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.

Dhruv Hoon is Vice President, Hotel Development - Asia Pacific at Marriott International, Inc. His role involves development of Marriott’s various brands in South Asia and Vietnam. Since 2007, Dhruv has held various responsibilities as part of Marriott’s development team, during which he has successfully grown Marriott’s portfolio in India, Indonesia, Nepal and the Maldives. Dhruv was also part of the core team that started Fairfield by Marriott in South Asia and has successfully led development efforts for that brand in the region. Dhruv also has hotel operations experience - he 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.

An architect and urban designer Pradeep Sachdeva is the principal architect of PSDA Studio based in New Delhi, India. The studio has an extensive body of work primarily focussing on the hospitality sector and place making.
PSDA Studio has designed award winning hotel and resort properties for India’s major hotel companies all over the country. These include ITC Hotels, Taj Hotels and numerous independent operators. Some of these are Samode Palace and Samode Bagh at Samode, Samode Haveli in Jaipur, the Taj Usha Kiran Palace at Gwalior, the Taj Nadesar Palace at Varanasi, Taj Theog Resort and Spa Shimla, Samode Safari Lodge near the Bandhavgarh National Park. The works for ITC Hotels include expansion of ITC Mughal Agra and soon to open properties in Amritsar and Bhubaneshwar and a colloborative effort for ITC Grand Bharat Gurgaon.
The hotels draw inspiration from the rich craft traditions, architecture, and history of the surrounding regions.
The studio has designed some of India’s most well-known public spaces including the iconic food and crafts bazaar – Dillli Haat, and The Garden of Five Senses, both in Delhi, and numerous public spaces, streets and waterfronts across India.

Over the past 28 years, Khozema has been a major driving force for several independent and collaborative projects across the globe, which has led to an extensive and diversified work experience. He has worked on a gamut of projects ranging from Mixed use developments, commercial & residential, hospitality, resort development, second home schemes, private residences etc.
He believes that contextual and sensitive design adds in-measurable value to any project. Khozema strives to create environments that not only encourage interaction, but also meet aesthetic and functional needs of the people who inhabit them. Over all, his designs cater to the clients needs holistically by designing the total experience!!

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.

Cyrus is a graduate from the Welcome group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal. He was earlier head of operations at Red Fox Hotels. Cyrus has previously worked with GE Capital and the Taj Group of Hotels.

Mukund Sahasrabudhe is the Director, Technical Services at Sarovar Hotels and oversees its engineering operations across India and Africa. He is a Chartered Engineer and is a member of the Institution of Engineers, India. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune and also has a post graduate diploma in Business Management. Mukund has an overall experience of more than 30 years in various engineering industries and has held project and maintenance portfolios in electronics, chemicals, foundries, construction, and hotel industries. His earlier assignments include projects in India, Nepal, Taiwan and Tanzania. At Sarovar, his focus has primarily been on optimizing utilities cost and he has achieved significant results over the last few years in optimizing usage of electricity and other non-renewable fuels such as LPG and diesel. Highly passionate about sustainable living in both personal and professional spaces, his expertise lies in implementation of sustainable measures by ensuring 100 percent consumption of existing resources with minimum capital investment.

Vikram Choubal is Vice President of Project Management Global Design for Asia Pacific region and heads the team based out of the regional office in Mumbai at Marriott International. He and his team are responsible for the discipline in design and project management for all the hotel brands in the region. From 2010 to 2012 he had been with the Phoenix group and was successful in commissioning of the large market cities in Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Vikram has extensive experience in the hospitality industry which included, Vice President for Taj Hotels and responsible for all disciplines including Fit-out, Procurement, Finance, Site team and Construction from 2012 to 2015. Prior to Taj, Vikram worked 14 years as Vice President of Engineering for Oberoi Group of hotels in Engineering, Operations and Projects. Prior to working with the Oberoi, he has worked in the merchant shipping industry and has sailed on oil tankers for 14 years, gaining a hands on experience and the chance to work with various nationalities.

• Graduated with a degree in Architecture from C.E.P.T, Ahmadabad.
• She was trained with Architect Bernard Kohn, as recipient of scholarship from L’Institute Francaise D’Architecture.
• Was a Member of the Delhi Conservation Society and conducted Heritage walks in Kashmere Gate precinct.
• She started Spazzio Design Architecture in partnership with Sohrab Dalal.
• She is currently President of DPA, which has several award winning projects.
• She has received several awards and her work has been widely published.
• She has been published as one of the 20 best Architects of India as well as she has been featured as Hot 100 Contemporary Indian Architect.
• She has served 2 successful terms as a member of Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC), one of the most prestigious organizations in the Country.
• She is involved in several Suo Motu City projects taken up by DUAC.
• Under DUAC she has been involved in the restructuring of the building bye-laws for Delhi as well as a proposal for rejuvenation of Shahjenabad.
• Member of Delhi Urban Heritage Foundation

Mr. Indrajit Maitra, a Civil Engineering graduate from Government Engineering College, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal in the year 1974. Mr. Indrajit Maitra, is also a Fellow of Institution of Engineers, Fellow of institution of Valuers, Chartered Engineer and approved Valuer from Central Board of Direct Taxes. After graduation Mr. Maitra worked in a construction company for about 3 years and thereafter worked in India Tourism Development Corporation from 1978 to 1981. Mr. Maitra also worked in an Architectural Firm M/s. Upal Ghosh Associates for about 10 years and thereafter in the year 1991 he started his own professional practice as a Quantity Surveyor and Project Management Consultants. Presently Mr. Maitra is the Principal Consultant in INDRAJIT MAITRA ASSOCIATES (IMA) which is a Project management Consultancy company with presence in Northern & Eastern part of India and Chairman of IM COST MANAGEMENT PVT. LTD., a Cost Management company with Pan India presence.

Mr. Anoop Bali, Chief General Manager & Chief Financial Officer of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Limited (TFCI) holds Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of Jammu. He has rich experience of 28 years in the areas of Project Finance, Project Development, Project Monitoring, NPA Management, Risk Management, Accounts & Finance, Treasury, Corporate Advisory, etc. He has developed expertise in development and financial structuring of tourism related projects. He has participated in various prestigious conferences & seminars in India and abroad. He is also Chairman of ‘Investment Committee of India Enterprise Development Fund (IEDF)’ of IFCI Venture Capital Funds Limited and is nominee director on the board of several leading hotel companies in India.

With over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry,Rattan Keswani is a stalwart in the Indian hospitality industry. Currently, he istheDeputy Managing Director of Lemon Tree Hotels limited andDirector, Carnation Hotels Pvt. Ltd. (the management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels – a joint venture between Lemon Tree Hotels and Rattan Keswani).
Prior to joining Lemon Tree Hotels, he wasPresident,Trident Hotels(part of the Oberoi Group) from April 2008 to April 2012.Rattan was responsible for ten Trident Hotels in India, as well as Clarkes, Shimla and Maidens Hotel, New Delhi. He hasalso worked across various Oberoi Hotels & Resorts in India and overseas, including Saudi Arabiaand Sri Lanka.
An alumnus of the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development, Rattan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. Married with two children – a son and a daughter, heis an avid reader and enjoys travel, movies, and sports – with tennis and cricket being his keen interests.

RITU is one of the founders of TID India. Her passion for design and hotels started while residing in Singapore. Her career started at Taj Mahal Hotel, Delhi thereby getting insight to hotel operations. Designing for hotels was therefore the natural course and TID India was born in 1995 along with an international team and her associates in India.
With a young team of design professionals, she has designed for hotel projects ranging from budget, business to luxury hotels and resorts. She has worked with top hotel brands such as Taj, Accor, IHG; Marriott, Hilton, Shangri-La. She has guided the team to take on projects internationally – Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Nepal. The design expertise also extends to Clubhouses, corporate offices, residences & retail.
Ritu believes that “The best experience for interior design comes with traveling to expand ones horizon to new ideas. Interior Design is about integration, creativity and thinking out of the box”

Kiran Andicot holds the position of Regional Vice President, Hotel Development with Marriott International based in New Delhi, India. Mr. Andicot joined Marriott International in January 2006 in their development planning and feasibility department. Before joining Marriott, he worked with the real estate and hospitality consulting division of Ernst & Young in Dubai and prior to that with HVS International in New Delhi. Prior to HVS, he spent over seven years working in hotel operations with the Taj and Oberoi group at various locations in India. Mr. Andicot is an alumnus of the Oberoi School of Hotel Management (now OCLD), Delhi.

James joined Carver & Associates in 1999, transitioning from a career as a commercial property insurance broker with Marsh & McLennan. Through providing and overseeing project management of FF&E procurement for over 100 hotel projects during his 19-year tenure with Carver & Associates, James brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team, with a focus on client and manufacturer relations. James will work with and oversee the Project Management team. James is a graduate of The University of Alabama, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree.

Prior to founding Carver & Associates in 1983, Larry was President of Peachtree Purchasing Company with John C. Portman, Architect and Developer. Larry’s background included experience with Real Estate Developers Cushman Corporation and Jack P. DeBoer Associates. Throughout his career, Larry enjoyed working with many elite hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton, and Starwood Hotels. Larry’s 40+ years of experience combined with his entrepreneurial spirit and reputation for dependability have enabled him to develop a strong Senior Management Team at Carver & Associates. Under his leadership, the company continues its planned growth, financial stability and consistently reliable project delivery. Larry carries a Bachelor of Business Degree from Wichita State University.

Qasim Jafri with thirty five years’ experience in Hospitality industry has held positions like CEO-Imperium Hospitality, Chief Operating Officer-Nishat Hotels & Properties and General Manager of various Five Star hotels around the world. Qasim has worked with Hilton International, Marriott International, Pearl Continental and Avari International Hotels in Europe, Canada, Middle East as well as in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. A Cornell university Alumni he has also attended hotel schools in Europe and Asia. Q J is also member of the Indo-Pak task force on Tourism and Culture, advises World Bank and SAARC on Tourism development, is President of Board of Governors of Goethe Institute Lahore, CFO of Lahore Heritage Foundation, Vice Chairman of Mashal and life member of Human Rights Commission and Faiz Foundation. Other than his professional interests he is keenly involved in preservation and promotion of poetry, literature, music, environment and human rights. He speaks five languages, Punjabi, Urdu, Farsi, English and German.

A visionary & strategic global business leader having more than 3 decades of experience with consistent record achieving business growth as well as turnaround in global, regional, multi-cultural and rapid change environments. Presently serving at IHCL as Vice President Real Estate & Development since February 2018.
Sanjeev Pahwa has graduated from Punjab University Chandigarh. He did his post-graduation in hotel management from the prestigious Oberoi School of Hotel Management. Sanjeev Started his career with the Oberoi Hotels, and worked at various senior positions across India and Abroad with companies such as Raheja Group of Hotels, National Hotel Company Muscat Oman, ITC Welcome Group, Country Development and Management Services Pvt. Ltd. Sanjeev was till recently Sr. Vice President Operations South Asia Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, and managed a portfolio of 126 hotels which included Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites and Park Inn by Radisson Hotels.

Shri Gupta, after completing his B.Com (Hons) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, did his Masters in Commerce from Delhi School of Economics and M.B.A.(Finance) from Faculty of Management Studies. He also holds Masters Degree in Economics from Rajasthan University besides Law Degree from Delhi University. He has also been an Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers. Shri Gupta is a core banker who started his carrier in 1976 with Union Bank of India and later moved to the Oriental Bank of Commerce. After working for about 17 years, in nationalized banks, he joined TFCI – a specialized institution then created for the purpose of making long term credit available to Tourism related projects. Today he holds the position of Executive Director and responsible for the growth of tourism vertical of TFCI. TFCI has so far assisted more than 875 projects in tourism sector catalyzing investment of more than 30000 crore. TFCI has been instrumental for creation of additional 51000 rooms in the country in various segments of the industry representing more than 30% of the total room capacity. He is responsible for representing the corporation as well as industry in the various forums with the State and Central Government. He is also a member of the CII – National Committee of Tourism.

Graduated from Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai in 1966.
Worked with renowned Architectural firm M/s Bajpai Madan Patki Razdan, Mumbai from 1964 - 1971 on various projects involving planning, presentation drawings, working drawings and project supervision.
Was selected through a competition by East India Hotels (Oberoi Group) to work with M/s Dale Keller, an International Interior Design Consultants in Hongkong for a year. On return he was responsible for the total Interior Design and Development of the Oberoi Sheraton Hotel, Mumbai.
The firm “Prakash Mankar Associates” established in 1976 has focused primarily on Interior Design and Development of Hospitality sector with a list of reputed clients like ITC Hotels, Welcome Group, Asian Hotels (Hyatt), Radisson amongst others.

Prem Thakur is Director Design & Project Management – Global Design Asia Pacific for Marriott International and based in the regional office in Mumbai. He is handling various Projects across the sub continent.
Prem with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree brings with him over two decades of experience in Project Design & Management, engineering operations, architectural and engineering consulting services, budgeting, cost control, engineeringdesign review, value engineering, systems installation management.
He has designed and built many hotels ranging from Luxury brands to budget hotels. And alsohas extensive experience of managing engineering operations of complex properties like Renaissance Mumbai, Grand Hyatt Mumbai,and Oberoi Mumbai.
He is a Member of Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors MRICS and an Accredited Professional of IGBC - Indian Green Building Council.
Prem has won “Project Person of the Year” Hotelier awards 2016, “Global Distinguished Service award- 2015”, “Technical Services Leader of the Year” award 2015, “Young Hotel Engineer” award 2009 from FHRAI and “Outstanding Improvement in KWH/Occupied room in Asia Pacific 2009” Marriott International.

Mr. Pushpendra Bansal is a Civil Engineer by profession ventured into the family business of construction in India at the age of 20 after completing his education. In a span of 30 years he executed jobs for reputed companies like L&T, ONGC, Essar, Food Corporation of India, Indian Railways and many more. In 1990`s he diversified into hospitality and set up 2 hotel projects, one at Surat and the other at Mumbai. He moved to USA in 2003 and acquired Hotels, Motels and Service Stations in addition to pursuing construction activities.
Mr. Pushpendra Bansal is Chief Operating Officer of Lords group of Hotels. He started hotel chain named “LORDS” in the year 2007. He is well experienced in the hospitality sector with an aggregate experience of over 30 years in this line of business. At present, Lords Group is successfully managing more than 23 hotels under the brand “LORDS”. All the Hotels are operated and managed by Lords Inn Hotels and Developers Ltd.
“LORDS” is a professionally managed chain of hotels, with operational properties in India & neighboring countries. Lords intends to operate on a wide spectrum which includes full service hotels and Inns, in the 3 stars plus category across the length and breadth of the country covering popular business and leisure destinations. Lords as a hotel chain is based on the concept of value for money. The group mainly targets business travelers and Pilgrims.

Zubin Saxena is Managing Director and Vice President Operations, South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group.In his role, Zubin directs the operations of the company to deliver on thevision of Radisson Hotel Group for South Asia. A strategic thinker and executor, he is responsible for positioning Radisson Hotel Group as the “hotel operator of choice” for key stakeholders. Zubin joined Radisson Hotel Group as Vice President of Development in 2015 and has successfully spearheaded the company’s regional expansion strategy since then. During his tenure, the South Asia development team have been instrumental in adding over 50 hotel projects, making Radisson Hotel Group one of the largest and fastest growing international hotel chains in South Asia.
Zubin holds an MBA from the Adam Smith School of Business and Management, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom and has 20 years of diverse global hospitality experience. His expertise lies in business strategy, team building, hotel development andoperational implementation. He possesses a strong understanding of global hotel markets, especially India and North America.
Previously, Zubin has held senior and leadership positions with prominent global companies such as InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels and HVS-New York.

Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director Sarovar Hotels, is a seasoned hotelier, responsible for overseeing the operations and development of the group with over 80 hotels across 50 destinations in India and Africa. Ajay joined Sarovar over two decades back and has been part of the growth story of the company since its inception. Today’s enviable portfolio encompasses Sarovar Premiere, Sarovar Portico and Hometel brands. Ajay also heads Sarovar’s expansion to Africa, which currently spans five countries-Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia and Somaliland. Ajay is a graduate from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management and a Cornell University MBA in Hospitality. He has a passion for travel and is a keen cyclist. He has been awarded “CEO of the year” and “Hall of Fame” by Hotelier India and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by FHRAI. Sarovar Hotels is proudly part of the Paris headquartered Louvre Hotels Group.

Murad joined the practice of Geoffrey Bawa and worked with him for nearly a decade. During his tenure with Geoffrey Bawa, he joined forces with Channe Daswatta and formed MICD Associates and subsequently formed ATS Consultants (Pvt) Ltd. Some of his works are, The Four Seasons - Landaa Giraavaru Maldives, Four Seasons - Voavah Maldives, Mövenpick - Sri Lanka, Centara - Bentota Sri Lanka, Avani- Bentota Sri Lanka, Jetwing Yala Sri Lanka, Brandix India Apparel City , Vizag India, Water’s Edge Recreational Centre and Club - Sri Lanka, Golf Course and Club House Trincomalee Sri Lanka, Double Tree by Hilton, Weerawila, Sri Lanka amongst many others.
He’s an advisor to the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development in Sri Lanka and a member of the board of governors of the Arthur C Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies.

A stalwart, of the hospitality industry, Mr. Atique Rahman leveraging more than 40 years of experience, expertise across all functions of the hotel industry, spread over business hotels and leisure resorts.
Mr. Rahman, stepped into the hospitality industry in 1974, as an intern. A graduate from the State University of New York, quickly built a professional career in F&B, managing and directing the F&B Operations of the Renaissance Hotel, the Play Boy Club of America in Buffalo. Since then, he has served as Director Operations and held Regional Director positions, in the USA at Radisson Hotels International, The Park Plaza Hotel Cleveland, and Ramada Hotels International.
Results Oriented, Customer Service driven hotelier, Mr. Atique Rahman, have had an equally successful career, in Bangladesh. Played a leading role, at the Pan Pacific Hotel, the Westin Dhaka, the Ocean Paradise Hotel and Resort, and currently leading Lakeshore Hotels Operations, and the construction / finishing of Dusit Princess in Dhaka. Mr. Rahman, also is sought after, by local Owner’s as Owner’s Rep, to negotiate Hotel Management Contracts.

Karan Luthra is an alumni of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai where he completed his Bachelor’s in Management Studies. He went on to pursue his masters degree from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research. Karan started his career in the creative media field, where he worked as the assistant director for various TV commercials of Airtel, Bank of Baroda and RIN. Following this, he moved on to establish his own company, which provided cutting edge augmented reality technology for clients such as Google and TATA Motors. In 2015, Karan decided to join his father in the business of operation and maintenance of steel and power plants. Today their company is one of India’s leading provider of engineering solutions to steel pants with a combined work force of over 5000 employees. He now wishes to venture into the hospitality space to cater to the burgeoning demand in the domestic leisure space.

“Subhash Jalabhay, Mauritian Citizen, is a Founder member and chairman of SLP Engineering operating in different territories in the Indian Ocean. He has been in the Hospitality industry since 1994, starting in Mauritius and Seychelles, offering Design and Built of MEP Engineering services. Through Sri-Lanka, Maldives and India) , SLP has been committed to promote and offer MEP Engineering services with an Art, since MEP Engineering is the very much “ invisible work” amongst the top feel good factors to the guest’s appreciation of today’s Hospitality – A Good shower, Comfortable HVAC, and Good connectivity come altogether with, if not ahead of , the guests’ experience of key services in Hospitality.

Rohit Hans is a Director of Development at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Rohit joined Hyatt in 2011, and has since been focusing on Hyatt’s expansion efforts in India. Having spent over 19 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.