Matthew Weihs is Managing Director of Bench Events. Within this role he focuses on the development of new business opportunities and sales for Bench Events and partners, whilst also supporting the direction of the business and providing commercial support for new product launches.

With over 15 years experience in B2B conferencing with Guardian News and Media, IQPC and now Bench Events his main responsibilities have been to manage the sales across the portfolio, deliver the projects to the high standards our customers expect and to find new development opportunities for the business. In 2012 he successfully founded and launched the African Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) and in 2013 he launched the Morocco Tourism Investment Forum (MTIF) - an invitation only event for the industry. 2014 will see the launch of the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF), the latest addition to the Bench Events hotel investment conference portfolio.

Following a career in professional services spanning nearly 30 years, Nick is currently acting as senior adviser to several hospitality investors. Until recently he was Global Head of Hospitality Advisory Services with Deloitte, where he served as a partner for 20 years and was based in London and the Gulf. In this role, he served a wide spectrum of clients, including private family/HNWI’s; PE, SWF, institutional, RE; and corporates, and encompassing owners, investors, lenders and operators. The range of services provided included commercial strategy and development advice; M&A/transaction services; operational/profit improvement reviews; capital-raising/IPOs; assurance; tax advice and restructuring.

Nick spent the early part of his career in hotel operations in Africa and Europe, working with Holiday Inn, Sun International, Gleneagles and Meridien. He has subsequently consulted in over 80 countries and 250 markets. He is a sought-after speaker and was the organiser and chairman of the highly-regarded European Hotel Investment Conference (EHIC), in London. Nick served on the board of global industry data provider STR from 2011 to 2017, and is a member of the advisory board of Bench Events.

Mark Willis holds an MBA in International Business from Oxford University in the United Kingdom and has completed a number of senior management programs at Cornell University, New York.

Previous to his appointment, he was the President for the Asia region with Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, a very dynamic area with a robust expansion strategy to open 30 properties by 2020.

With a career spanning over 30 years with leading hospitality companies, including IHG and Sun International, a large portion of his professional life was spent with the Radisson Hotel Group (formerly Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group), where he held a number of senior leadership positions, including Senior Vice President Middle East, Africa & Turkey. It was in this role that Mark oversaw all brands within a portfolio of 85 hotels with over 80 hotels in the development pipeline.

Marks brings with him a wealth of operational experience alongside an intuitive knowledge of the Middle East and Africa, a region that he has worked in for over 12 years.

He joined the Group Executive Committee in September 2018, when the Group finalized the acquisition of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts.

Elie leads Radisson Hotel Group’s expansions across Europe, the Middle East & Africa with an international team of 25 executives based in Brussels, Moscow, Barcelona, Milan, London, Oslo, Dubai, Frankfurt and Cape Town. Under his leadership, the group has launched and delivered an active asset light strategy with a solid pipeline of 120 hotels and opened over 110 hotels across EMEA.

He is focused on driving organic growth but also helps drive the company’s expansion related acquisitions, as well as the growth into new business concepts on alternative lodging.

He has recently re-engineered Radisson Hotel Group’s development strategy to focus on an asset right growth and accordingly adjusted the organization and its corresponding capabilities for execution. He has a clear vision on delivering a compelling value proposition to investment stakeholders and is on a mission to have this executed, globally. Elie’s cultural background and lifestyle accelerates his stamina and ability to be nimble, anticipate and act fast – decisively.

A Lebanese national and English citizen, Elie began his career in managerial roles in his home country, before joining HVS in London in 2001. He progressed quickly to the position of Director (and a Designate MD) with HVS within 5 years. He also authored a number of publications on hotel performance assessments and investments. In 2007, he joined Starwood in London as Senior Director of Acquisitions and Development. His next move took him to Hilton Hotels Worldwide as Vice President Development, based in Dubai, before joining Rezidor in 2010, as Vice President of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa. In January 2013, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Business Development EMEA, and then to Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer two years later.

Elie is fluent in English, French and Arabic and loves exploring new cultures around the world. He is educated in Beirut, Paris, New York and London, at universities like Notre Dame, IMHI/Essec, Insead, Cornell University, Johnson Graduate Business School and City University.

He is a keen sportsman practicing martial arts with a competitive flair and an obsession for continuous improvement and self-development. He just loves for his team to win a deal or celebrate a personal achievement.

Elie is a devoted father of a daughter and a son.

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard is the Founder, chairman and 100% owner of APO Group, the leading media relations consultancy firm and press release distribution service in Africa and the Middle East. APO Group is working with more than 300 clients, ranging from governments to international institutions, prominent personalities and companies. Clients include Facebook, Uber, GE, Orange, DHL, Philips, the NBA, Standard Chartered Bank, Siemens, Canon, PwC, EY, McKinsey & Company, flydubai, DP World, just to name a few. While APO Group’s Advisory division also serve clients like Aliko Dangote, the International Criminal Court and many more.

APO Group’s strategic partners include Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and CNBC Africa. APO Group is the Main Official Sponsor of World Rugby’s African association, Rugby Africa, and the strategic partner of Getty Images in Africa and the Middle East. In December 2018, Nicolas stepped down as CEO of APO Group and appointed Lionel Reina as CEO. Lionel Reina is the former CEO of the EEMEA region (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) for Orange Business Services, the B2B division of French telecoms company Orange S.A.. Reina has also served as Chairman of the Board of Orange Business Saudi Arabia, and Middle East Director in the Gulf region for Accenture. As Chairman, Pompigne-Mognard is focusing on delivering high-level counsel for the company’s clients and developing his investment fund dedicated to Africa.

Dr. Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti is the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa and the first woman to occupy this position. She was recently confirmed by the WHO Executive Board after her resounding re-lection for the second term. Over the past five years, Dr Moeti has led a Transformation Agenda that is widely acknowledged to have improved the performance and effectiveness of the Organization. She made tremendous progress through the Transformation Agenda, which include improved response capacity to health emergences as well as outbreak preparedness in the Region. The Transformation Agenda has since been adopted to inform WHO global reforms.

Dr Moeti is a medical doctor and public health expert, with more than 40 years of national and international experience. She has worked with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, where she has held several senior positions, since 1999. Dr Moeti successfully led WHO’s “3 by 5” Initiative in the African Region, which aimed to expand access to antiretroviral therapy in countries. Prior to joining WHO, Dr Moeti worked with UNAIDS as the Team Leader of the Africa and Middle East Desk in Geneva, with UNICEF as a Regional Advisor, and with Botswana’s Ministry of Health in various capacities.

In recognition of her excellent service to humanity, Dr Moeti has received many accolades including an Honorary Fellowship from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana. She is a great champion for women in leadership in global health.

Ronak Gopaldas is a political economist, “pracademic”, writer and speaker. His work focuses on the intersection of politics, economics and business in Africa. He is currently a Director at Signal Risk, a Fellow at the Gordon Institute of Business Science and a Co-Founder of Mindflux Training. He was previously the Head of Country Risk at Rand Merchant Bank. Ronak is a Tutu Fellow, and alumnus of the Asian Forum on Global Governance as well as the young African Leadership Initiative.

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.

As Head of East Africa, Mark oversees JLL’s business operations as well as leading key assignments and projects across the region. Mark is a Kenyan/Swiss national with more than 14 years of experience, initially in hospitality operations and yield management advisory. His broad range of experience includes, owner-operator structuring, brokerage, master planning, development and strategic consulting work across the globe including Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean region.

Previous Positions include; Senior Consultant at a Swiss Advisory firm providing strategic advice on large scale mixed-use and hotel development projects in over 50 countries. Development Director for Singaporean private equity fund KOP’s Spanish based Stein Management Company and Franklyn Hotels & Resorts where he was in charge of heading up the growth of the brand and asset portfolio. With a comprehensive background in real estate, Mark also served in the London offices of Jones Lang LaSalle, where his primary responsibility was working on asset sales and acquisitions.

Mark’s diverse projects have included; chief accommodation advisor to the International Olympic Committee for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, developing hotels from concept to opening on a single asset and portfolio basis, destination development planning, brand and corporate strategies as well as the creation of learning centres on behalf of governments and private clients across Asia, Europe and Africa. Mark holds a BS & HES-SO in Hospitality Management from École Hôtelière de Lausanne.

Mr. Rahul Chaudhary is the Managing Director of CG Corp | Global & CG Hospitality Holdings which is a multinational conglomerate with an exceptional legacy of 140 years and 4 generations. Spread over 30 countries and with a work force of over 10,000, it is the Himalayan Republic of Nepal's first and only company listed on the Forbes list of Billionaires since 2015 valued in excess US$2.5 Billion comprising over 90 companies that produces world class products and brands.

CG Corp | Global’s notable areas of interests are FMCG, Hospitality, Telecom, Finance, Banking, Electronic and Home appliances, Cement, Real estate, Education, and Energy to name a few. CG is also the brain behind the famous Wai Wai brand of noodles.

Rahul heads CG Hospitality Holdings, the hospitality wing of CG Corp | Global. His forte lies in forging strategic alliances in established as well as emerging markets, which assists in the growth and development of the company. CG Hospitality has a proud history of successful joint ventures in the hospitality sector with esteemed partners and owns some of the most iconic assets globally with some of the leading hospitality brands over two decades such as Taj, Jetwing, Radisson, The Farm and its own brands The Fern, Summit and Zinc. CG Hospitality’s portfolio comprises of over 135 hotels & resorts in 12 countries and 95+ destinations with over 6000 keys. By 2025, the portfolio is expected to grow to over 200 hotels and 10,000 keys.

Mr. Berthe was the CEO of Air Mali and Air Burkina. He has 28 years’ experience in the airline industry and a total of 16 years as an airline CEO.

Mr. Berthe built his career in various Airlines and multicultural environment both in Europe and Africa at positions such as aircraft performance and dispatch engineering, maintenance and operations quality, ground operations and Chief Executive Officer.

Abdérahmane graduated from:

- French Civil Aviation school in Toulouse (1987 Master Of Science degree).

- French Aeronautical and Space school in Toulouse (1988 Master Of Science degree)

- Business Institute in Toulouse (1989 Master degree)

He also obtained a Private Pilot License in 1985 for Single Engine Aircraft.

Sanjeev launched cargo carrier Astral Aviation in 2000, which has grown to become the largest private cargo airline in Eastern Africa, boasting a fleet of B747–400F, DC9F, B727F, and F27 freighters.

He is also Vice Chairman of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Cargo Task Force, Africa’s largest airline association and promoting co-operation in operational, commercial, technical, and training fields.

Raphael Kuuchi is the IATA Special Envoy to Africa on Aero-Political Affairs. He has many years’ experience in air transport management, operations and consulting. After working with an airline in various senior management positions for over a decade, he joined the Nairobi-based African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in 2005, as Commercial Director and later as Director Commercial, Corporate and Industry Affairs. In this capacity, Mr. Kuuchi initiated and oversaw many projects in airlines business development, commercial operations, IT and communication, liberalization/market access, aero-political/regulatory affairs and training across Africa.

Mr. Raphael Kuuchi effective July 2018, assumed a new role as IATA Special Envoy to Africa on Aero-political Affairs. Prior to that he was IATA Vice President Africa for 4 years. In his new role Raphael is leading IATA engagements with top government, regional and industry leaders in driving key initiatives aimed at unlocking the full potential of African aviation. He is also IATA’s focal point on the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

Mr. Kuuchi holds an MBA from Henley Management College, UK and a B.Sc. degree in Business Administration. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (FCILT) UK.

Chris Zweigenthal qualified as a Civil Engineer at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1978, obtained his Graduate Diploma in Engineering in 1985 and worked for 10 years in the construction industry. In 1988, he joined South African Airways, where he held senior positions in the Petroleum Affairs, Flight Operations, and Marketing Planning departments, and was thereafter appointed Managing Director of SA Alliance Air based in Kampala, Uganda. Upon his return to South Africa in 2000, he headed up Global Passenger Services until he left South African Airways in November 2001. In February 2002, Chris joined the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) as Deputy Chief Executive and was appointed Chief Executive on 1 March 2009. Chris is active in supporting the growth and sustainability of airlines in the Southern African region, and is a regular participant and contributor to SADC, ICAO and IATA initiatives in the region. He is a Director of Aviation Coordination Services Limited, a company responsible for several airport services managed on behalf of all airlines operating in South Africa, and a Director of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa.

Jon Howell founded AviaDev Africa upon joining Bench Events in July 2015.

This event is now firmly established as the leading event in the field of African air service development, attracting over 250 delegates annually.

Additionally, Jon launched AviaDev Europe in 2018, which focuses on Regional European aviation development.

In 2019, Jon launched AviaDev Consult, a boutique consultancy targeted at the European and African markets, plus the AviaDev Air service development training programme began.

Jon regularly speaks at African aviation conferences and has a deep-seated passion for Africa’s development. He co-founded the Aviators Africa Academy which delivers training, mentorship and inspiration for students across Africa addressing the human capital crisis that exists in the industry.

In 2016, Jon was appointed to the position of Global Ambassador for the Gorilla Organization, in recognition of his fundraising efforts.

Jon joined Bench Events in July 2015. He holds a Marketing and Management degree from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is based in Manchester, England. He has over 15 years’ experience in the travel and tourism sector, with particular expertise in the B2B events sector, specifically in the field of aviation. In 2016, Jon was appointed to the position of Global Ambassador for the Gorilla Organization, in recognition of his fundraising efforts.

Mr. Udjo is a professional in the commercial aviation sector. He has worked for Comair Limited, previously for South African Airways and Qatar Airways, based in Doha. His roles have formed part of the research, commercial and/ strategy functions of all airlines. In his last capacity in the corporate sector, he developed and headed the Network Planning, Scheduling & Alliances Department of Comair Limited - South Africa's only Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed airline business. Prior to that, he was involved in strategic planning and implementation for the core airline business in the Domestic, Rest of Africa and Intercontinental markets for South African Airways. Most recently, Mr. Udjo has decided to enhance his contribution to the African aviation industry, by focusing fully on building his management consulting practice, ZA Logics, which seeks: “To be the strategic partner of choice for African businesses involved in transport, infrastructure and tourism development”

His professional ethos is the belief that transportation and connectivity (both virtual and physical) are keys to economic inclusion, opportunity and ultimately success for the African continent.

Academically, his foundation is based in Management Sciences - he obtained a bachelor’s degree and postgraduate degree (Honours) from the University of Pretoria, both Cum Laude. Further, he holds a Master of Business Leadership degree from the University of South Africa’s Graduate School of Business Leadership (focusing on Strategic Management & International Business).

Mr. Udjo served as a Director of the Board of Brightest Young Minds (July 2016- July 2018), a 17-year-old non-profit company that exists to create positive social impact across Africa, in partnership with Barclays Africa/ ABSA Capital.

Stuart + Partners helps conceive, develop and operate independent hotel brands, using a proprietary business model called Brand Centred Management. This places the positioning of the brand at the heart of organisational purpose and culture, and across all guest-facing experiences, based on the principle that perceptions of hotel brands are established by shaping a compelling reality, not marketing fantasy.

Splitting his time between Africa and The Middle East James’ work spans facilities-planning; architectural and interior design briefing and management; staff recruitment, coaching and performance management system design; guest-facing process design - all of which are shaped by a uniquely relevant brand positioning.

James has a long track record of helping to grow new hotel brands which have become leading commercial performers in their respective markets. In 2014 he published the world’s first book focused entirely on hotel brands: called Hotel Brand Bites, the book is available at Amazon.com.

Hon. Najib Balala, EGH, assumed the position of the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife in the 2015 government reshuffle. He moved from the Ministry of Mining where he was appointed as Kenya’s first Minister in May 2013 and is credited with delivering the Draft Mining Bill in 2014, the first policy and institutional framework review of Kenya’s mining sector since 1940. Having also served as Minister for Tourism from April 2008 to March 2012, Hon. Balala holds the record of being the longest serving Minister in the docket. During that tenure, Hon. Balala delivered the Tourism Bill and gave the sector a policy and legal framework geared towards maintaining sustainability.

Hon. Balala has been elected Chairman of the United Nations World Tourism Organization twice, in 2011 and 2019, where he currently holds the position. In April 2019, he was awarded a World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Champion Award at the 2019 Global Summit in Seville, Spain, for his country’s outstanding work on Social Impact. The annual WTTC Global Champion Awards recognize public officials or countries who, through their leadership, have made a difference through unique public policies and initiatives that have increased the competitiveness of the sector within their countries. In 2009, Hon. Balala was voted Best Tourism Minister in Africa by Africa Investor (AI). He is trained in International Urban Management at the University of Toronto, Canada, and underwent the Executive Program for Leaders in Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

He is credited with steering Kenya’s tourism sector to recovery following the post-election violence in 2008. He played a significant role in boosting growth and stability in the Kenyan and regional tourism sector, working closely with private and institutional investors, with conservation and regional development agencies to ensure that the economic potential of this vital sector was both prudently and sustainably managed.

Jonathan Worsley, Chairman & CEO of Bench Events, is one of the founders and organisers of multiple leading international conferences for the hotel investment industry, including the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) now in its 15 year; the 10th annual Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) and the 3rd annual Saudi Arabia Hotel Investment Conference (SHIC). Bench Events entered the Latin America market in 2016 partnering with SAHIC on their South American and Latin Amerian events. Jonathan also branched out into aviation and F&B, through AviaDev inaugurated in 2016, and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) now in its sixth year.

In 1997, Jonathan co-founded the annual International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, a conference he subsequently organised for 19 years, which today attracts over 2,000 delegates. Earlier in his career, he worked for real estate consultants CBRE & Hotel Partners, hotel advisors PKF and hotel operator Forte & Holiday Inns.

Until recently, Jonathan was a board director and founder of STR Global, a global benchmarking company with over 60,000 participating hotels following the merger of The Bench, STR and Deloitte’s Hotel Benchmark. He sits on the board of Hotel Swaps, which allows participating members to swap unused hotel rooms with other members around the globe and is an investor in TripTease, the tech start-up that enables hotels to increase direct sales and aims to defeat rate disparity.

Jonathan sits on the Advisory Board for Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and is a Trustee of Future Talent, a charity that provides financial support to gifted young musicians in need of financial assistance to pursue their dreams and talent.

Positions Held

• Executive Chairman of Mantis Group
• Patron of Wilderness Foundation
• Chairman of Stenden University, South Africa
• Founder of CCFA – Community Conservation Fund Africa

Personal Awards

• Terra Nova Award Conservation Award 2001
• Prestige award from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 2002
• SATSA (South Africa Tourism Services Association) 2004

Recognition of the Development of Alicedale - an idea born of leadership, for sustainable development with integrity in the Tourism Industry

• The Herald Citizen of the Year Award in the Environmental Conservation category 2005
• South Africa’s Tourism Investment Award 2007

• CHN University Netherlands 2007

Degree Master in International Service Management (Honoris Causa)

• South African National Parks - Chief Executive Award 2007
• SAB Environmentalist of the year award 2008 (Nick Steele Memorial Award)
• Tourism Business Leadership Award 2009

African Hospitality Investment Award

• AHIF 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award

Born in Zambia in 1943, Adrian Gardiner’s passion for nature coupled with his strong entrepreneurial skill was forged from an early age. His love of wildlife came from his father who worked for a cattle ranching business and who took his son camping in the bush and hunting from an early age. His entrepreneurial skills were formed when he attended Falcon College in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. As one of the first 60 boys who were the initial intake of the new school, he was instrumental in helping to build the school from the ground up, from literally building their school classrooms to planting the sports fields. He soon understood that success was only possible with a good team, a clear vision and a focused passion.

From Zimbabwe he travelled to Cape Town to further his studies but, like many successful business people, he struggled at college taking 7 years to do a 3-year course. Academia was not for him. Whilst learning the ropes working for various Cape Town firms, it was evident that Adrian was not content working for other people and by the age of 29 he had moved from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape where he embarked on his first venture, to help build the Spar franchise in Port Elizabeth.

And so began a love affair with the city of Port Elizabeth (also referred to as PE, now officially called Nelson Mandla Bay). As a rapidly developing location, PE offered exciting new business opportunities which Adrian relished. For the next 20 years, he embarked on a rollercoaster ride of building companies in a multitude of industries from swimming pool development to garage swing doors, pagers to crane hire. Today, as the home of his major business developments, Adrian’s affection for PE continues and has caused him to keep his company HQ in the city rather than relocating to larger markets such as Johannesburg, Cape Town or London.

Having enjoyed commercial success, Adrian was able to ‘return to the land’ so to speak by developing a new venture into tourism in the early 1990’s. He began with 2,000 hectares of eroded, degraded and abused land. A small insignificant piece of valley bushveld, and from this, he grew Shamwari Game Reserve, which is now 25 000 hectares in size and has seen the re-introduction of all the large game that once thrived in the Eastern Cape. He was the first person to put the Eastern Cape on the tourist map and today the area is a booming tourist destination and home to countless other private game reserves. Shamwari has since become a blueprint internationally for successful sustainable conservation tourism, and its development was instrumental in forming the next phase in Adrian’s life.

On seeing the success of Shamwari, Adrian was able to replicate the model a few years later, by creating Sanbona Wildlife Reserve in the Western Cape (54 000 hectares). With two wildlife reserves flourishing, Adrian then founded the parent company Mantis in 2000. The name Mantis relates to the San people who revere the Praying Mantis and protect it as the most important animal in their ecosystem as ‘if you look after the little things, the big things take care of themselves’. Rather than only securing the inbound business within his game reserves, Adrian recognised the opportunity in providing a consistently high-quality tourism experience from start to finish where properties could join forces under one group, thus providing a one-stop shop for international visitors wishing to travel from West to East along the Garden Route.

The Mantis Group, while maintaining its origins in South Africa, then developed their model worldwide understanding that consumers could use Mantis as a mark of quality, consistency and character with their portfolio of over 85 properties worldwide. Today the Group comprises the finest examples of privately owned boutique hotels, game reserves and eco experiences. Each property is unique and seeks to bring to life the real character and spirit of its location.

As the company has grown, Adrian’s ambitions for Mantis have also grown in two distinct directions; developing Mantis’ global footprint of properties worldwide and using the lessons learnt when developing Shamwari to educate, support and develop major conservation tourism projects worldwide. In this vein, he is also consulting on wildlife regeneration in numerous African countries. Adrian sees this as a tangible way of giving something back to nature and creating a positive legacy where communities can see the financial benefits in conserving their environment and wildlife. Thus fulfilling the philosophy that is entrenched in our name: Man And Nature Together Is Sustainable (MANTIS).

In light of his work in the arena of conservation, in 2000 Adrian was invited to join the highly respected African Wildlife Foundation whose mission is to conserve and protect critically important wildlife and landscapes in Africa. Adrian is looking forward to supporting the Foundation to further protect the land he so loves. In particular, he is keen to highlight the rhino poaching crisis which is currently at catastrophic proportions in Africa. Adrian feels that ’as global populations grow, Africa is set to be the food basket and mineral basket of the world. With such extensive natural resources, exploitation is happening so we need to protect Africa from the global influx. Tourism plays a part in this. However, we need to think of the bigger picture’. Adrian has reiterated his commitment to conserving Africa’s natural heritage through the joint venture with Accor Hotels announced in April 2018 and the resultant formation of the Community Conservation Fund for Africa.

Education is one of the Mantis Pillars, and the first groundbreaking move in this sphere was through the establishment of Stenden University in Port Alfred. Adrian together with colleagues and Stenden University in Holland opened the campus in 2001, and Adrian currently serves as chairman of the Board. Stenden is the only university in Southern Africa where you can qualify with a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management and Hospitality and a Bachelor’s degree in Disaster Management.

Adrian has been married to his wife Shirleyanne for 50 years; they have 3 children, Paul, Murray and Angela all of whom have adopted their father’s entrepreneurial ways and run their own businesses. Paul is the CEO of the Mantis Group in the UK, and Murray is a partner in their travel business, Giltedge.

David is the Head of Property Services for Hotel Partners Africa (HPA), advising on all aspects of hotel properties, including valuation, operator selection and acquisitions & disposals. HPA is the coming together of some of the most experienced consultants working in sub-Saharan Africa to provide a one-stop-shop for hoteliers and developers, and HPA have unrivalled experience, having worked on various projects in 53 of the 54 sub-Saharan African countries. David’s role in HPA is to provide the property advice, selling completed hotels & hotel sites, valuing hotels (and projects) and selecting the best operator for new developments.

David is a Fellow of the RICS (with over 20 years in property and the hotel industry. He is the author of Hotel Valuation for Investors, the best-selling book providing comprehensive advice on all aspects of hotel ownership. In addition, he published a second, more comprehensive book “Hotels & Resorts; The Investor’s Guide”, that was released in August 2016 and provides advice on the whole cycle of hotel ownership.

He also advises the RICS on hotel valuations and wrote the guidance on ISURV, a subscription service providing best practice advice for Chartered Surveyors the world over. As one of the leading hotel valuers, David is regularly used as an Expert Witness on high profile valuation cases.

Prior to setting up Hotel Partners Africa and before that Leisure Property Services, David was head of hotel valuations and international brokerage for CBRE Hotels and has been involved in some of the largest transactions across the globe. He has worked in over 180 countries and has unrivalled experience across sub-Saharan Africa.

Bukky Akomolafe is the Country Manager of Travelstart Nigeria, Africa’s largest online travel agency. She is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the market. Prior to this role, Bukky served as Travelstart’s Commercial Manager for close to three years. She was responsible the local brand strategy, managing the performance of online & offline marketing channels, business development and innovation. Most notably, she managed the sponsorship of the Nigerian Skeleton & Bobsled team at the Winter Olympics in 2018, organized “Based on Logistics” sale where for three days, customers were able to get a 25% discount on all domestic flights because of the elections postponement as well as spearheaded partnership campaigns with Uber, Genesis Cinemas and more.

Bukky has more than a decade of marketing experience; she started her career at Ogilvy & Mather one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. There, she helped to launch a $2 million growth, strategy and innovation consulting business. Post-MBA, she worked at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in a variety of roles, Credit Card Marketing, a Social Media Manager and Business Development in the Auto Finance department. Prior to joining Travelstart, Bukky worked at Flytime Promotions as the Head of Marketing for Pepsi Rhythm Unplugged.

Bukky attended the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Finance and a secondary concentration in Theatre Studies. She later attended the Yale School of Management for her MBA where she graduated in 2014. Bukky has received numerous awards including being named one of Nigeria’s 100 Most Inspiring Women by Leading Ladies Africa in 2019 and Rising Star in Tourism Award at the 2019 Pyne Awards. In November 2019, she won the Future Awards Africa Prize in Professional Service.

Bukky is married and lives with her husband in Lagos. She enjoys playing tennis and pretending to go to the gym.

Linda Balme has been in the travel industry for 19 years. After 14 years in senior management roles, across 4 countries, leading 6 different brands, Linda returned to Cape Town from New York to join Africa's largest online travel agency, Travelstart, as Senior Commercial Manager.At Travelstart, Linda is responsible for the company's partnerships with international tourism boards, hotels, airlines and corporate partners, to promote African inbound and outbound tourism. Most notably, she partnered with South African Tourism to increase visitors numbers to domestic airports by 37% by coordinating media campaign involving airlines, tour operators, and even a very successful instameet that saw thousands of influencers and visitors gather in 25 selected key tourism locations across SA. She is recognized by industry professionals for her passion as well as her ability to create vision and buy-in.Linda lives in Cape Town has amazing travel stories, enjoys trail running and gin and tonics.

Based in Dubai, Tim is responsible for leading hotel operations and delivering business growth and profit across the group’s largest area, with over 100 hotels in operation and over 80 hotel projects in the development pipeline.

As a young and dynamic hotelier, Tim brings a level of knowledge, skills and experience, which are critical to Radisson Hotel Group’s expansion plans and strategic operations across the Middle East and Africa.

A British national, Tim has been with Radisson Hotel Group (formerly Carlson Rezidor) since 2003 and was recently appointed Area Senior Vice President for the Middle East & Africa in 2017.

He began his progressive career in the UK where his first General Manager's position was at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Manchester Airport which, at the time was Rezidor's largest hotel in the UK and where he successfully positioned the hotel in Rezidor's top 20 performing hotels worldwide. He went onto hold leadership positions in two of the group’s key properties in London, Radisson Blu Portman Hotel and Radisson Blu Hotel Stansted Airport.

He briefly left the group to become General Manager of the Cumberland Hotel in London, before returning as the General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek. In 2015, he was promoted to Regional Director Middle East & Turkey.

Tim holds a degree from Nottingham Trent University in Mechanical Engineering and Design and Technology, including qualified teacher status. In 2006, Cordon entered the British Hospitality Hall of Fame, with the Alpha Forum Prize – “Young manager” award. For two consecutive years, Tim has secured a spot in the top 5 of Hotelier Middle East’s Power 50 list

Doris is a Founding Director, Executive Council Member and the Chief Executive Officer of the African Tourism Board (ATB) – the first and only Association based in Africa, that acts as a bridge between the public and private sector. With her vast expertise in tourism development and marketing, Doris, together with her team in the Executive Council, set up this Africa based NGO and Not for Profit Company as a tool for the development and marketing of tourism on the African Continent with the focus on Capacity Building, Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development, and Youth, Women, Community and SMTE Empowerment on the African Continent - with the aim to support the African Tourism Industry by Africans for Africans.

Doris worked as an expert in the Executive Management for the MICE Sector, Sports Tourism Industry and in Destination Management. In partnership with UNESCO, the UN-ILO and other African and International Development Agencies, and a think tank of tourism experts and academics, over the last 20 years, she invented, initiated and implemented tourism development programmes, that make use of Africa’s considerable cultural and natural resources and assets.

One of her key objectives is to concentrate on African previously disadvantaged communities with ownership and access to under-marketed but highly significant tourist attractions and to assist these communities to benefit from the domestic, regional and international source markets.

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard is the Founder, chairman and 100% owner of APO Group, the leading media relations consultancy firm and press release distribution service in Africa and the Middle East. APO Group is working with more than 300 clients, ranging from governments to international institutions, prominent personalities and companies. Clients include Facebook, Uber, GE, Orange, DHL, Philips, the NBA, Standard Chartered Bank, Siemens, Canon, PwC, EY, McKinsey & Company, flydubai, DP World, just to name a few. While APO Group’s Advisory division also serve clients like Aliko Dangote, the International Criminal Court and many more.

APO Group’s strategic partners include Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and CNBC Africa. APO Group is the Main Official Sponsor of World Rugby’s African association, Rugby Africa, and the strategic partner of Getty Images in Africa and the Middle East. In December 2018, Nicolas stepped down as CEO of APO Group and appointed Lionel Reina as CEO. Lionel Reina is the former CEO of the EEMEA region (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) for Orange Business Services, the B2B division of French telecoms company Orange S.A.. Reina has also served as Chairman of the Board of Orange Business Saudi Arabia, and Middle East Director in the Gulf region for Accenture. As Chairman, Pompigne-Mognard is focusing on delivering high-level counsel for the company’s clients and developing his investment fund dedicated to Africa.

Mrs. Dupe Olusola is the Managing Director/CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc. where she oversees the Company's strategic objectives at its properties, Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Transcorp Hotels Calabar.

Dupe Olusola has over 21 years corporate experience spanning various sectors locally and internationally. Prior to joining Transcorp Hotels, Dupe was the Group Head, Marketing for United Bank for Africa Plc., one of Africa's leading financial services providers.

Prior to this, she was the Group Head Embassies, Multilaterals and Development Organizations (EMDOs) and Global Investors Services (GIS). Through her leadership, there was meritorious expansion in the Bank’s stake in the EMDOs & GIS sector across Africa and beyond.

Dupe has a deep knowledge of several corporate and retail market economies. Before joining UBA, Dupe had a distinguished career as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Teragro Commodities Limited (an indigenous agricultural company). She spearheaded a partnership with Coca Cola to produce Five Alive Pulpy Orange Juice, making Teragro the sole local material source for the juice in Nigeria.

Her professional experience spans various sectors in capacities that encompass private equity from African Capital Alliance, investments and SME experience from Growing Business Foundation, Bloomberg Financial Markets UK, SecTrust (now Afriinvest), Transcorp Corporation and Northern Trust Corporation of Chicago, UK.

Dupe studied Economics at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom and obtained her M.Sc. in Development Economics from the University of Kent. She is Prince 2, PMP and Investor Management Certified (all UK). She is passionate about women development and empowerment, economic development of under-developed countries and financial inclusion for the disadvantaged in the society. She was named on Ventures Africa’s 10 Most Influential Nigerian CEOs of 2015.

Following a career in professional services spanning nearly 30 years, Nick is currently acting as senior adviser to several hospitality investors. Until recently he was Global Head of Hospitality Advisory Services with Deloitte, where he served as a partner for 20 years and was based in London and the Gulf. In this role, he served a wide spectrum of clients, including private family/HNWI’s; PE, SWF, institutional, RE; and corporates, and encompassing owners, investors, lenders and operators. The range of services provided included commercial strategy and development advice; M&A/transaction services; operational/profit improvement reviews; capital-raising/IPOs; assurance; tax advice and restructuring.

Nick spent the early part of his career in hotel operations in Africa and Europe, working with Holiday Inn, Sun International, Gleneagles and Meridien. He has subsequently consulted in over 80 countries and 250 markets. He is a sought-after speaker and was the organiser and chairman of the highly-regarded European Hotel Investment Conference (EHIC), in London. Nick served on the board of global industry data provider STR from 2011 to 2017, and is a member of the advisory board of Bench Events.

Max Gomera is currently the Director of UN Environment’s Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services Branch. He has over twenty years of national and international experience in natural resources management. A natural resource economist by training, Max was also a Deputy Director of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge. He has sat on many Boards, and most recently on TASAI Inc, the African Seed Access Initiative.

Max is a strong community, nature and social services professional who graduated from The University of Zimbabwe and The University of Western Australia.

Judy is the Founder of Sustainable Travel & Tourism Agenda, an organisation that uses education, research, advocacy, and training to promote sustainable tourism as a quality management system. She has over over 20 years’ experience working with tourism sector, community based tourism, and community conservation. She holds an MA in Rural Sociology & Community Development from University of Nairobi Kenya.

Judy has built her career in tourism around community based tourism and conservation, certification and sustainability assessment, and social impact assessment.

Judy has served as a judge of WTTCl Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, onsite evaluator for Nat Geo Unique Lodges of the World and World Legacy Awards, as judge for IIPT Awards and co-chair of Africa Tourism Leadership Awards.

She previously served in TIES and GSTC boards and is current board member of Fair Trade Tourism.

In 2019, she was awarded the Sustainable Citizen Award by Forbes Woman Africa.

John is a seasoned leader in the fields of conservation, environment and sustainable development. He has worked across multiple continents, disciplines and organisations and served in senior positions with the private sector, government, the UN, and not-for-profit organizations. This includes senior positions with IUCN in Germany and UNEP in Kenya and John was Secretary General of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) from 2010 to 2018. During his term John significantly increased the level of political attention, public profile, funding, partnerships and outreach of CITES. This included leading global efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade, the creation of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime and actively engaging with the International Air Transport Association and the World Travel and Tourism Council on combating wildlife crime.

Roland Vorwerk is the marketing manager of Boundless Southern Africa, a tourism marketing brand for Southern Africa's Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). Roland has developed close working relationships with tourism and conservation stakeholders across the region while developing innovative and inclusive ways to promote tourism to these Transfrontier destinations. He has worked in a variety of tourism-related fields for more than 20 years - as a tourist guide, developing tourism products in rural communities, and working on a number of destination marketing initiatives. Roland's current focus is on the development of world-class cross-border tourism adventures and market development platforms and ensuring that rural communities living alongside the region's TFCAs are able to participate in these events and platforms, and benefit from them.

Jillian Blackbeard is passionate about tourism in Africa, and believes that sustainable growth can only be achieved through collaboration and understanding across the continent by private sector, governments, associations, international organisations and grass roots communities. She is the CEO of The Victoria Falls Regional Tourism Association and the founder of The Africa’s Eden Digital Destination Solution. The Association is driven by private sector, representational membership that surpasses national boundaries and traditional destination definition. The Association is based on inclusivity and represents all levels of the tourism supply chain. She is collaborating with a unique group of global professionals who have been inspired by the Association to come together in a dynamic and pro bono consortium of digital communication and marketing solution during the survival phase of Covid19.

Jillian has collaborated with the World Tourism Forum Lucerne and the Travel and Tourism Global Resilience Council. Her tourism expertise encompasses destination strategy, branding and marketing, wildlife tourism, circular economy, tourism product development, crisis and risk. She was the former Director for Africa at the World Tourism and Travel Council and the Executive Manager Marketing at Botswana Tourism Organisation.

Kumbi Chiweshe, founder of incentive travel and conference specialist The Victoria Falls DMC, is a seasoned tourism professional whose experience includes an exciting sojourn in the wonderful world of hotels having worked for two of the Leading Hotels of the World in Harare and Washington, DC.

Now making a second return to his first love, conferences and incentive travel, Kumbi and his talented team are leading the charge to restore Victoria Falls as one of the most desired business events (MICE) destinations in the world.

Through Carrie’s research and extensive travels, writing safari coffee table books, guide books to Africa, magazine articles, blogs and websites, Carrie has visited more safari lodges and game reserves than anyone else in the world – currently at 250 lodges! Carrie’s wealth of information on the KAZA area comes as author of a 36-page brochure ‘A Journey Through KAZA’ shortly to be published. She says that out of all destinations in KAZA, Victoria Falls epitomises the power of dynamic collaboration that exponentially increases the value of tourism in their area and well beyond their own borders.

Born in Nigeria from Italian parents, he spent his childhood and lower education in West Africa and later on moved to Milan to complete his university studies.

After working as Creative Director in the communications and advertising industry in Italy he moved to Namibia and started with his family to invest in the Tourism industry.

Wild Waters Group of Lodges is a sustainable tourism orientated umbrella company comprised of 4 award-winning Camps & Lodges located in the Zambezi Region (Caprivi) of Namibia.

Simone’s vision is to ensure that Wild Waters Camps & Lodges natural and cultural environment is ethically managed and profitably operated according to the highest possible international standards, practices and guidelines in sustainable tourism, environmental conservation and cultural heritage preservation.

Naledi K. Khabo is a corporate strategy leader with 25 years’ experience within Operations, Marketing & Technology. Having developed and implemented countless of global innovative multimedia brand initiatives, she possesses a rare combination of exceptional business and technology acumen and the ability to translate complex technical concepts for practical business applications.

Naledi currently serves as Chief Executive at the Africa Tourism Association (ATA), a global trade association promoting travel and tourism to Africa and strengthening intra-Africa partnerships. ATA serves both the public and private sectors of the international travel and tourism industry. Naledi is passionate about the intersection of marketing and emerging technologies, and is excited about this intersection and great opportunities within the tourism sector. Her diverse background lends a fresh perspective to ATA’s approach to promoting tourism to and within Africa.

During her tenure at ATA, Naledi has led the organization through significant operational changes including a complete re-branding of the organization and launching several new digital platforms to serve the hospitality and tourism industry, including 'thexchange.africa' which was recently launched in response to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the hospitality, tourism, and meetings industry.

Aborowa started collecting magazines as a teenager, “I discovered community-driven independent publications with strong brand personalities, innovative and inspirational content. Magazines with such diverse content yet not diverse enough.” At some point, searching for a publication where she felt at home became thankless. “Where was the magazine for me, for people like me? It got to a point where I got frustrated with asking whether these magazines existed to wanting to create a space for it to exist. And with that, ìrìn journal was born.”

ìrìn journal is an independent print publication that explores African culture through travel, people and communities. In each issue the journal focuses on a different African city and shines a light on the diverse stories that come together to make up the unique identity of the city.

Award-winning writer and photographer Lola Akinmade Åkerström has photographed and dispatched from 70+ countries for various publications. She is the 2018 Travel Photographer of the Year Bill Muster Award recipient.

Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, Slate, Travel Channel, Lonely Planet, Fodor's, National Geographic Channel, several in-flight magazines, amongst others.

She also runs Geotraveler Media - a multimedia and travel consulting firm providing a spectrum of travel media-related services from writing and photography to web design and social media. She is editor-in-chief of Slow Travel Stockholm – an editorial site which encourages travelers to explore Stockholm deeper and slowly. She is also a founder of the NordicTB which provides digital marketing, content creation, and social media collaboration with travel brands and destinations.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, Bheki Dube - who was named Africa’s Best Tourism Entrepreneur in last year’s Tropics Changemakers Awards - founded innovative tour company Main Street Walks at just 16-years old. Dube opened his first hostel at the age of 21, playing a key role in the regeneration of the city’s renowned Maboneng precinct. The CURIOCITY brand was born and CURIOCITY Joburg quickly became one of the city’s most popular hangouts.

Prior to this, Bheki founded MainStreetWalks a thriving inner-city tourism business that has pioneered alternative, authentic travel experiences in Johannesburg. With his energy that developed as he walked the streets of the inner city, a young Bheki started organizing walking tours for those searching for the same diverse and unique energy he had discovered. A natural progression and a whole lot of hard work lent itself to the start of CURIOCITY. Since 2013 Bheki has grown Curiocity, from 1 hostel boosting only 40beds to 3 successful properties with a portfolio 350 beds across Durban, Johannesburg, and Cape Town.

Bheki has his sight set across the African continent and hopes to lead and change the hospitality and travel industry one Curiocity at a time.

Cheraé Robinson is an entrepreneur, DJ, and modern Pan-Africanist who is the founder and CEO of Tastemakers Africa, an experiences marketplace connecting curious travelers to local insiders in African cities.

The winner of the inaugural “She Leads Africa” startup competition, Ms. Robinson has been named one of 10 Emerging Women Entrepreneurs in Africa by forbes.com, one of 20 to watch by leading Silicon Valley trends group Culture Shift Labs, a Woman to Watch by the United Nations Foundation and Innov8tive Magazine; and she was named one of 44 People Changing The Way We Travel by Conde Naste Traveler.

She splits her time between New York and city-hopping the African continent. She is passionate about bringing the benefits of the sharing economy to African youth sustainably, using technology to further “the culture”, and connecting people of African descent all over the world in meaningful ways.

Frederic Van Lennep, is the Business Development Director MEA at IT Hospitality with over 15 years of experience in Hospitality operations and technology supply in Africa.

He comes from a hospitality background having managed and consulted on multiple hotel projects in Kenya, East Africa. Including some of the most prestigious beach properties from Heritage Hotels’ Voyager Beach Resort in Mombasa, Leisure Lodge Beach & Golf Resort In Diani, The Majlis Resort in Lamu and Nyali International Beach resort in Mombasa.

His career path continued as Sales Manager for Assa Abloy Global Solutions distributing VingCard electronic locking solutions and Elsafe in room safe in East, West and Central Africa where he was responsible for the overall sales development, partner contracting and project follow up on over 300 hospitality projects.

He recently joined the team of IT Hospitality in as their Business Development Director for Middle East and Africa.

IT Hospitality is the preferred integrator for International Hotel Chains in Middle East & Africa ensuring the proper deployment of their systems, offering end to end turnkey solutions and providing local support, network design & management, WiFi & High Speed Internet Access, IPTV & In-Room Entertainment and IT Management & Support.

•David Esseryk, with more than 25 years of experience in digital, technology & hotel marketing, is leading the HD Consulting company.

•Its objective: to support digital & human transformation and support the growth and expansion of hotels, food service and leisure companies .

•A graduate of Paris René Auffray Hotel School and holder of an MBA at Oxford Brookes University, David Esseryk began his career as Director of Operations at Hilton USA.

•He joined the Marriott Hotels & Resorts Europe group in 2000, where he held the position of Information Systems Director.

•In 2007, he joined AccorHotels as Director of Product and Technological Innovation, in charge of product innovation for all brands.

•In 2011, he was appointed Vice-President Digital and Innovation and led digital transformation by developing digital and marketing tools to enrich and facilitate the customer journey.

•In 2017, David Esseryk, is appointed Chief Digital & Marketing Officer within the hotel group The Originals, Human Hotels & Resorts (600 hotels & resorts).Its objective: to support digital transformation and support the growth and expansion of the company.This job creation results from the group’s decision to integrate the digital trades around a refocused management including information systems, e-commerce, marketing and loyalty.

•His knowledge of digital issues and the international dimension of his career in the hotel sector give the teams of The Originals, Human Hotels & Resorts and his network a new impetus oriented towards.

Tony Leca qualified as an electrical engineer (light current) in 1994, when he furthered his studies in computer science, high level electronic diagnostics and networking topologies, as well as technical hardware support and maintenance, before founding three technology companies between 1995 and 2004.

Tony is the founding CEO of Ethnic Technologies (PTY) Ltd , with offices in London and Cape Town which has specialized in the fields of hospitality and leisure resorts and has successfully managed and completed in excess of 230 high level projects over the past 22 years, throughout Africa. Resulting from their innovative approach, coupled with their exceptional subject matter expertise and business acumen, Ethnic Technologies earned a reputation of adding value by finding the latest and most cost effective technical solutions for its clients. Tony Leca is a member of the HFORUM association and consults on their panel as an expert in Electronic Services, IT and technologies.

Graduated from Lausanne hotel school, with certifications from Cornell University, and mentored by YSC in South Africa, Arnold is an expert in Hotel Planning and Design, with a double experience in Operations and Hotel Developments.

With now 25 years of an intense career, having lived in 8 countries and developed hotels in 30 African countries, 14 countries in the Middle East, China and Caribbean’s, he is based in Casablanca, where he founded ANKASA Consult.

Headed Technical Divisions for Hyatt international, Radisson, ONOMO hotels, and delivered projects with most renowned brands. His passion and energy characterize his personality and drive.

Founder of the Hospitality Forum earlier this year, with best available expertise from more than 10 collaborators, H Forum orchestrate Hotel projects in Africa and in the Middle East.

Frank has been in the hospitality industry since 37 years, holding director and VP positions with Micros, Oracle, NCR in the past 25 years where he worked with the major hospitality players globally.

Today he is responsible for ACT’s strategic expansion, specializing on global provision of services and solutions for all areas of hospitality technology.

Jillian Blackbeard is passionate about tourism in Africa, and believes that sustainable growth can only be achieved through collaboration and understanding across the continent by private sector, governments, associations, international organisations and grass roots communities. She is the CEO of The Victoria Falls Regional Tourism Association and the founder of The Africa’s Eden Digital Destination Solution. The Association is driven by private sector, representational membership that surpasses national boundaries and traditional destination definition. The Association is based on inclusivity and represents all levels of the tourism supply chain. She is collaborating with a unique group of global professionals who have been inspired by the Association to come together in a dynamic and pro bono consortium of digital communication and marketing solution during the survival phase of Covid19.

Jillian has collaborated with the World Tourism Forum Lucerne and the Travel and Tourism Global Resilience Council. Her tourism expertise encompasses destination strategy, branding and marketing, wildlife tourism, circular economy, tourism product development, crisis and risk. She was the former Director for Africa at the World Tourism and Travel Council and the Executive Manager Marketing at Botswana Tourism Organisation.

Dave was born in Zimbabwe and schooled at St George’s College in Harare before completing his CIS in London.

Dave joined the family industrial business in Zimbabwe in 1978, branching out personally into the fledgling safari industry there in 1987. He was an early pioneer of safari tourism marketing with his start up business Wild Africa Safaris, followed by the pioneering of incentive travel to Zimbabwe through the co-founding of the multi award winning DMC Green Route. He then pioneered the international timeshare exchange business in Zimbabwe with his development of Lokuthula Lodges in Victoria Falls, the forerunner to developing other successful products such as The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, The Victoria Falls Safari Club , and The Boma Dinner & Drum Show. Dave is currently Executive Chairman of Africa Albida Tourism. He is in his 34th year in tourism.

Hugh Hough is the President and Founder of Green Team Global, a New York-based strategy and communications agency that specializes in travel and sustainability.

Hugh comfortably straddles the worlds of destination marketing, multinational corporations, international Non-Government Organization (NGO’s), and all aspects of the sustainability movement. He has helped develop campaigns for clients that include LATAM Airlines, Estée Lauder Company, Peru, Guyana, Georgia (the country), Victoria Falls, Rainforest Alliance and International Rhino Foundation. Hugh is a sought-after speaker on the topics of sustainable tourism, “green” marketing, corporate social responsibility and global consumer trends.

Nicole started Break the Ice Media in 2009 in response to the evolving needs of small- to medium-sized businesses as the advertising landscape started to change with the advent of social media and other non-traditional advertising outlets.

As CEO, Nicole is responsible for working with clients to understand their marketing needs, developing strategic marketing plans and executing those plans. Her dedication to the tourism industry keeps her team informed on current trends and best practices, regularly attending tourism conferences and travel shows. Nicole also hosts the weekly podcast Destination on the Left, interviewing tourism professionals from around the globe on creativity and collaboration in the industry.

Living in Southern Africa for 12 years, Thomas has 20 years of experience in the Hospitality and Tourism sector while working for brands like TUI and Thomas Cook in 8 countries and cultures. His focus on digital marketing and distribution, the turnaround of Hospitality and Tourism businesses, opening of Hotels has made him a Digital Native Hospitality and Tourism professional. Before that, he started his career with the largest commercial company METRO in Europe and IBM where he evolved on his career in IT, software development, and systems integration. It is this combined commercial, IT, Digital, and Hospitality and Tourism experience that created the holistic approach of rainmaker digital.

Profile rainmaker:

rainmaker digital is a social enterprise with a clear target to keep more tourism spend in destinations through the democratization of technology. That technology is made inclusively available to the 200.000+ emerging, small, medium, and independent hospitality and tourism businesses in Africa for sustainable tourism development. The VISTA Destination Network Open Platform and Ecosystem is the core to enable destinations and their hospitality and tourism businesses to take back control of their visibility, digital presence, reputation, communication, and distribution to reduce dependency on no longer sustainable or market-dominating behemoth controlled digital value chains.

Mary Gostelow is President, Owner and Publisher of Gostelow Report, the definitive monthly global market intelligence. She is also Editorial Director of Girlahead and MARY GOSTELOW GIRLAHEAD PODCAST, both part of Almont Global. She is international correspondent for HOTELS Magazine, and global ambassador for International Luxury Travel Market ILTM.

A next-generation visionary luxury industry leader with a focus on growth and brand equity, based in Dubai. Throughout his career, Kafarov worked on enhancing desirability of brands through stimulating creativity, protecting high-quality of products and curating unique customer experiences.

Having spent 14 years at Jumeirah Group, where Kafarov looked after international development marketing and the Chairman’s public affairs, seeing the number of hotels growing from seven to 23, he joined Emerald Palace Group as Vice President of Marketing & PR. He was instrumental in launching the landmark Emerald Palace Kempinski Dubai which received a number of prestigious awards, including "The Most Anticipated Hotel Opening" by Condé Nast Traveller.

After helping to expand two very successful hospitality brands - Jumeirah and Kempinski - he moved to private aviation and became Director of Portfolio Development & Corporate Communications at Jetex. A world leader in aviation, Jetex handles more than 40,000 flights annually as well as operates 37 private jet terminals around the world. At Jetex, Kafarov also looks after universal brand standards and franchising, working to increase the number of international terminals to 50 in 2023.

His strong track record in strategic brand development, brand partnerships and corporate communications, complemented by in-depth knowledge of luxury and finance help him to stay ahead of market trends and his companies achieve luxury margins.

Results-oriented and highly entrepreneurial, he is a winner of the Forbes Top Marketing & Communications Executive Award 2020. As a passionate traveller and luxury expert, he also writes for Condé Nast Traveller, Forbes and other leading publications.

Ewan Cameron leads Westmont Hospitality’s Operations and Development in Africa.

Ewan has previously held senior roles with IHG, African Sun and Lonrho Hotels;

- VP Franchise Operations, EMEA, InterContinental Hotels Group
- Head of Development Africa, InterContinental Hotels Group
- Managing Director (Non Zimbabwe) African Sun Hotels
- CEO Lonrho Hotels

James Hogan is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Knighthood Capital.

James recently served as President and Chief Executive of Etihad Aviation Group, which he built into a US$20 billion enterprise between 2006 and 2017, achieving the mandate from his shareholders to build a world-class diversified aviation and travel group.

During this time, he also held positions as Vice Chairman and Board member of Alitalia, Airberlin, Jet Airways and Air Serbia; Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC); and as a member of the IATA Board of Governors.

Prior to this, James was President and CEO of Gulf Air, and held senior executive positions at BMI, Forte Hotels, and Hertz. He served as a non-executive director and member of the Board’s Audit Committee of Gallaher Group and was also a member of the UBS Industrialisation Advisory Board. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aerospace Society. Under James’ leadership, Etihad Airways was named Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year in 2016, the industry’s most prestigious independent accolade

In 2017, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for ‘distinguished services to the aviation transport industry, to the development of tourism and trade linkages between Australia and the Gulf states, and to international airline associations.

Knighthood Capital Partners offers business advisory, capital structuring and investment services in the following sectors: Aerospace & Aviation, Travel & Tourism, Hospitality, Construction & Real Estate and Information Technology.

Matthew Weihs is Managing Director of Bench Events. Within this role he focuses on the development of new business opportunities and sales for Bench Events and partners, whilst also supporting the direction of the business and providing commercial support for new product launches.

With over 15 years experience in B2B conferencing with Guardian News and Media, IQPC and now Bench Events his main responsibilities have been to manage the sales across the portfolio, deliver the projects to the high standards our customers expect and to find new development opportunities for the business. In 2012 he successfully founded and launched the African Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) and in 2013 he launched the Morocco Tourism Investment Forum (MTIF) - an invitation only event for the industry. 2014 will see the launch of the Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF), the latest addition to the Bench Events hotel investment conference portfolio.

You could say Colin made his own luck – instead of going into the world of finance after completing his economics degree at Wits University, he landed his first job as a safari guide in Botswana in 1977. In those days a cold beer came out of a wet long sock, tied to the side mirror of his Land Rover. That was as good as it got. In 1983 Colin co-founded Wilderness Safaris which went on to become one of the most successful specialist safari companies in Africa. Over the decades it grew to manage camps and lodges across seven countries and employed more than 2,500 people and managed millions of acres of prime wildlife reserves. Many of these lodges gained their “bush cred” through partnerships with local communities: it was through those negotiations and relationships that Colin started to learn what worked sustainably and what did not. One of Colin's great career successes was to initiate the process (and sign the first cheque) that resulted in the successful reintroduction of both black and white rhino back into the wilds of the Okavango Delta. Colin sold his shares in Wilderness in 2005 and went on to co-found Great Plains Conservation and then Natural Selection Safaris. In between he co-authored two books - Africa’s Finest and The Last Elephants?.