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)
21 Jyoti Narang
COO, Luxury Division, Taj Hotels
Jyoti Narang began her career with The Taj Group in 1982 and has since handled a variety of portfolios across the chain. Jyoti started off as a sales executive with Taj Hotels in Delhi and was part of the launch of Taj Palace New Delhi.
In 1996, she took charge of marketing for the entire Taj Group of Hotels before moving into operations in 2003. Seeing an opportunity in business tourism on the back of a growing economy, she developed the concept of ‘Urban Revival’ for the new age business hotels for the Taj.
She served as the chief operating officer of Taj Business Hotels for India and abroad in 2003 and then managed the operations of Taj Leisure Hotels in 2006. She was instrumental in pioneering the launch of Taj Safaris and was named as the most powerful woman in the travel industry worldwide by Travel Agent, a leading US national travel news magazine.
Narang was named the most powerful woman in the travel industry worldwide by Travel Agent, a leading US national news weekly covering the travel industry.
22 Jyotsna Suri
Chairperson and Managing Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group
Jyotsna Suri has been spearheading The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group to greater heights with seventeen hotels in the portfolio.
She is the only Indian member of the International Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council, and is the chairperson, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Tourism Committee (FICCI).
The University of Warwick conferred her with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws for her continuing contribution in the field of hospitality and tourism in India.
She took on the mantle of chairperson and managing director of Bharat Hotels in 2006 – prior to which she was the joint managing director of the company. In November 2008 she charted a path-breaking and highly successful brand change for the company.
Today, under The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, all its luxury hotels are operated under ‘The Lalit’ banner – as a tribute to the company’s founder chairman Lalit Suri.
Suri is the only Indian member of the International Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council. The University of Warwick conferred her with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws for her contribution to India.
23 KB Kachru
Executive Vice President South Asia, Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific
KB Kachru is one of the founding fathers of Carlson Hospitality’s family of brands within Asia. In 1991, Rajan Jetley and KB collaborated to form Radisson Hotels Asia, an affiliation with Carlson in order to introduce the Radisson and TGI Friday’s brands to the region.
Based in Singapore for five years, Kachru’s first project was the opening of Radisson Hotel Bangkok, a hotel which still operates today, followed by TGI Friday’s restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore.
In 1996 he was invited to join Carlson Hospitality to develop other Carlson brands throughout South Asia. He is responsible for the development of 26 Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn and Suites By Carlson and Park Inn properties in India.
He is responsible for the development of 26 Radisson, Park PLaza, Country Inn and Suites By Carlson and Park Inn properties in India. He is a founding member of Carlson Hospitality.
24 Keshav Baljee
President of Royal Orchid Hotels
Keshav Baljee is deeply involved in driving the expansion process of the group, to achieve its immediate goal of a pan-India presence by 2010. He not only designed the group’s ambitious expansion strategy, but also turned the group into a hotel development company from an operating one.
His involvement in expansion extends to include evaluating and selecting from the funding sources in the market. His role in the company diversified when he recently took on the role of directing various PR, HR and marketing initiatives within the organisation.
An alumnus of the Wharton School US and the Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, Baljee has a strong academic background in finance and corporate strategy.
He has a background as an investment banker, and has worked with Lehman Brothers and UBS in the mergers and acquisitions department prior to returning to India. He is an avid golfer, and enjoys a good game of squash.
He is the driving force behind the group’s expansion. He has a background as an investment banker having worked with Lehman Brothers and UBS.
25 Liam Lambert
President, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts
He lived in Ireland during the formative years of his education and career and before he travelled the world on various postings.
He was appointed director of operations for a leading luxury international hotel group looking after Europe, Middle East and Africa before he got a call from India to work for The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts.
He relocated to Delhi and was appointed in 2009 as president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, in the midst of multiple crises—the economic meltdown, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that included targeting an Oberoi flagship property and the H1N1 virus scare
He was appointed in 2009 as president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts in the midst of multiple crises – the economic downturn, Mumbai terrorist attacks and the H1N1 virus scare.
26 Manav Thadani
Managing Director, HVS-India
Manav Thadani joined HVS’s New York office as a consultant and valuation analyst in 1995. Prior to joining HVS, he gained six years of experience in various hotels in New York City. He moved to the London office in early 1997 and then opened HVS New Delhi operations.
Thadani, with partner Stephen Rushmore owns the New Delhi operations of HVS. In 2001, along with Keith Kefgen and Stephen Rushmore, he launched the HVS Executive Search division in India.
Under his guidance, HVS-India now also offers services in marketing communications, web strategies and asset management and strategic advisory. He is also responsible for successfully holding Hotel Investment Conference – South Asia (HICSA) since its inception in 2005.
He has conducted various feasibility and market studies and performed hotel valuations for hotel chains and investment banks around the globe.
Thadani, with partner Stephen Rushmore, owns the New Delhi operations of HVS. He is responsible for successfully holding HICSA since its inception in 2005.
27 Nakul Anand
Chief Executive of the Hotels Division at ITC
Nakul Anand is the chief executive of the Hotels Division and a permanent invitee to the Corporate Management Committee. An Economics Honours graduate from Delhi University with an AMP degree from Bond University, Australia, he joined ITC Hotels’ Management Training Programme in the summer of 1978. In a career that spans over three decades, he has been acknowledged for his vision and commitment.
He is widely recognised for excellent people management and team-building abilities, besides infusing the spirit of action and a result oriented work culture.
A firm believer in value based strategies, he has created a unique quality control model of Operational Excellence and also introduced Six Sigma quality standards. Nakul Anand has initiated some very innovative concepts in hospitality making ITC’s hotel business among the world’s best.
He has created a unique quality control model of Operational Excellence and also introduced Six Sigma quality standards. He is widely recognised for excellent people management skills.
28 Narendra Somani
Chairman and managing director of Bhagwati Banquets and Hotels
Narendra Somani is responsible for changing the landscape of the hospitality industry and introducing for the first time in India the concept of a ‘banquet hotel’ with his star category hotel, The Grand Bhagwati (TGB) in Ahmedabad.
As chairman and managing director of Bhagwati Banquets and Hotels, a public limited company he has come a long way since 1989, turning his small chaat shop into a full-fledged catering business.
In 2002, it expanded into the hospitality business and won the Most Promising Small Enterprise of the Year Award by CNBC TV-18 in India Emerging Awards-2006.
In 2010, once again, the brand is undergoing a paradigm shift. He will soon launch his five-star deluxe hotel in Surat. The maverick hotelier was awarded by AMA-Zydus Cadila as The Marketing Man of the Year Award 2006 by Ahmedabad Management Association.
A rags-to-riches story, Somani turned his tiny chaat shop into a full-fledged catering business. He is now chairman and MD of Bhagwati Banquets and Hotels, a public company.
29 Param Kannampilly
Managing director of Concept Hospitality, a unit of Kamat Hotels India
A renowned figure in Indian hospitality, Param Kannampilly is one of the foremost environment champions in this industry with over 30 years of experience in hospitality.
He set up and operated The Orchid Group from its inception in 1996 till 2007. He is a Fellow of The Institute of Hospitality, London and a Fellow of The World Academy of Productivity Sciences.
Kannampilly is also a member of the Board of Governors at IHMCT Mumbai and chairman of The Institute of Hospitality, London (Western India Chapter).
Kannampilly is a Fellow of The Institute of Hospitality, London and a Fellow of The World Academy of Productivity Sciences. He also champions environmental issues in the industry.
30 Patu Keswani
Chairman of Lemon Tree Hotels
The owner of five Lemon Tree Hotels with revenues worth `100 crore and a valuation worth `1000 crore in 2006, Patu Keswani has his dog Sparky as a part of his company’s management team.
Sparky owns one share in the company. Taking this forward he has appointed one dog for each of his hotels, who represents the values that his hotel chain stands for.
With a BTech in computer science from IIT Delhi and an MBA from IIT Kolkata, Keswani spent 15 years with one of India’s best hotel company, where he was COO of The Taj Group and two years at top-notch consulting firm AT Kearney, before he decided to hang up his suit and tie, to start his own hotel company.
Today, he owns five Lemon Tree Hotels and has also recently started another chain named Red Fox Hotels. He has a target of building another 20 Lemon Tree hotels by 2011 and five for Red Fox.
Keswani owns five Lemon Tree Hotels with revenues worth `100 crore and a valuation worth `1000 crore in 2006. He has his dog Sparky as part of his company’s management team.
