Torgeir Silseth

Silseth’s first hotel related work experience was as a chef at Union Hotell in Geiranger, an effort that led to a prestigious trainee position at the hotel Vier Jahrezeite in Hamburg. In 1991, he became General Manager at Quality Hotel Hafjell and held this position until 1996, when he was made Operations Manager for Choice Hotels Scandinavia (later Nordic Choice Hotels). In 1999, Silseth was named deputy CEO, and in 2006 he replaced Petter Stordalen as CEO of the company, while retaining a close work relationship with the owner and chairman of the board of Nordic Choice Hotels.

Silseth is educated at the Norwegian School of Hotel Management, and has also served as a UN peacekeeper in Lebanon.

Frank Fiskers

Frank retired in August 2017 after having led Scandic Hotels Group as CEO over the last ten years. Leading a private equity buy-out of Scandic in 2007, he oversaw the growth from 110 to 285 hotels and projects as well as the successful IPO in 2015. Prior to Scandic, Frank had senior operational roles with Rezidor and Hilton International. Today he is an advisor to private equity funds, involved as guest lecturer in hospitality education and a professional company board member at, among others, Whitbread PLC the largest UK hospitality company.

Demian Hodari

Demian Hodari is Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne where his innovative teaching methods have been recognized as a Best Teaching Practice.  His research has also won numerous awards and he was named the Researcher of the Year in 2015.   Demian’s achievements were recently acknowledged by Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration where he was invited to spend a semester sabbatical as a Visiting Research Fellow at the university’s Center for Hospitality Research.  His research focuses on the strategic partnerships between hotel owners, management companies, asset managers and general managers, and on the performance of professionally managed versus independently managed hotels.  His most recent academic publications have appeared in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Tourism Management, the International Journal of Hospitality Management, and The Journal of Hospitality Financial Management. He regularly presents his research at academic conferences, provides executive education and is a frequent moderator and speaker at hotel industry events.  Demian regularly publishes practitioner-oriented articles in hotel industry trade publications.

Prior to beginning his academic career Demian spent 15 years working in the hospitality industry.  He was for several years a hotel general manager and the president of an independent hotel management and consulting company in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Surrey’s School of Management, a Masters (Honors) from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and a B.A. in comparative religions and philosophy from Georgetown University. 

Kaspar Basse

Kaspar Basse is the Chairman & Founder of JOE & THE JUICE. He founded JOE & THE JUICE in 2002 and has grown it to more than 280 locations spanning +15 countries, across 4 continents. JOE & THE JUICE has revolutionized organizational culture, recruitment, and customer experience, while designing an extraordinary platform catering across millennials, to young professionals and even a more mature audience looking for a cheeky ambiance, across the globe. In 2017 Kaspar was included in the '100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs’ by Goldman Sachs.

Today, Kaspar is the Chairman of JOE & AND THE JUICE, still the single largest private shareholder in the company, and oversees alignment between the Brands DNA and Core focus - and the almost 2000 employees. JOE & THE JUICE’s emphasis on the intimate relationships inside the company, and between Juicers and customers is creating a unique atmosphere, in which customers can work or socialize while enjoying exceptional, fresh juice and coffee products. The company has been portrayed as the new Starbucks by Forbes Magazine. 

 Kaspar founded JOE & THE JUICE after working 6 years in advertising, while finishing his Master in International Marketing Management. He is an elite athlete and obtained Black Belts in martial arts, and as the Danish National Champion he travelled Europe competing for the Danish National Team in the late 1990’s. Kaspar was always a devout admirer of Starbucks, and was inspired to create a similar environment offering more of a modern, urban ambience alongside optimally nutritional Juices, made to order. This ambition has today grown into the aspiration of “becoming one of the coolest Brands in the world, while bringing Meaning to People”. Within JOE & THE JUICE, they measure themselves to their Vision, by ever appearing on the cover of ROLLING STONE Magazine!

 Awards:

•  European Coffee awards 2018: Outstanding Contribution to the Industry, Kaspar Basse 
• Goldman Sachs 2017: 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs (Kaspar Basse, first ever danish entrepreneur on the list)
• DR Vækstfactor, Talent Television Show 2011 (Kaspar Basse, Winner) 
• Ernst & Young: Entrepreneur of the year 2008 (Nominee)
• Danish Design Awards 2018: Employment Growth (Winner) 
• Evening Standard Business Awards 2018: Consumer Brand of the Year (Nominee)
• European Coffee awards 2018: Best Coffee Chain – Nordics: 1st – Joe & the Juice (Winner)
• European Coffee awards 2018: Best Coffee Chain – Europe: 1st – Joe & the Juice (Winner)
• FAB Awards 2017: ASPAC Region, Sydney Airport (Winner) 
• FAB Awards 2014: Worlds best non Alcoholic F&B concept 2014 (Winner) 
• FAB Awards 2013: Worlds best airport coffee concept 2013 (Winner)
• Børsen Gazelle 2010, 2012, 2014 (Nominee) 

Thomas Willms

Thomas Willms joined Steigenberger Hotels AG, one of Europe’s leading hotel companies, as Chief Operating Officer in June 2017. Since January 2018, he has held the position of Chief Executive Officer. 
In his capacity as a Board Member, he assumes overall operational responsibility for all hotel brands. Strategy, Future Openings & Franchise, Corporate Communications, Sales & Marketing, E-Business, Revenue Management and Corporate Social Responsibility also fall within his remit. 

Steigenberger Hotels AG encompasses almost 150 hotels which are either already operational or at the planning stage in 20 countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. The company’s umbrella brand “Deutsche Hospitality” covers the five brands of Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel and Zleep Hotels.  

Thomas Willms worked over 20 years for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, most recently as Senior Vice President Central & Eastern Europe, prior to this at the company’s Brussels office as Vice President Development and Brands. Previously he was employed by ArabellaStarwood Hotelmanagement GmbH as Managing Director and worked also for Maritim Hotels and the Intercontinental Hotels Group.

Mr. Willms was born in Jever in 1961. He holds an executive master’s degree in business administration in Tourism Management at Chur University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland) and Delaware (USA).   The many years of expertise he has acquired at various prestigious hotel companies have earned him a reputation as an acknowledged authority within the industry. During his professional career, Mr. Willms has been appointed to a range of specialist and executive roles in the fields of food & beverage, development, marketing, hotel opening and franchising. He has worked in the USA, the UK, Belgium and Austria. 
 

Jonas Stenberg

Jonas Stenberg is the founder and CEO of the one of Nordic region's most exciting hotel family ESS Group. With destinations such as Steam Hotel, Pigalle, Falkenberg Strandbad, Ystad Saltsjöbad and MJ’S in Malmö, he has with his team changed what a hotel actually should be. "We happen to have hotel rooms ..." is one of many remarkable quotes that created smiles in the industry and with the guests. And the guests are also the secret of everything. To try to understand them at all costs and make them want to come back. ESS Group and Jonas started their journey 10 years ago and have just started.

Jens Mathiesen

Educated within Shipping back in 1989.

Worked with Sales in Avis rent a car and became Sales manager at the age of 24. In 1999 Jens became Nordic CEO of a Brussel based vending company within the coffee industry.

In 2003 Jens joined the Hotel industry starting at Remmen Hotels. Later the same year moved to Nordic Choice Hotels as Sales and Marketing Director.

In early 2008 Jens was offered the job as Managing Director of Scandic in Denmark. A position that he have had until early January 2019 where he was offered the position as President & CEO for Scandic.

Now he is based in Stockholm with the full responsibility of Scandic, with 280 hotels, 18000 team members and a turnover of 18 b.sek.

Besides Scandic Jens is also, since May 2016 the Chairman of Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv)

Florian Kollenz

Florian Kollenz has been part of the 25hours world since 2014 and is in charge of the group’s international expansion. Prior to his role with 25hours, Florian was a Senior Consultant with PKF hotel experts in Vienna where he oversaw the fields of corporate finance and operator selection. Before that, Florian worked several years for the Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank after graduating from the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna.

 25hours hotels is a fresh and dynamic hotel brand, which builds upon the shoulders of traditional hotel business and searches for new answers to the demands of an urban, cosmopolitan, culturally interested and brand aware audience. 25hours develops individual, made to measure hotels with personality in lively locations. The concepts are based on dynamism, surprise and a touch of adventure, with each development having its focal points. 25hours fully devotes itself to creating unique destinations with soul, which are inspired by their locations and shaped by art, culture and stories of their surroundings.

Mark Keiser

Mark Keiser is Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer for SH Hotels & Resorts.  In his position, he is primarily responsible for the growth of the Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels brands.

Mr. Keiser most recently was a leader on Starwood Hotel’s development team for over ten years and was responsible for its managed and franchised development efforts for the nine brands in the western half of the US.  Prior to that role, Mark held varying leadership roles including leading Starwood’s luxury development activities across the US, Canada and Caribbean, and Starwood’s real estate investment activities on the East Coast and in the Caribbean.  Before joining Starwood’s development team, Mr. Keiser gained a diverse range of experiences in the hotel industry working for the financial services firm, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. as well as at the hotel companies Wyndham International and Prime Hospitality. 

Mark Keiser holds a BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and is a former member of its Young Alumni Dean’s Advisory Board and an active member of the Recreational Development Council of the Urban Land Institute.

Christoph Flügel

Christoph Flügel is the chief executive officer of Arbireo Capital. He is a member of the management board and a lawyer, theologian with focus on investment and transaction management. Previously he was the department head and authorized representative of union investment. He was a lawyer in the international law firm Lovells and Morrison & Foerster.

His hotel expertise includes national and international hotel transactions in excess of 1bn Euro, hotel developments, revitalization and repositions of underperforming hotels or hotel portfolios, structuring of hotel leases and management contracts, publications in hotel industry journals. He launched on of the first hotel funds for German institutional investors.

Johan Johander

Johan Johander is a founding partner and head of analysis of Benchmarking Alliance, the leading hospitality market data provider in the Nordics and Baltics. Before co-founding Benchmarking Alliance in 2010, he worked with property related investment banking at Leimdörfer, DTZ and Swedbank. Prior to that, Johan was a legal advisor within financing, M&A and regulatory compliance at Vinge law firm and E. Öhman J:or investment bank.

Johan Johander

Johan Johander is a founding partner and head of analysis of Benchmarking Alliance, the leading hospitality

market data provider in the Nordics and Baltics. Before co

-

founding Benchmarking Alliance in 2010, he

worked with property related investment bankin

g at Leimdörfer, DTZ and Swedbank. Prior to that, Johan

was a legal advisor within financing, M&A and regulatory compliance at Vinge law firm and E. Öhman J:or

investment bank.

Johan Johander

Johan Johander is a founding partner and head of analysis of Benchmarking Alliance, the leading hospitality

market data provider in the Nordics and Baltics. Before co

-

founding Benchmarking Alliance in 2010, he

worked with property related investment bankin

g at Leimdörfer, DTZ and Swedbank. Prior to that, Johan

was a legal advisor within financing, M&A and regulatory compliance at Vinge law firm and E. Öhman J:or

investment bank.

Johan Johander

Johan Johander is a founding partner and head of analysis of Benchmarking Alliance, the leading hospitality

market data provider in the Nordics and Baltics. Before co

-

founding Benchmarking Alliance in 2010, he

worked with property related investment bankin

g at Leimdörfer, DTZ and Swedbank. Prior to that, Johan

was a legal advisor within financing, M&A and regulatory compliance at Vinge law firm and E. Öhman J:or

investment bank.

Johan Johander

Johan Johander is a founding partner and head of analysis of Benchmarking Alliance, the leading hospitality

market data provider in the Nordics and Baltics. Before co

-

founding Benchmarking Alliance in 2010, he

worked with property related investment bankin

g at Leimdörfer, DTZ and Swedbank. Prior to that, Johan

was a legal advisor within financing, M&A and regulatory compliance at Vinge law firm and E. Öhman J:or

investment bank.

Christin Schmidt

Christin Schmidt started working for Booking.com in 2006 in Germany and throughout the last years managed teams in Europe and Asia.

She opened the local Booking.com offices in Vietnam and Cambodia, managed the local offices in Japan and since 2015 she is responsible for the Nordics & Benelux Markets as well as a central commercial service department in Amsterdam since beginning of this year.

James Robson

Mr. Robson serves as Managing Director of Hines Nordics Real Estate. He is responsible for all real estate activities in the Nordic countries including acquisition, management and development. Prior to joining Hines in 2015, Robson was responsible for Asian and Australian investment and development platforms, most recently concentrating on a debt portfolio acquisition strategy and floating a listed retail development fund.

Robson is a RICS Chartered Surveyor with a BA in Business Studies from Leeds University, a master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Technology, Sydney; and a Master of Finance from London Business School.

David Goodger

David Goodger is the Managing Director of Tourism Economics EMEA. His team produces global forecasts of travel and tourism flows based on Oxford Economics’ global macroeconomic outlook. This includes the global tourism database of tourism flows and spending, covering 185 countries; the global city travel database of 300 cities; the air passenger forecast database; as well as the hotel performance forecast models developed in conjunction with STR; and custom forecast models for specific destinations or groups. David’s team also carries out economic impact analysis including TSA calculations and custom studies for specific tourism markets. This has included a range of diverse topics such as the importance of online interactions for destinations; and the importance of events for city destinations including the development of the Event Impact Calculator. David regularly presents the economic and tourism outlook to client groups and conferences.

Mathias Lundoe Nielsen

Mathias is a seasoned award-winning e-commerce entrepreneur, angel investor and founding CEO of the public traded company Nustay.com; a data-driven hotel booking platform offering its users to book more than 1,5 million hotels and holiday homes through a smart search that matches, recommends and ranks the hotels and holiday homes based on the best options in each specific search based on the users own preferences.

Isabell Fuss

Isabell Fuss, Group Director Development and Member of the Executive Board, is responsible for the expansion of Ruby Hotels and heading the Development Team at Ruby. With her influence Ruby has successfully established a strong pipeline of 17 secured hotels across Europe. Before joining Ruby in 2013 she completed her Masters degree in Hospitality Management at the University of Munich with a focus on hotel development and subsequently worked at the beginning of her career for the European market leader Accor Hotels on the expansion of branch hotels in Germany.

Eva Bachmann

Eva joined Ennismore in February 2019 as the Director of Acquisitions Europe & UK. A key focus of her role is to roll out The Hoxton brand across Europe either through acquisitions, leases or management agreements.

Prior to joining Ennismore, Eva was with MEININGER for over 5 years, overseeing the company’s expansion and strategic growth. In her role, Eva was involved in over 25 deals which MEININGER signed across Europe and North America.

Before joining MEININGER, Eva was at for CBRE Hotels for 3 years, working on Asset Management, Investment Advisory and Acquisition Support assignments.

Eva has a BSc in International Hospitality

Elie Younes

Elie leads Radisson Hotel Group’s expansions across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. He builds and supports teams at 8 development offices in EMEA.  Under his leadership, the group launched and delivered an active asset light then asset right strategy – transacted around 200 hotels and opened around 130; while Radisson Blu continues to be the largest upper upscale brand in Europe.  

Elie was previously a Director at HVS in London. In 2007 Elie joined Starwood in London as Senior Director of Acquisitions and Development, then Hilton Hotels Worldwide as VP of Development in Dubai, before joining Rezidor in 2010, as VP of Business Development for the Middle East and Africa. In January 2013, he was promoted to SVP of Business Development EMEA, and then to EVP and Chief Development Officer in 2015.

He is a keen sportsman practicing martial arts with a competitive flair and an obsession for continuous improvement and self-development.

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

Federico J. González

Federico J. González is the President & CEO of Radisson Hospitality AB. He joined the group in May 2017 from Carlson Hotels Inc. (now Radisson Hospitality Inc.) where he served as the Chief Executive Officer.

Federico serves as the chairman of the Global Steering Committee of Radisson Hotel Group, made up of equal representation from Radisson Hospitality AB and Radisson Hospitality, Inc. The Global Steering Committee, under Federico's leadership, provides guidance and strategic counsel to both management teams and boards, fosters a deeper level of collaboration & communication, and ensures alignment on important matters such as partnership & global growth.

Federico has extensive global executive leadership experience in the hospitality, leisure and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors. Prior to joining Radisson Hotel Group, he was Chief Executive Officer of NH Hotel Group – where he led a major turnaround of the company – and as Deputy General Manager of Disneyland Paris.

He previously spent 16 years in senior management positions at Procter & Gamble in Brussels, Madrid and Stockholm before becoming the company's Country Head of Portugal in 2000.

A respected marketer and hotelier, González has written three books: Living and Working Abroad; How to Live and Work with Portuguese, Cómo Hacerse El Sueco En Los Negocios Con Exito; and How to act as a Swedish Manager!

As a global leader, Federico's personal mission is to motivate and energize large organizations to be more ambitious – in profitability, purpose and people – through respect for diversity of thoughts, culture, gender, experience and beliefs.

González majored in Economics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and received a Master of International Trade and Finance from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

David Kellett

David Kellett is a Senior Director of Hotel Transactions for the Hotel Fund Management team at Invesco Real Estate (IRE), a dedicated specialist team who manage IRE’s investment in the hotel real estate sector. David has 19 years of transaction experience, which has focused on real estate, hospitality and leisure for the last 14 years.

 David joined IRE in November 2018 from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) where he worked for 6 years.  He held senior roles at IHG including head of investor relations and most recently head of development in Europe, where he led IHG’s involvement in the recently completed Principal transaction. Prior to IHG David worked in investment banking at JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and an independent boutique.

 David has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford.

Meindert Jan Tjoeng

Meindert Jan is leading the European Development and Investment team at citizenM’s global service office in The Netherlands. The European Development and Investment team is focusing on the roll-out of citizenM hotels in designated European cities. citizenM is an owner-operator with a strategy to only create hotels in the major metropolitan cities of the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The current portfolio consist of 38 hotels of which 15 are in operations and at least 5 new hotels will be opened this year. The majority of the hotels are owned by citizenM but in very specific opportunities a management agreement or lease is considered.

 Meindert Jan has over 15 years of experience in the real estate industry and has been part of the citizenM team the past 7 years. In his current position Meindert is focusing on increasing roll-out speed in Europe with special interest for Stockholm and very selectively Copenhagen.

CitizenM is a unique breed of hotels which sets new standards in the hospitality industry. Instead of sticking to the industry's 'givens', it focused on exactly what modern travellers want and need. The innovative concept aims to offer guests an affordable luxury lifestyle and provides sustained premium returns to all stakeholders. The shareholders of citizenM are APG Investments, GIC and the private equity firm of Rattan Chadha, the founder and CEO of citizenM. The group opened its first hotel at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in 2008, and currently has 15 hotels open in cities such as Copenhagen, London, New York, Paris and Shanghai. In addition, citizenM has 23 additional hotels under development in a.o. Los Angeles, Paris, San Francisco and Kuala Lumpur. citizenM will add at least 6 new hotel projects to its portfolio this year.

Marc Henriksen

Marc is one of three Partners* in Midstar, a Scandinavian hotel property investor and asset manager. Marc’s main areas of responsibility are within acquisitions and asset management.

After obtaining an MBA from Cornell University and ESSEC Business School, Marc joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts in London working with hotel development & acquisitions in EMEA. In 2002 Marc joined IHG, working in various roles within hotel acquisitions and brand development, also in the EMEA region. In 2010 Marc joined the Real Estate & Infrastructure Department of Abu Dhabi Investment Authorities (ADIA) focused on hotel property investments mainly in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Midstar Hotels AB was established in 2015 together with four Swedish institutional investors and currently owns 24 hotels in the Nordics.

*Partners: Peter Tengström, Ola Stendebakken, Marc Henriksen

Signe Jungersted

Signe Jungersted has been a leading force as Development Director in shaping Wonderful Copenhagen’s bold approach to tourism, declaring The End of Tourism and welcoming a new era of localhood. With the core message that tourism is not a goal in itself, but a means to greater good for the city, Signe has challenged the role of the Destination Management Organisation both at home and across the globe.

Signe has led numerous innovative and strategic initiatives charging the fast-emerging Chinese travel market, co-creating new visitor experiences with Copenhagen’s cultural institutions, partnering with the city’s tech & startups and taking a deep dive into the locals’ view and perception of tourism in the city, rethinking tourism in Copenhagen towards 2030.

Today, Signe works as an independent consultant in strategic development and innovation. She is Board Member of Odense City Museums and was named one of Denmark’s Top 100 Business Talents under 35 in 2017.

Guy Pasley- Tyler

Guy joined Archer Hotel Capital at its inception as Director, Portfolio & Fund Management, following GIC/APG’s buyout of Host Hotels & Resorts’ interest in their European joint venture in December 2018. Archer Hotel Capital is a specialist European hotel investment vehicle, currently comprising 11 hotels located in major cities across Western Europe with a gross asset value of over €2bn. Previously, Guy spent eight years at Host, working in a variety of roles across its Euro JV including Portfolio Strategy, Feasibility, Investments and Fund Management. Before joining Host, Guy worked for six years at AECOM Economics, previously Economics Research Associates, where he was engaged in feasibility and advisory work on a wide variety of hotel and mixed-use real estate projects across the EMEA region. Prior to this, Guy had eight years’ experience in hotel management across operations and sales & marketing. Guy has an MBA from Hult International Business School in Cambridge, MA and is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Frederic Brayer

Frederic Brayer always worked in Digital and Technological teams in the travel industry as project manager, being responsible to implement and deploy new solutions during his career. In his actual position as European Project Manager , one of his responsibilities is to deploy innovative solutions to increase guest experience and help create a unique and memorable experience inside Accor’s hotels.