OPEN HOUSE > SPEAKERS

Leaders to
learn from

With the very best entrepreneurs, conservationists, wellness gurus, tech mavericks and philanthropists sharing their knowledge and insights, at Open House you’ll have countless opportunities to find the inspiration you’ve been looking for.

Spend some time scrolling through every inspirational speaker who was on the 2023 line up, or click on the stage names below to find out was due to speak where...

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MOONSHOT STAGE

Zita Cobb

Founder & CEO of Shorefast & Innkeeper, Fogo Island Inn

Zita Cobb

A Dance With The Devil

Tourism needs a deep rethink. Travel experiences around the world have become disconnected from the places and the people we are visiting. At its worst, tourism can kill cultures, harm nature and rob local communities of their dignity and agency. How can we do it better? How do we win this dance with the devil? As Fogo Island Inn turns 10 years old, Innkeeper and Founder Zita Cobb shares its impact and potential as a model for investment that is based on true development: development that strengthens culture and serves local communities.

Zita is the Innkeeper of Fogo Island Inn, which opened 10 years ago and quickly became a global model for regenerative, community-based hospitality. The award-winning, 29-room Inn is located on an island in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, Canada.

Also Co-Founder and CEO of Shorefast, a registered Canadian charity which owns the Inn and other social businesses, Cobb works to help secure economic and cultural resilience for Fogo Island, a centuries-old settler fishing community. Shorefast’s notable achievements consist of a holistic set of charitable initiatives, including a world-class artist-in-residence program, and 3 innovative social businesses whose operating surpluses are returned for reinvestment in further community development work. Shorefast has pioneered the innovative practice of Economic Nutrition for its social businesses, transparently demonstrating “where the money goes.” An active CEO, Zita volunteers her full time and energy to Shorefast’s work on Fogo Island.

Dr Martha Newson

Associate Professor in Psychology & Cognitive Anthropologist

Dr Martha Newson

Harnessing Ritual for Community Wellbeing

Cohesive and resilient communities have been vital to our evolution. So much so that cues of personal isolation in the present day come at great cost to both our mental and physical wellbeing. But what holds a community together? And what ties community with space and place? Ritual may be the perfect tool to tackle these questions: a tool that, when used in the right way, has the power to transform both individual lives and the planet. Ritual, though culturally diverse, appears in every known human culture. This ritual stance appears in very young children who attend carefully to ritual (think blowing out birthday candles!) to our eldest who preserve the previous generation’s ritual wisdom for us. Many indigenous and animist communities retain ritual practices that bind both group and environment; practices that can inspire leaders from post-industrial societies to reclaim ritual, restore community, and regenerate connections between communities and local environments.

Martha is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Greenwich, London, where she holds a £1 million pound Future Leaders Fellowship grant to investigate social cohesion. Martha is also a Research Affiliate at the University of Oxford, where she gained both her Masters and doctorate in cognitive anthropology.

Her focus is on belonging and the rituals that hold us together, themes central to both her academic research and her consultancy practice. She has worked with unusual and extreme groups across the world, from Brazilian football hooligans to fundamentalist Muslims in Indonesia and partygoers in Britain’s underground rave scene.

Her research has featured on BBC, Discovery and Sky TV and she regularly contributes to BBC Radio 4 and the World Service.

James McBride

CEO & Co-Founding Partner, NIHI Hotels

James McBride

From Nothing To Nirvana: How To Create A Cult Following For Your Brand

In conversation with Serge Dive, CEO, This is Beyond

How do you go from building global hospitality brands to creating the Best Hotel in the World in the middle of nowhere? For James McBride, the journey from the executive suite for companies including Ritz-Carlton and Rosewood to an award-winning gem in the Indian Ocean was made possible through limitless creativity, clever marketing techniques, and learning how to innovate on the fly. He’ll share how he transformed the little-known surf destination Nihiwatu into the world-leading NIHI Sumba using a combination of storytelling and an entrepreneurial spirit – and how you can borrow his wisdom to create a cult brand of your own.

McBride is a global hotelier with 35 years of experience under his belt. Known for his limitless creativity, clever marketing techniques, and exceptional hotel experiences, he has raised the bar in the hospitality industry. For the past 10 years, McBride has led NIHI® Sumba into the global realm achieving many coveted industry awards, including Best Hotel in the World for 2 consecutive years by Travel & Leisure.

Anant Sharma

CEO & Founder, Matter Of Form

Anant Sharma

Digital Enlightenment Meets Human-First Hospitality

In our era of digital default, preserving the human strands of brand–guest relationships is an emerging imperative for luxury hospitality. But instead of recoiling from the impact of digital and technological innovation, futurist and brand and experience design expert Anant Sharma believes we should lean into it. By merging the human and the digital, we can cultivate a new kind of guest experience directed towards connection, preferred futures and long-term value. It’s time to enter the age of digital enlightenment, with a human touch.

For 14 years, Sharma has led Matter Of Form — a Brand & Experience Design Consultancy partnering with timeless luxury brands with clients ranging from Accor, Aman and Belmond to Como Hotels, Le Collectionist and Wilderness.

A futurist, innovation enthusiast and advocate of developing meritocratic cultures that promote ideas and learning, Anant is also a dedicated teacher and student of behavioural design; exploring what drives us to do the things we do.

He also co-owns Experience Haus, a design thinking school, and lectures as an adjunct professor in branding, CX and innovation at EHL.

Sonu Shivdasani OBE

CEO and Joint Creative Director, Soneva

Sonu Shivdasani OBE

Guardians Of The Culture: Why We Must Put Purpose Over Profit

In conversation with Serge Dive, CEO, This is Beyond

Can experiential travel ever be truly sustainable? Should companies prioritise purpose over profit? And what collective action can we all take right now to Change Worlds? To answer these questions, Sonu Shivdasani will reflect on how his trailblazing work in the Soneva Foundation has resulted in tangible, positive change for both society and the planet. From fostering collaborations between scientists and seafood companies to impacting the environmental strategy of the Maldives government, Shivdasani’s achievements show that companies can – and must – play their part in addressing the problems of the 21st century.

Sonu and his wife, Eva, opened their first resort, Soneva Fushi, in 1995. As a pioneer for luxury and environmental responsibility, Soneva Fushi redefined tourism in the Maldives and soon became known as the country’s premier island destination. That year, they also launched Six Senses Resorts & Spas, followed by the Evason hotels group in 1997, with properties across Southeast Asia and Europe. Sonu believes strongly that companies must play their part in addressing the problems of the 21st century, and in 2010, the Soneva Foundation was created as a means to reinforce Soneva’s SLOWLIFE core purpose. After championing greater environmental accountability in the hospitality sector for more than two decades, Sonu was honoured as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to tourism, sustainability and charity in the King’s New Year Honours 2023 Overseas and International List.

Penny Rafferty

Executive Chair of Luxury Lodges of Australia

Penny Rafferty

Leading By Example: The Power Of Collaboration To Build Sustainable Communities

To trigger significant paradigm shifts and support a sustainable future, we must build strong communities, large and small, unified around a common purpose. To do that, we must first be vulnerable, willing to get uncomfortable, address our fears of change and of missing out, and bring a new mindset to the table. Penny Rafferty will share the process of collaboration she went through at Luxury Lodges of Australia, as well as continuous inspiration from other leaders, to identify a core purpose that goes beyond profit and self, change the way they measure success, and shift values and behaviours.

Longtime PUREist, Penny is Executive Chair of Luxury Lodges of Australia, leading the organisation since 2010. This collective of independently owned and operated lodges and camps across Australia helped shape and define the country’s high-end experiential travel. Rafferty has also guided Tourism Australia’s Sustainability strategy since 2020 – with the aim of advocating and educating, elevating the sustainability legacy stories of Australian tourism, growing consumer demand, and encouraging industry capability. Prior to this, she was general manager of a luxury vineyard retreat, and a heritage winery in the Barossa Valley.

Penny’s passion for sustainability aligns with her belief that building community through collaboration is key to driving a paradigm shift, ultimately supporting a sustainable future.

Beverly Joubert

National Geographic Explorer at Large

Beverly Joubert

Emergency! Conservation Today To Save The World Tomorrow

It’s code red for conservation. As the clock ticks down, radical ideas are required in order to turn things around. And who better to guide the way than two of the foremost thought leaders in African conservation, Dereck and Bevery Joubert? The founders of Great Plains, the Big Cats Initiative and Project Ranger will share insights gained from a life at the wheel of conservation. From living with lions and learning from elephants to airlifting rhinos and earning a loyalty card at their local hospital, these “Children of Africa” will reveal the passion and persistence it takes to really shift the needle and save our world before it’s too late.

Thought leaders in conservation, tourism and community work in Africa, as well as respected filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert are the founders of the Big Cats Initiative and Great Plains – a tourism-based conservation company with 14 camps in Africa. The hands-on conservationists began Project Ranger to fund rangers during the pandemic, raising nearly $2,000,000 for them and their families. Together they have written 15 books, and won multiple awards for their critically acclaimed films.

Dereck Joubert

National Geographic Explorer at Large

Dereck Joubert

Emergency! Conservation Today To Save The World Tomorrow

MAVERICK STAGE

Carla David

Sales Director, Nay Palad

Carla David

The Power Of Nature-Positive Thinking
In conversation with Eloise Dyer, Marketing Communications Manager, Borana Conservancy, Carter Smith, Director of Operations, Sojourns, and Michaella Rugwizangoga, Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board

Moderated by Holly Tuppen, Communications Manager, The Long Run
In 2022, the World Travel and Tourism Council released a report finding that 80% of all travel involves some form of nature – proving that the industry is not only dependent on a healthy, thriving natural world, but also has a large impact on it. Since then, the term “nature-positive travel” has gained momentum, as everyone from city-centre boutique hotels to remote luxury lodges strives to protect and regenerate their greatest asset. In a panel discussion curated by The Long Run, one of the world’s leading collections of conservation-led lodges and travel businesses, you’ll discover why nature-positive travel matters, what it looks like, and how you can get involved to curb our global biodiversity crisis, however big or small your business.

Sales Director at Nay Palad Hideaway in Siargao, Philippines, Carla has 21 years of Sales and Marketing expertise in Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and other International Markets in the given geographical regions.

She has worked with a variety of foreign brands, including Aman, Grand Hyatt, Conrad Hotel, Dusit Thani, and a high-end local chain in the Philippines. In her previous role with Amanpulo, Carla served as the Director of Sales for 5 years, overseeing the MICE, wedding, and Travel Trade Segments for the Philippines and selected foreign countries.

Carter Smith

Director of Operations, Sojourns

Carter Smith

The Power Of Nature-Positive Thinking

In conversation with Eloise Dyer, Marketing Communications Manager, Borana Conservancy, Michaella Rugwizangoga, Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board, and Carla David, Sales Director, Nay Palad

Moderated by Holly Tuppen, Communications Manager, The Long Run

In 2022, the World Travel and Tourism Council released a report finding that 80% of all travel involves some form of nature – proving that the industry is not only dependent on a healthy, thriving natural world, but also has a large impact on it. Since then, the term “nature-positive travel” has gained momentum, as everyone from city-centre boutique hotels to remote luxury lodges strives to protect and regenerate their greatest asset. In a panel discussion curated by The Long Run, one of the world’s leading collections of conservation-led lodges and travel businesses, you’ll discover why nature-positive travel matters, what it looks like, and how you can get involved to curb our global biodiversity crisis, however big or small your business.

Carter carries an extensive African conservation and safari industry background, and has lived in Kenya for over 20 years. As a post graduate, she worked for Save the Elephants and became one of the first female licensed safari guides with the Kenya Safari guide Association. She created and led private safaris for her clients for over 16 years with her own safari company, Carter Safaris.

In 2019, she joined African Wildlife Foundation to manage and lead their safaris for their donors. In 2022, Carter decided it was time to ‘go global’ and joined Conservation International, which works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity. Woking in their internal travel program, ‘Sojourns’, Carter creates life changing experiences in some of the most beautiful and remote places on Earth for Conservation International’s most influential constituents. Carter believes that the most effective way to inspire donors and deepen their understanding of the critical work they support is by interacting with community partners and exposing them to immense natural beauty.

Eloise Dyer

Marketing Communications Manager, Borana Conservancy

Eloise Dyer

The Power Of Nature-Positive Thinking

In conversation with Michaella Rugwizangoga, Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board, Carter Smith, Director of Operations, Sojourns, and Carla David, Sales Director, Nay Palad

Moderated by Holly Tuppen, Communications Manager, The Long Run

In 2014 Eloise left the UK to Borana Conservancy to volunteer for six months after which she emigrated to Botswana to manage a tented camp for a year. She returned to Kenya in 2016 and started managing Borana Lodge. Dyer now runs the marketing and reservations for Lengishu House and Borana Lodge as well as assisting with communications, operations and graphic design for various conservancy projects. She was part of the team who gained the prestigious GER® status for Borana Lodge in 2019, accredited by The Long Run, and is assisting Lengishu House in going through the same audit this year.

Michaella Rugwizangoga

Chief Tourism Officer, Rwanda Development Board

Michaella Rugwizangoga

The Power Of Nature-Positive Thinking

In conversation with Eloise Dyer, Marketing Communications Manager, Borana Conservancy, Carter Smith, Director of Operations, Sojourns, and Carla David, Sales Director, Nay Palad

Moderated by Holly Tuppen, Communications Manager, The Long Run

Chief Tourism Officer at the Rwanda Development Board, Michaella oversees the tourism sector and the management of the brand ‘Visit Rwanda’. She is also a proud member of the World Economic Forum Global Council on Tourism. Prior to this role, she was the CEO of Volkswagen Mobility Solutions Rwanda and the first black CEO within the Volkswagen group.

With a masters degree in Quality Control and Environmental Toxicology from the University of Kaiserslautern, and a certificate in Business Strategy from the Wharton School, Michaella is a woman of many passions.

Adam Sebba

CEO, The Luminaire

Adam Sebba

Are We Entering The Post-Experience Era?

In conversation with Laura Goldwyn, Head of New Ventures, Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes, Zahra Kassim Lakha, Richemont Group Executive and Board Director at Watchfinder, and Jenny Southan, Editor and Founder, Globetrender.

Moderated by Adam Sebba, CEO, The Luminaire

The pandemic triggered a new era for luxury – one focused not on bragging rights or hedonism, but on more purposeful experiences that promote personal growth. We’ll examine how luxury brands now think about experience and what travel brands can learn from them. From people wanting to learn more about the worlds they’re travelling through to giving back to the cultures they explore, we’ll also discuss whether in place of experience, knowledge is in fact the new luxury…

Adam Sebba is the Chief Executive and Founder of The Luminaire; a company that has reimagined what it means to travel and understand the world. Over a 20 year career, Sebba has worked as a Chief Executive in luxury, travel and fashion, leading a combination of both high growth and venture-backed businesses, as well as the turnaround of more mature businesses. He started his career at the turnaround and strategy consulting firm, AlixPartners, served in the British Army a as a Captain in Iraq, and holds an MBA and diploma from Imperial College, London.

Cyrill Ibrahim

Concert Pianist and Expert for The Luminaire

Cyrill Ibrahim

Are We Entering The Post-Experience Era?

Moderated by Adam Sebba, CEO, The Luminaire

Royal College of Music graduate, Cyrill is a British-Dutch pianist who has performed at a number of major venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, St John’s Smith Square in London and the Philharmonie in Berlin. His CD, ‘Dialogue’, is played on Classic FM and BBC Radio 3. He appeared on ‘The One Show’ and BBC Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’, and has been featured on the cover of Gentleman’s Journal as ‘the future of British music’, in Attitude magazine as ‘Rising Star’ and in Tatler in the ‘Best Dressed in Britain’ list of 2022.

Jenny Southan

CEO and Founder, Globetrender

Jenny Southan

Are We Entering The Post-Experience Era?

In conversation with Laura Goldwyn, Head of New Ventures, Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes, Zahra Kassim Lakha, Richemont Group Executive and Board Director at Watchfinder, and Cyrill Ibrahim, Concert Pianist and Expert for The Luminaire.

Moderated by Adam Sebba, CEO, The Luminaire

Jenny is Editor, Founder and CEO of Globetrender – the UK’s leading travel trend forecasting agency and online magazine dedicated to the future of travel. Southan is also an award-winning travel journalist, and writes for publications such as Condé Nast Traveller and The Telegraph. She was also formerly Features Editor of Business Traveller magazine, where she worked for 10 years.

Southan is also an experienced public speaker and spokesperson for BBC Radio.

Laura Goldwyn

Head of New Ventures Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes

Laura Goldwyn

Are We Entering The Post-Experience Era?

In conversation with Zahra Kassim Lakha, Richemont Group Executive and Board Director at Watchfinder, Cyrill Ibrahim, Concert Pianist and Expert for The Luminaire; and Jenny Southan, CEO and Founder, Globetrender.

Moderated by Adam Sebba, CEO, The Luminaire

Goldwyn is Head of New Ventures for Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes. She oversaw the pilot and subsequent go-to-market strategy of this new product line for Mandarin Oriental and was previously seconded to oversee growth and collaboration with the Group’s associate luxury home rental platform, StayOne. Prior to joining Mandarin Oriental, Laura worked within the corporate innovation team of Pan-Asian conglomerate, Jardine Matheson, on new startup investments.

Zahra Kassim-Lakha

Richemont Group Executive and Board Director at Watchfinder

Zahra Kassim-Lakha

Are We Entering The Post-Experience Era?

In conversation with Laura Goldwyn, Head of New Ventures Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes, Cyrill Ibrahim, Concert Pianist and Expert for The Luminaire; and Jenny Southan, CEO and Founder, Globetrender.

Moderated by Adam Sebba, CEO, The Luminaire

Zahra was appointed an Executive Board member of Watchfinder & Co, after successfully leading the integration of the company post acquisition by Richemont Group in July 2018.

She is responsible for Watchfinder’s fast growing International Business & Global Partnerships. Zahra has acquired over 20 years of global leadership experience within the luxury client and omnichannel distribution environment, with a passion for purposeful leadership, transformation and intrapreneurial missions.

Alexis Vincent

Founder & Managing Director, Dive Butler International

Alexis Vincent

Access All Areas: Time To Put Accessible Travel First

In conversation with Sophie Morgan, Broadcaster, Writer and Accessible Travel Advocate and Henny Frazer, CMO, ÀNI Private Resorts.

With 15% of the world’s population now living with some form of disability, accessible travel isn’t only the right thing to do: it’s a massive, missed business opportunity. By fostering a culture of compassion and empathy where anything is possible, we can shift accessibility from being an afterthought to front and centre of our designs. Brought to you by The Conscious Travel Foundation, join broadcaster and campaigner Sophie Morgan, ÀNI Private Resorts’ CMO Henny Frazer, and Dive Butler International’s Founder Alexis Vincent for an essential conversation on how our industry can, and must, create truly inclusive travel experiences.

Alexis Vincent is the visionary founder of Dive Butler International, a trailblazing company that has revolutionised the world of luxury diving since its inception in 2008. Vincent has dedicated his life to connecting individuals with extraordinary underwater experiences. With an unwavering determination to provide the best experiential and personalised diving services possible, he dreams of making the underwater world accessible to all. In the pursuit of inclusivity, Dive Butler International has implemented various measures to ensure that everyone can partake in the joy of diving. By shifting mindsets and practising inclusivity, Dive Butler International wants to set an example for the industry to follow.

Henny Frazer

CMO, ÀNI Private Resorts

Henny Frazer

Access All Areas: Time To Put Accessible Travel First

In conversation with Sophie Morgan, Broadcaster, Writer and Accessible Travel Advocate, and Alexis Vincent, Founder & Managing Director, Dive Butler International

Henny began her career with a small interior design company with a hotel in the South of France as a client, completely unaware that she would switch sides. She moved into luxury, doing PR at Moët-Hennessey. In 2005, she joined Hyatt, as Director of Marketing Communications and rose up the ranks to become Director of Brands for EMEA and Southwest Asia in Zurich. She moved to AMAN in 2019 as Global Director of Hotel Marketing and in 2022 joined ANI Private Resorts, as CMO, responsible for a full rebrand and repositioning of the company. As a lifelong traveller, she is an advocate for change in the industry, always believing that there is freedom to travel for every body.

Sophie Morgan

Broadcaster, Writer and Award-Winning Accessible Travel Advocate

Sophie Morgan

Access All Areas: Time To Put Accessible Travel First

In conversation with Henny Frazer, CMO, ÀNI Private Resorts, and Alexis Vincent, Founder & Managing Director, Dive Butler International

Sophie was paralysed in a car crash when she was eighteen years old, but her ambition knows no bounds. Broadcaster, author, and award-winning advocate for disability rights, she is an avid traveller and co-founder of Rights on Flights – an organisation that empowers disabled travellers. A Global Ambassador for Can-Am, Airbnb and PADI, as well as a mentor for The Conscious Travel Foundation, Sophie has also recently started writing about inclusive travel in her monthly column for Condé Nast Traveller.

Juliet Kinsman

Sustainability Editor, Condé Nast Traveller & Host of The Funny Old World Podcast

Juliet Kinsman

Climate Solutions: Wild, Water, Women, Wit: The Weeva Power Hour

Discussion hosted by Juliet Kinsman and Simon London, Hosts of the Funny Old World Podcast

One hour. Four sessions. Multiple world experts. Powered by sustainability management platform Weeva, Juliet Kinsman and Simon London – the hosts of the Funny Old World podcast for the eco-curious – will bring you the biggest stats and solutions for how to tackle the climate emergency, in conversation with several trailblazers in the field. As well as empowering PUREists of all persuasions to run a more sustainable, impact-led business, you can also expect to be entertained – because we all need a little joy in our eco-anxiety-riddled lives!

As a speaker, Kinsman gives climate keynotes for tourist boards, designers, hotel schools through to banks and broadcasters. The London-based author and broadcaster, has celebrated the world’s most special places to spend time for more than two and a half decades, authoring many guidebooks, most recently The Green Edit: Travel — Easy Tips for the Eco-Friendly Traveller (2020; Ebury) and The Bucket List: Eco Experiences (2022; Rizzoli).

Simon London

Broadcaster and Digital Content Creative

Simon London

Climate Solutions: Wild, Water, Women, Wit: The Weeva Power Hour

Discussion hosted by Juliet Kinsman, and Simon London, Hosts of the Funny Old World Podcast

London is an award-winning producer, presenter and broadcaster. He has held executive roles at Fremantle, RDF and the BBC, where he was a Creative Head of Comedy. Also an experienced digital and social media creator, he co-founded the family website KidRated.com in 2014.

Other roles include Director of Content at Stylist Media, Commissioning Consultant at Snapchat and Head of Original Content for Africa Media Works where he won a Screen Nation Award in 2019. Since 2021 he has split his time between presenting, producing and broadcasting.

Chris Haslam

Chief Travel Writer, The Times & The Sunday Times

Chris Haslam

Flight-Free Travel: More Than Just A Fantasy?

In conversation with Jarrod Kyte, Product and Impact Director, Steppes Travel, and Melita Koulmandas, CEO/Founder of Song Saa Collective

Moderated by Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA, Intrepid Travel

More and more travellers are looking to reduce their carbon footprint. New trains, ferries and specialist tour operators are making flight-free itineraries easier and more attractive than ever. But what does this mean for long-haul destinations and the communities that rely on tourism? And how can travel providers in these destinations prepare for a low-carbon future? Having just created the first flight-free journey to PURE, Zina Bencheikh, joined by Jarrod, Chris and Melita, will draw on their expertise to explain how we can forge new means of travel that are fair to both the planet and the communities we impact.

Haslam is a novelist, broadcaster and Chief Travel Writer at the Sunday Times. A founding member of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, he has been writing and speaking about climate change and sustainability since 2008.

Jarrod Kyte

Product and Impact Director, Steppes Travel

Jarrod Kyte

Flight-Free Travel: More Than Just A Fantasy?

In conversation with Chris Haslam, Chief Travel Writer, The Times & The Sunday Times, and Melita Koulmandas, CEO/Founder of Song Saa Collective

Moderated by Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA, Intrepid Travel

Jarrod is an uncompromising advocate for a fairer travel industry, where traveller, host and environment all benefit harmoniously. As Product and Impact Director at Steppes Travel, he has worked with NGOs, conservation bodies and local travel providers to create inspirational holidays that act as a tool for conservation and community development.

Melita Koulmandas

CEO/Founder, Song Saa Collective

Melita Koulmandas

Flight-Free Travel: More Than Just A Fantasy?

In conversation with Jarrod Kyte, Product and Impact Director, Steppes Travel, and Chris Haslam, Chief Travel Writer, The Times and Sunday Times

Moderated by Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA, Intrepid Travel

Koulmandas is a regenerative designer and living systems thinker working in the travel sector. She co-founded Song Saa Private Island & Foundation more than 10 years ago, where she now serves as CEO.

In 2005, Melita arrived at the Song Saa islands, witnessing a landscape overwhelmed by ocean waste, its resources depleted, and its habitability fading. Applying the principles of regenerative design, she orchestrated a remarkable transformation. Today, the area boasts Cambodia’s largest Marine Park and community-driven initiatives spanning education, waste management, fisheries, and more. Melita remains resolute in her mission to advance regeneration in travel, fostering a new era of thoughtful and purposeful exploration.

Zina Bencheikh

Managing Director EMEA, Intrepid Travel

Zina Bencheikh

Flight-Free Travel: More Than Just A Fantasy?

In conversation with Chris Haslam, Chief Travel Writer, The Times & The Sunday Times, Melita Koulmandas, CEO & Founder, Song Saa Collective, and Jarrod Kyte, Product and Impact Director, Steppes Travel

Moderated by Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director EMEA, Intrepid Travel.

Regarded as a leading advocate for gender equality, Zina is on a mission to make the world a more inclusive and just place through travel. Based in Morocco, she has overseen record business growth in key markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and driven opportunities through tourism for women across the world. She is a seasoned speaker and contributor to leading international publications, Chair of the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers, and a patron and advisor to not-for-profit Education for All and Women in Travel.

Masterclasses

Abi Best

Managing Partner, Lemongrass Marketing

Abi Best

The Ultimate 10 Ways To Harness AI

For many travel brands, AI is still the great unknown – but if you’re not diving in and experimenting with this next great shift, you risk being left behind. The team at Lemongrass Marketing will take you through 10 practical takeaways so you can start using AI and ChatGPT to help with PR and marketing for your brand. You’ll discover how AI might enhance your content creation and social media management, as well as help you gain a better understanding of your customers. You’ll also explore its limitations, ethical considerations, and where the human touch remains your best option. Ready, set, prompt…

Abi specialises in delivering industry-leading strategies for travel brands, including tour operators, independent hotels, and international tourist boards.

She leads client teams in executing impactful PR strategies and assists clients in recognising new business prospects and untapped market opportunities. These strategies are grounded in audience insights, competitor analysis, and backlink audits to ensure meaningful and data-led long-term results. With over 12 years of experience in the travel industry, Abi has overseen the successful launch of travel brands into the UK market, including the likes of Slow Adventure, FORESTIS, Martinhal Family Hotels & Resorts, IT Mallorca and Lanserhof.

On their journey to becoming B-Corp certified, Lemongrass work with independent and sustainable travel brands that promote responsible tourism.

Tara Schwenk

Head of Content Marketing and Search, Lemongrass Marketing

Tara Schwenk

The Ultimate 10 Ways To Harness AI

As Head of Content Marketing and Search, Tara is responsible for creating strategies that convert and engage. She works across a range of clients at Lemongrass, leading on creative digital PR campaigns, backlink audits, audience insights projects and social media. Having successfully repositioned brands like Aracari, Sheldon Chalet and the Conscious Travel Foundation – Tara helps them understand the deep motivations of their audiences, and how to get ‘found’ online.

Thierry Teyssier

Founder, 700,000 heures & Dar Ahlam

Thierry Teyssier

Regenerative Hospitality

Close to 1.5 billion tourists travel each year to less than 5% of the planet, damaging ecosystems and the social fabric of communities. But there is another way. “Regenerative Hospitality” shifts us from a consumption model to a positive loop of learning and sharing, where guests have a positive impact on the places they visit. Thierry Teyssier will guide you through the innovative development model he’s tested in a pilot project in Tizkmoudine, Morocco, showing how hospitality can be a catalyst for economic development, social empowerment, and the regeneration of ecosystems. You’ll leave understanding how to engage with this new business opportunity, differentiate yourself from your competitors, and most importantly, do hospitality for good.

Founder of 700,000 Heures, the world’s first ‘wandering’ hotel, Teyssier takes social responsibility as seriously as he takes his journey to ‘regenerative tourism’. He is also the founder of Dar Ahlam; an award-winning kasbah hotel on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara.

Dr Andrea Ferry

Sustainability Consultant, Weeva

Dr Andrea Ferry

Plan Sustainably: Successfully Elevate Your Impact

Whether you’re looking to kickstart your sustainability planning journey or bolster the work you’re already doing, this practical masterclass will help you take a 360-degree view of your business through the lens of sustainability. Weeva’s sustainability framework encompasses a holistic, balanced approach, based on The Long Run’s 4Cs of Conservation, Community, Culture, and Commerce and the rigorous Global Ecosphere Retreat® standard. Experts from both businesses will show you how to define positive impact objectives and integrate them into the day-to-day running of your own business.

Andrea is a sustainability consultant who works with clients to design and embed sustainability programmes and practices in their daily operations. She is particularly experienced in advising hospitality businesses on their sustainability measures, having worked with the Singita brand for over 10 years. She has also worked with a range of clients in banking, tech and retail in her capacity as a Senior Consultant with corporate responsibility consultancy Trialogue. Andrea is currently the standard bearer for Weeva.

Holly Tuppen

Communications Manager, The Long Run

Holly Tuppen

Plan Sustainably: Successfully Elevate Your Impact

Holly is a sustainable travel writer and consultant, as well as the Communications Manager for The Long Run – the world’s largest collection of nature-based travel businesses, where she leads on content, member webinars, events, and supports membership services and technical assistance. She’s also part of the team behind Wildlife Heritage Areas, a new initiative launching September 2023, and is author of Sustainable Travel: The essential guide to positive-impact travel. Since circumnavigating the world without flying in 2010, Holly has covered sustainable travel for most media outlets including The Times, The Guardian, and Condé Nast Traveller.

Daisy Bird

Founder, BIRD PR

Daisy Bird

Perfecting PR: practical tips to drive media attention and how to think beyond traditional PR to get noticed

PR isn’t about blasting out press releases via PR newswires, pitching the same angle to all of your media contacts, and saying “yes” to a celebrity request because they have millions of Instagram followers. It’s about curating a community of authentic fans to build brand advocacy and meaningful connections. Daisy Bird will share how to develop compelling storytelling opportunities and low-cost media hooks; build a community of the most relevant media, influencer and celebrity brand fans; identify those within your network that may have access to other desired communities for effective ambassador strategies; implement strategic brand partnerships to reach adjacent audiences; and leverage relationships with your travel industry peers. You’ll also leave feeling equipped with some practical tips on preparing for your media meetings at PURE and designing perfect press trips.

Daisy has worked in PR for twenty years and is the founder of BIRD, a strategic global communications agency that specialises in launching, building and protecting the reputations of travel brands. Her edit of clients is carefully curated: pioneering hotels filled with heart, soul and integrity; forward-thinking start-ups eager for strong reputations from the get-go; established icons looking to revitalise their profiles; adventure travel companies, sustainability and wellness trailblazers.

Amanda Frasier

President - Ratings, Forbes Travel Guide

Amanda Frasier

Forbes Travel Guide: Mapping Your Path To Luxury Trendsetting

How does the world’s most revered travel rating system set the standard, define the methodology, and stay ahead of the emerging trends sought by the most discerning luxury travellers? Amanda Frasier will give you a behind-the-scenes look at how Forbes Travel Guide curates its annual Star Awards, and invite you to discover the trends shaping luxury travel in 2023 and beyond. You’ll learn industry insights, top tips and best practices from some of the world’s most influential travel trailblazers, uncover the true definition of luxury, and get ahead with hot-off-the-press predictions for the future of your industry.

As Forbes Travel Guide’s President of Ratings, Amanda Frasier oversees the coordination of the global inspections and annual star awards, and serves as chair of the Forbes Travel Guide Standards Advisory Committee. Formed in 2011, the SAC is composed of industry executives who help shape the future of Five-Star service and facility standards and the modern luxury guest experience. Additionally, Frasier manages the Forbes Travel Guide Brand Official program, a collection of exclusive brands representing the best products and services in luxury hospitality.

Bill Bensley

Founder, BENSLEY

Bill Bensley

You Are The Starchitect: Dream, Design and Deliver Your Own Luxury Hotel

If you’ve ever dreamed of designing your own luxury hotel from scratch, this interactive masterclass from starchitect and interior design legend Bill Bensley is not to be missed. Bensley will draw on case studies from his iconic portfolio and beyond to showcase the key principles of architecture and interior design in luxury hotels, taking you through everything from lighting and spatial layout to how to manage client expectations. He’ll reveal drawings, mood boards and storyboards from his past projects, before dividing you into small groups to brainstorm a concept for an imaginary design brief.

Bill Bensley is a jack of all trades – with a new notch on his belt! Having delved into the worlds of architecture, landscaping, interior design, fishing and even writing, Bensley is now adding the fine arts to his already impressive skill set. Painting did not quite come naturally to Bill, having only discovered a passion for it over the last three years. Bill now draws and paints wherever he goes, and whenever he has a minute to spare.

Not one to do things by halves, he has thrown himself into this enjoyable new creative outlet and built a stunning glasshouse painting studio in the grounds of his home in Bangkok. On any given weekend – and some early mornings before heading to the BENSLEY offices – Bill can be found painting away in the glasshouse, or in his garden.

KITCHEN TABLE

Kalia Konstantinidou

Owner, Empiria Group

Kalia Konstantinidou

Community Is The New Currency

Discussion led by Kalia Konstantinidou, Owner, Empiria Group.

Community is one of the pillars at the core of being a PUREist. But while we might agree that engaging and empowering local people is good for both communities and guests, who leave with a stronger sense of belonging and a more meaningful understanding of a destination, we might not always agree on how to get there. You’ll share your ideas on how to make a community flourish alongside a hospitality project, and explore questions like: how can we define and quantify the impact a hotel has on the surrounding neighbourhood? How can you engage your neighbours to make your tourism business operate with purpose? And how can travel be a force for good for all local stakeholders?

Konstantinidou’s path in hospitality started when she met her husband, Antonis Eliopoulos, soon after he had decided to buy a rustic vineyard, which he turned into a hotel in 1993. Kalia debuted her career in the family business as a PR & Communications Manager and as the company portfolio grew with the addition of more properties, her role evolved to Director of Sales & Marketing.

Since then, the couple has expanded their horizons, opening multiple properties – many of which are in Greece.

Passionate about travel and discovering new cultures along with her love for Greece, Kalia was motivated to enhance Santorini’s and Paros’ hotel scene with 6 different offerings that perfectly complement each other. Since 2019, she holds the position of Vice-President within the constantly growing Kanava Hotels & Resorts, setting and overseeing the global strategy, operations and development of the company. Concluding 30 years in hospitality, in 2023 her company was rebranded into Empiria Group, a brand that defines itself as “we create space for joy”.

Lee Tulloch

Freelance Travel Writer

Lee Tulloch

How To Get The Coverage You Crave

Discussion led by Lee Tulloch, Freelance Travel Writer, Toby Skinner, Features Director, Condé Nast Traveller & Nikki Ekstein, Travel Czar, Bloomberg LP. Moderated by Ben Schott.

What stories do the world’s top travel journalists want to tell, right now? Learn how to stand out from the piles of press releases and uninspired hooks that fill an editor’s inbox in this open-forum discussion. By working together more meaningfully, you’ll be able to discern which stories journalists find compelling and increase your chances of landing your dream coverage. This is a completely open forum, so be curious, ask your burning questions, and delve deep into the minds of travel’s premier storytellers.

Tulloch is an Australian novelist, columnist, editor and award winning travel writer. She writes a weekly column for Nine Traveller and specialises in sustainable and luxury travel, contributing regularly to a number of publications including Gourmet Traveller, Travel & Luxury, T Australia and AFR. She has published five novels, including Fabulous Nobodies and The Woman in the Lobby, and was the founding editor of Harper’s Bazaar Australia.

Nikki Ekstein

Travel Czar, Bloomberg LP

Nikki Ekstein

How To Get The Coverage You Crave

Discussion led by Lee Tulloch, Freelance Travel Writer, Toby Skinner, Features Director, Condé Nast Traveller & Nikki Ekstein, Travel Czar, Bloomberg LP. Moderated by Ben Schott.

Ekstein is the Travel Czar for Bloomberg LP, the largest media company in the world. She oversees strategic coverage of the travel industry across 65 global bureaus and a dozen verticals, with a special focus on Bloomberg’s luxury lifestyle vertical, Pursuits, and the weekly magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek. Her stories are consumed around the world and appear cross-platform: in print, online, on television, on the streaming video network QuickTake, as a podcast, and on the Bloomberg Terminal. Under her tenure, travel has become one of Bloomberg’s most popular verticals, driving the company’s highest engagement levels. Prior to Bloomberg, Nikki spent the bulk of her career at Travel + Leisure.

Toby Skinner

Features Director, Condé Nast Traveller

Toby Skinner

How To Get The Coverage You Crave

In conversation with Lee Tulloch, Freelance Travel Writer, Toby Skinner, Features Director, Condé Nast Traveller & Nikki Ekstein, Travel Czar, Bloomberg LP. Moderated by Ben Schott

Skinner is the Features Director at Condé Nast Traveller, as well as a former Editorial Director at Inflight Publishers Ink, and an editor of Time Out magazines in Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore. His main areas of interest are adventure travel, people and culture. He writes regularly about snow, Scotland and Scandinavia, but wishes he could justify sending himself to Socotra or the Mozambique coast.

Geordie Mackay-Lewis

Co-Founder & CEO, Pelorus

Geordie Mackay-Lewis

The Right Side Of Risky: Crisis Management In Adventure Travel

Discussion led by Gemma Cope, Director of Sales & Marketing, Origen Extraordinary Escapes; Geordie Mackay-Lewis, Co-Founder & CEO, Pelorus.

From deep-sea submersibles to space exploration, the canvas for adrenaline junkies and adventure-seekers has never been broader – or more exciting. However, with great ambition comes great responsibility, and travellers’ safety should still be at the top of your list. Our panel will lead an open discussion on risk assessment and crisis management within the luxury adventure sector, equipping both suppliers and buyers with the skills and tools to stop it all going wrong – and how to handle things in the rare cases when it does.

Mackay-Lewis is an experiential travel, yachting and agency founder with a passion to change people’s perspective on the world and our impact on the planet. In addition to running Pelorus, he spends time with the Pelorus Foundation and is committed to global conservation and climate action. Prior to founding Pelorus he served as a Captain in a British Army reconnaissance regiment, deploying twice to Afghanistan before running an automotive technology business across Europe and an award-winning drinks brand.

Duncan Marsh

Senior Project Manager & Technical Lead, Cookson Adventures.

Duncan Marsh

The Right Side Of Risky: Crisis Management In Adventure Travel

Discussion led by Gemma Cope, Director of Sales & Marketing, Origen Extraordinary Escapes; Geordie Mackay-Lewis, Co-Founder & CEO, Pelorus.

As Technical Lead at Cookson Adventures, Duncan Marsh oversees safety and compliance across all projects at this leading luxury adventure company. He brings invaluable expertise when it comes to planning and hosting complex Cookson itineraries, which often involve knitting together helicopter, yacht and land-based logistics. With over a decade and a half managing a private aircraft and a 78-metre expedition ship, Duncan has been among the first to organise private yacht travel in some of the world’s most remote locations.

Marsh is a man of many passions and talents. With a commercial helicopter licence, his Yachtmaster Ocean License, and over 3,500 hours logged below water, Duncan is also a rebreather, nitrox and trimix instructor certified by both PADI and IANTD, having dived in every ocean in the world and advised on the BBC’s Great Barrier Reef.

Felipe Artiñano

Co-founder of Origen Escapes

Felipe Artiñano

The Right Side Of Risky: Crisis Management In Adventure Travel

Discussion led by Gemma Cope, Director of Sales & Marketing, Origen Escapes; Geordie Mackay-Lewis, Co-Founder & CEO, Pelorus.

Post university, Artiñano embarked on a career that suited his daring spirit, first as a diving instructor, and then as an adventure guide. After pursuing another true passion and starting his own culinary experience company, Felipe co-founded Origen Escapes.

Although Felipe has visited a lot of North and South America, he is ultimately a proud Costa Rican with an unrivalled knowledge of his country, having explored nearly every corner of it. He feels that it is a destination with a lot to offer and that everyone should visit.

Felipe seeks to have a positive effect on people, making life better for those he crosses paths with. This is one of the things that makes Felipe so able to enjoy his job and what makes him so good at it – that he can authentically share his love and knowledge of Costa Rica and bring happiness to his guests.

Gemma Cope

Director of Sales & Marketing, Origen Escapes

Gemma Cope

The Right Side Of Risky: Crisis Management In Adventure Travel

Discussion led by Gemma Cope, Director of Sales & Marketing, Origen Escapes; Geordie Mackay-Lewis, Co-Founder & CEO, Pelorus.

With a passion for different cultures, and an interest in biology and conservation, Cope has lived and worked on local conservation projects in some incredible places such as the Amazon Rainforest and Galapagos Islands. While living in Nicaragua, she became co-owner of Bigfoot hostel and a volcano boarding business, which became the top activity to do in Central America and appeared at number 2 on CNN’s list of things to do before you die. After seven years, Gemma sold the hostel and volcano boarding company to focus on founding her own sustainable adventure travel company.

Some 15 years later, Gemma returned to the UK and turned her focus to product management and luxury sales – allowing her to create connections between people and destinations, giving travellers real and intimate experiences of destinations that they would never have known possible. It was this very ethos that piqued Gemma’s interest when Origen Escapes came calling. With a full skill set that included management, itinerary design, operations, sales and marketing, Gemma joined the Origen team in 2021.

Quick to appreciate Origen’s alternative approach to travel and their ability to fully control all the elements of the operation, she set about working on new business strategies and perfecting the ways Origen shares its unique stories. Today, her responsibilities have expanded to include sales and team management and she continues to use her extensive knowledge and drive to take Origen into its next phase of development.

Francisca Kellett

Co-Founder, Mundi & Co

Francisca Kellett

From Words To Action: Sustainability Storytelling Fundamentals

Discussion led by Francisca Kellett, Co-founder, Mundi & Co and Juliet Kinsman, Sustainability Consultant, Weeva.

In a world where journalists and editors are overwhelmed by sustainability claims from travel businesses of all shapes and sizes, how can travel brands help them get away from the greenwashing and tell the positive-impact stories that really matter? Sustainable travel writers and experts Francisca Kellett and Juliet Kinsman will explore how to identify, tell and pitch sustainable stories that resonate with travellers and most importantly, help drive demand for travel that does good.

Francisca Kellett is an award-winning travel writer and editor, contributing regularly to The Times, The Daily Telegraph, National Geographic Traveller and others, as well as being the philanthropy columnist for LUXX magazine at The Times. She is the former Travel Editor of Tatler, and before that was the Digital Travel Editor at The Telegraph. She is the co-founder of Mundi & Co, a creative agency for luxury travel brands with purpose.

Juliet Kinsman

Sustainability Editor, Condé Nast Traveller

Juliet Kinsman

From Words To Action: Sustainability Storytelling Fundamentals

Discussion led by Francisca Kellett, Co-founder, Mundi & Co and Juliet Kinsman, Sustainability Consultant, Weeva.

In a world where journalists and editors are overwhelmed by sustainability claims from travel businesses of all shapes and sizes, how can travel brands help them get away from the greenwashing and tell the positive-impact stories that really matter? Sustainable travel writers and experts Francesca Kellet and Juliet Kinsman will explore how to identify, tell and pitch sustainable stories that resonate with travellers and most importantly, help drive demand for travel that does good.

Condé Nast Traveller’s first-ever Sustainability Editor, as a journalist and in luxury travel expert, Juliet’s North Star is sharing stories that inspire impact and her six-part podcast series with Simon London – Funny Old World, powered by Weeva, tackles the toughest climate topics, while encouraging some much-needed humour along the way. As a speaker, Kinsman gives climate keynotes for tourist boards, designers, hotel schools through to banks and broadcasters. The London-based author and broadcaster, has celebrated the world’s most special places to spend time for more than two and a half decades, authoring many guidebooks, most recently The Green Edit: Travel — Easy Tips for the Eco-Friendly Traveller (2020; Ebury) and The Bucket List: Eco Experiences (2022; Rizzoli).

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Leaders tolearn from

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MOONSHOT STAGE

Zita Cobb

Dr Martha Newson

James McBride

Anant Sharma

Sonu Shivdasani OBE

Penny Rafferty

Beverly Joubert

Dereck Joubert

MAVERICK STAGE

Carla David

Carter Smith

Eloise Dyer

Michaella Rugwizangoga

Adam Sebba

Cyrill Ibrahim

Jenny Southan

Laura Goldwyn

Zahra Kassim-Lakha

Alexis Vincent

Henny Frazer

Sophie Morgan

Juliet Kinsman

Simon London

Chris Haslam

Jarrod Kyte

Melita Koulmandas

Zina Bencheikh

Masterclasses

Abi Best

Tara Schwenk

Thierry Teyssier

Dr Andrea Ferry

Holly Tuppen

Daisy Bird

Amanda Frasier

Bill Bensley

KITCHEN TABLE

Kalia Konstantinidou

Lee Tulloch

Nikki Ekstein

Toby Skinner

Geordie Mackay-Lewis

Duncan Marsh

Felipe Artiñano

Gemma Cope

Francisca Kellett

Juliet Kinsman

We use cookies to help improve our website. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our use of cookies.

Leaders to
learn from