Hotelier India brings you the most influential men and women you need to know in this dynamic industry
They’re the ones who call the shots and the range of their power is both wide and deep. Meet 50 hand-picked hospitality professionals – influential people that anyone in the business needs to know. Culled from extensive research by our editorial team in conjunction with industry consultants, this list brings you 50 names, whose numbers should be in your diary. (In alphabetical order)
In the first of a five-part series, Hotelier India brings you the celebrated HOT 50 People You Should Know.
1 Abhijit Mukerji
Executive Director – Hotel Operations, IHCL
Abhijit Mukerji oversees hotel operations of the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which includes the Taj Luxury Hotels – India and International, Taj Business Hotels, Taj Leisure Hotels, Taj Spas, Taj Trade and Transport and Inditravels. Mukerji’s experience spans 22 years and four continents.
He has spent almost 10 years as general manager and run several hotels that have won international acclaim under his stewardship. His last assignment was as chief operating officer – Taj Luxury Hotels, India. Mukerji is an alumnus of Cornell (Essec) and Harvard Business School (GMP), and has a flair for European languages.
Mukerji’s experience spans 22 years and four continents. He has spent almost 10 years as a general manager and run several hotels that have won international acclaim under his stewardship.
2 Ajay Bakaya
Executive Director of Sarovar Hotels
Ajay Bakaya has been executive director of Sarovar Hotels and Resorts for over 13 years. He oversees the operations of the group and is involved in new development in India and overseas.
Ajay is a 1980 graduate of The Oberoi School and a postgraduate alumnus of Cornell-Essec, France. His 30 years of international hotel experience includes assignments in Australia, France, the UK and Africa.
Bakaya’s experience includes being EAM at The Trident Mumbai and general manager at Taj Krishna Hyderabad and Robertsfield Hotel Liberia. He was part of the opening team as director – Rooms at Australia’s largest hotel, the 650-room Four Points by Sheraton Sydney.
He has also worked as AGM at The Sheraton on the Park in Sydney, a 600-room deluxe hotel, part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection.
He was part of the opening team as director – Rooms at Australia’s largest hotel, the 650-room Four Points by Sheraton in Sydney. He’s been with the Sarovar group for over 13 years.
3 Ajit Kerkar
Chairman, Tulip Star Hotels
After having created The Taj Group from scratch as the former chairman and managing director of Indian Hotels, Ajit Baburao Kerkar set up Tulip Star Hotels as an entity to manage and own properties.
In a short span of five years after he quit the Taj Group in 1997, The Tulip Star now either owns, manages or markets a number of properties, which include the Bogmallo Beach Resort and the Nizmar Resort in Goa, the Kumarakom Lake Resort, the Aquaserene, Siena Village in Munnar and the Renaissance Cochin, all of which are in Kerala.
Other properties under Tulip Star are Capitol in Bangalore, Tulip Manohar in Hyderabad and Revival in Baroda. Out of this the company has equity participation in Tulip Star Mumbai, and the Bogmallo Beach Resort in Goa.
It also picked up the Juhu Centaur for `153 crore, out of which the promoters have put in `44 crore. The rest has been financed by a consortium of banks, led by Canara Bank.
After having created The Taj Group from scratch, Kerkar set up Tulip Star Hotels as an entity to manage and own properties. The Tulip Star now owns over 10 properties across the country.
4 Ajoy Misra
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
In his 28 years with The Taj Group, Ajoy Misra has worked in various capacities, from sales and marketing to operations. Misra joined the Taj in 1980 in the corporate sales and marketing department through the Tata Administrative Services.
He served as general manager of the Taj President in Mumbai and area director in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Today, Misra represents the Taj in industry organisations such as the World Travel and Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTC II), World Tourism Organisation (WTO), Hotel Association of India (HAI), the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Confederation of Indian Industry. He holds a degree in civil engineering and an MBA from Delhi University.
Misra has been with the Taj group for 28 years, joining the group way back in 1980 in the corporate sales and marketing department.
5 Aman Nath
Co-founder and Co-chairman, Neemrana Hotels
Aman Nath was born and educated in New Delhi where he completed his masters in history. His early interest in poetry and art took him to a career of copywriting and graphic design in advertising. He has travelled, researched and photographed extensively in Rajasthan, authoring several books.
He is now actively involved in the restoration of old properties and the promotion of tourism in Rajasthan in partnership with Francis Wacziarg.
Together they restored the 500-year-old Neemrana fort palace and turned it into a bustling heritage hotel, after which they have gone on to restore many more properties.
5 Francis Wacziarg
Co-founder and Co-chairman, Neemrana Hotels
Francis Wacziarg is a veritable citizen of the world. Born aboard a ship in the Caribbean Sea to a Turkish mother and a Jewish father fleeing to Cuba, Wacziarg made India his home since 1970. He met Aman Nath while on a filming trip to Rajasthan.
A common passion for Indian heritage and restoration soon made them friends. Today they are a power-pair renowned for their commitment to restoring ancient properties to their former glory under the banner of
Neemrana Hotels.
The company today is successfully running 15 heritage hotels all over India. Wacziarg is also a founding member of Intach and founder of the Neemrana music foundation.
Wacziarg was born aboard a ship in the Caribbean Sea to a Turkish mother and a Jewish father fleeing to Cuba. He made India his home in 1970 and co-owns 15 Neemrana Hotels with business partner Aman Nath.
6 Anil Madhok
MD of Sarovar Hotels and Resorts
Anil Madhok joined The Oberoi Hotels in 1966 and contributed to the group until 1991.
His last assignment with the group was as vice president – Operations, for the Western and Northern regions, overseeing the Oberoi hotels in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Goa and Srinagar, as well as Oberoi Flight Services and Oberoi Airport Services.
His tenure with the group included overseas stints at Sri Lanka and Singapore. He also oversaw the refurbishment and upgradation of The Oberoi New Delhi, as well as the planning and opening of new hotel properties such as The Oberoi Mumbai and The Oberoi Flight Kitchens in Mumbai.
Madhok set up Sarovar Hotels in 1994. His area of special expertise includes hotel conceptulisation and planning.
Madhok, who graces the cover of the August issue of our sister-publication Travel Gazette India, joined The Oberoi Hotels in 1966 and contributed to the group till 1991. He set up Sarovar Hotels in 1994.
7 Anil Paranjape
Vice President, Operations, The Orchid
Anil Paranjape has been associated with the hospitality industry for three decades. He was working with The Taj Group of Hotels for 24 years. He worked in various capacities with the Taj and has also worked as general manager, Taj Hari Mahal Jodhpur.
He was earlier with the Jaypee Group of Hotels, after which he joined Citymax Hotels India, a division the of Landmark Group based in Dubai, as vice president-hotel’s business.
Paranjape who is now with Dubai-based Landmark Group has worked with The Taj Group for 24 years where he was the general manager for the Taj Hari Mahal Jodhpur.
8 Arjun Sharma
Managing Director, Le Passage to India, Select Resorts and Select Citiwalk
A highly accomplished tourism expert and successful businessman, Arjun Sharma is the recipient of the Travel Entrepreneur of the year Award for 2005 by SATTE.
He is presently the managing director of Le Passage to India, Select Resorts and Select Citiwalk, which are among the largest shopping malls in the country. He is the person responsible for bringing TUI – AG to India.
Till 2001 his family owned and managed SITA Travels, India’s biggest destination management company, which was subsequently sold to Kuoni Switzerland. It was through his vision that Luxe India was created as a separate division to fill the gap of providing experience and attention-to-smaller-detail, which truly impresses the traveller.
It was through Sharma’s vision that Luxe India was created as a separate division to fill the gap of providing experience and attention-to-detail for the experienced traveller.
9 Arun Nanda
Chairman, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited (MHRIL)
Arun Nanda joined the Mahindra Group in 1973. He has held several important positions within the group and was also the Company Secretary of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M) from 1987 to 2006.
He was inducted to the Board of M&M in August, 1992 and resigned as executive director in March 2010, to focus on the social sector and create a favourable ecosystem for senior citizens. He was immediately appointed as a non-executive director of M&M.
As executive director of M&M (US $7.1 billion group), Nanda shouldered multiple responsibilities at the corporate level – including compliances, corporate governance, investments, strategic planning, identifying new business opportunities and corporate communications. Nanda is the founder director and chairman of MHRIL since 1998.
10 Arun Saraf
Owner and Developer, Grand Hyatt Mumbai
Arun Saraf joined his father’s business in Hong Kong after graduation, and then moved to Nepal to run the family enterprises which included hotels, a logistic and transportation company and a trading house.
Saraf has been a serial entrepreneur taking opportunities in many ventures including plantation, hydroelectric projects, business process outsourcing (BPO) and hotel development projects.
Saraf has formed several joint ventures with International companies and has dealt with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, America President Lines, Federal Express, EuropeRent a Car, Grayline Sightseeing and Hyatt International.
Presently Saraf is aggressively pursuing development of real estate specialising in the hospitality sector. He has ownership of seven major hotels in South Asia, which are managed by the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency brands by Hyatt International. Saraf has been actively involved with education in Nepal and is running one of the finest schools
in Kathmandu.
Presently, Saraf is aggressively pursuing the development of real estate specialising in the hospitality sector. He owns seven major hotels in South Asia, which are managed by the Hyatt International.
