Board of directors

Former Managing Director and Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels and Resorts South Asia, Dilip has over three decades of experience in the hospitality industry and has worked with brands such as Oberoi, Taj, IHG, and Starwood in India, Australia, and Africa.

A graduate of the Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development, Dilip is recognised as one of India’s foremost thought leaders in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Fuelled by an entrepreneurial spirit at his core, Prahlad has been a part of multiple start-up ventures in verticals such as information technology, as well as interior design & architecture tech

Prahlad grew up across India, Australia and East Africa, after which he pursued higher studies in the United Kingdom. From a very early age he gained a very unique insight into the hospitality industry as a result of his father’s career in the business. Along with his passion for technology and innovation, Prahlad brings an invaluable perspective on the mindset of today’s generation.

The former CEO of Lakmé Lever Ltd., Anil Chopra has over thirty-five years of experience in the FMCG, beauty, lifestyle, and media industries having worked with the Tata Group & Unilever.

Chopra is credited with the creation of the hugely successful Lakmé Fashion week, as well as the Lakmé Salon chain. Anil is a leading authority in the business of beauty and cosmetics in India, as well as an angel investor in promoting start-up ventures. Most recently, he has been spearheading the development and launch of ‘StudioWest’ cosmetics for Trent-Westside (A Tata Enterprise).

Ashish Jhakanwala has been an active player in the hospitality industry for two decades. He consulted for one of the largest accountancy firms in the world, PKF International, before playing a vital role in the creation and establishment of the Accor and InterGlobe hotel development portfolio in India.

Most recently, Jhakanwala established India’s fastest growing hotel asset company SAMHI Hotels Pvt. Ltd in 2011, SAMHI is one of India’s largest multi-branded hotel asset company with a portfolio of over 4,500 rooms and owns hotels operating under brands of Marriott, Hyatt and Accor.

Aditya K. Rajaram is the Managing Director of Radar Holdings, a hospitality development enterprise.

Rajaram has previously worked with Ernst & Young in their specialised hospitality, real estate and finance team. Rajaram has also worked on various operator search and selections for hotel projects in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, in addition to creating a comprehensive strategic hotel investment and development strategy for a mega real estate company in Dubai. A graduate from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, he is an active member of the Cornell Hotel Society – Arabian Gulf Chapter and the Penn State Hotel Restaurant Society.

Managing Director of Vatika Hospitality, Gaurav has over 16 years of experience in the real estate, hospitality and F&B business.

Gaurav spearheads the hotels, restaurants, business centres, facilities and QSR businesses of the Vatika Group. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from the University of Buckingham and a Diploma in Business Management from Harvard University.

Dhairya Choudhrie is the Managing Director of Shanti Hospitality, which owns seventeen operational hotels globally, including the Ananda Spa and a portfolio of Hyatt hotels in India.

Earlier in his career, he was instrumental in the sale of Grandeur Real Estate to Alpha G: Corp working with Morgan Stanley. He was also part of the team that grew BIG Malls India with a $32m investment from Silverpeak Asset Management. Dhairya is a graduate in Economics and Business Management from Boston’s North Eastern University.