Programme

Mr. Comeau is responsible for overall strategic and operational leadership at Phocuswright. Pete oversees all aspects of Phocuswright’s commercial activities including product, sales and service, and marketing. He also plays a key role in product development and business development strategy for Phocuswright research, events and media businesses globally. Pete is a frequent speaker at industry events and heads Phocuswright’s coverage of startups and innovation.

Mr. Comeau’s travel industry career spans over two decades. Previously, he managed strategic partnerships at Orbitz in Chicago, where he assisted in growing and managing accounts for the Orbitz Partner Network. Prior to Orbitz, Pete was the sales leader at Moguls Mountain Travel, a ski tour wholesaler in Boulder, CO. He helped design, implement and maintain four reservation systems during his tenure and managed and mentored a team of successful sales agents.

Based in the Denver, Colorado area, Pete holds an M.B.A. from Daniels College of Business and graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College with a degree in government and economics.

Siew Hoon has been covering the travel industry beat in Asia Pacific for decades, starting off as a rookie reporter and going on to lead and launch the region’s key industry media titles. In 2005, she founded WiT (Web in Travel) to tackle how technology was changing travel in Asia Pacific and created a new space in the fast-growing, dynamic region with a dedicated media and events platform.

Over the years, she took WiT to new places, launching editions in Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Middle East, Europe, Africa and most recently New Zealand to keep the world’s attention focused on the three pillars of travel, technology and Asia.

Following the acquisition by Northstar Travel Group in 2014, she led the launch of Travel Weekly Asia and M&C Asia and formed the editorial team to execute the entry of Northstar Travel Group to Asia.

Her work has been recognised by numerous institutions including the Singapore Tourism Board which recognised her as Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. The WiT Singapore conference, which remains its tentpole event, has won several awards including Most Innovative Marketing Initiative and Trade Conference Of The Year.

In 2020, WiT Singapore became the first travel conference to go fully hybrid, paving the way for a new model in events.

Other than writing about travel, Siew Hoon is also a published author of titles such as “Around Asia In One Hour: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries”, children’s books such as “Adventures of Habibie The Turtle” and “The Story of Baitong and Boon” and host of “A Life In Travel” podcast.

David Goodger leads Oxford Economics’ work in tourism forecasting and economic impact analysis sector as Managing Director for Tourism Economics in Europe and the Middle East.

Dave Goodger leads Oxford Economics’ work in tourism forecasting and economic impact analysis as Managing Director of Tourism Economics EMEA.

He manages the team in forecasting global tourism flows for 185 countries and over 300 cities, having developed the core models, and he now regularly presents the outlook and risks at industry events. Forecasts are based on economic drivers and in reaction to major geopolitical events as well as the positive impacts of major sporting or business events. Recent analysis has focussed on the renewed importance of tourism growth in recovery from the pandemic and the evolution of tourism demand within wider consumer spending.

David was educated at the University of Bristol, England, where he gained a degree in Economics with Statistics; and at the London School of Economics and Political Science, England, where he graduated with an MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics.

Ross is CEO & Co-Founder at Wego, which is online travel marketplace that provides top ranked mobile apps and websites for users living in the APAC and MENA regions. Wego harnesses powerful technology that simplifies the process of searching, comparing and booking flights and hotels across hundreds of airlines, hotels and online travel agency websites. Wego is has dual-HQs in Singpaore and Dubai and is backed by top-tier investors including Tiger Global, Crescent Group, Square Peg Capital and the MBC Group.

Ross is a veteran of the Asian internet industry having established Yahoo!s Southeast Asian operations in Singapore back in 1998 and leading product development efforts across the region for 6+ years. He is also Singapore Co-Chair of H2, the premier global leadership network for the digital industry. Ross has been an active angel investor in the technology sector for a decade and enjoys working with other passionate entrepreneurs. He has worked in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Kuala Lumpur and is now splits his time between Singapore and Dubai. He travels frequently for business but not nearly enough for leisure.

As Regional Director for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Alberto is responsible for leading the Regional teams to achieve the commercial and operational objectives set for the regions.

With more than 20 years experience in the industry, in the last 15 years at Booking.com between Italy and Australia he has been able to support the growth of the business working with his team to create a strong business relationship with accommodation partners and the wider industry ecosystem.

Boon Sian Chai currently serves as Managing Director and Vice President of International Markets at Trip.com Group. Based in Singapore, Chai oversees the entire International Hotel Supply team spearheading the growth of supply partners internationally.

Prior to joining Trip.com Group, Chai progressed through the ranks during his more than 14 years in the online travel agency (OTA) space. With an extensive knowledge and in-depth experience of the OTA space, Chai enjoys spending time consulting with hotel partners on their pricing, distribution and marketing strategies. His geographic coverage includes Asia Pacific, having spent time in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and he has extensive networks in these markets.

Before moving into the online travel space, Chai was the COO of an IT startup company specialising in online human resource systems and held corporate planning and e-commerce positions with various enterprises working on strategic planning, business development and sales and marketing.

Chai holds an MBA from the Chicago Booth School of Business and a BSc with first-class honours from Loughborough University. Boon Sian Chai Managing Director and Vice President, International Markets Trip.com Group

Kevin is a seasoned leader driving Expedia Group’s EMEA Account Management business for lodging, where he orchestrates partnerships with supply stakeholders to optimize success on the Expedia Group platform and stay at the forefront of digital advancements.

Born in Singapore and spending 21 influential years in Asia, primarily in Hong Kong and Singapore, Kevin’s affinity for hospitality emerged early on. His educational journey led him to Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne (EHL), culminating in a BSc in International Hospitality Management.

Kevin’s professional trajectory encompasses operational roles within the hotel industry, notably with Mövenpick (a part of the Accor Group) in Switzerland. Transitioning to digital leadership, he held pivotal Sales & Marketing development positions with Splendia.com in Hong Kong and Barcelona. His journey with Expedia Group spans nearly a decade, progressing from Sr Market Manager to Sr Director in Global Lodging & Mobility at Egencia.

Before rejoining Expedia Group, Kevin played a crucial role in leading the commercial team at Deliveroo France for four years, serving as an integral part of the executive team. During this tenure, he adeptly steered Deliveroo through the challenges of the Covid pandemic and the pre/post IPO era.

Kevin’s story is one of diverse experiences, blending operational expertise, digital innovation, and strategic vision across the realms of hospitality and technology. His leadership journey reflects a dynamic fusion of global perspectives and a steadfast commitment to navigating industries through transformative periods.

Mr. Comeau is responsible for overall strategic and operational leadership at Phocuswright. Pete oversees all aspects of Phocuswright’s commercial activities including product, sales and service, and marketing. He also plays a key role in product development and business development strategy for Phocuswright research, events and media businesses globally. Pete is a frequent speaker at industry events and heads Phocuswright’s coverage of startups and innovation.

Mr. Comeau’s travel industry career spans over two decades. Previously, he managed strategic partnerships at Orbitz in Chicago, where he assisted in growing and managing accounts for the Orbitz Partner Network. Prior to Orbitz, Pete was the sales leader at Moguls Mountain Travel, a ski tour wholesaler in Boulder, CO. He helped design, implement and maintain four reservation systems during his tenure and managed and mentored a team of successful sales agents.

Based in the Denver, Colorado area, Pete holds an M.B.A. from Daniels College of Business and graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College with a degree in government and economics.

Viren is the co-founder and CEO at VIDEC. He is a serial entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in emerging markets in the East, especially UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, China & SEA. He specializes in tech enabled high growth businesses and provides research, commercial due diligence and buy and sell side M&A advisory to companies across leisure and corporate travel categories.

Viren served as the head of Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions for Phocuswright for more than a decade before co-founding VIDEC in 2016.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and M.B.A. with dual specialization in marketing (major) and finance (minor).

In his downtime, Viren is a doting father to a 5-year old munchkin named Ori.

Carolyn Turnbull is an accomplished global leader in luxury hospitality and was appointed CEO of Nammos Hotels & Resorts in June 2025. With more than 25 years of international experience, she is recognised for building iconic brands, leading complex developments, and delivering long-term results.

At Nammos, Carolyn is transforming the brand from its iconic Mykonos restaurant and beach club origins into a global ultra-luxury lifestyle hospitality platform. The portfolio includes Nammos Hotel Mykonos, Nammos Resort AMAALA (2026), and Nammos Resort Maldives (2027), supported by a strong international pipeline.

Carolyn’s most formative professional years were spent working alongside industry pioneer Adrian Zecha at Aman. Over more than a decade, she helped shape Aman’s global brand strategy and operating philosophy across some of the world’s most exclusive destinations. She subsequently remained with Mr Zecha as the founding CEO of Azerai, leading the launch of the portfolio.

Prior to joining Nammos, Carolyn served as CEO of one of Australia’s largest hotel and residential developments, overseeing a landmark $1 billion mixed-use project at Perth’s Elizabeth Quay. Earlier, as Managing Director of Tourism Western Australia, she delivered a transformational $18 billion in economic impact and repositioned the state as a globally complete tourism destination.

Carolyn is known for her purpose-driven leadership style, combining commercial rigour with authenticity and strategic vision. She holds an Executive MBA from Nanyang Business School, Singapore, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Mehdi Hemici joined the Accor group in September 2018, from American Express where he spent 10 years in designing international consumer strategies for premium credit cards, developing travel and lifestyle services for their most affluent customers. Prior to that, he spent over 10 years in commercial roles in the hospitality industry; working for Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Barrière Hotels & Casinos as a few examples.

As Chief Loyalty & E-Commerce Officer, Mehdi Hemici oversees Accor’s global booking platform & loyalty program, called ALL Accor, including E-commerce, Loyalty, Customer Engagement, Partnerships, Sponsorships and Customer Marketing. His role encompasses business and product strategy development as well as comprehensive team management across these verticals.

Chee Chong is passionate about the tourism industry, so much so that his 15-year career has been centered around it. He has founded not one, but two start-ups to better meet the needs of the buoyant travel/tourism industry.

He is currently Chief Executive Officer and visionary of GlobalTix, an e-ticketing travel marketplace. Chee Chong was also one of the co-founders of Adventure Glamping, which has pioneered and built the first-ever “glamping” (glamorous camping) resort called Canopi, located in Bintan.

He began his travel industry career with SilkAir, the regional carrier owned by Singapore Airlines and subsequently was seconded to Singapore Airlines.

During his seven-year career with the two carriers, he handled various job functions, including postings to Thailand, Indonesia, and Central Japan which gave him invaluable exposure in the airline industry. In Central Japan, he started many initiatives, including several that continue to today, and the team was recognized with a CEO’s Merit Award for operational excellence.

Chee Chong next joined Sentosa Development Corporation as a member of the management team. He started as the Leisure Operation, Director where he was responsible for ongoing daily operations, from beach operation, attractions to ticketing and subsequently became the General Manager of Mount Faber Leisure Group.

Chee Chong holds a Bachelor of Engineering (2nd Upper) degree from the National University of Singapore.

Ola is the CFO of BeMyGuest, a B2B travel tech company that solely focuses on the travel activity sector. The Company’s Distribution Platform is used by thousands of online and offline travel agents buying travel activity products via API or its Marketplace. Their Booking System (Xplore) is used by hundreds of operators, predominantly in South East Asia.

Before joining the travel industry in 2017, Ola spent over 10 years in financial commodity markets, and many years acting as the Asia CEO for Marex, a global financial services platform.

Leyla El Guermai is an innovative entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of RAFINYA, an AI-driven travel companion designed to revolutionize how the world explores Africa. Her mission is to elevate the travel experience by matching individual tastes and real-time contexts with high-quality local experiences, transforming a traditionally time-consuming planning process into a seamless, minutes-long interaction. By leveraging an LLM-native marketplace, Leyla is dedicated to making the continent’s hidden gems accessible to a global audience through cutting-edge technology.

Leyla’s career in the travel sector began in North America, where she led the supplier acquisition strategy for Planned.com, a prominent platform focused on corporate travel and events. While her time in Canada provided a deep foundation in travel tech and logistics, her strategic vision eventually led her back to Morocco to apply those global insights to her own startup. Today, she sits at the forefront of the African travel-tech landscape, building digital tools that bridge the gap between modern discovery and authentic local exploration.

Ruta is the Director of Partnerships for B2B Travel at Visa, where she is responsible for global travel partnership opportunities and relationships. With over 15 years of experience in the travel and distribution industry, Ruta previously led the Strategic Growth team at Trainline, enhancing partnerships with channel partners. Prior to that, she headed the Hotel Distribution Sales team for the EMEA region at Amadeus. Ruta’s extensive industry background also includes roles at AC Tours Miki Travel and Novatours.

Angelica is the co-founder of SocialSeal, a startup that helps travel brands see what travelers are searching for and resonating with on video platforms across different countries and languages.

A growth marketer and data geek for over 10 years, Angelica has lived through the rise of apps at M&C Saatchi Performance, hopped on the Klook rocket ship to scale it into today’s unicorn, and grew Google’s consumer cloud storage through partner marketing.

Marius is the CEO and co-founder of iWander, an AI Travel Companion. Marius is passionate about improving how people explore new destinations – leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Personalization and Product Design to help travellers get more from their trips.

iWander’s technology transforms in-destination exploration by providing personalized, immersive audio tours and real-time recommendations tailored to individual traveller preferences. Through its B2B2C model, iWander partners with travel brands to enhance the customer experience, offering its technology as an SDK or API for seamless integration into existing travel apps and websites.

Marius began his career in Marketing and Product Development at l’Oréal’s Paris headquarters before launching Vidi Guides – a platform for self-guided podcast tours. He is also the co-founder of one of the world’s first blockchain book publishing platforms.

Marius is an alumni of HEC, Paris and Trinity College Dublin, and is passionate about history, literature and consumer product design.

Roger is a 30+ year veteran tech Chair, advisor and investor with a focus on travel technology. He played key roles in the privatisations of Air New Zealand and Qantas and has advised multiple airlines and airports. Roger was previously CEO of ABN AMRO Asia and Global Head of Technology for ABN AMRO Bank. He subsequently chaired, built and sold ASX-listed travel.com.au (owner of last minute.com.au), chaired Webjet until its spin-off in 2024, and was Deputy Chair of Tourism New Zealand. He currently chairs ASX-listed Web Travel Group, a leading global B2B hotels company.

Roger is also the founder of Asia Pacific tech investment bank North Ridge Partners where he leads the firm’s travel tech practise. During COVID-19, he launched Technology Queenstown (TQ), a not-for-profit responsible for building $1bn in annual tech sector GDP to diversify the Queenstown economy.

Muzzammil is the CEO of Almosafer, Saudi Arabia’s leading Travel Company, elevating the journey for travelers from Saudi Arabia, the region & beyond, while harnessing Seera Group’s 40+ years of expertise. Muzzammil is passionate about creating teams that use the power of digital technologies and data to deliver delightful customer experiences at scale.

Muzzammil holds an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Irvine.

Gemma Timmons is Director of Operations and Chief of Staff at OAG, a 96-year-old aviation data company undergoing significant technological transformation. She brings a rare blend of strategic, investment, and operational experience in travel tech and B2B software.

At OAG, Gemma leads operational and AI transformation efforts, with a focus on modernising data infrastructure for an increasingly agentic world. She holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.

Florian Sengstschmid is the CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB) and the Chief Advisor of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (STA). An Austrian-born leader that combines multiple perspectives on tourism development with a strategic and operational approach, Florian is instrumental in leading the transformation of brand Azerbaijan and launching the iconic ‘Take another look’ campaign on a global platform.

Prior to his current role, Florian was the Chief Operating Officer of Pasha Travel in Baku and the Executive Director of Azerbaijan Convention Bureau.

For more than two decades, Florian held a wide range of leading roles in the international travel and tourism industry, from marketing manager of a luxury hotel, to Commercial Attaché at the Austrian Embassy in Moscow and Representative of the Austrian National Tourism Board in CIS countries. Culminating his diverse career in the tourism industry Florian founded his own consultancy, EUDS Tourism Development and Solutions, in Vienna in 2004.

Florian holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Vienna.

Stephan Ekbergh married father of 4, lives in Cape Town. Ex professional DJ for 10 years. Entrepreneur in Travel. Started the E-commerce revolution in Scandinavia 1999. Is now doing the same in Africa. Passion for releasing gifts and entrepreneurship with people. Writes and speaks about business, life and taking risks. Investor and active boardmember, also works with and finances non profits organization Thembalitscha foundation.

Tania is the Global Head of B2B Travel for Visa Commercial Solutions, where she responsible for the creation and execution of the business strategy for this rapidly evolving, high growth vertical segment. Bringing more than 25 years of experience in the payments, financial services and telecommunications sectors, Tania has led successful businesses around the world. Prior to joining Visa in early 2024, she managed the Commercial team at Outpayce from Amadeus, serving the global travel ecosystem with new advances in payments. Tania has also previously held senior business development roles at American Express, MasterCard Payment Gateway Services, Vodafone and IDT.

Filip Filipov is CEO of OAG, leading the company’s next phase of growth in aviation data, analytics and AI. A former Skyscanner product and strategy leader, he joined OAG as COO to scale global operations and accelerate the product roadmap. Filip is known for customer-first decision making, turning complex data into outcomes, and building high-performance teams under pressure.

Timothy O’Neil-Dunne has spent most of his career in Aviation, Travel and Technology. He has been an entrepreneur, investment analyst and founding team member of some notable companies in Tech, such as Expedia. Several of these entities have valuations in billions. Today, he provides consulting services to different companies both in startup phase and amongst mature businesses addressing tough challenges.

Timothy is a recognized analyst and commentator in Aviation and Travel with a focus on Technology. He is frequently called on to speak at conferences. He has published several books in this subject area. Further he has authored four patents. Timothy was educated in the United Kingdom and now lives in Kirkland, WA USA. He is a surrogate parent to a boisterous Fox Red Labrador.