Abhishek Agarwal

Managing Director - Real Estate London, Blackstone

Abhishek Agarwal is a Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London. Mr. Agarwal is currently responsible for Blackstone’s hospitality investments in Europe. Since joining Blackstone in 2008, Mr. Agarwal has been involved in real estate investments in various property sectors across Europe including Hispania, HI Partners, Broadgate and Chiswick Park amongst others.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Agarwal worked as a software developer with Microsoft, and was involved in the development of Microsoft Windows' Vista. He received a Bachelors in Technology from the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Allahabad, where he was placed on the Deans Merit List. He completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore where he graduated with the Gold medal.

Takuya Aoyama

Vice President Acquisitions & Development, Hyatt International (EAME) LLC

Takuya is responsible for expanding Hyatt’s portfolio of brands in the markets of Russia & CIS, Central & Eastern Europe.

Prior to joining Hyatt in 2008, he worked as Assistant Vice President Acquisitions & Development for Japan, Korea and Micronesia with Starwood Hotels & Resorts based in Tokyo (2002-2007). Takuya’s career in the field of real estate / hotel development dates back to early ‘90’s, and he held positions with companies including Saison Group (1989-1995, Moscow/Tokyo), Holiday Inn Worldwide (1996-1999, London / Vienna) and Andersen (2000-2002, Budapest).

Takuya has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs.

Ivana Budin Arhanic

Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Affairs, Valamar Riviera

Ivana Budin Arhanić graduated with a degree in Economics from Middleburry College in the USA in 1999. After finishing her studies, she spent three years as a strategy management consultant in Boston and in New York. In 2003, she joined Lura d.d. in Croatia where she led the acquisition and restructuring of Somboled d.d. into the Lura group and held the position of Vice President on Somboled d.d. Supervisory Board.

In 2007 she received her MBA from Harvard Business School and joined Valamar group where she was appointed to the Management Boards of Valamar group d.d., Valamar Adria holding d.d., and Valamar Riviera d.d. as a member.

As of June 2015, Ms Budin Arhanić holds the position of Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Affairs and is in charge of acquisitions and expansion, strategic development through digitalization and innovation, corporate social responsibility, service quality management, corporate communications and relations with industry associations and the public sector.

Marybelle Arnett

Vice President Development Central & Eastern Europe, Hilton

Marybelle Arnett is responsible for the development of Hilton’s brands in Central & Eastern Europe. Bringing more than 30 years’ hospitality experience gained in international roles, Marybelle works closely with owners and investors to bring new properties to the region.

Having joined Hilton in 1999 during the acquisition of Promus Hotel Corporation, Marybelle rose to Vice President & Managing Director, Franchise Development, and was tasked with growing Hilton brands across 16 US states. She played a key role in the launch and growth of the Hampton by Hilton brand in the US, which now totals 2,500 hotels globally.

In 2010 Marybelle joined Hilton’s Europe & Africa (E&A) development team. She was instrumental in the establishment and rapid expansion of Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn in the region, and later broadened her scope to add full service brands in Southern and Central Europe.

In June 2015, Marybelle assumed responsibility for the wider Central & Eastern European region. Recent openings to Hilton’s portfolio include Hilton Garden Inns at Bucharest Airport, Zagreb, Vilnius City Centre and Budapest City Centre. Upcoming additions are planned with the Hilton Dushanbe, Hilton Swinoujscie, Hilton Garden Inn Riga Old Town and the Doubletree by Hilton Trieste.

Marybelle graduated from the University of Tennessee, where she earned a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree.

Marybelle is an outdoor enthusiast and a passionate fan of sports.

Dirk Bakker

Head of EMEA Hotels, Colliers International

Dirk is Head of Hotels for Colliers International EMEA region, based in Amsterdam. The Colliers EMEA team is part of the Colliers International Global Hotels team with specialists across EMEA, Asia Pacific and the Americas. Dirk is also a partner for Colliers International in the Netherlands.

Dirk has over 30 years’ experience in hotel consulting in the global market, with a focus on transaction advisory and brokerage. Dirk and his team of 80+ hospitality professionals work worldwide, with a particular focus on Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Dirk is an experienced entrepreneur. He started his hospitality career with initially a focus on customer loyalty programs and hotel consultancy with his company ICS. He executed over 200 hotel loyalty card programs for all major hotel brands in 27 countries across Europe, the Middle East, India, China, Brazil and Russia. Dirk was a founding partner of Kayak Systems, which later became Kayak.com. Dirk combined his expertise as an entrepreneur and a hotel operations specialist and incorporated the current Hotels division of Colliers International in the Netherlands in 2010 and took the Colliers Hotel department to market leadership in the Dutch market with a steady 40% market share over the past 10 years in the Netherlands.

Rene Beil

Managing Director & President, Beaufort Global Partners LLC

For the past decade BEAUFORT GLOBAL has been a leading Real Estate asset management, investment & development advisory firm with focus on hospitality real estate for hotels, resorts, commercial, residential, infrastructure, master development, mixed-use and governmental FDI initiatives. Founded in Dubai since 2009 with a reputation for excellence, quality and delivery, it has over the past decade established relationships of trust at the highest levels of government as well as private and public sector enterprise for the execution of global mandates on results-oriented delivery.

René Beil, Managing Director of Beaufort Global, brings a seasoned history in hospitality management, operations, finance, investments, asset management and business development to the group. Accompanied by a comprehensive network of personal and private relationships at senior principal levels in Government, Commerce and Finance. He has led business development and growth initiatives on multiple continents as prime driver of investments, asset management, and new business development for Sovereign Wealth Funds, Government, Public & Private Companies, Royal Families, Ultra High Net-Worth Individuals as well as Family Offices. Beil is fluent in English, French, German, Dutch and proficient in Spanish.

Beil is of German nationality, was born in Singapore and raised in South East Asia, Bali, Manila and Hong Kong, He spent his adolescence in Europe, The Hague, Geneva, Brussels and Paris where he pursued a successful hotel career with InterContinental Hotels and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. Subsequently, he ventured to Boston in the United States of America, in the pursuit of academic achievements. From Boston University, Beil holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management, complemented by a Minor in Marketing and a Master’s degree in Finance and Economics. He is today an active member of the Advisory Board to Boston University School of Hospitality and that of Metropolitan College.

In his past appointment as Vice President Asset Management of Dubai Investment Group, Beil’s responsibilities included the asset management of the international hotel and real estate asset portfolio of Dubai Holding, which included iconic assets such as the Burj Al Arab, Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts portfolio and additional international real estate assets. In addition, he was mandated to seek investments, develop & grow markets in Latin America and cultivate business relationships between both continents of the Middle East and Latin America.

Beil has been elected President and founding member of HAMA MEA, the Middle East & Africa chapter of the most reputable global non-profit association, Hospitality Asset Managers Association, which has the aim to bring professional & international business standards as well as excellence in best practices to hospitality asset management within the region. HAMA MEA’s mission is the enhancement of hospitality asset managers through education, advancement of the profession, and serving as the collective industry voice of hospitality ownership.

In 2018 Beil was honored with a distinguished award by the UAE government agency Dubai Economy for being one of Dubai’s most valuable strategic partner for FDI as well as enhancing business competitiveness and sustainability. Beil continues to work closely with Public & Private sector for cross country bi-lateral investments and trade on a global remit.

Dr.sc. Sanja Cizmar

Hotel & Destination Consulting is a boutique consulting firm specialized for hospitality and tourism projects with long-standing experience and international credentials of its partners and associates.

Sanja has 25+ years of consulting and hospitality industry management experience in South East Europe. She has worked with the leading hospitality companies, investors and global hotel brands. Her experience includes 400+ projects: a wide range of project development assignments, asset management, hotel management contracting and management consulting projects. Sanja has been actively involved in establishment and development of few regional hotel management companies. Focus of her expertise is oriented to the management of change, strategic management, and asset management in hospitality industry of South East Europe, helping the clients to drive improved performance and increase returns on their investments.

Sanja earned her PhD degree in strategic management of hospitality industry at Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb. She is an external associate – lecturer of Hotel Management at Faculty for Economics and Business in Zagreb, and author of several text books of tourism and hospitality management as well as numerous articles and columns in professional and scientific magazines. Previously she was Senior Partner with global HTL consultancy.

Gheorghe Marian Cristescu

Chairman of the Board, Polski Holding Hotelowy Sp

Gheorghe Marian Cristescu began his adventure in the hotel industry over 20 years ago. He acquired professional experience in Polish and international companies, including 3 years at the Radisson chain, over 10 years at Accor Hotels, and then at Best Western. In February 2015, he was named Director for Poland and the Baltic Countries, Best Western International.

From April 2016 until January 2019, he was Chairman of the Board of Chopin Airport Development – a company established by Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe „Porty Lotnicze” (PPL) with the mission to carry out investment projects next to airports.

From January 2019, G. M. Cristescu has been Chairman of the Board of Polski Holding Hotelowy (PHH); the company’s objective is to consolidate the management of state-owned hotels. PHH’s task is to create a strong and professional Polish hotel management entity, competitive in the industry, that will efficiently manage hotels by implementing modern procedures, improving profitability or adjusting a hotel standard in connection with a possible introduction of a hotel brand.

At present, PHH’s portfolio comprises 8 facilities located in Warsaw, Katowice, Gdańsk, Międzyzdroje and the Hel Peninsula. Two hotels in Poznań and Rzeszów will be opened soon. In addition, under the management agreement with PHN, at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, PHH will open Moxy & Residence Inn in Warsaw. As a franchisee, it cooperates with leading global hotel chains, such as Marriott International, Hilton International, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group and Louvre Hotels Group.

Since September 2017, Gheorghe Marian Cristescu has been Chairman of the Social Tourism Council of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. Among other awards, he was given “Man of the Year 2018” special award by Hotelarz monthly; named “Personality of the Year 2012” by Hotelarz monthly and “Man of the Year” in the Prime Property Prize 2012 plebiscite; and became chosen by HRS portal as “Hotelier of the Year 2013”. As the unquestioned leader and specialist of the hotel market in Poland, he regularly appears as a panellist in the most important industry events.

In addition to his professional work, he is interested in sports, history and geography. He speaks Romanian, Polish, English and Spanish fluently.

Thomas Emanuel

Director, STR

Thomas Emanuel is a Director at STR. He is based in London, and leads a team focused on driving business with Industry Partners.

He has spent his entire career in the hotel industry, beginning in 2000 with Miki Travel, before joining Hyatt Hotel & Resorts, where he gained experience in corporate sales at both the worldwide sales office and at property level. Thomas then led the corporate sales function for Hazlitt’s Hotels, a group of independent boutique hotels in London.

In 2006, Thomas joined the Deloitte HotelBenchmark team, where he was responsible for creating and leading the department’s business development function. He held this role until the formation of STR in March 2008, and had since focused on overseeing STR’s rapid expansion outside North America. Throughout his time with STR, Thomas has gained a wealth of experience working with hotels, investors, developers, consultants, banks, governments, destination management companies and many others.

Thomas has been a guest lecturer at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, and been invited and participated in the OECD's high level meetings on tourism policies.

Travelling extensively, Thomas has worked in over 45 countries across 6 continents and regularly speaks at major hospitality conferences around the world. He is also frequently interviewed for his insights on the hotel industry by news outlets including CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, as well as various tourism and hospitality publications.

Rudolf Grossmayer

Board Member, UBM Development AG

R. Grossmayer started 1972 his professional career as assistant professor at Technical University Vienna and for one year at Caltech, Pasadena, USA.

In 1980 he joined BP group as project manager in engineering and later he built up a new company in energy management/alternative energy.

In 1989 he joined ATP, Achammer, Tritthart & Partner, architects and engineers, as partner, where he acted as executive director in their subsidiaries in Vienna, Innsbruck, Munich and Dresden and managed several projects for office towers, shopping centers, industrial plants, hotels and hospitals.

In 2001 he joined the UBM group as business development manager and since then acts as managing director in several subsidiary companies partly as joint ventures, developing hotels, business parks, office towers and healthcare facilities(until 2017) in the regions of Austria, Poland and France(until 2017). The management duties cover the whole development from land acquisition, design & build, leasing, asset management until final sale of the assets of the project. In this function he took care of several realized hotel projects in Poland and Austria and a big business park in Warsaw.

Since 2016 his focus in the hotel segment and he also acts under a proxy in the newly set up UBM hotels Management GmbH, which holds all hotel operating or lease companies (if the hotel assets have already been sold and leased back) of UBM group. His regional responsibility is for CEE, where the company currently holds 7 hotels in operation and 5 hotels in development.

Zhivko Ivanov

Asset Management Director, Galaxy Investment Group Ltd

Zhivko Ivanov holds the position Asset Management Director at Galaxy Investment Group Ltd. since 2012. He is responsible for all the hotels under the management/ownership by Galaxy Investment Group, including the five-stars city properties - Hilton Sofia and InterContinental Sofia – with 440 keys, as well as the seaside business of the company – consistent of 5*****, 4**** and 3*** hotels with more than 1 100 keys.

Prior to joining Galaxy Investment Group, Zhivko Ivanov was Commercial Director of the first private Bulgarian hotel chain - Sharlopov Hotels JSC, owning and operating hotels in Bulgaria and Germany. The start of his professional path in hospitality and tourism industry is back in 2004 as part of Hilton Sofia team. He also used to be a travel agent and part of the leading Bulgarian tour operator - Bohemia.

Currently, Mr Ivanov is board member of the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA) and expert representative of Bulgaria’s National Board of Tourism in all Business to Government work groups, responsible for changes in the tourism legislation of the country.

Galaxy Investment Group was established in 1999. Since then, the company has invested in, developed and managed a portfolio of successful projects in various categories of real estate – hotels, residential and holiday complexes, office buildings, retail and industrial projects. Positioned in key locations, they meet the modern development models of business, have a number of competitive advantages and generate continued interest from customers and investors.

Based on its rich experience in acquisition, planning, construction, management, assets sale and rent, Galaxy Investment Group has built a solid reputation as a trusted investment partner, by delivering high performance standards and creating relationships that are highly appreciated over time.

David Jenkins

Vice President Business Development Russia, Baltics & CIS, Radisson Hotel Group

In Moscow since 1995, David Jenkins joined the Radisson Hotel Group in 2015 as Vice President Business Development for the region covering Russia, Baltics, CIS, Ukraine, Georgia, Balkans and Israel. This followed on from a 10-year period as one of the most respected hotel consultants in the Russian market with JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ and Horwath. Prior to consulting, David spent 8 years with Interstate in Moscow working for the Marriott properties. David has a degree in Hospitality Management and now has over 25 years of experience in the industry from operations, consulting and development.

Frederic Le Fichoux

Partner, Cushman & Wakefield

Frédéric Le Fichoux is a partner at Cushman & Wakefield. He is leading the hotel transactions’ teams in Continental Europe and supporting the hospitality team in Central & Eastern Europe and South Eastern Europe.

With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Fred has an extensive knowledge of the hotel real estate sector and is a recognized expert in the European market. Since 2007 he has focused in managing and growing the hospitality team for the CEE and SEE regions at Cushman and Wakefield. Since 2015, he is in charge of hotel transaction advisory and brokerage services, supporting buyers and sellers across the entire Continental European region.

Fred has advised on the acquisition and disposal of over EUR 2 billion of hotel transactions in Europe, over the past years. Some of his recent successes include the acquisition of the Intercontinental Prague for R2J and the sale of the Morland project in Paris that includes a So Sofitel to TH Real Estate. He is currently involved in the sale of one of the largest resort asset in Europe: Porto Carras, located in Thessaloniki.

Fred holds a MBA in Hospitality Management from Cornell University and ESSEC Business School. He has a Postgraduate Diploma in Property Investment from Reading University and is also Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) since 2010.

Silvija Lovreta

Director SEE International Hotel Development, Marriott International

Silvija Lovreta holds the position of Development Director with Marriott International, responsible for growing the company’s multi-brand portfolio across the region of South Eastern Europe. Prior to joining Marriott International development team in Europe, Silvija advised a significant number of renowned companies within the industry as a Managing Partner with Horwath HTL, particularly focused on emerging markets within South Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Silvija holds Master of Science degree in Economics of Tourism at Bocconi University and is a member of Cornell Hotel Society.

Ben Martin

Ben Martin, Principal, HKS Advisory Services

Ben Martin has a considerable catalogue of experience as a consultant focusing on real estate economics, with a particular emphasis on resorts, residential, leisure and mixed-use development. He has completed projects across a broad range of countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa and his clients have included government organizations, leisure and entertainment providers, property development companies, financial institutions, development corporations and local authorities. Mr Martin is involved at all stages of the study process, from preliminary site reviews to the design and development of tailor-made financial models that reflect the recommended development programme for the project. Having gained more than two decades of experience as a consultant in this sector, he now plays a key role in the management of project research and economic appraisal within the Hospitality Consulting Group at HKS Inc.

Miguel Martins

Development Director Poland & Eastern Europe, IHG

Miguel is responsible for developing IHG’s brands in Poland and Eastern Europe countries, including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, for both franchised and managed hotels.

With IHG since June 2015, Miguel was responsible for the signing of 19 new deals, the majority across Poland.

Miguel has extensive experience in hotel development and has been involved in over 30 projects in Europe. He also has over nine years of experience working on the Holiday Inn Express brand in Portugal, Northern Spain and Poland.

Prior to joining IHG, Miguel created the Polish Hotel Company which was responsible for the development of the Holiday Inn Express brand in Poland. Miguel oversaw Holiday Inn Express Warsaw Airport from its conceptual design, financing, coordination with IHG and construction surveying, right through to its pre-opening and management.

Christian Michel

Vice President Development Europe, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

As Regional Vice President Development for Europe at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Christian Michel is responsible for leading the company’s growth strategy and execution in the region.

Joining the company as Director of Development for Eastern Europe in 2004, Christian’s remit has expanded to more markets over the years, more recently to cover the whole European region. A 30-year industry veteran, Christian served various General Manager positions for recognised hotels brands in different countries, including Ramada by Wyndham, Swiss Inn and Mövenpick Hotels.

Christian is a native Swiss and has has lived and worked in the UAE, Egypt and Switzerland, he speaks French, English and German. He holds a bachelor degree in Catering Trade from the Hotel School in Lausanne, as well as a Swiss Confederation Certificate of Marketing.

Christian started his career as a professional chef for The Gstaad Palace and food remains one of his biggest passions, along with travelling.

Frank Reul

Head of Development Eastern Europe, AccorHotels / Orbis

Frank is currently the Head of Development for Orbis – the partner of AccorHotels in Eastern Europe. He has an extensive experience in hotel management and operations. He started his career in 1988 in Brussels and Bruges in Belgium in senior operational roles at AccorHotels. He quickly got promoted to Director of Food and Beverage at the Novotel Sheremetyevo-2 in Moscow, Russia in 1992.

After spending three years in Moscow he moved back to London to and begun his ten years long career in the United Kingdom at AccorHotels. He started at one of the busiest airport’s Novotel, at the Heathrow as an Operations Manager. He then held several General Manager positions across the United Kingdom: Novotel Preston, Novotel Southampton, Novotel Milton Keynes, Novotel Bristol Centre. In 2006, he moved to Turkey, where he directed and managed one of the key hotels in Istanbul, the Novotel Istanbul. He then spent two years as a General Manager at Novotel Trabzon.

After more than 20 years of service at AccorHotels he had been appointed to Area General Manager for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, then from 2014, to the Area General Manager for Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia where he oversaw of operations and development including development in the South Eastern Europe. From September 2017 he has been appointed to Head of Development of Orbis & AccorHotels Eastern Europe.

He is fluent in Dutch, English, French and speaks German as well. He is an avid fan of history, wines and the Arsenal.

The Orbis Hotel Group is the largest network of hotels in Eastern Europe. Orbis comprises more than 130 hotels and is the sole licensor of all AccorHotels brands in 16 countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. It offers a total of almost 21,000 rooms. The hotels operate under the brand names Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery by Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget. These brands, recognized throughout the world, provide a quality of service to various standards, ranging from luxury 5-star to budget 1-star hotels.

Orbis’ strategic partner is AccorHotels.

Kristian Sustar

Chief Development Officer, Uniline

Director of Development – Chief Development Officer at Uniline Travel Company, one of the leading destination management companies in southeast Europe.

Until May 2018. CEO of Dubrovnik Riviera Hotels Inc. and Member of the Board of HUP Zagreb. HUP Zagreb is a company whose business is to dictate trends in the development of national tourism, and it is positioned in a way that assumes the role of managing the transition model of tourism development by determining the direction of change, initiating and stimulating the development of quality projects, and educating destinations in which it operates through the introduction of new trends. By the 2011 CEO of Maistra d.d., part of the Adris Group, the largest national investor in the tourism industry.

Years of experience, mainly on management positions within the tourism companies in constant expansion (during career, often served multiple functions simultaneously within individual companies). Besides Croatia, experience gained in several international projects.
For many years active in local and national tourism community, as member of the Council for 8 years and presently Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Croatian National Tourist Board. From December 2009 to April 2016 President of the Association of Employers in Croatia, a national association of hoteliers. From 2011 Lecturer at VERN University of Applied Sciences.

Alessandro Tedesco

Chief Operating Officer, FEBC International

Alessandro is the Chief Operating Officer, a strong leader, great communicator and negotiator and an analytical mind capable of taking on the toughest challenges. Responsible for leading all global procurement efforts across global offices.

Implementing daily operations, aligned with the company’s strategies and policies. His individual role is to maintain control of diverse business operations. Driving supply analysis, drafting operational strategy, setting suppliers identification, sourcing execution (“tendering”), contract negotiation. Managing delivery process from planning to monitoring, purchase execution, until ongoing performance management and the overall improvement.

Alessandro is the company’s second-in-command and responsible for the efficiency of business. Collaborating with the CEO in setting and driving company's vision, operational strategy, and hiring decisions. Also he oversees company operations and employee productivity, building a highly inclusive culture ensuring team members thrive and other organizational outcomes are met.