FOUNDING PARTNERS

Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio is the Executive Chairman of Heritage Group, a holding company active in tourism, biotechnology, medical technologies, energy transition, real estate, IT, and premium beverages. Born in Rome in 1953, he is the son of distinguished jurist Antonio Lefebvre d'Ovidio.

As Chairman of Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group and Quintessential Brands Group, and Vice-Chairman of Arqit Quantum, Manfredi is a pioneer in the luxury travel sector, having transformed Silversea Cruises into a global leader by expanding operations to over 900 destinations before its sale to Royal Caribbean Group, where he served as Executive Chairman from 2001 to 2020.

In the public arena, he is the Honorary Consul of Ecuador in Monaco and a Permanent Observer at UNESCO, as well as Ambassador-at-Large for Culture and Philanthropy for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He currently holds the position of Vice-President for Africa and is a Member of the Executive Committee of the World Travel & Tourism Council, where he is soon to become Chairman.

With over four decades of experience in the tourism and cruise industries, Manfredi has shaped the luxury cruise sector while diversifying into biotechnology and energy transition. His extensive roles include Newcleo, and he serves as a Global Senior Advisor at Rothschild & Co. He has received prestigious decorations, including the Orders of Saint Charles and Grimaldi.

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Sébastien Bazin began his career in the finance sector in 1985 in the USA. In 1997, he joined Colony Capital to install and develop the European branch of the private investment firm. Within 15 years, he managed and participated in a number of investments in the hotel sector. A member of AccorHotels’ board since 2005, he was appointed as Chairman and CEO of the Group in August 2013. Administrator of Théâtre du Châtelet since 2013, Sébastien Bazin took over the presidency of this board on 26 March 2015. He is also Vice Chairman of the supervisory board of the Gustave Roussy Foundation.

Jackson began his professional career as an attorney at the law firms White & Case and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in the U.S and Asia, and more recently was a senior attorney at IBM handling legal matters for the ASEAN countries and South Asia.

After joining Amadeus in 2006 and serving as General Counsel of its Asia Pacific region for 12 years, Jackson joined the AirAsia Group as Chief Legal Officer, overseeing the legal activities of its nine operating airlines and serving on the group’s Senior Management Committee. He returned to Amadeus in 2020 in charge of commercial and transactional legal matters globally, before being appointed Senior Vice President & General Counsel in 2022.

In addition to his work as a lawyer, Jackson has lectured at various universities in Asia, most notably the National University of Singapore Law School, where he served on the faculty for two years.

A U.S. citizen, Jackson holds business and law degrees from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and from New York University School of Law.

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Gerard “Jerry” Inzerillo is a globally celebrated Forbes-cover visionary in the hospitality and tourism industry, with a deep aptitude for positioning strategies and iconic developments. In 2018, Inzerillo was appointed by HRH The Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be the first CEO of the newly created Diriyah Gate Development Authority, (DGDA), a USD $20 Billion-plus giga-project aimed at restoring and reimagining the ancestral home of the original Saudi state. Inzerillo also serves as Vice Chairman of the Forbes Travel Guide.

With over 38 years in the travel industry my experience has been unbelievably varied. From checking people in at Terminal 1, to being a tri-star stewardess, to experience in sales, marketing and PR, my 10 years at BA gave me the foundations for the remainder of my career in travel and tourism PR and Marketing. I learned my trade not just from professional PR qualifications but through experiencing real life in so many departments. And since then, having grown the Brighter business from 2 people to 22 and survived many financial downturns and clients in crisis, there probably isn’t any area of travel PR and marketing I haven’t had a hand in!

Christopher Nassetta is President and CEO for Hilton. He joined the company in 2007. Previously, Mr. Nassetta was President and CEO of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a position he held since 2000. He joined Host in 1995 as Executive Vice President and was elected Chief Operating Officer in 1997. Before joining Host, Mr. Nassetta co-founded Bailey Capital Corporation in 1991, where he was responsible for the operations of the real estate investment and advisory firm. Prior to founding Bailey Capital Corporation, he spent seven years at The Oliver Carr Company, ultimately serving as Chief Development Officer. In this role, he was responsible for all development and related activities for one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the mid-Atlantic region. Mr. Nassetta graduated from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce with a degree in finance. He currently serves on McIntire’s Advisory Board.

Hailing from the UK, James began his career in asset management before making a career change to join Intrepid Travel. Over the past 18 years James has held a variety of senior roles at Intrepid. Appointed as CEO in March 2017, James has been instrumental in the growth of Intrepid, focusing on the dual objectives of growing the market for sustainable experience-rich travel and operating a company that balances purpose and profit. Under his leadership, Intrepid achieved B Corporation certification and recorded four consecutive years of record top and bottom line growth between 2015 and 2019. In 2018 James was named Hospitality and Tourism Executive of the Year in the CEO Magazine Awards.

Pierfrancesco Vago leads the Cruise Division of MSC Group, the leading, privately held Swiss-based shipping and logistics conglomerate. From the Division’s global headquarters in Geneva, Mr Vago sets the strategy and long-term vision of MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise brand, and Explora Journeys, the Group’s new luxury ocean travel brand.

Mr Vago focuses on the two brands’ sustained growth, fleet development and the division’s overall terminal portfolio. He also oversees other MSC Group subsidiaries in maritime passenger shipping, including ferry operator GNV. As Chair of the MSC Foundation’s Executive Committee, Mr Vago leads MSC Group’s philanthropic efforts, focusing on conservation, humanitarian and cultural projects seeking to restore the critical balance between people and nature within a generation.

As CEO of MSC Cruises from 2003 to 2013, Mr Vago oversaw the company’s first phase of expansion, which saw 12 purpose-built cruise ships join the brand’s fleet in just ten years, to become the leading line in Europe. Mr Vago was appointed Global Chairman of CLIA, the cruise industry’s international association, in January 2021. After three years in this position, Mr Vago took up the position of Chairman, CLIA Europe, for a second term.

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Julie Shainock is Managing Director - Travel, Transport, Logistics & Hospitality (TTLH) and responsible for developing Microsoft's point of view and future strategy for our WW Travel and Transport Industry. She is focused on leading the airlines, hospitality companies, cruise and freight logistics and rail companies to driving innovation that will enhance the customer and employee journey, while driving increased productivity and cost reduction with the use of Microsoft's technology and its ecosystem of TTH solution partners.

Hashil Al Mahrouqi has accumulated experience spanning twenty years in investment management in multiple sectors, such as oil and gas, tourism and logistics. As part of this distinguished career, he worked for a period of 10 years in the management of a range of mixed-use real estate developments and tourism investments.

In his current position as CEO of OMRAN Group, Al Mahrouqi is taking the helm at the Group to enrich the efforts of development, progress and growth in the tourism sector. In addition to enhancing the capabilities of the Group, its subsidiaries and the broad portfolio of tourism assets and investments across the Sultanate, in compliance with the directions of Oman Investment Authority. Aiming at maximizing investment returns and achieving local added value, these efforts will contribute towards delivering some of key objectives of Oman 2040 Vision, through attracting tourism investments, developing pioneering projects and yielding socio-economic returns for the Sultanate.

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Jonathan has worked in the hotel industry for 40 years. He was appointed Managing Director at Red Carnation Hotels in 2000, which at the time comprised four hotels, today he is responsible for 18 hotels across the globe – six in London and others in Dorset, Guernsey, Ireland, Geneva, South Africa, and Botswana, as well as a stand-alone restaurant in London. In 2022, Jonathan received a title change from MD to CEO of Red Carnation Hotels. Our newest jewel 100 Princes Street in Edinburgh, opened in 2024 as Red Carnation’s first hotel in Scotland.  Red Carnation Hotels pride themselves on offering outstanding levels of comfort and an exceptional guest experience.  In recent years hotels within the collection have received awards from various professional bodies; notably, the company has been recognised for the training it provides achieving Best Companies accreditation and Princess Royal Training Award most recently in 2023.  In 2024, Red Carnation Hotels was voted ‘Number 4 Best Hotel Brand in the World’ in Travel + Leisure ‘World’s Best’ Awards.  Additionally, The Red Carnation Hotel Collection was delighted to walk home with the award for ‘Hotel Group of the Year’ at the 2024 AA Hotel & Hospitality Awards.

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Jane Sun has held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Trip.com Group, and served on the Board of Directors, since November 2016. She joined the company as Chief Financial Officer in 2005, before being made Chief Operating Officer in 2012, and Co-President in 2015. Ms. Sun is well respected for her extensive experience in the operation and management of online travel businesses, as well as her knowledge of mergers and acquisitions and financial reporting and operations. She has been named one of Fortune's Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business for the past four years. In 2019, she was awarded an Asia Society Asia Game Changer Award, and became a member of the Asia Society Board of Trustees. Forbes named her one of the Emergent 25 Asia's Latest Star Businesswomen in 2018, and one of the Most Influential and Outstanding Businesswomen in China in 2017. She was also listed among Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business in 2017. During her tenure at Trip.com Group, she has won Institutional Investor awards for both Best CEO and Best CFO. Prior to joining Trip.com Group, Ms. Sun worked as the head of the SEC and External Reporting Division of Applied Materials, Inc. Prior to this, she worked with KPMG LLP for five years as an audit manager in Silicon Valley, California. Ms. Sun received her bachelor's degree from the business school at the University of Florida where she achieved high honors. She also obtained her LLM degree from the Peking University Law School.

After graduating in commerce from Mumbai University and completing his Business Management studies from Mumbai, Zubin Karkaria joined Orbit Trade Fair Tours in 1989. He then moved to SOTC in 1991 and was with SOTC when it was acquired by Kuoni Group in 1996. He was appointed as the COO of the Kuoni India Tour Operating Division in 1999 and moved on to become the Deputy CEO and Head of Business Development in 2003. He conceptualized and launched VFS Global in 2001, and was appointed as the CEO and Managing Director of Kuoni India and South Asia in 2005, responsible for all units of Kuoni India – Tour Operating, Destination Management, Business Travel, and Kuoni Academy, while concurrently developing the VFS Global business into a global leader in its field (as CEO from 2010 onwards). In 2013, in line with the development of VFS Global as an important Division of Kuoni Group, Zubin Karkaria was appointed on the Executive Board of Kuoni Group. From 2015 till 2017 Zubin Karkaria was Chief Executive Officer of Kuoni Group, in addition to his current role as CEO of VFS Global.

Matthew is a travel industry visionary with a lifetime of experience in numerous sectors of the field. He has led Virtuoso (formerly Allied Percival International) since its founding in 1986, and is the innovator behind the industry's foremost retail luxury travel brand and the trend setting relationship-building Virtuoso Travel Week (formerly Travel Mart). Matthew was named to the American Society of Travel Agents Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Cruise Lines International Association Hall of Fame in 2010, and has served as the chairman of the Travel Institute. He is a sought-after expert on luxury travel and speaks regularly around the world on the topic at industry conferences and with major media outlets. Matthew attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, and holds a Certified Travel Counselor accreditation from the Travel Institute.