Takuya Aoyama

Vice President, Development, Hyatt International (EAME) LLC

Takuya Aoyama is Vice President for Development with Hyatt International (EAME) LLC, responsible for expanding Hyatt’s portfolio of brands in the markets of Russia & CIS, Central & Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Takuya has been working in the field of real estate and hotel development since early ‘90’s, and held positions with companies including EBRD, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Andersen and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Since joining Hyatt in 2008, Takuya has closed management and franchise deals including Hyatt Regency Sofia, Grand Hyatt Athens, Hyatt Regency Moscow Petrovsky Park, Andaz Prague and Párisi Udvar Budapest.

Takuya is a native speaker of Japanese, fluent in English and Russian, and is currently working hard to improve his Romanian.

Nikola Avram

CEO, Alpha Hotel Management

CEO with extensive experience in hospitality industry.

With 20+ years of hotel and resort industry experience including renowned international and regional groups in SE Europe such as Valamar Hotels & Resorts, Vienna International, Adriatic Luxury Hotels and MK Group hospitality, he brings know-how to all phases of hotel property management from concept and development to operational execution and long term planning.

Nikola Avram is from 2019 a founder of Alpha Hotel Management and currently serves as CEO.
He is responsible for the company vision, business development and operational execution.
Delivering exceptional guest service, aligned with the standards and requirements of international partners for each represented brand using a deep knowledge of the local market combined with Marriott International certificate, guarantee that both property owners and international partners get the highest value from each project – from the conceptual phase to the hotel operations.

Nikola Avram has joined MK Group in 2010 as the CEO of MK Mountain Resort and since then he has played a key role in designing and executing the company strategic plans with the aim of strengthening the Group’s Brand Strategy. He has been responsible for initiating the company’s commercial transformation in accordance with digitalization and innovation of the hotels’ products and services.
He was managing a number of acquisition processes in order to position MK Hospitality Division as the leading regional hotel company in the Western Balkans.

Kai Behrens

Cluster General Manager, Kempinski Palace Portoroz

Kai Behrens is a seasoned hospitality professional with more than 20 years of experience in luxury hotels all around the world. Currently a Cluster General Manager of Kempinski Palace Portorož and Kempinski Hotel Adriatic, Kai started his career path in the Front Office department and has acquired extensive experience within the Kempinski through managing hotels in Sofia, Bulgaria; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Xian, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Chengdu in China.

He is a highly respected General Manager with extreme in-depth knowledge of each and every aspect of luxury service, known for his strong work ethics, lead-by-example motto and an unselfish share of his knowledge with his teams.

Zrinka Bokulic

CEO, Aminess hotels and campsites

Zrinka Bokulić holds a position of CEO of the company Laguna Novigrad d.d. operating under Aminess brand. Aminess is among the leading tourism companies in Croatia with hotels and campsites in Istria and Dalmatia. Zrinka has 20 years of executive experience in tourism industry.

Zrinka graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb in 1996 and received her EMBA from Cotrugli Business School in 2009.

Johannes Boeck

Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Liburnia Riviera Hoteli

Ged Brown

Founder & CEO, Low Season Traveller

Ged is the founder and CEO of Low Season Traveller; the world’s first organisation completely dedicated to the promotion of travel during the off-peak seasons in each destination as a way to alleviate the growing problem of over-tourism.

A passionate advocate of the advantages of tourism, Ged has spent his entire career working at senior director level with leading travel and tourism organisations such as Thomas Cook, MyTravel, Kuoni, Routes, ForwardKeys, Travel Weekly and AviaDev. He is dedicated to ensuring that there is a sustainable tourism offering for future generations which protects and nurtures destinations and their cultures. As such, he is frequently called upon to present at several travel industry events throughout the year and regularly writes articles and publications on the industry.

Ged has an active position on the management board and is also a founding partner of The World Tourism Association of Culture & Heritage.

Tobias Brown

Managing Director, B2H Scout (Business 2 Hospitality)

Tobias Brown is Managing Director of B2H Scout (Business 2 Hospitality), an independent advisory service providing development and support for both corporate and resort developers and investors in hospitality. Main focus scouting, acquisition, positioning, branding, franchising, investment & operator searches, business models, transaction support, contract negotiations, concept planning, and operational support with interim management for turnaround, distressed assets. To date lodging concepts have included a wide spectrum of hostels, serviced stay, budget economy, midscale hotels, independent and branded properties, from boutique/ designer to midscale full service resort hotels with rental and exchange concepts; new build, conversions and mixed-use. Current and recent clients include BlackFire Capital + Property, Yays, easyHotel Plc., ACHAT Hotels, Schulz Hotels, SACO & Locke, Oaktree, Qbic Hotels (Cerberus Global Investments), Meininger, Premier Inn, NOVUM, TUI Hotels & Resorts, Leonardo Hotels, Solutions HI®, Rickmers Hotelbetrieb GmbH (Helgoland Island), 25hours, Habitels Hospitality Management, prizeotel, citizenM and AUCTUS Capital Partners GmbH (a private German investment fund) focusing on development and investment opportunities in D-A-CH, CEE, SEE, Caribbean, Thailand regions and more recently mixed-use resorts and other alternative lodging concepts in the Adriatic, focusing on Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.

More recently Tobias was responsible for heading up the development and roll out of the easyHotel low budget brand in its new conceptual look via acquisition, lease and franchising in primary and secondary cities in DACH, CEE, CIS and Nordic regions, implementing an ‘Op.Co’ / ‘Prop.Co.’ strategy, with particular focus on conversions and turn-key opportunities and franchising in Israel.

Since March 2016 Tobias is also Operating Partner from Cornucopia Capital Ltd., a boutique equity fund focused on deal origination, financing and investment with particular expertise in the property, retail and leisure sectors. In particular on asset led deals, also assisting management teams to raise private equity financing for a wide range of transactions including buy-outs, buy-ins and development capital. To date projects have included branded mixed-use resorts in Southern France, Balearics, Austria, Turkey and UK, German hotel portfolio and stand-alone hotels in Italy.

Tobias partnered as Chief Development Officer for BMHG - Berlin Munich Hospitality Group, a German based ‘white collar’ hotel investor / operator company with 5 million Euro seed capital, developing and operating as ‘preferred partner’ branded hotels. Was also Senior Consultant at Treugast Solutions and Project Developer at Loginns Immobilienentwicklungs GmbH developing over 15,000 m² of midscale holiday, an all year round resort in Salzburgerland with rental & exchange concept. Prior to that he was with Wyndham Hotel Group (formerly Cendant) as Director International Development for Central & Eastern Europe developing and expanding their franchise and management systems in CEE region, working closely with its' affiliate company RCI Europe, world’s largest vacation exchange and membership business, including Novasol and Landal.

During almost 25 years of experience in the hotel sector, he also held several senior roles in sales & marketing and operations management within the luxury hotel and tourism industry in Germany, USA and United Kingdom with Dolce Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, the Savoy Group, Peninsula Hotels and the Bayerischer Hof in Munich.

Tobias holds degrees and diplomas from Westminster College, London and Cornell University, Ithaca, USA. He is also an active member of the Cornell University Alumni, currently as Regional Director of the CHS German Chapter and a Founding Member of the CHS AlpAdria & Eastern European Chapter, which he co-founded in 2007. In Hamburg, Tobias actively supports the Anglo-German Business Club.

Alina Cazachevici

Head of Hotel Valuation CEE&SEE, Cushman & Wakefield

Alina joined Cushman & Wakefield Global Hospitality in 2016 and is based in Prague, Czech Republic. Alina is leading the Hotel Valuation and Advisory team for Central and Southern Eastern Europe, delivering services like feasibility and concept studies, valuation, commercial due diligence, investment opportunity analysis, and others.

Before joining Cushman & Wakefield, Alina worked for six years in business valuation and advisory in a consultancy company in Moldova, and two years in corporate finance in international corporations, focusing on financial analysis, business modeling, and development strategy assessment. Alina is also teaching seminars at the Company Valuation course at Charles University in Prague and is a member of RICS.

Tomislav Ceh

Director, PKF hospitality group

Tomislav Čeh is a hospitality veteran with over 25 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. He joined the PKF hospitality group in 2018 and is based in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Zagreb (Croatia) as Director.

Before joining the PKF hospitality group in Vienna, Tomislav worked for several years as General Manager and Managing Director in different hotel companies. He started his professional carrier at Globtour travel agency in Czechia as the head of finance and controlling. Later, he was Managing Director of Globtour Prague and after that, Managing Director of its mother company in Slovenia. He gained further experience heading the company that manages the natural and cultural heritage sites Postojna cave and Predjama castle in Slovenia. In his capacity as Managing Director of LifeClass Hotels & Spa, Portoroz, Slovenia, he was also involved in the redevelopment of the Kempinski Palace Portoroz in Slovenia. During his work at HETA Asset Resolution Slovenia, he set up the asset management department. The last position he held was Managing Director of Union hotels - the biggest hotel company in Ljubljana.

Tomislav graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Maribor, Slovenia. As part of his continued education pursuits, he completed the General Managers Program at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York.

Tomislav is a lifetime member of the Cornell Hotel Society.

Ludovit Cernak

Managing Partner, SHRE Sitno Holding Real Estate

Seasoned international professional within R/E sector focused on development of new residential zones throughout Czech and Slovak market with investments and existing projects on Croatian Coast, his actual focus is on leisure residential market in medium to large seafront projects. For more than a decade Ludo is representing several institutional investors from UK, Scandinavia, and CIS region. Between 2005 and 2010 served as the executive board member of Slovan Bratislava – leading Slovakian soccer team. He’s graduate of City University in Bratislava, holds an MBA from OUBS in United Kingdom and currently resides in Prague. He’s fluent in English and Spanish. Ludo is married, father of two and a passionate athlete.

Milos Cerovic

Director Hotel Operations Eastern Europe, Eagle Hills

Born and raised in Serbia, Milos Cerovic left his homecountry at the age of 18 to pursue his educational and professional journey abroad. After completed his bachelor degree in business and finance in New York City, Milos earned his Master’s degree from the famous hotel school at University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV). His first career stop was MGM Grand hotel, still one of the largest hotels in the world with 5044 rooms. From then on, Milos worked for famous chains and managed hotels within Hyatt International, IHG, Shangri-La and Rotana, while gaining valuable experience working in places like USA, Israel, Hungary, UK, Taiwan, China, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Slovenia etc. He is currently the Director of Hotel Operations for Eastern Europe at Eagle Hills, residing in Belgrade, Serbia. He speaks English and Serbian languages and enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports and cheering on his favourite football team Red Star Belgrade.

Anze Cokl

CEO, Sustainable Hospitality Development

A mechanical engineer with specialty in energy efficiency and sustainability, Anže is CEO of Sustainable Hospitality Development, management and consulting company, developing and managing upscale properties. The newest addition being a heritage building from 1890 - hospitality project in Bohinj, Slovenia - a digital-detox and adults-only Sunrose 7 - Heritage Boutique Hotel - Since 1890.

Finding inspiration in the beautiful mountains of the surrounding Julian Alps and on expeditions around the globe, Anze is also an awarded filmmaker and photographer and an avid adventurer: alpinist and mountain climbing guru who loves sharing knowledge as licensed mountaineering instructor, paragliding pilot, speed-flyer and skier.

Anže’s lifelong experience in the great outdoors helps with overcoming everyday challenges of the business and always-too-many bureaucratic hurdles that face developers.

Marija Crnjak

Journalist, Poslovni dnevnik

With over 20 years of experience in daily journalism, Marija Crnjak covers a variety of business stories for Poslovni dnevnik, Croatian business daily. For the last 10 years, she has been researching the hospitality and travel market, as well as the real estate market, developments in Croatia and the region. Like for any journalist and researcher, the covid pandemic has lately been her focus of interest, with all the implications for different parts of the economy, especially tourism.

Stela Dhami

Managing Partner, Colliers Albania

Based in Tirana, Albania, Stela is the Managing Partner of the Colliers International Albania team and has overall responsibility for the provision of all Colliers International services in the territory of Albania and Kosovo.

Stela Dhami joined Colliers in August 2007 as a Key Account Consultant with primary account management responsibility for City Park, an international style shopping center in Albania. Stela was in charge of leading the advisory and leasing process on behalf of the investor, while attracting new brands to the market such as Mercator, Intersport and Euronics.

Stela has over 14 years experience in the Albanian real estate industry and during this period she has acted on the behalf of many international and local investors while completing many advisory and consultancy assignments and transactions for Albanian and Foreign Corporations in their need for real estate in Albania.

She is happy to have been a part of the group to attract Lindner Group to Albania for their investment Tirana Business Park, to date one of the largest real estate investments in Albania. Her current interests include the attraction of international hotel operators to the Albanian coast.

Today she has worked on projects that have attracted brands such as Hyatt and Swissotel from Accor Group to the Albanian market. Under her leadership the Albanian office has worked with numerous other hotel brands and conducted many reports such as feasibility studies, market research studies, marketability studies et cetera.

Throughout her career Stela has been at the forefront of the development of the real estate market in Albania. She is a big supporter of the development of tourism as a main contributor to the Albanian economic growth.

Stela holds a BA Economics in from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. In addition, Stela graduated with an MBA from the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. In both educational institutions, Stela was the recipient of many merit based scholarships and was on the Dean’s List of high achieving students.

Prior to joining Colliers, Stela was employed by U.S. Bank in their Small and Medium Business Loan Center, a financial institution operating in 24 U.S. States. Her main focus was the analysis of clients’ businesses and offering credit based assistance to aid their growth.

She additionally worked as an Economic Development Manager with Mercy Corps, one of the largest and most successful non-profit organizations with worldwide operations, where her responsibilities included business analysis and advisory work for Portland’s businesses.

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.

Megan Epler Wood

Managing Director, Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP), Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University

Megan Epler Wood is a thought leader, pioneer, teacher, speaker and consultant on questions of managing sustainable tourism for destinations, business, and civil society. She has led her firm EplerWood International since 2003 to design net positive regional tourism development projects working in over 25 countries with support from the World Bank, IFC, IDB, GIZ and USAID. From 2010-2021 her research and on-line courses at Harvard University vetted a wide range of solutions to help protect destinations using science-based, technology-powered measures together with socially and environmentally responsible business development techniques. As Managing Director of the Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP) at Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, she leads research on sustainable use of global resources and is presently dedicated to addressing the tough questions of Building Back Better tourism sustainably as it scales upward after the historic COVID 19 downturn of 2020-2021. Epler Wood has produced two key reports on this topic in 2020 found here in partnership with the Pacific Asia Travel Association. She wrote her 2017 book, Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet while at Harvard and the 2019 report Destinations at Risk; The Invisible Burden of Tourism working with the Travel Foundation and Cornell to speak to a broad audience and address the gaps in governance, business and civil society models for meeting the aspirational goals of sustainable tourism worldwide.

Gregor Famira

Partner, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz

Gregor Famira is a partner at CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz in Vienna. He founded the CMS offices in Zagreb (in 2003) and Ljubljana (in 2008) and also heads both offices. He also coordinates the law firm’s activities in the field of real estate in CEE.

He has been active in the CEE region for 20 years now, during which time he has overseen numerous corporate and real estate transactions in the region.

Gregor Famira specialises in the asset class hotels, advising owners, financiers and operators/retail businesses on transactions, rent and leasing contracts, franchise and hotel management contracts as well as real estate development projects.

In addition to that, he has focused on supporting mostly Austrian start-ups since 2005.

Marina Franolic

Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe, Bench Events

Marina began her hospitality career at the Glion Institute of Higher Education and the Hotel Savoy, Rocco Forte group, in Florence. After several years outside of the hospitality industry, in 2012 she established her own company with the goal of bringing global trends to the regional industry.

In 2013. Adria Hotel Forum was launched with an idea of showcasing world trends, sparking the creation of new ideas and partnerships and overall development of the hotel industry. Within years, AHF confirmed to be the only internationally recognized hotel investment conference within the South Eastern Europe whose partners are global companies.

In 2017, the company started a unique event with a goal of bringing trends into everyday hotel operations – HOW /Hotel Operations Weekend/ Festival that gathers every year more than 500 participants.

In 2018, the company has been rebranded as HESA Group and served as the connoisseur of the regional market and opportunities.

In addition, Marina is Industry Advisory Board Member at Glion Institute of Higher Education and holds both Croatian and Italian citizenship.

Peter Greenberg

Travel Editor, CBS News

A multiple Emmy-winning investigative reporter and producer, Peter Greenberg is America’s most recognized, honored and respected front-line travel news journalist. Known in the travel industry as “The Travel Detective,” he is the Travel Editor for CBS News, appearing on CBS This Morning, CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday Morning. And his national CBS EYE ON TRAVEL radio show is broadcast from a different location around the world each week.

The consummate insider on reporting the travel business as news, Peter Greenberg hosts the public television show The Travel Detective with Peter Greenberg. The series offers 40+ half-hour episodes that seek to empower audiences with travel news, must-have information, insider tips known only to a select few, and hidden gem destinations not found in traditional guidebooks or brochures. And for the past 20 seasons, Greenberg has hosted and produced "The Royal Tour", a series of global television specials with sitting heads of state, where these world leaders take Greenberg on a personal tour of their countries -- ranging from the King of Jordan to the President of Mexico, the Prime Minister of New Zealand to the President of Rwanda, the President of Ecuador to the Prime Minister of Israel, among many others.

Travel Weekly named Peter Greenberg one of the most influential people in travel, along with Bill Marriott and Sir Richard Branson. He was inducted into the U.S. Travel Association’s Hall of Leaders for his contributions to the travel industry. Among his other honors, Peter Greenberg received a News & Documentary Emmy Award as part of the NBC News Dateline team for outstanding coverage of a breaking news story, “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Peter Greenberg began his career in journalism as West Coast correspondent for Newsweek in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He also won a national Emmy Award for Best Investigative Reporting for the ABC 20/20 special on the final orphan flight out of Vietnam, “What Happened to the Children?” He also is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, and an Excellence in Broadcasting Award from the Aviation Space Writers Association of America.

And when he is not reporting all over the world, Greenberg is an active volunteer fireman in New York.

Gazmend Haxhia

President, Landways International

Gazmend Haxhia “Gazi” is an Albanian born International serial business entrepreneur.

He has a proven ability to identify business opportunities in diverse industry segments and establish companies that optimise those opportunities effectively, whilst overcoming difficulties associated with new business ventures in new segments and in new markets.

Gazi graduated from Tirana University, Faculty of Foreign Languages; he earned his MIA degree while at Columbia University in International Affairs and further educated himself at INSEAD Fontainebleau and the Harvard Business School.

He has a passion for identifying and developing talent and for furthering the education of individuals through several medium and through his association with renowned Business Schools and Development Organisations.

His early career path included serving as an Aide in the Albanian Prime Ministers Office.

He also interned at the Currency Trade Department and Middle Markets at Merrill Lynch on Wall Street. He has also been an External Adviser to the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania.

His current business activities include owning and operating the Albania franchises for AVIS and Budget Rent a Car and leasing and the associated services. Founding & operating the Albania Experience Travel Company which is the leading incentive, Event and Travel Company in Albania which is transited to “Landways International” which handles over 60,000 visitors travelling into Europe each year. Landways International has established offices in Albania and Croatia with plans for offices in Asia being developed.

He is a co-founder and shareowner of the POLIS University in Tirana offering Degrees in Architecture, Urban Plan- ning and Art and Design and used to be the Licence Proprietor of “In Your Pocket” guidebooks of Tirana, Skopje, Pristine and Podgorica.

Most recently he has become the Land and Port handling agent for MSC Cruises who now regularly dock in Albania. He has also established the Albanian Driver trainer centre ensuring a higher class of safety awareness and driving skills for many major fleets travelling within Albania and Internationally.

As recently as 2018 he also became the 100% owner and proprietor of Opel Noshi the Opel Distributor for Albania.

Under the GBI company, which he established with his friend and partner, they are active in real estate, start-ups and quite recently they entered the hospitality industry by signing a contract with IHG Group, for building a 140 rooms, 5* Crowne Plaza Hotel in Durres, Albania.

His academic activities are as broad as his business interests and include being an Associate Faculty (since 2006), for Entrepreneurship and Practicing Management at IEDC-Bled School of Management.

In 2018 he was awarded the title Professor of Management Practice.

He was elected as A Young Global Leader from DAVOS World Economic Summit in 2008 and is an active member of that community.

He was a member of Business Advisory Council at Stability Pact, Advisory Board Member at Commercial Bank of Albania, POLIS University Board Member, Board of Trustees Member of the American University in Kosovo.

He is a member of Young Presidents Organisation and Board Member of CEEMAN management development association.

Gazi is married to Anila and they have two children, they travel extensively, work Internationally but Tirana, Albania is home.

Ruzica Herceg

Managing Partner, Hotel & Destination Consulting

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

Ružica has 20 years of consulting and hospitality industry management experience in South East Europe. She has worked with the leading hospitality companies, investors, financial institutions and funds and global hotel companies. Ružica has broad industry knowledge and many years of experience in managing and coordinating complex hotel projects. Having managed more than 100 projects in the region (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Romania), Ružica has gained valuable market recognition, allowing her to work on the most outstanding projects.

Given such a background and passionate interests in hospitality, Ružica’s focus was primarily directed towards development projects of various hotels and resorts – from best use concepts, feasibility studies, valuations, support in mergers and acquisitions, management contracting.

Prior to joining consulting business, where she was having a senior partner role for last 10 years, she started her career in banking sector, where she obtained valuable experience on financing. She also served in financial department of the biggest Croatian company, that brought her experience in corporate finance matters, as well as the operational experience.

Together with her former partners and colleagues from one of the leading international HTL consultancies, she found HTL consulting company with a mission to provide clients with innovative, well-founded solutions.

Nicolas Horky

Fund Manager, Velvet hotel sub-fund

Nicolas has more than 15 years of experience in real estate, focusing on the hotel asset class. After starting his career in Prague in 2005 at MaMaison Hotels & Residences part of the Orco Property Group, Nicolas launched a consulting business (SNH Consulting) in Prague in 2009 covering the CEE region. He then worked at Principal Real Estate Europe in London between 2015 and 2020, within their hotel investment team.

Nicolas now works at Ott Ventures (Group Ott) and manages the Velvet Hotel sub-fund.

Aris Ikkos

Research Director, Institute SETE (INSETE)

Dr. Ikkos coordinates and monitors the Research and Documentation centre of the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE).

Current research projects are developed along the axes of Digitalisation, Sustainability, Quality and Human Resource development with the aim to improve the competitiveness of Greek tourism and address Manpower and Training issues in tourism.

Prior to his current position, he had been consulting the Greek Tourism Industry since the late '80s and he has been involved in numerous projects ranging from destination development and regional tourism planning to market research and investment appraisal for all forms of private and public tourism infrastructure (e.g. hotels, marinas, casinos, spas, managed attractions and conference centers).

Dr. Ikkos holds a Ph.D. (Econ) from the University of London. He is also a Certified Trainer from the UK Institute of Training and Development. He is the only Greek member of the by-invitation-only International Society of Hospitality Consultants and he has also been a member of The Academy of Experts, a body providing accreditation of Expert Witnesses.

Gregor Jamnik

General Manager and CEO, Best Western Premier Hotel Slon

Gregor Jamnik has been working for Best Western Premier Hotel Slon since 1995 on various positions. He started his career at front desk and was later promoted to the sales representative where he worked on different sales and marketing projects. In 2003 he introduced Best Western Premier brand in the hotel as one of the first hotels in Europe. In 2007 Gregor was appointed as a General Manager and CEO of Best Western Premier Hotel Slon. In 2021 he also started managing City Hotel Ljubljana, the newest edition to the company.

Gregor is also an active member of the advisory board of Best Western Central Europe with over 200 hotels in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Chechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia.

He is also involved in British Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia as the president of the supervisory board. Gregor is also a member of the supervisory board of Tourism Ljubljana Board and a member of the supervisory board of Slovenian National Tourism Board. In 2012 Gregor was elected as the first president of Slovene Hotel Managers Association. He has been leading the association for 9 years and his active role in the association remains to promote international high-quality standards into Slovene hospitality as well as implementing best practices from abroad.

David Jenkins

Vice President Business Development, 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.

Josipa Jutt Ferlan

Cluster General Manager, Hilton Hotels Zagreb

Josipa Jutt Ferlan is Cluster General Manager at Hilton hotels in Zagreb and CEO of Zagreb City Hotels, company which is primarily involved in the development and management of hotels. Since they are a partner of the Hilton brand in Croatia, 3 of their hotels are part of the Zagreb City Hotels portfolio (DoubleTree by Hilton, Canopy by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn). Josipa has a 20-year successful career in tourism and international hotel management. She is also constantly sharing her knowledge and experience as a lecturer at numerous conferences and educational institutions.

Kieran Kelleher

Managing Director, Savills Croatia & Montenegro

Kieran established trailblazing real estate businesses in Croatia and Montenegro during 2002 to 2003 both of which are full associate offices of Savills (UK) Ltd, part of Savills Plc.

Kieran left Ireland in 1987 and moved to Australia. Whilst in Australia, Kieran spent 7 years completing post graduate studies culminating in a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Technology in Sydney. In 1995, Kieran was appointed Regional Managing Director for Asia with a large British firm and spent six years living in Singapore, Indonesia, China and New Zealand.

In 2002, Kieran returned to the UK to take up the position of Managing Director for the British firm. After ten years in senior management roles, Kieran opted for a lifestyle change and moved to Croatia / Montenegro with his family. Kieran lives in Dubrovnik, Croatia and operates between offices in Montenegro and Croatia.

After 17+ years present in the market, Kieran and his teams in Montenegro and Croatia are recognised for combining their expertise in direct sales on the ground combined with advising large investors on the delivering what the market will absorb. During that period, he and his Savills UK colleagues have advised practically all major investors and projects in the market. His experience covers a number of fields, including:

• Developing and operating a wide sales network – attracting end users to Montenegro and Croatia;
• Exclusively selling large land pieces and projects to international investors;
• Assisting master planners in developing market-driven schemes;
• Expertise in the finer points of development design to differentiate the development and all pre-agreed sales absorption levels;
• Interface with Local and National Planning Authorities in Montenegro;
• Marketing & PR;
• Business Development;
• Agency;
• Site Appraisals and Valuations.

Robert Kempton

Global Director - Hotels, Schneider Electric

Robert leads Schneider Electric’s hotel business for Europe. He has over 12 years’ experience advising owners, investors and designers on creating and managing high performing and efficient hotel assets. He holds a Masters of Science degree from the University of Nottingham and resides in London, UK.

Ljubica Knezevic Cvelbar

Professor, School of Business and Economics, University of Ljubljana

Ljubica Kneževic Cvelbar (PhD) is full professor at the School of Business and Economics, University of Ljubljana and a visiting professor at more than 30 universities worldwide. She holds a PhD in Economics at University of Ljubljana, while her expertise is in the fields of tourism economics and sustainable development. Ljubica has 15 years of academic and professional experience as a professor, researcher and consultant. She has been involved as a researcher or consultant in more than 50 projects including European Parliament and European Commission funded projects, UNDP grants, research and consulting projects for national governments of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Montenegro as well as many consultancy projects for local municipalities and SMEs. She has published more than 40 papers in refereed tourism journals including top-tier Journals such are: Journal of Travel Research, Annals of Tourism Research and Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Her research work had made significant impact on sustainable tourism development globally and was awarded with most prominent international scientific awards in tourism including Tea Sinclair Award for Article Excellence (2016, 2019) and 2019 Charles R. Goeldner Article of Excellence Award. Ljubica also serves as Editorial Board Member in six international academic Journals and is member of AIEST (Worldwide network of tourism experts). She also act as a president of Strategic Partnership for Research and Innovation in Tourism, a cluster of more than 50 key stakeholders in tourism in Slovenia.

Dora Koretic

Journalist, Hanza Media

Journalist and columnist employed by Hanza media, a company in which I have spent last 17 years of my life, writting for all of our major editions, including daily news paper Jutarnji list, weekly magazine Globus and Gloria, ex Croatian edition of Forbes and many others.

For the last five years, my main focus has been writting about tourism, hospitality and travel industry as well as covering consumer protection issues, especially in tourism sector.

In 2016., was announced a winner of the European journalist award on diversity and awarded for excellency in writting by the European Commission for the article „ My life under hijab in Zagreb“ among 28 European finalists.

Tonci Korunic

Partner, InterCapital

Born 1972, graduated on the Zagreb Faculty of Economics in 1998. Started his career in PLIVA, a pharmaceutical company, first as an assistant to CFO in charge of Risk Management (1998) and from 2001 as a Head of the Group Treasury.

Joined InterCapital in 2003 as a partner. He was responsible for launch and setup of Asset Management operations, and since 2012 is in charge of Investment Banking.

Areas of expertise include Investment Banking, Asset Management, Corporate Financing – via public markets and with commercial & supranational banks.

Married, father of 3 daughters.

Sandi Kovacevic

General Manager, CUBO Group

Sandi has been dedicated to tourism from early ages. After decade of working in hotel business, at 2010 he became a general manager of Hotel CUBO, one of the leading business hotels in Slovenia. Few years later CUBO brand expanded their hotel business to one of the most known golf courses in the region – CUBO golf course Ljubljana.

As a General manager at hotel CUBO and a manager in charge of CUBO golf course, Sandi is responsible for all aspects of operations, staff management and guests relations. Foremost he is in charge of leadership and strategic planning to all departments within both premises and subsequently for setting goals, plans and budgeting for new projects that are due to open with CUBO group brand name within few years.

Success of both, hotel CUBO and CUBO golf is not only a credit of personal approach to each and every guests and fulfilling guests expectations, but a credit of constant evolvement of product and staying ahead of the competition. In last year hotel CUBO is undergoing main digital transformation to improve customer experience

Goran Kralj

Member of the Management Board, PBZ Croatia Osiguranje

Mr Kralj joined PBZ Croatia osiguranje in July 2019, current AUM is EUR 3bn.

Prior to joining PBZ Croatia osiguranje, he worked for a 15 years as the Director of asset management and Chief portfolio manager of Erste Plavi pension funds with EUR 2bn in AUM.

Prior to joining Erste Plavi, Mr. Kralj was fund manager in Raiffeisen Invest, and chief dealer in treasury division in Zagrebacka banka.

Mr. Kralj has more than 20 years of experience in capital markets, focusing on the portfolio management and valuations of different asset classes.

Theodor Kubak

Managing Partner, Arbireo Hospitality and Value One Hotel Operations

After training at the hotel management school in Vienna, Theodor entered the hotel industry in multi-layer management positions that led him to three continents. This was followed by hotel asset management and operational consulting for concept development, markets and feasibility studies, interim management, pre-opening task force, mystery shopping, executive search. From 2007 to 2018 Theodor worked with one of the most active institutional hotel investors in Europe. In this role he oversaw around 45 hotel transactions in Europe and the USA worth more than two billion euros. In 2016, he was presented with an ALIS Award in Los Angeles for Best Hotel Development and Best Single Hotel Transaction in the USA.

Since 2019, Mr. Kubak has been managing partner of Arbireo Hospitality and Value One Hotel Operations.

In his spare time, Mr. Kubak gives guest lectures at various universities, has been co-authoring hospitality books (such as most recently: The Routledge Companion to International Hospitality Management" https://www.routledge.com/The-RoutledgeCompanion-to-International-HospitalityManagement/Gardini-OttenbacherSchuckert/p/book/9781138386372) and is involved in the industry in various think tanks and organizations: Mr. Kubak is co-founder and served as 1st President of the Hotel Asset Manager Association Europe (HAMA Europe www.hama-europe.org) and currently acts as a member of the Supervisory Board.

Dean Lah

The principal, Enota

Dean Lah was born in 1971 in Maribor, Slovenia and graduated from the Ljubljana Faculty of Architecture in 1998. In the same year he cofounded the architectural office Enota where he works as partner architect ever since.

For his work in Enota he received many architectural awards, his work has been presented on numerous exhibitions and published in professional and broad interest publications all over the world. Dean lectures at architectural schools, conferences and symposiums in Slovenia and abroad. Since 2016 he is teaching at Architectural Department of University of Maribor. With intention to promote the importance of architectural quality, he has been active as the member of several architectural award and architectural competitions juries, member of executive board of Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia, member of European Forum for Architectural policies, member of executive board of Architects Association of Ljubljana and some other formal and informal networks and events on architecture.

Besnik Leskaj

President, Blessed Investment

Besnik Leskaj is an active chairman and investor, who develops venture projects in the energy, infrastructure, ICT, finance and tourism sectors.

In 2006, Besnik co-founded Abkons, one of the most successful multi-disciplinary consultancies in Western Balkans with headquarters in Albania. As Chief Executive Officer, he oversaw strategic planning, public finance management, project management, and capacity building work. As the Abkons Project Director for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline contracts, he created a framework for the first-ever Land Compensation Study in a large infrastructure project in Albania and the region.

Besnik has founded other successful companies in Albania and internationally. Prominent in his portfolio is IKONS, a boutique IT consultancy that works in Albania, Italy, Malta, Kosovo, Serbia and the United Kingdom. He also established the Albanian Financial Institution (AFI), which is an Albanian market leader in financial, leasing and factoring services.

Besnik offers his regional and sector expertise to various public and private entities. He serves as an advisor for national and international business and sustainable development initiatives and speaks frequently at regional conferences.

Besnik holds a Magisterial Doctorate degree in Enterprise Economy, and a Diploma in International Economy and Trade from the University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende in Italy and B.A in International Trade from Université Blaise Pascal Clermont Ferrand II, Auvergne , in France.

Vedrana Likan

Managing Partner, Colliers Croatia, Slovenia & BiH

Vedrana Likan's name in the business world of Croatia and the wider Adriatic Region is synonymous with real estate, investments, intellectual entrepreneurship, green transition, sustainable economy, but also women's leadership, promoting positive changes in society and systematic efforts to empowering women in business.

Vedrana is a Managing Partner of Colliers, a leading global consultancy firm whose business for Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina she has been running for 16 years already. She is also one of the founders of SOS Zagreb – association dedicated to promotion of civil rights, transparency and justice in context of reconstruction of public and private buildings destroyed during series of severe earthquakes that stroke Zagreb in 2020. During last 15 years, she has been President of the British Chamber in Croatia, Vice president of American Chamber of Commerce, and the initiator, founder and president of the Croatia Green Building Council, where she holds a lifetime position of honorary member.

After Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, she graduated from the New York Institute of Finance with a degree in Mergers and Acquisitions, and the Academy for Political Development and the UN Academy. She holds an EMBA title at an international school in Zagreb, while in 2018 she became a certified expert according to RICS standards, the greatest professional recognition in the segment of investments and real estate in the world. In 2021, she is back to school at the University of Oxford at Organisational Resilience Programme.

For many years, Vedrana has been active as a mentor in numerous domestic and foreign programs dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship among women and youth. She actively participates in the establishment of new and innovative educational and mentoring programs, the most recent of which is "Women in the lead" delivered by Academy for Political Development and under the auspices of the US Embassy in Croatia. In 2012, Vedrana has been awarded "The Woman of the Year” for professional achievements and commitment to the empowerment of women in business. What followed is her author project "21 paths to success" and LeaderSHE conference - projects that from today's perspective can rightly be called a milestone in promoting women's leadership, raising awareness of the challenges that women face on the path to success, and empowering women in the Croatian business environment.

Vedrana is a frequent guest lecturer at colleges, institutes and universities. She actively participates as a program advisor, moderator and panellist in the leading conferences in Croatia, region and Europe on the real estate and investments. She is giving her professional contribution by acting in the juries and judging panels of prestigious European awards such as the Emerging Europe Leaders Award.

For 5 years in a row, the International Property Awards have recognised Colliers Croatia "Consultant of the Year" while in 2020 it has been named the Best Consultant in Southeast Europe. This year Colliers has won two distinguished awards – Prestige Award For Best Investment Management Company; and Best place to Work in Croatia.

Rade Ljumovic

Director, Henley & Partners Montenegro

Rade Ljumović is an experienced professional with more than 20 years of all-round business practice. He has recognized expertise with a proven and successful track record in project development and execution within state and local government institutions, international organizations, private companies, and media groups. Since 2018, Rade has been holding the role of Director at Henley & Partners in Montenegro, an integral part of Henley & Partners which is the global leader in residence and citizenship planning. Rade established their Montenegro office and played a major role in advising and guiding stakeholders to ensure the successful rollout of the Citizenship-by-Investment Program, in the country. Additionally, he is the founder of RLC Montenegro, the company recognized as the market leader in providing consultancy for investment projects in Montenegro, PR expertise, marketing, and advertising know-how, and event organization. For more than 10 years he was program director of Festival of Real Estate Investments - FREI and Editor-in-Chief of the foremost regional lifestyle and destination magazine ‘The Collection’. Rade holds an MBA degree from COTRUGLI Business School.

Kata Marunica

CEO, NFO

Kata Marunica was born in Zagreb, 1982. She graduated from the High School of Science and Mathematics and in the year of 2006 she graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, both in Zagreb. In the year of 2008, she founded her architectural office named NFO, along with her business partner Nenad Ravnić. From 2010 to 2012 she was the head of the Youth Department of the Zagreb Architects Association. During that time period she was also an assistant professor at Faculty of Architecture at University of Zagreb, where she now takes part as a guest critic in urban and architectural studies and occasionally guest lectures at bachelor and master courses. As a member of juries, she regularly participates in architectural competitions.

NFO is engaged in architectural design and has won several special awards in the field of architecture. They are often engaged in architectural competitions where they recieved total of twenty seven awards and twelve of those were first place awards: Paromlin Complexin Zagreb, Senj Center, Crikvenica Center, Main Square in Selce, Gordan Lederer Memorialin Hrvatska Kostajnica, The Coastline City of Malinska, Intercultural Elementary School in Vukovar, Student Housing in Osijek, Würth Croatia Headquaters in Veliko Trgovišće, „Stari podrum“ Hotel in Feričanci, Koprivnica Center and Public Pool and Garage Complex in Crikvenica. NFO partners occasionally give lectures at professional institutions in Croatia and/as well as abroad.

Dunja Mazzocco Drvar

Director for Climate Activities, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development

Forecaster in National Meteorological Service for 13 years with experience in working groups for nowcasting and short to long-range forecasting. TV weather presenter for 17 years, communicator of weather, and climate change. Since 2020 fully focused on sustainable development, for a short while as a Senior Expert in an NGO implementing projects in the field of climate change and energy transition, educating about and advocating for green policies, now as the Director for climate activities in the competent Ministry.

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 40-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.

Filip Mocibob

CFO, Liburnia Riviera Hoteli

Filip Močibob holds the CFO position of Liburnia Riviera Hoteli, the biggest tourism company in Opatija riviera region which is also known as the “Pearl of Adriatic”. Before joining Liburnia Riviera Hoteli he was in charge of numerous managing positions in the biggest Croatian tourism company, Valamar Riviera, including Head of Finance and Investors relations, hence supporting the company growth and creating additional value to all stakeholders by integrating capital allocation to strategic priorities, managing company debt-based capital structure and fundraising arrangement, as well as shaping company’s strategy and strategic initiatives to broaden the institutional supply across a variety of investor segments and types of financing structures.

Milovan Novakovic

Managing Director, Colliers

AREA OF EXPERTISE

Joined Colliers International in 2007and has started as an ICAS Officer.

In 2009 took the role of Senior office representative and was coordinating all activities of the Montenegrin office together with SEE Regional director.

At the end of 2010, officially becomes General Manager of Colliers International, Montenegro.

Specialized in Real Estate Management Services and has successfully undertaken different type of investment advisory studies related to all types of property, such as hotels & resorts, industrial premises, office &retail blocks, land parcels and residential properties and was directly involved in all big projects that Colliers has done in Montenegro. Certified appraiser and LEED qualified. Currently President of the Board of Directors of the Green Building Council of Montenegro and Colliers is the Co-Founder of that Organization. From December 2014 member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Jelena Nushol Fijacko

Partner, Bardek, Lisac, Mušec, Skoko and partners in cooperation with CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz

Jelena Nushol Fijačko became a member of the team in 2006. She primarily advises clients on banking and finance matters and restructurings, but also works on M&A transactions.

Jelena regularly works on various real estate, tourism and hotel industry, shopping center and retail chain development projects, infrastructure projects, industry investments and renewable energy projects. She also advises clients on restructuring projects and on regulatory matters specific for banking and financial market. Jelena has worked on the largest non-performing loan transactions in Croatia and CEE region and gained significant experience in that field.

Many years of work for international and Croatian clients (primarily banks, funds and financial institutions), as well as experience in different types of projects has resulted in Jelena’s excellent understanding of client’s business and ability to respond to their specific needs.

Jelena is fluent in Croatian and English.

Client Quotes:

"She is very organised and co-operative."

Chambers & Partners, 2020

Clients appreciate that "she's on top of things and constantly in the loop.""She's very precise," notes another interviewee, going on to explain: "She is able to structure her advice in a way that is understandable.””

Chambers & Partners, 2019

“’Pragmatic and solution-oriented' team head Jelena Nushol has been particularly active for lenders and borrowers on shopping mall financings/refinancings.”

The Legal 500, 2019

We were especially satisfied with their professional and very pleasant approach. They provided a very high level of support and advice in all our communication.

The co-operation is excellent, and to a high professional standard. They delivered on time and were at our disposal whenever we needed.

She has remarkable communication skills and I feel confident in her whenever we work together.

Chambers & Partners, 2018

Clients praise Jelena Nushol for giving "holistic advice" and "understanding the business”.

Chambers & Partners, 2017

Impressed clients praise Jelena Nushol as a "knowledgeable and proactive" lawyer, who "shows a lot of initiative" in finance mandates.

Chambers & Partners, 2016

Vladimir Radonjic

Managing Partner, Radonjic Associates

Vladimir Radonjic practises mainly in the fields of corporate law, banking and finance, energy law, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), project finance, real estate, construction law and tourism/hospitality. He is ranked by all the major legal directories as one of the leading lawyers in Montenegro.

Vladimir advises national and international businesses on all aspects of their day-to-day business operations. In addition, Vladimir is Honorary Consul General of the Swiss Confederation to Montenegro.

Sasa Randic

Architect, Randic and associates

Sasa Randic (1964) graduated from the University of Zagreb (1990). In the following period he joined the Post-graduate Program at the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam, where he got his MA in 1992, being among the Institute's very first generation.

Saša Randić established Randic-Turato Architects in 1993. Randic and Associates, his present practice, was formed in 2009. The office portfolio includes a variety of projects in different fields, from public, residential, hospitality, commercial to waterfront developments.

His work has been recognized for the characteristic approach to contemporary environment. He has received Viktor Kovačić Award, awarded by the Croatian Architects’ Association, for the extension of the Technical Faculty in Rijeka. In 2005 he has received Slovenian Piranesi Award for the Elementary School in Krk and the Croatian state prize Vladimir Nazor in 2006 for the same building. In 2008 he has received the Viktor Kovačić Award for the Pope John Paul II Hall and in 2009 for the DVKF Kindergarten in Krk.

Elementary School in Krk was shortlisted for Mies van der Rohe EU Prize for Architecture in 2007 and DVKF kindergarden for the same prize in 2011. Saša Randić has represented Croatia at the International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale twice, in 2006, and in 2010.

Next to his practice, he has participated in redefinition of architects’ role in Croatian society. From 2003 to 2007 he held the position of the Croatian Architects’ Association President, where he initiated various research projects and public events dealing with contemporary condition of the Croatian territory.

He teaches at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy, Split University.

Maja Sahbaz

Associate Partner, EY

Maja Sahbaz is an Associate Partner at EY’s Strategy and Transactions, Corporate Finance department. She has more than 17 years of experience - working on hospitality, retail, office and mixed-use projects in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and the region. Based in Belgrade, Maja is in charge of the real estate, hospitality and infrastructure sector for the 6 countries region.

Prior to joining EY, Maja was working as the General Manager and subsequently Managing Director of an international (US based) real estate company in Serbia. She oversaw and participated in numerous real estate and investment transactions the company did with local and international clients.

Maja holds an MBA degree from Cardiff Metropolitan University, focusing on finance. Prior to that, she studied Japanese Language and Literature in Serbia and Japan. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the Belgrade University.

She is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), and the board member of the Serbian Association of Appraisers.

Stefan Schlachter

Head of Sales for Eastern Europe, IDeaS

Having held highly-esteemed senior positions within tour and travel organisations across Europe, Stefan Schlachter boasts an extensive background in the travel and hospitality trade. Currently the head of sales activities at IDeaS for Eastern Europe, Stefan advises and collaborates with hotels on revenue management strategy, organisation and solutions for long-term, sustainable revenue success.

Dilek Sezer

Development Director South Eastern Europe, Accor

Dilek leads the development of Accor’s portfolio in South Eastern Europe within Accor Northern Europe.

Dilek who fell in love with hospitality during her engineering studies started her hospitality career with Accor over 30 years ago in Turkey and moved to the UK where she held a large number of management positions including Multi-site General Manager and Area General Manager for Ibis and ibis budget UK, both in London and the wider UK regions; her most recent position in the UK was Operations Project Manager where she successfully lead the transfer of 22 hotels to different new owners.

Dilek joined the Accor Eastern Europe Development Team as Development Director to oversee development of Accor’s diversified brand portfolio in South Eastern Europe in 2018.

Dilek, who is a graduate of IHMP- International Hotel Management Program by Accor Academy – ESSEC – Cornell has passionately been involved in various projects over the years from the Finance & F&B Finance Module Trainer of ADP to Quality Assurance or Planet 21.

Dilek in her spare time enjoys reading, flying, raising funds for charity and discovering different cuisines.

Zeljko Stasevic

General Manager, Kempinski Hotel Adriatic

Željko joined Kempinski Hotel Adriatic in December 2020 as General Manager, from his assignment as a consultant of the hotel division for MK Group in Belgrade. He has more than 25 years of experience in managing and realigning four- and five-star hotels, Michelin-star restaurants, nightclubs, bars, golf clubs and fitness clubs and has started his hospitality career as a sommelier working at renowned institutions such as Harvey Nichols, Marco Pierre White and Claridges, then moving into hotel operations as Operations Director within the UK. In 2004, Željko moved to Belgrade to take on his first assignment as a General Manager. Returning to London in 2006, he joined Westbury Hotel on Bond Street, where he also held the position as General Manager for five years, prior to moving to their corporate division. Željko spent most of his career in the UK and besides his association with Westbury he held General Manager positions with Luxury Collection and with IHG in Wembley.

Petra Stusek

Managing Director, Ljubljana Tourism

Ms Petra Stušek is the Managing Director of Ljubljana Tourism, which she initially joined in 2002. She holds a degree from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana and has obtained a Master’s degree in Tourism and a second one in Sales from the School of Economics & Business, University of Ljubljana. After serving for two years as a Board Member, Ms Stušek has in June 2019 been elected President of European Cities Marketing – the leading European association in the field of managing tourism  both Leisure and Meetings Industry  in city destinations. On Friday 19 March 2021 she was re-elected for the second term.

In recent years, her team has won several prestigious titles, such as “WTM Responsible Tourism Award 2017 – Best for Communication”, “WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow” 2015 award for Ljubljana as the most sustainable destination in the world, and the “Digital Tourism Think Tank” award for the web portal content. Ljubljana also won the ETIS and Accessible Tourism Joint Award 2016 in the category "Environment and accessibility as a catalyst for sustainable and responsible growth".

The promotional campaign celebrating the Jože Plečnik Year in 2017 received the Emerging Europe Tourism Campaign of the Year 2018 award.

Ljubljana also won in two categories of the European Capital of Smart Tourism, a new European Commission initiative (Sustainable Tourism in 2019 and Digitalisation in 2020).

Kristian Sustar

Director of Development – CDO, Uniline

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

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.

Until June 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.

For many years active in the local and national tourism community, as member of the Council for 8 years and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Croatian National Tourist Board for 4 years. 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.

Alessandro Tedesco

Chief Operating Officer, FEBC group

Alessandro Tedesco is an Italian-born hospitality, manufacturing, and operations expert with over two decades of experience. A stalwart in the procurement and supply chain industry, Tedesco is the

Global Chief Operating Officer of febc Group, responsible for implementing daily operations, strategies and policies across the company’s 12 global offices.

Tedesco joined febc Group in 2012 where shortly after, he became the company’s Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa markets. In 2014, he was promoted to Global Chief Operating Officer and has since driven a global restructuring of febc Group, taking it from a project management company anchored in procurement, to an internationally acclaimed multimodal hospitality solutions enterprise.

At febc Group, Tedesco has designed and executed digital transformation through the automation of its proprietary procurement solution, to ensure transparency, efficiency, and quality control management throughout entire project life cycles. He spearheaded febc Group to achieve six global ISO Certifications, alongside overseeing internal efficiencies, including employee productivity and growth. Tedesco is pivotal in driving the company’s vision, operational strategy and recruitment policies, to build a highly inclusive company culture.

Tedesco’s experience in retail, hospitality and commercial sectors has enabled him to lucratively implement numerous productive and innovative measures at febc Group. His passion and dedication have placed the company on a clear course to deliver revolutionary solutions for the hospitality industry, identifying gaps within the market to take febc Group and its clients to the next phase.

Prior to joining febc Group, Tedesco was responsible for setting up the Middle East operations for Italian companies looking to enter and expand in the FF&E and contract supply segments.

Mislav Togonal

Journalist, Croatian Radiotelevision

Mislav Togonal (1973.), journalist, editor and anchor on HRT. Editor and anchor of daily talk-show „Otvoreno“ on CH1 of Croatian television and weekly talk-show „Poligraf“ at CH1 of Croatian radio. He is also news editor on Croatian radio. Mislav Togonal has diploma in Croatian language and literature.

David Taylor

CEO, Adriatic Luxury Hotels

As CEO of Adriatic Luxury Hotels, David has over 30 years experience in the hotel industry spanning national and international hotel companies, with experience from start up hotel companies in partnership with private equity, to global brands, possessing over 20 years of board experience. Adriatic Luxury Hotels is a unique collection of 10 luxury hotels and 2 luxury villas located in and around Dubrovnik dedicated to the highest standards of guest hospitality and hotel management. A passionate believer in developing and creating a hotel company that believes in sustainability, protecting the environment, investing appropriately in hotels, their communities, their employees and guests, David is also a strong advocate for supporting the growth of the next generation of Croatia’s hotel and hospitality leaders. His biggest hope is that his sons get to see his favourite football team win a trophy, but that could be hoping for too much!

George Tziallas

Regional Director, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)

George Tziallas is Regional Director at World Travel &Tourism Council (WTTC) and Tourism Technical Advisor for the Region of North Aegean in Greece. He had served as Secretary-General in the Greek Ministry of Tourism from September 2015 until July 2019. He holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering from the University of Patras, Greece and a Master's Degree (M.Sc.) in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, USA.

He has a twenty-five year professional experience in management consulting, specializing in tourism development and planning, local and regional development, as well as in the management, monitoring and evaluation of EU Programmes and projects, in Greece and abroad.

George has worked in senior positions in management consulting firms for more than twenty years, and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Association of Management Consulting Firms (SESMA). He has been the project manager of large-scale technical assistance projects at national and EU level and has an excellent knowledge of the Greek public administration procedures, as well as of the EU Structural Funds context.

He has participated as key-note speaker and moderator in many international tourism and economic forums and conferences. He also served as Vice-Chair of the Bureau of OECD Tourism Committee and has worked as an Expert in World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), specializing in tourism innovation, digital transformation and investments.

Zivorad Vasic

Area General Manager, InterContinental Hotels Group

Živorad Vasić graduated from Boston University majoring in hotel administration and finance, Magna Cum Laude. Thesis in the field of economic and financial indicators in the hotel industry brought him the master's degree.

He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade and at Singidunum University.

After 17 years in the United States, Živorad Vasić returned to Serbia. His US profession took him from Boston to eight other US cities and 11 hotels, where he held prestigious positions. He has been working in Delta since 2008. Today, as a Senior Vice President for Delta Holding Živorad is a member of Executive Board and Managing Board of Company. Also he is Regional Director for InterContinental Hotels Group.

He is a member of the Serbian Association of Managers, Serbian Business Club “Privrednik”, Untitled Governor of AmCham Board of Governors and the member of the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement Serbia.

He has won a number of prestigious awards in the field of hotel management.

Živorad is fluent in English and French.

He is married to his wife Tamara and their son Petar is 10 years old.

Aleksandar Vasilijevic

General Manager, Hilton Belgrade

With over 20 years in Hotel industry, Aleksandar started off his career working as a receptionist and concierge in hotel Hyatt Regency in Belgrade.

After seeking new challenges in Montenegro, working as a General Manager in Villa Montenegro at Sveti Stefan, he returned to Serbia where he spent a couple of years as Front Office Manager in Country club Babe and in hotel President in Kovilovo.

The position of Operation Manager in hotel Zira Deluxe played an important role in his career after which he moved forward on position of General Manager in hotel Zira.

Falkensteiner Group had recognized in him a potential for leading a team with over 100 employees. Since 2012. Aleksandar was a General Manager of Falkensteiner Hotel Belgrade and as well almost three years was a General Manager of Falkensteiner Hotel Stara Planina. In 2018 Aleksandar gained an even higher role a Cluster General Managers and Managing Director for Serbia and Montenegro of Falkensteiner Hotels.

After almost eight years he left the Austrian hotel chain and joined the Radisson Hotel Group, its brand Radisson Collection, Old Mill in Belgrade.

As of January 2021 he is a new General Manager of Hilton Belgrade.

Aleksandar is the President of the Board of Directors of the HORES Association. He is, among other things, the winner of the most prestigious personal award "Leader of the hotel industry" (2016), under the brand "Ambassadors of good service”.

Leslie Vella

Deputy CEO and Chief Officer Strategic Development, Malta Tourism Authority

Leslie Vella was born in Floriana, Malta in 1964 and graduated from the University of Malta with a BA (Hons) in Business Management in 1988.

He can boast of a 38 year career in tourism with the Malta Tourism Authority where he has occupied various senior management positions in the organisation and is currently Deputy CEO and Chief Officer Strategic Development. His major expertise is in the fields of Policy, Strategy, Tourism Research and Planning.

Leslie has also been very active on the international front with a 17-year stint as Chair of the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) Market Intelligence Group between 1997 and 2014 and also served as ETC’s Vice President between 2016 and 2017. He is currently Malta’s Focal Point to the UNWTO.

In 1999 he co-authored a study on “The Economic Impact of Tourism in Malta”, and in 2015 was the main drafter of Malta’s National Tourism Policy document covering the period 2015-2020. More recently he drafted Malta’s Tourism Strategy and Recovery Plan for the period 2021-2030. Amongst his duties at the Malta Tourism Authority, he currently manages the setup responsible for executing Malta’s Airline Route Development Strategy.

Hylko Versteeg

Head of Development Southern Europe, IHG Hotels & Resorts

Hylko joined the development team of IHG in May of 2006 and has overall responsibility for the growth of the IHG portfolio in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and the Balkans.

Prior to joining the development team in 2006, Hylko worked in the hotel sector with Hyatt and in several Hotel & Tourism Consulting roles in Spain and Latin America for an international consulting company and the CAF (Corporacion Andina de Fomento – the Andean Community Development Bank).

Hylko holds a bachelor degree in European Hospitality Management & Hotel Administration from The Hague Hotel School and has lived in over 10 countries throughout his life. He lives in Madrid with his wife and two daughters and his hobbies include tennis, kite surfing and motorbikes.

Vuk Vukovic

Co-founder and CEO, Oraclum Intelligence Systems

Vuk is the co-founder and CEO of Oraclum Intelligence Systems, a UK-based data science company that uses the power of social networks to predict election outcomes, product demand, consumer behaviour, and financial markets. They’ve created a disruptive innovation that successfully predicted both Brexit and Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020, all within 1% accuracy, along with many other events and economic outcomes. Vuk holds a PhD from the University of Oxford, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BA from the University of Zagreb. He attended summer schools at Berkeley and Harvard, and was a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. He is happily married and a father of three.

Kurt Werth

Senior Advisor, Revetas Capital

Kurt Werth: Senior Advisor, European Hotel Partnership Investment Platform

• Mr Werth joined Revetas in July 2020 as a Senior Advisor responsible for leading the European Hotel Partnership Investment Platform
• Prior to joining Revetas, he was the CEO of a Intesa San Paolo owned Bad Bank in Hungary with Euro 4bn in AUM.
• He was responsible for managing 40 hotels in Hungary owned by the Bank as well as circa Euro 800m in hotel debt restructurings.
• Prior to joining Intesa, Mr Werth was an M&A Partner for Deloitte Corporate Finance focussed on Central & Eastern Europe.
• Mr Werth is currently based in Vienna, Austria

Camil Yazbeck

Senior Vice President, Head of Development Europe, Accor

Camil Yazbeck leads the development of Accor’s diversified brand portfolio throughout Northern Europe, reinforcing Accor’s #1 position by increasing development across Europe.

Northern Europe is one of Accor’s largest regions, comprising 1,100 hotels and 156,000 rooms located in more than 30 countries across UK&I, Benelux, Nordics, DACH, Russia & CIS and Eastern Europe. Northern Europe is a high potential region for Accor, boasting a pipeline of over 250 hotels and 38,000 rooms with continuous growth driven by key existing and emerging markets.

Prior to joining Accor, Camil was Partner and Investment Director – Hospitality & Leisure at Patron Capital, a leading Pan-European private equity real estate investor representing approximately €4.0 billion of equity across several funds and related investments including 60+ hotels throughout Europe, where he led all aspects of origination, acquisition, underwriting, execution and asset management of Hospitality related investments for seven years.

Before joining Patron, Camil spent over 20 years in the hospitality industry, focusing on all levels of hotel management in a variety of roles around the world and held several senior leadership positions with international hotel companies.

Camil joined Accor in 2020 leading a team committed to driving the business in Europe through both organic growth and acquisitions. Accor has an unrivalled portfolio of brands from luxury to economy, and 50 years’ experience as a leading operator and hospitality provider. Beyond accommodations, Accor has a proposition and brand portfolio for guests to live, work and play, with development opportunities with Food & Beverage, nightlife, wellbeing, and co-working brands in addition to short, long and residential accommodation propositions

Camil is French and Lebanese. He earned his MBA in International Hotel Management from IMHI – a joint programme between Cornell University, Ithaca, and ESSEC business school, Paris

Kristina Zanic

CEO, Kristina Zanic Consultants

Bachelor of Design Kristina is a prominent figure in the world of interior design: having been the founder and co-owner of Design Worldwide Partnership (dwp), Kristina spent over 20 years based in Thailand, and worked with numerous international brands, multinationals, and prominent companies.

Through her cutting edge designs and dedication to her clients Kristina led ‘dwp’ to global recognition within the industry, establishing over 14 offices in 5 continents.

Kristina has spent the past 9 years working in the Middle East and has since established her own signature creative design studio headquartered in Dubai: Kristina Zanic Design Consultants, with offices in Bangkok and Riyadh as well.

Her eye catching designs, relentless enthusiasm and personalized service have already won her a variety of prestigious assignments in the United Arab Emirates, Europe, India, Africa and KSA. Kristina has also received a number of prestigious international and other regional interior design awards.

Talented, respected, organized, and trusted, Kristina prides herself on being in tune with her clients, possessing a talent for synthesizing what is desirable and attractive with what is viable and functional. Inspired by her passion for travel and to explore foreign cultures, Kristina’s exclusive designs are often a result of the fusion of elements and detail from her travels.

Kristina’s clients include Accor, Marriott, IHG, Jumeirah, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Emaar PJSC, Meraas, Signature Clubs International / Capital Clubs, Rotana Hotels and Resorts amongst others.

Monika Zec

Head of Investment Banking, InterCapital Securities Ltd

Monika joined InterCapital Securities Ltd, the largest private financial institution in the region in 2011 and is currently leading their Investment Banking Department. She has over 10 years of experience in finance, executing a range of sizeable transactions in the M&A and capital markets space. She is covering a large spectrum of industries but specializes in tourism and wood sector. Monika holds a BSc in International Economics from Bocconi University an executive education from Columbia Business School. She is currently also a postgraduate student of Management at London School of Economics.