Speakers and Lecturers
Professor Kaye Chon – Chair Professor of Hotel and Tourism Management and Director of School at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China. In 2003, he was recognized by His alma mater Georgia State University as the "Most Outstanding Alumni in 30 Years". Under Prof. Chon's leadership, the School has arisen as one of the world's leading institutions in hospitality and tourism management. In 2009, the School was ranked no. 2 in the global ranking of hospitality and tourism schools based on research and scholarship. He has been listed in Who's Who In The World.
Dejan Djordjevic – CEO at Alatau Hospitality, Dubai, UAE. Dejan is former General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Almaty. He was the Chairman of the European Business Association of Kazakhstan (EURO BAK). In May 2008, he was awarded "2008 Executive of the Year Award" by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan.
Rick Taylor – CEO at The Business Tourism Company Sandton, South Africa. Rick set up South Africa's first stand alone Convention Bureau, marketing Greater Cape Town as an international meetings destination and positioning the region firmly on the global meetings and incentives map. Beside numerous borads that Rick serves, one of the most outstanding is La Maison de France – advisory board for tourism development appointed by the President Sarkozy.
Mady Keup is Events and Meetings Management Course Director at SKEMA Business School, Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France. She is former head of Business and Conventions (previously London Convention Bureau) with Visit London (previously London Tourist Board). She was also Chief Executive of the British- Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Lisbon. Under Mady's leadership Visit London won Best Convention Bureau – Incentive Category (UK M+IT Awards) in 2002. She speaks 6 European languages fluently.
Alison Cryer, MD, CEO at Representation Plus UK / Chairman, Tourism Society London, UK. Over the past 21 years Alison and her team have worked for convention bureaus and Ministries of Tourism across the globe putting emerging destinations on the map. Alison is currently Director of Tourism UK & Ireland for the Ministry of Tourism of the Sultanate of Oman and the Samoa Tourism Authority. In 2010 Alison won the Shine Award for Leadership.
Professor Rob Davidson, Course director in Business Travel and Tourism at the University of Westminster, London, UK. each year, at the eIBTM trade show in Barcelona (second biggest world trade show in the meetings industry), he launches His annual report on trends in the conference and incentive industry. for the past 5 years, he has been included in Conference & Incentive Travel magazine's 'Power 50' – the 50 most influential people in the UK conference industry. He was also nominated Meetings and Incentive Personality of the Year 2005, at the Meetings & Incentive Travel awards ceremony.
Rok Klancnik, director at Slovenia Tourist office Brussels, Belgium. Klančnik works in Brussels as a representative of the Slovenian tourism for the Benelux and the european Union. Between 2002 and 2007 was Director of Communications at the World Tourism Organization (UnWTo) in Madrid. He launched the most outstanding first World Conference on Communications in Tourism that was held in five continents. rok speaks fluently 10 languages.
Miha Kovacic, Ceo at Slovenia Convention Bureau, Slovenia. Miha has excellent results in destination development through business tourism concept and it the region wide leader that first started promoting South east europe as premier destination for business tourism, meetings and incentives. He started famous regional Trade Show Conventa that connects demand and supply from region of South east europe in the field of meetings industry.
Dr Giorgio Andrian, expert of the Balkans, former UNESCO staff member (at the Venice Office) and currently consultant. He is also lecturer at both at graduate and undergraduate levels - in various european universities, on political and cultural geography, international relations and nature and cultural heritage policies.
Marcos J. Torres Mueller, director of Sales & Marketing, Kempinski, Portoroz, Slovenia. His previous career included jobs in sales and marketing in high-class international tourism in the USa and germany. He set off on His professional path in 1999 in the St. Regis Hotel in new York, and in the hotel adlon Kempinski in Berlin. Between 2006 and 2008 he successfully managed the positioning on the market of one of the hotels of the prestigious rocco forte Collection hotel brand in Berlin, and again joined the Kempinski group at the end of november 2008.
Miodrag Kostic, President at MK group. Part of MK group is Mountain Resort Kopaonik, ski resort in Serbia. hotels "grand" and "angela" and chalets "Suncani vrhovi" are the biggest investment in Serbian tourism in the last 20 years where successful business brand is based above all on the energetic efficiency and brand positioning. MK group is on the biggest Serbian investors in human potential and young talents.
Tatjana John, director at Concept LTd, Dubrovnik, Croatia. The expertise that Tatjana provides in Croatia, as certified Professional Conference organizer, has seen her working with american government delegations, several International and national government delegations along with royal families.
Ulrike von Arnold, deputy director, Vienna Convention Bureau, Austria. She lived in Kuwait and in denmark where she began her professional career related to the hospitality industry as director of sales. returned to her home in Vienna after 15 years and began to work in the Congress Bureau. She has 25 years of experience and successful work in the MICe industry.
Professor Zoran Klaric, dean, Zagreb School of Management / Vern, Croatia. Professor Klaric has a very rich professional career and participation in over 100 scientific and professional projects related to tourism as well as over 50 published professional and scientific papers. His areas of interest include: sustainable tourism development and assessment of the impact of tourism on the environment, spatial planning in tourism and social geography. during the period from 1990. to 1999. He was in germany, Britain and Japan on professional development.
Sanja Vlahović, PhD, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism - Bar, Montenegro. Sanja Vlahovic graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Montenegro and Faculty for Management, Belgrade. She obtained PhD in General Management, Faculty of Management Studies, Belgrade. After spending several years specializing in different fields and niches of tourism industry Sanja become Dean at the Faculty for Tourism Bar at the University of Mediteran, Montenegro. She is member of Member of the Board of Assotiation of Hotels and Restaurants of Montenegro, member of the Executive Board of Management Association of Montenegro; member of the Executive Board of Young Business People Club »Collegium«, Belgrade and a President of Rotary Club Bar, Montenegro. Sanja speaks English, Italian and French.
Mary-Jane (MJ) Flanagan is an experienced manager and operator having spent over two decades in the hospitality industry. Her specialist areas are restaurants and bars having opened All Bar One for Bass, the Issimo chain for Forte restaurants and other branded groups such as Tiger Lil's as a Director. MJ is passionate about training and the development of people within the business to enable them to provide the highest possible standards in all areas. As someone who has proved the benefits of taking a systematic approach, MJ favours training and development which is logical, practical and relevant and can take the business forward ensuring a return on investment which improves the bottom line.
MJ has designed and delivered impactful and outcome focused development sessions and programmes for a broad range of our clients including; The Fat Duck, Fifteen, The Soho House Group, C&G Restaurants, Caprice Holdings, Mal Maison and Hotel du Vin, La Petite Maison, D&D, The Hoxton hotel, Chez Gerard, Busaba Eathai, Donnington Valley and The Bingham Hotel.
Tom Hulton. Following three years as Secretary general of the International hotel association based in Paris, he joined the International Congress and Convention association as Chief executive officer based in Amsterdam. In July 2002 and after nearly eight years with ICCa, Tom Hulton decided to return to the UK and set up His own consultancy. He currently works with IMeX as director of International relations, with special responsibilities, for helping to raise the political profile of business tourism within government circles in europe. He has also developed the IMeX future Leaders forum and the Professional development Pavilion.
