel, Delhi and Clarkes Hotel, Shimla. He has worked across various Oberoi Hotels & Resorts in India and overseas. An alumnus of the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development, Rattan started his career with The Oberoi Mumbai in 1983, as the Assistant Front Office Manager. Apart from a brief tenure with Holiday Inns Worldwide, Mr. Keswani had two tenures with The Oberoi Group, the last till the middle of April 2012. Rattan holds a Bachelors Degree in Commerce. Married with two children – a son and a daughter, Rattan is an avid reader and enjoys travel, movies, and sports – with tennis and cricket being his keen interests.

Mr. G. Yoganand is the Chairman & Managing Director, Manjeera Group, Hyderabad, who believes in corporate culture of delivering value to the customer. He is a first generation Techno-preneur with rich experience in the real estate sector for more than 3 decades. Manjeera Group has developed over 10 million Sq.ft. of commercial and residential spaces in Hyderabad, South India. Transparency in the transactions, high quality standards and timely delivery are the group’s strong points of differentiation. Hotel Aditya Park, categorized under Three Star Category, has 103 well-furnished Rooms, and was awarded as “National Energy Conversation Award” in the year 2006 and “The Best Hotel Award” in the year 2013. Hotel AdityaHometel, categorized under Three Star Category, has 92 well-furnished Rooms. Radisson Hi-tech City, categorized under Five Star Category, has 202 well-furnished Rooms. Mr. Yoganand was awarded recently as the Best Engineer of the Year by the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India), Hyderabad for his significant contribution to the Civil Engineering Industry and Civil Engineering Fraternity.

Working with Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces as Corporate Director- Technical Services and Interiors. Crafting immersive customer/guest experiences through the creation and orchestration of the brand touch-points. Excel at taking over and turning around some of the conversion projects into design lead hotels. Prior to Taj was leading design for Starwood Hotels and resorts. She was instrumental in channelizing ultra-Luxury brands like St Regis, W Hotel and upper-scale brand like Aloft & Four Points by Sheraton in Indian market. With creative passion and progressive experience have proven track record of “designing many award winning hotels”. While traveling She likes to explore emerging trends which are basis of my design inspiration.

Pradeep Sachdeva is the principal architect of Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, a multi-disciplinary design studio based in New Delhi that specialises in designing public spaces, streets and hotels. His major projects include the Dilli Haats at INA market and Pitampura in Delhi, the Garden of Five Senses in Delhi, and the Godavari Riverfront Development at Nanded. He has been instrumental in promoting the concept of streetscaping in the country and has designed streets in various parts of Delhi and in Nanded, Maharashtra. He has also designed award winning properties for India’s major hotel companies all over India.

Mandar holds Bachelor’s Degree from Dr. D. Y. Patil College of Architecture (Mumbai University). During his initial training period with Team One Architects Team he had the opportunity to work under eminent planner Ar. Bharat Yamsanwar which gave him stable platform to implement my talent as an individual. Later Mandar joined Charles Correa & Associates, under Mt. Charles guidance Mandar started handling High profile national and international projects like the Ismaili centre (Toronto, CANADA) right from the Conceptual level to the execution stage, the MIT BCSC (Medical Institutional Building at Boston) and the Cancer research center in Lisbon among many other projects. Mandar’s interest in Hospitality industry brought him to Marriott Group where he has been working for past 8 years as Director for Design & Project management for the Marriott & the Ritz Carlton hotels and have been instrumental in opening 21 hotels and working on another 25 hotel projects.

A day dreamer, Himmat left the corporate world in 2007 when he was Chief Operating Officer- India & South Asia - Kuoni Destination Management. He then pursued his decades old dream to create a hospitality brand which took inspiration from the earth; used local resources to build and delivered ultimate experiences to the guests. The two brands - Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels and Tree Leaf Hospitality operate in Jaipur, Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, Marari Beach (Kerala), Udaipur and Varanasi. Agra, along with two other properties are under development. A hotel management graduate, he started his career in 1978, with the Taj Group of Hotels and then moved to tourism in 1981, with most of his career with SITA / Kuoni Travel, which included postings in Frankfurt, London and Paris for a decade.

He is the man who recreated the luxurious living experience of America's Beverly Hillswith the famous Aamby Valley project in India. With over 15 years of experience in Architecture and Design, Bobby strongly believes in bringing an International standard to his architecture and design right here in India. In keeping himself abreast with global trends in design, Bobby has set new Industry benchmarks.Bobby Mukherji & Associates (BMA), an internationally acclaimed architectural and design consultancy, was set up in 1993.With added expertise in lighting and landscape design, BMA also specializes in architecture and interior designing of airlines & airline infrastructure, 5-star hotels, resorts, recreational clubs & facilities, large urban developments and townships, educational institutes, retail, commercial and residential properties, etc. What began as a mere Rs. 1 crore consulting firm now has a turnover of Rs. 6,500 crores; catering to all Architectural, Interior, Lighting, Landscaping and Urban Planning requirements.

Uttam Davé is a renowned real estate and hospitality industry expert, currently pursuing a variety of entrepreneurial interests under the flagship Atmanya Projects LLP. He is widely recognised for his pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit, and for a track record of growing the most successful venture in any chosen field. He commands a comprehensive understanding of all facets of the real estate and hospitality business. Uttam is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – an international mark of distinction from a global organisation with invited members who represent best practices and everything professional and ethical in land, property and construction. Between 2004 and 2013, Uttam was President & CEO of InterGlobe Hotels, a joint venture between InterGlobe Enterprises and Accor for the development of Ibis brand hotels in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. From 2004-2011, he was also concurrently Head of Development for Accor Hotels in this region. During the period 2004-2013, Uttam, from being Founder-First Employee, incubated and led a series of ventures in the hotel development space, leading to a total asset value of all the ventures of approximately US$ 1BN; total invested hotel rooms at 7000; and total equity committed ~ US$ 325MN. In addition, 5000 hotel rooms were developed under third-party ownership.

Mr. Lajpat Rai is the founder of Lotus Trans Travel Pvt. Ltd. which was started in 1983. After graduating in Economics from Delhi University, he did specialised in Japanese Language & Literature from Department of Chinese & Japanese Studies (Delhi University). His expertise lies in Japanese and Far-Eastern Tourism. He has also diversified into the hospitality industry by creating much needed international standard hotels infrastructure in the Buddhists pilgrimage sites of India. The company has already established hotels by the name of Lotus Nikko Hotels in Bodhgaya, Kushinagar, Sravasti & Delhi and is in the process of starting its Gorakhpur & Sanchi project. They are oprating Japanese & Chinese Restaurants by the name of Lotus Garden Restaurant in Delhi. He has also taken lead to start outbound tours to Japan from India.

Mr. Kunal Chaudhari is a Director at renowned MEP Consultancy Firm ‘Udayan Chaudhari & Associates’. A Mechanical & Automation Engineer, Kunal has successfully delivered several prestigious projects in India and Abroad. Apart from having study and work experience in Ontario, Canada he is also a published author with two novels to his credit. Hospitality has been a cornerstone of his design career, and Kunal has been working closely with International Brands. His vision for a sustainable planet begins with a built environment which is self-sustaining through appropriate use of technology and project-specific inventive design solutions.

Daniel Lu graduated with an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Windsor, Canada in 1986. He has served many different industries for 30 years in various senior management positions with multinational companies in Asia and the United States. He comes with many years of R&D experience developing products since 1987. Over the last 8 years, Daniel has been instrumental in the technology and product development for MedKlinn Group of Companies. He is also involved in developing regional country distributors to promote MedKlinn products. Currently, MedKlinn has spread to 8 other countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia and Thailand.

Mr. Anoop Bali, Chief General Manager & Chief Financial Officer of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Limited (TFCI) holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and is an alumni of IIM Ahmedabad. He has rich experience of 26 years in the areas of Project Finance, Project Development, Project Monitoring, NPA Management, Corporate Advisory, Treasury, Finance & Accounts, etc. He has developed expertise in development and financial structuring of tourism related projects. He has participated in various prestigious training programmes, conferences & seminars in India and abroad. He is Chairman of investment committee of India Enterprise Development Fund (IEDF) and is institutional nominee on the board of various assisted companies in tourism sector.

Sonali Bhagwati is the Co-founder of Spazzio Design, an internationally recognized Design firm. She is the President of DPA after the merger of Spazzio with DPA. She graduated from CEPT, Ahmadabad in 1986 and received a scholarship from L’Institute Francaise D’Architecture to work in Paris. Having received various awards, her work has been published regularly in several books & magazines. Beside this, She regularly speaks at various public forums on city level issues. She is currently one of 3 members of Delhi Urban Arts Commission, one of the most prestigious organizations in the Country. She is involved in the SUO MOTU city projects taken up by DUAC and is propelling the Shahjenabad rejuvenation project. She has been a Member of Delhi Conservation Society and conducted heritage walks in Kashmere Gate area.

Barry is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with nearly 45 years’ experience in the Building Services Industry. He has extensive experience of working across the world. He received a patent for a Hotel guest room A.C. system which saves 30% energy on a conventional system, and requires no in room maintenance. He compiled a technical design manual and sustainable design guide for all InterContinental Hotel Group brands. This was responsible for the 2007 CIBSE International Achievement award, with the judges commenting on how these guides simplified Hotel services design to reduce both capital and operating costs, and presented the information in a way in which it could easily be understood by Engineers whose first language was not English. Barry was recently involved with Masdar – the world’s first zero carbon emission city being constructed in Abu Dhabi. Barry is the Principal at ADG International, Consulting Engineers, and has been located in Delhi since 2011.

The venture is known worldwide as a Prime Tour Operator in Buddhist Circuit actively endorsing Buddhist Tourism in India and Nepal. Being a member of the Maha Bodhi society, a specialist in Buddhist Tours, Mr. Mathur wants to leverage his 39 years of travel and tourism experience towards the upliftment of Buddhist sector. He has founded Buddhist Heritage Tourism Promotion Council, a nonprofit organization with industry colleagues; aiming to uplift Buddhist heritage through tourism. Today, this budding seedling has become a promising plant with a nationwide representation. Mr. Mathur is also the Founder Director of Hotel Oaks Bodhgaya, in the temple town of Bodhgaya. Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India recognizes him as a specialist Buddhist circuit tour operator.

Jin Koyama, Associate Vice President at WATG for 12 years, has more than 27 years of international architectural experience. Jin has had combined roles as a project manager and senior designer on various notable projects around the globe. Having gained invaluable experience living and working in USA, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, brings a wealth of knowledge to every project. Jin began his design career in Los Angeles and later worked with the late Kisho Kurokawa in Tokyo and Malaysia. Jin’s design expertise includes hotels, resorts, high rise, mixed-use, retail, residential, office, airports, train stations, museums, and cultural art center projects.

The Executive Director of CG Corp | Global which is a multinational conglomerate with an exceptional legacy of 140 years and 4 generations. Spread over 30 countries and with a work force of over 10,000, it is the Himalayan Republic of Nepal's first and only company listed on the Forbes list of Billionaires since 2015 valued in excess US$2.5 Billion comprising over 90 companies that produces world class products and brands. CG Corp | Global’s notable areas of interests are FMCG, Hospitality, Finance, Banking, Electronic and Home appliances, Cement, Real estate, Education, Energy, Biotech, Retail to name a few. CG is also the brain behind the famous Wai Wai brand of noodles. Rahul heads CG Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality wing of CG Corp | Global. His forte lies in forging strategic alliances in established as well as emerging markets, which assists in the growth and development of the company. CG Hotels and Resorts has a proud history of successful joint ventures in the hospitality sector with esteemed partners and owns some of the most iconic assets globally with some of the leading hospitality brands over two decades such as Taj, Alila, Jetwing, Radisson, The Farm and its own brands The Fern, Summit and Zinc. CG Hotels & Resorts portfolio comprises of over 100 hotels & resorts in 20 countries and 65 destinations with over 6000 keys. By 2020, the portfolio is expected to grow to over 200 hotels and 10,000 keys.

Mr. B.R Oberoi is the Founder and Managing Director of Elgin Hotels Pvt Limited, the flagship company of Elgin Hotels & Resorts. Popularly known as "Diamond", Mr. Oberoi is the son of late Kuldip Chand Oberoi. Mr. B.R Oberoi was educated in India (Darjeeling) and trained at the Oberoi School of Hotel Management at Oberoi Maidens Hotel in Delhi. Inspired by his Late uncle Mr M.S. Oberoi who was the founding Chairman of the Oberoi Group of Hotels, Mr Diamond Oberoi pioneered the development of his own brand "Elgin Hotels and Resorts". The "Elgin" brand has come to represent fine luxury heritage hotels in the Himalayas of Darjeeling and Sikkim in India. In addition to providing leadership for the management of the Elgin Hotels & Resorts in Darjeeling and Sikkim (India), Mr. Oberoi is credited with placing Elgin Hotels & Resorts on the international luxury travelers' map with the refurbishment and development of Elgin Hotels & Resorts in the important and world famous locations of Darjeeling and Sikkim, thus redefining architectural and design standards in luxury hospitality. A key aspect of this is the development of these hotels that reflect their history and significance. It is Mr. Oberoi's firm belief that people are the most valuable asset of any organization, recognizing the importance of quality in hospitality management. Above all, Mr. Oberoi is aware of the need to constantly promote quality in every segment of the hospitality industry. Under his leadership, Elgin Hotels and Resorts have received numerous awards and international recognition.

Tourism Advisor, EcoCall Services, Bhutan, Karma is one of the leading experts for promoting sustainable tourism development in Bhutan. Obtained his Masters in Resource Management from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and PhD in sustainable tourism from the University of Sydney, Australia. Candid and a passionate conservationists he has had an array of interesting and enriching experiences. He presently serves as a tourism advisor through EcoCall, the firm he founded. In addition he also serves as an evaluator/judge for the National Geographic unique lodges program and legacy awards.

Subodh Thapa can be characterized as Entrepreneur, Hotelier, Trainer and Marketing expert. Born on 7th of January 1966, his academic achievements include a Bachelor’s degree in Science, a 3 year Hotel Management Degree and a Masters Degree from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management (awarded the Rai Bahadur M S Oberoi Gold Medal). He has over 25 years of experience in Food & Beverage, Rooms Division Operations and Marketing of deluxe hotel products such as the Soaltee Oberoi ( later rebranded as the Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Kathmandu), Dusit Thani Fulbari Resort Pokhara and the Hyatt Regency Kathmandu as Director of Marketing. With vast experience in the hospitality industry he has travelled extensively within the region and internationally. Leisure time interests are reading, writing, tennis, golf and travelling. His training curriculum includes CR Management Initiatives with Banks, Hotel Management Colleges and INGOs. Management Consulting Projects involve, Zinc Hotels & Resorts, The Australian Embassy in Nepal, Continental Group and Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology and Le Meridien Golf & Spa Resort to name a select few. He is a Board Trustee with NYBF ( Nepal Youth Business Foundation) a program of the FNCCI, affiliated with the YBI – A program under the patronage of HRH Prince Charles of England and he also holds active memberships with CACCI ( Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce & Industries) and with SCCI ( SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

Mr. Paritosh Ladhani is the Managing Partner of the Company. He is an MBA in entrepreneurship from University of Stirling, Scotland. He was inducted as the Executive Director (Operations and Business Development) at a young age of 21. As a Managing Partner, Mr. Paritosh has taken the G Ladhani Group to an altogether higher growth trajectory. In the 17 years that he has been in the Group, he has accelerated growth, built a meritocracy and enhanced stakeholder value. The group’s turnover has grown manifolds due to his beliefs of continuous innovation and excellence in execution and since then for Mr. Paritosh, there has been no looking back.

Rishabh Kasliwal - is a seasoned energy expert with more than 12 years of professional experience, four of which have been at Cogent Energy's Bay Area office in California -USA. His extensive experience includes energy audits, new building commissioning, analysis and modeling for projects in Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America. He is an IGBC Fellow, LEED AP, LEED Reviewer. P.E License holder and BEE Energy Auditor. His firm, Kamal Cogent Energy, has completed more than 15 LEED Platinum certifications and are providing these services to ITC, Indian Hotels (Taj), Marriott, Hilton and other hospitality labels.

Having an educational background of university of Technology Sydney, Sai heads illuminate’s Indian division and has led many of the practice’s lighting design projects. Sai is currently working on major Hotels, Offices, and Malls &High-end Residential projects. With more than a decade’s experience as a lighting consultant, Sai calls upon his skills in detailing light into architecture. He practised as an architect prior to focusing on lightingcreating beautiful visual environments. Sai is an Associate member of International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) a group of lighting designers around the world who hold a position of distinction in the lighting design profession.

Professor Pradipta Banerji was Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee from October 2011 to October 2016. He concurrently held the posts of Professor of Civil Engineering at IIT Bombay and at IIT Roorkee. From November 2016 he is back as Professor of Structural Engineering at IIT Bombay. He was awarded the National Science Talent Scholarship in 1976, and graduated with a BTech degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi in 1981, securing the Director’s Silver Medal as the top-ranked student in his batch. He completed his MS and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1982 and 1987, respectively. During his studies at Berkeley, he was awarded the UC Regents’ Fellowship twice, the Popert Research Fellowship and a Distinguished Teaching Award. He has also been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at IIT Bombay. He is a consultant to the World Bank for Capacity Building in PASET in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is also a member of the Committee for Capacity Building of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations under UNESCO. He is the National Coordinator for Translational Research in Sustainable Habitat.

Shri S.P. Arora, having more than 33 years of experience in Banking and Finance is Post Graduate in Commerce, a qualified Company Secretary, Law Graduate, ICMA and Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers. Previous to joining the Company he had been working as Executive Director of IFCI Ltd. During his tenure with IFCI Ltd. he had worked in almost all areas in different capacities. Shri S.P.Arora has long practical experience in the field of Credit Sanctions, Resolution of Stressed assets/recovery/litigation, sale of NPAs, Risk Management, Internal audit, Venture Capital & Bond Markets, Asset Reconstruction Co. (ARC). He has also worked as Managing Director of IFCI Venture Capital Funds Ltd. during 2010 to 2014. Presently he is Managing Director of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd. Delhi, which is a 28 years old listed Financial Institution engaged in lending, rendering technical evaluation to hospitality projects and acting as a consultant to various State Govts’ in India. Shri Arora is also the guest faculty member at Institute of Cost and Management accountants (ICMA) and Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and other Business / Management Schools.

Mr. Prasidha Bahadur Panday is the owner of various luxury properties in Nepal such as Shangrila-la hotel, Kathmandu & Shangri-La Village Resort, Pokhara. He has participated as a regular member of Prime Minister’s business entourage to various nations and led various trade association teams to important conferences, seminars and conventions. He is also the president of hotel association of Nepal and Nepal & USA chamber of commerce. Being a board member in the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) and Nepal Tourism Board, Mr. Prasidha also plays an active role in the promotion and development of Nepal tourism. While orchestrating the role of the main architect and organizer of Nepal tourism year 2011, he has taken Nepal to an international platform by promoting the country in Malaysia and Thailand. He was graced with the prestigious award conferred by the President of Nepal for long distinguished service and contribution in development of tourism and hospitality sectors.

Thriving Landscape and Interior Architecture studio working exclusively in the Hospitality and Luxury Residential sectors. Over the past 15 years, Toby has worked on projects across Asia and the Pacific and has been based in Singapore for over 10 years. Working within a diverse range of locations and cultures, each project has it’s own opportunities and challenges. Toby’s personal interest is in crafting space to create unique places inspired by their context. He believes that the well-considered processes of design and construction are an important part of creating a sustainable destination.

Bavaria-born Jasmin draws inspiration from her own setback-to-strength journey to help others walk the path to personal success and happiness. An inspirational speaker, leads seminars as a caring guide and she is a limit-pushing coach. Her vision is to help people to identify who they are and furthermore to reach inner peace people seek in this life of chaos and stress. She has conceptualized and conducted workshops and seminars, led panel discussions, given lectures, made presentations, collaborated with Sports fit (launched by MS Dhoni in India) and has appeared in multiple TV channels across Germany.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday appointed Deepak Raj Joshi as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). The post was lying vacant for the past four years. Joshi stood out among 12 contenders by securing 69.5 marks, according to Chairman of NTB Chairman and Secretary at the Ministry of Civil Aviation Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya. Joshi was a senior officer at the board.

Navin Piplani is a conservation architect, currently appointed as Principal Director of INTACH Heritage Academy, New Delhi. He took up this post after the completion of his role as the Hamlyn-Feilden Fellow and Director of Studies at the Centre for Conservation Studies, Department of Archaeology, The University of York, UK. Navin also runs his architecture conservation practice in Delhi and has acquired knowledge, expertise and skills by working on a range of projects in India and Europe. Since 2002, he has been working as a core member of the Taj Mahal Conservation Collaborative, a multi-disciplinary team of heritage professionals, engaged in the conservation of the World Heritage Site of Taj Mahal. In 2004, Navin assisted Professor A.G. Krishna Menon, an eminent conservationist, for the preparation of the INTACH Charter for the Conservation of Unprotected Architectural Heritage and Sites in India.

Rohit Hans is the Director of Development - India at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Rohit joined Hyatt in 2011, and has since been focusing on Hyatt’s expansion efforts in the region. Having spent over 18 years in the hospitality industry, he has worked in various functions like operations, feasibility and development. Before joining Hyatt, he was handling development for ITC's Fortune Hotels in India. An alumnus of Institute of Hotel Management PUSA - New Delhi, Rohit holds a master’s degree in tourism management, and a certificate in hotel real estate investments and asset management from Cornell University.

Sentila Tsukjem Yanger is a cultural activist, textile specialist and entrepreneur, craft revivalist and State Convener, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. An advocate on women empowerment she is widely acknowledged for her work in heritage and conservation, the promotion on the performing arts and crafts of the region, skill development of rural women and craft artisans.
She is a Member- Advisory Body on Intangible Cultural Heritage & Diverse Cultural Traditions of India (ABICHU), UNESCO Cell, Ministry of Culture, GOI.
Sentila T. Yanger was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008. She is a recipient of the SATTE-INTACH Award in 2010.

Perhaps it is his passion that has got him to accept offices in bodies like INDIAN HERITAGE HOTEL ASSOCIATION, ECO-TOURISM SOCIETY OF INDIA, UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES etc., Steve Borgia is not only the country's pioneer in rural tourism, but also so very graciously travels several thousand miles professing his knowledge, experience etc. in Europe and Asia. But his focus remains in rural India and is always creative centric. He not only inspires but helps people manifest their desires. Especially the youth. He makes it appear like magic. And most importantly makes finance a non issue.

Ashok Dhawan received his Masters Degree in Architecture from Yale University, USA, in 1967.
After living and working in USA and the Middle East for 20 years, he returned to India in 1985 to start his own practice.
Mr.Dhawan has designed a vast range of projects including new towns, universities, schools, residential communities, commercial complexes, resorts and museums. His practice is deeply concerned with the design of environmentally sensitive projects in the urban context. He also collaborates with leading Architects from around the world for select projects.
His work has been published in leading professional journals. He has received several awards including the Prime Minister’s award for Excellence in Urban Planning for New Tehri Town, which was also nominated for the Aga Khan Award; the J.K. Architect of the year award; joint winner with UGA of the national competition for the IAS Academy, among others.
He has been advisor to HUDCO, INTACH, visiting Professor at SPA, New Delhi, and Chairman, Royal Society of Arts, India Chapter.

Mudassir has been at Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group since 2009. Over the last decade he has worked in various roles across the planning and development function.
Currently he is a part of the development team which is responsible for ensuring company’s profitable growth in the South Asian region. Prior to joining Carlson Rezidor, Mudassir had short stints with Deloitte and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr. Madan Prasad Bezbaruah was Secretary Ministry of Tourism for five long years from 1997 to 2002.
He was also Minister (Economic) in the High Commission of India in London, Principal Adviser Planning Commission of India, Banking Ombudsman for Reserve Bank of India.Currently he is the honorary Permanent Representative of UN-WTO He was also a Member in the North Eastern Council in the rank of Minister of State.
He is an internationally recognised tourism expert and has been consultant to Government of Ghana, UN-WTO and ADB.
He was member of the Strategic Group of UNWTO and was elected the Chairman of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) in 2000-01.
A first class Masters degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics and Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from Harvard University, he has written three books on tourism, and is the Chief Editor of five volume encyclopaedia- “Fairs and Festivals of India”.

G.M.Kapur, is a Calcuttan of long standing. After his schooling here, he completed his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the IIT-BHU and returned to do his Post Graduation in Business Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC). He is a Member of the Institution of Engineers as well as a Chartered Engineer. Professionally he is an independent management consultant. He is a member of the National Governing Council, Executive Committee and Finance Committee and is State Convenor of the West Bengal and Calcutta Regional Chapters of The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and has also served on its Central Membership and Chapters Committees. He has been associated with INTACH since its inception in 1984. This organization has been active in Heritage Conservation and Restoration of Architectural, Material and Natural Heritage all over the country.

As GM Growth & Development, Smita is entrusted with the mantle of expanding the ITC Hotels’ portfolio.
The chain currently owns and manages over 100 hotels in more than 70 destinations in India, providing comprehensive hospitality solutions through 4 distinct brands that straddle different segments of the market mix.
With a Masters in Business Administration from GeNext Malaysia, Smita has over 20 years of experience in hotel development and sales with global and domestic hospitality chains including Starwood and Sarovar Hotels.
Her comprehensive understanding of the evolving hotel development landscape has held her in good stead on operator management and franchise agreements.

Dhruv Hoon is Vice President, Hotel Development at Marriott International. He is based at Marriott’s South Asia development office at Gurgaon. Over the last eleven years, Dhruv has held various responsibilities as part of Marriott’s development team and has been involved in the expansion of Marriott’s various brands in the region. Dhruv is an alumnus of the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD) and recipient of the Rai Bahadur MS Oberoi Award for overall outstanding all-round performance.

Sudeep is responsible for strengthening IHG’s presence across key markets in SWA which includes, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Maldives. His focus rests firmly on supporting IHG’s growth ambition in the region; expanding on the brands that are well established, as well as introducing new brands within the IHG portfolio to the market.
Sudeep brings more than 16 years’ of global experience in the hospitality sector and has worked across brand management, asset management, growth strategy, planning and real estate development with multinationals such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Bain & Company and Jones Lang LaSalle.

Rajeev Agarwal is a graduate from the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi. He established an architectural design studio in New Delhi, in 1998 as 'Rajeev Agarwal Architects' and has since worked on a range of projects including exhibition galleries, residences, resorts, institutions, master plan developments to low cost appropriate architecture in the last 15 years. He has been a member of the visiting faculty at School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi He has also widely participated in discussions on various design fields including architecture & their implication on places and people.

Mrs Bindu Manchanda has been working at INTACH for the past 22 years as Director Projects in the Architectural Heritage Division. She is also the Head of the Heritage Craft & Community Division. As part of her responsibilities, she is she has been involved with restoration projects, project management, adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and development of Heritage Precincts in various parts of India. Also she has been actively involved in projects related to the preservation, promotion and development of traditional crafts...
She is the author of JAISALMER CITY OF GOLDEN SANDS AND STRANGE SPIRITS and FORTS AND PALACES OF INDIA.

Architect by Profession with an overall experience of around 15+ years. Started career as Design Architect in Architectural Studios and involved in various level of projects in multidisciplinary manner and lead set of creative Teams to deliver concepts and Design Solutions. Having gained experience in the Middle East region on the Hospitality sector, joined Hilton corporate office in Delhi, 10 years back. Currently with Hilton as Design & projects Director – India – Technical Services, delivering efficient, right balanced and scalable design products in line with the Brand requirements consistently.

A Masters of Business Administration degree from University of Southern Queensland, Australia and Diploma in Hotel Management from IHMCTAN, Ahmedabad, he has rich and valuable Operational & Sales experience of over two decades across Asia. Samir is responsible for providing strategic direction to the chain and lead the company’s performance and growth.
Prior to joining Fortune Park Hotels Ltd., he has worked with InterContinental Hotels Group for 22 years at various locations across India and Southeast Asia. In his last position, he was based out of Bangkok as Director of Operations Support, Southeast Asia and Korea.

With almost 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Dilip comes with a wealth of experience in operating hotels, in depth local knowledge and the right credentials to take the lead to drive and support Starwood’s aggressive expansion plans in the region. Dilip has worked with major Indian hospitality brands like Taj and Oberoi as well as with Intercontinental Hotels Group and Sarovar Hotels internationally. He brings with him a global perspective that has been honed through operational and development roles in India, South Pacific, Australia and Africa across luxury and upscale hotel categories. Prior to assuming his new role with Starwood, Dilip was the Chief Executive Officer of Duet India Hotels. A graduate in Economics from Delhi University, Dilip holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Hotel Management from the Oberoi Center for Learning and Development. He has also done an Executive MBA program for IHG General Manager’s with the Poon Kam Kai School of Business at the Hong Kong University. Dilip is based out of the Starwood Regional Office in Gurgaon. He is a a voracious reader and an avid golfer. Mr. Dilip is currently the Founder & CEO of Indian School of Hospitality which has tied up with the Lausanne Hospitality Consulting (LHC) for curriculum development and faculty training and the first batch is expected to start in August 2018.

Sh. Anumod Sharma graduate from Sri Ram College of Commerce, started his business career in the very first year of college and has ventured into various businesses like chemicals, automobiles, horticulture, agri plantation, hospitality & tourism.
Mr. Sharma started his journey by putting up activated earth plant at Gurgaon and through a joint venture with M/s Tyco from Malaysia in the year 1993 became one of the largest producer of activated earth in this part of the world.
He diversified into automobile industry in 1988 by putting up a Tata service centre and moved on to become the only dealer of Daewoo motors in Delhi and Noida. He became a dealer of Maruti Suzuki in the year 2000 due to the closure of Daewoo company. The love towards nature prompted Sh. Anumod Sharma to bring green house technology from Israel to provide horticulture in India in the year 1993 and moved on to add coffee plantation in Coorg.
In the year 1990 he entered at Gurgaon the hospitality business by opening first of its kind highway resort in the name of 32nd Milestone which became famous all over the country because of first Bowling Ally, Go carting and world class discotheque called Fireball. He set up a five star hotel called Galaxy in Gurgaon. Mr. Anumod Sharma has been associated and instrumental in developing India's biggest event management company called Wizcraft which created Kingdom of Dreams in the year 2010 to showcase India in all respects from cuisine, architecture handicraft, culture of all the states of India, the spiritual heritage and live entertainment which has always been a part of Indian cultural heritage in a short span it has become a world famous destination in India.
For his love towards the Indian handicrafts and to promote Indian artisans he started a company called Great Craft Traditions in the year 2005 and opened big outlets in Gurgaon.
Last but not the least he has been actively involved in social awareness responsibilities and running an NGO called Saksham Bal Vikas Sanstha since 1992 for the welfare of the under privileged students with emphasis in education and guidelines to live their dreams.