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)
31 Prabhat Pani
Chief Executive Officer, Roots Corporation
As CEO of the wholly-owned subsidiary of The Indian Hotels Company, Prabhat Pani manages the operations of Ginger Hotels and is responsible for their growth
across India.
Before joining the Taj Group, Pani served as chief operating officer in Tata Telesevices. He has extensive experience across India in handling portfolios of sales, marketing and operations in large companies engaged in the FMCG and
Telecom industries.
He has been actively associated with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and has been a member of the Southern Regional Council for the last three years, while co-chairing the sub-committee on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Pani holds a degree in engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, and a post-graduate diploma in management from IIM Ahmedabad
He has extensive experience across India in handling portfolios of sales, marketing and operations in large companies engaged in the FMCG and Telecom industries.
32 Priya Paul
Chairperson, Hospitality Division, Apeejay Surendra Group
She joined the company, after finishing her studies in Economics at the Wellesley College US and began working under her father, as marketing manager at the Park Hotel New Delhi, at the age of 22.
After the death of Surrendra Paul, she succeeded him in 1990 as the chairperson of the hospitality division of the Apeejay Surendra Group.
Her contributions to industry and commerce, particularly in the field of hospitality have been repeatedly recognised and she has received several awards and citations.
Some of these include Young Entrepreneur of the Year award (1999-2000), a nomination for The Economic Times Awards as the Businessperson of the year (2002-2003) and the UK’s Tatler magazine rated The Park Bangalore, a hotel that is part of her group, as one of the 101 Best Hotels Worldwide in 2003.
Paul has received several awards for her contribution to industry and commerce, particularly in hospitality. She began her career at the young age of 22 as marketing manager at the Park Hotel in Delhi.
33 Rajeev Menon
Area Vice President – India, Pakistan, Maldives & Malaysia for the Marriott
Rajeev Menon leads a team that is responsible for the operations of 14 existing hotels and 15 additional properties in Marriott’s development pipeline.
Most recently, Menon served as Marriott’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand as well as GM of the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel, where he was responsible for the eight properties managed by Marriott International in Australia.
Prior to this, Menon was GM of the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Center and Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments in Mumbai. During his career, he served as deputy chairman of the Australian Hotels Association, was named GM of the Year in 2004 by Marriott International and was awarded Young GM of the Year in 2003 by the Indian Hotels & Restaurant Association.
He was recognised as Young General Manager of the Year in 2003 by the Indian Hotel and Restaurant association and is responsible for 14 exisiting Marriott hotels and 15 additional ones.
34 Rajindera Kumar
Working Director of the Ambassador Hotel New Delhi & current FHRAI President
Rajindera Kumar, is working director of the Ambassador Hotel New Delhi. Kumar was educated at the prestigious School of Hotel Administration Cornell University US. He is the son of Late Lala Ram Prashadji, who was president of HRANI and FHRAI for the longest period.
A keen golfer, he handled catering for Golf Tournament Asiad 82 at the Delhi Golf Club as the chairman of the catering committee.
He was the former president and honorary secretary of HRANI and honorary secretary of FHRAI.
He has been on the Board of the Haryana Tourism Corporation and is also currently on the board of Food Craft Institute Haryana. If that isn’t enough, he is also on the Board of Governors.
He is working director of the Ambassador Hotel in New Delhi and is the current president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India.
35 Rajiv Gujral
COO and Senior VP, Mergers, Acquisitions & Development for Taj Palaces and Resorts
In the 33 years with The Taj Group, Rajiv Gujral has held various positions in the company from sales and marketing, heading operations and development for the Eastern Region and International Division.
Gujral has served on the Board of International Hotels and Restaurants Association (IHRA), is currently a member of the Chain Council, a former president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI), apart from being the chairman of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation and Chairman Tourism sub-committee of the Associate Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASOCHAM).
He was responsible for creating Taj Asia and for bringing in CC Africa to develop Wildlife Safaris in India with The Taj Group. He is on the board of Taj International Hotels and Oriental Hotels, both in Hong Kong, and is chairman of the All India Board of Hotel Management and Catering Technology by the Union Ministry of Human Resources.
Gujral is an old hand in the industry and has been with The Taj Group for 33 years. He was responsible for creating Taj Asia and for bringing in CC Africa to develop Wildlife Safaris in India in collaboration with The Taj Group.
36 Rajiv Kaul
President, the Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts
A veteran hotelier, Rajiv Kaul leads the management team and is responsible for providing strategic direction for six operating properties of the group.
He is spearheading the launch of the new Leela Palace properties, opening in New Delhi (2010) and Chennai (2011) followed by other hotels under development in Agra, Hyderabad and Lake Ashtamudi in Kerala.
A seasoned hotelier, he began his hospitality career with The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts in 1978, finally taking over as vice-president of Oberoi Hotels Egypt. Subsequent to this, he was vice-president, Taj Mumbai Hotels and GM, The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower.
A seasoned hotelier, Kaul began his hospitality career with The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts in 1978 and then became vice president of Oberoi Hotels Egypt.
37 Ratnesh Verma
Senior VP for real estate development in south Asia for Hyatt
After graduating from Delhi University, where he was a rank holder, Verma completed his chartered accountancy and combined it with a company secretariat degree. Then he got an offer from Hyatt Regency New Delhi, to be their assistant director of finance.
He was promoted to director finance of Hyatt Regency New Delhi, within a couple of years. He then moved to Hong Kong and joined the internal audit team for the Asia Pacific division and played a key part in handling the financial affairs of Hyatt’s properties across the Asia Pacific.
He was subsequently relocated to Japan where he was the director of finance at the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka.
He then returned to India and was made responsible for setting up the company’s back office in the country. Verma soon became head of operations for the company and played an integral part in expanding the Hyatt brand of hotels across the whole of India.
Verma is a qualified chartered accountant and joined the Hyatt group soon after his studies. He progressed through the ranks quickly and soon became the head of operations for the company.
38 Rattan Keswani
Senior Vice President of Oberoi Hotels
From his early years as an OCLD topper to senior vice presidentship of Oberoi Hotels, Rattan Keswani has charted 23 years and counting with India’s biggest hotel group. Once out from Oberoi School of Hotel Management, Keswani did not look back.
Except for a brief stint in 1987-88 with Holiday Inn Worldwide, he has been with the Oberoi Group all through. In 1996, he was summoned to India from The Lanka Oberoi Colombo. He was promoted to General Manager of Oberoi Cecil in Shimla and was given the responsibility to renovate the property.
As GM, he reopened the heritage property after complete renovation in 1997. Later, he was GM in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, before becoming the executive vice president for The Oberoi and The Trident Nariman Point.
Ratan Keswani has charted 23 years and trotted the globe with India’s biggest hotel chain. He is now the executive vice president for The Oberoi and The Trident Nariman Point.
39 Raymond Bickson
MD and Chief Executive Officer Indian Hotels
Raymond Bickson, a native of Hawaii, joined Indian Hotels, the owners of the renowned Taj Group, in January 2003 as chief operating officer of its luxury hotels division.
Prior to that he was the general manager of The Mark New York, now owned by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Bickson honed his skills in luxury hotels across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. He started with the Berlin Hilton in 1973 and has worked in a variety of exotic locations in many countries. Bickson’s academic credentials are just as impressive.
He has studied at the Goethe Institute in Berlin, the Universite de Sorbonne in Paris, L’Ecole Hoteliere in Lausanne, and Cornell University in New York and is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School.
Voted a Top-10 hotel manager by Leaders magazine in 1997 and 2000 and best hotel general manager by Gallivanters Guide in 2000, he was nominated for the 2002 Independent Hotelier of the World Award by Hotels Magazine.
He studied at the Goethe Institute in Berlin, the Universite de Sorbonne Paris, L’Ecole Hoteliere in Lausanne, and Cornell University New York. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School.
40 RK Krishna Kumar
Director Tata Sons and Vice Chairman Indian Hotels (IHCL)
RK Krishna Kumar started his career with the Tata Group in 1963 when he joined the Tata Administrative Service. Over the period of 46 years that he has been with the House of Tata, he has served in several Tata Companies in various capacities.
He held several senior positions in the company, before being appointed joint managing director of Tata Tea Limited in 1988 and managing director in 1991.
Under his leadership, Tata Tea moved from commodity to branded business and then into acquisitions, which transformed the company into a global beverage company. He was transferred to Mumbai and appointed MD of the Indian Hotels Company in 1997.
In January 2002 he was also appointed Director of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, in 2008.
The government of India honoured him with the most prestigious civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2008. He has been with the Tata Group for over 46 years.
