Kershing Goh

Senior Vice President, Strategic Ventures & Alliances, Future Tourism
Singapore Tourism Board

Started as a new innovation lab based out in San Francisco Bay Area, Kershing leads Singapore Tourism Board’s experimental efforts in forging close alliances with global tech and concept bellwethers to distil accelerating disruption and translate them into meaningful application for tourism, anchoring Singapore as the Lab for the Future of Travel. With almost 20 years of all-rounded tourism experience globally, Kershing is frequently sought to contribute at panel discussions and conferences and is ardently passionate about the impact of tourism on developing economies. She was also an adjunct professor at the New York University teaching the Master in Tourism Planning and Policies course. Prior to her tourism career, Kershing was a Broadcast Journalist with the English News channel at Television Corporation of Singapore (now renamed Chanel News Asia). Kershing graduated from National University of Singapore with a B.A in Economics and Political Science.

Brett Tollman

Chief Executive
The Travel Corporation (TTC)

Brett is Chief Executive of The Travel Corporation (TTC), this year a 101-year strong family owned and run, international hospitality and travel company. TTC has an award-winning portfolio of 40 niche brands which operate on all seven continents, in over 70 countries. They specialise in immersive, experiential guided journeys and tours; luxury hotels and river-cruising; independent & youth travel brands. With over 35 years hands-on experience in travel and tourism, Brett is also an enthusiastic advocate of sustainable and meaningful travel. He is the founder of the TreadRight Foundation, a non-profit funded by TTC, which supports many projects around the world that focus on empowering women and girls in the communities their brands travel to, protecting wildlife and actively reducing their carbon and plastic footprints. He was included in the book “I am Eco-Warrior” by Roger Moenks and helps drive the industry’s sustainability efforts, as a long-standing Executive Committee member of the World Travel and Tourism Council and their sustainability committee. He is the recipient of various awards, and lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

Nikhil Jeet

Director
Buzz Travel Marketing

Nikhil is a chartered accountant, sports fan, animal lover and an explorer. He currently leads the strategy and innovation team at Buzz Marketing, helping various tourism clients implement new strategies in the Indian market. Over the last few years Nikhil has pioneered the launch of various new initiatives like e-connect, interactive webinars, Travel Einstein and Travel 365.

Nikhil's mantra is simple: Eat, Sleep, Travel, Repeat!

Kairat Sadvakassov

Deputy Chairman, Member of the Board
KAZAKH TOURISM

Graduate of the New York University with Master of Science in Tourism Management (2012) he started his career in public service in 2012 as a Director of the Tourism department at Kazakhstan Institute of Industry Development JSC.

Over the years, he held the posts of Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Tourism Department at the Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He is a co-author of various strategic documents and master plans for the tourism development of Kazakhstan, as well as a contributor to legislative acts and policies. Kairat is a frequent speaker and moderator at industry events, guest lectures locally and abroad.

Before joining the public service he worked in the hotel industry in Kazakhstan, spearheaded a consulting and PR agency, served international companies on Government and Investor Relations while taking part in the implementation of industrial and transportion projects. He was also involved in educational tourism while serving as a deputy head of Kazakhstan's office of an international non-for-profit exchange agency.

Kate Shilling

Managing Director
Straightforward Tourism Solutions

With over 20 years’ experience in the travel industry, Kate Shilling is on a mission to help tourism enterprises in regional Australia generate business by creating, connecting and selling innovative experiences to local visitors as well as to travellers from other regions and overseas.

Kate’s CV includes leadership roles at Flight Centre, Tourism NT, NRMA Travel, Qantas Holidays, Helloworld and Australian Traveller Media. Kate is the founder of Family History Holidays, an Ambassador for Australian Regional Tourism, and the Chair of Destination Riverina Murray.

Kate has been the Executive Officer of Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia since 2018. This hand-selected collection of Australia’s premium wineries offers unique experiences based around world class wines, culinary excellence and warm and knowledgeable hospitality.

Silvio Magahaes Barros

President
SOLUTION CONSULTING

A Civil Engineer with specialization in Environmental Engineering, Silvio began his career in the Amazon, where he worked as the logistics coordinator for Jacques Cousteau's expedition to the Amazon in 1983 and personally introduced Bill and Melinda Gates to the region in 1997.

He has been involved in the travel and tourism industry for more than 25 years, serving as Secretary of Tourism for the states of Amazonas and Paraná, and as Under Secretary for Tourism for the national government in Brazil.

Silvio was a member of the Board of The International Ecotourism Society for five years and director for Latin America for the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), between 1999 and 2003.

Through his firm Solution Consulting, he was responsible for the launch of Convention and Visitors Bureaus for several major tourist destinations in Brazil, including Iguassu Falls, Curitiba, Recife and Manaus . His firm has also been involved in developing tourism products and tourism destinations all over Brazil.

He was first elected Mayor of Maringá in 2004, and reelected in 2008. As mayor he received many awards in recognition of his innovative administration and management accomplishments.

Dr Mario Hardy

Managing Director
MAP2 | Ventures

Dr. Hardy is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, a position he held between 2014 and 2021. He has over 30 years of experience in corporate development and investment in technology, coupled with several leadership roles with non-profit organisations. He is also the Managing Director of MAP2VENTURES. MAP2VENTURES is a private investment fund focused on “Impact Investment” with a broad portfolio of technology-centric businesses in the field of FinTech, GreenTech and Artificial Intelligence. In addition to seed capital, the firm provides valuable management advice, mentorship and access to a vast network built over a lifetime of experience in corporate development

Anita Mendiratta

Founder & President,
ANITA MENDIRATTA & ASSOCIATES

A committed Tourism & Development practitioner, author and diplomat, Anita leads ANITA MENDIRATTA & Associates, a highly respected, London UK based international consulting firm. With 20+ years of professional and living experience across almost all continents Anita has an innate ability to feel the ‘heartbeat’ of economic, social, political and environmental dynamics of nations in times of both growth and crisis. Most recently, Anita has taken on a critical global role as a trusted advisor of government and business leaders seeking to understand the impact of COVID-19, guiding them through short, medium and long-term decision-making to re-build the strength and sustainability from not just an economic perspective, but from a humanitarian perspective.

Anita is also honoured to be:

• SPECIAL ADVISOR to the Secretary General of the UNWTO https://www.unwto.org/

• STRATEGIC ADVISOR to CNN T.A.S.K. https://commercial.cnn.com/cnn-task

• STRATEGIC RESOURCE to the WORLD BANK GROUP, WTTC, IATA and ATAG

• CO-CREATOR and CO-HOST of RISE http://www.rise-weekly.com/

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa

Chief Executive Officer
Tourism Business Council of South Africa

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa is a Chief Executive Officer at the Tourism Business Council of South Africa with over 20 years of experience in International Marketing, Business Development, International Trade Relations, and Leadership among others in tourism.

In his current role, Tshifhiwa is responsible for advocating and leading on behalf of the Travel and Tourism private sector on tourism policy, domestic and international marketing, Covid-19 response, sector transformation, among others.

Tshifhiwa has worked for various companies in the tourism value chain including South African Tourism, Myriad Marketing, FEDHASA, and others. He has also consulted for various companies focusing on project development, marketing management, travel and events management, and communications.

Tshifhiwa holds a BBA Marketing Communications, National Diploma in Tourism Management, and Diploma in Marketing. He is currently completing his MSc in International Business, Leadership, and Management with the University of York.

Alan Elliott Merschen

Founder
The SIGMUND Project

Alan Elliott began his career in academia. During his time as an educator at several universities, he started consulting projects for a variety of industries. This is where he discovered it was the travel and tourism industry that captivated his real interest. Merschen created Myriad, specializing exclusively in international travel marketing with private clients and governments on five continents.

In 2016 Myriad became part of the MMGY Global portfolio of companies.

With the covid crisis as a catalyst, Alan Elliott created The Sigmund Project to foster innovation and collaboration in the tourism industry. A way to give back by looking forward.

He also serves on several global non-profit and start-up advisory boards. Always the educator, he still conducts marketing presentations throughout the world.

Armin Brysch

Professor, VP Innovation and Talent Management,
Kempten University

Professor Armin Brysch has 10 years of experience in academic teaching and research. His focus is on Service Management and Excellence, Digital Marketing and Extended Reality (XR). Previously, he has accumulated over 20 years of international management experience, most recently as a board member of the German National Tourism Board. In 2016 he was nominated for the excellence award "Best Teaching in Bavaria at Universities of Applied Sciences". His excursions and study visits to Canada, USA, Dubai, Spain, Dominican Republic, Finland and Brazil underline his international approach.

As VP Innovation and Talent Management of the Travel Industry Club (TIC) Germany, he is committed to promoting young talents and young minds in the industry and supports the national start-up scene.

Natalia Zapatero

Founder,
GRUPO TURISKOPIO

Natalia is an accomplished marketing and innovation professional with extensive international experience in the travel industry.

In 2006 she started her own company in Spain offering consulting and design services to companies wishing to use creativity and innovation as a means to achieve differentiation and drive sales. Previosly she had worked in the US at the Spanish Tourism Office, Myriad Travel Marketing and Lindblad Expeditions among others.

Her studies include a BSBA from Deusto University (Spain), a Masters Degree from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) as well as a Public Relations Diploma from New York University (US). To sharpen her skills, Natalia has also obtained a Design Thinking Certificate from ESADE (Spain) and a Masters Degree in Innovation from Timiakatemia (Finland).

A frequent speaker, teacher and mentor, Natalia has also been a social media pioneer in Spain where she has been included in the "Top 20 bloggers" list by two of the most prestigious newspapers in the country: El País and ABC Digital.

Turistopía, a boutique travel innovation conference created by Natalia, has been sponsored by the City of Bilbao over the last decade and is considered a reference in terms of marketing, innovation and design.

Jeffrey Fine

President
Everest Financial Corp.

Jeffrey Fine is an entrepreneur and senior executive with a demonstrated history of executing successful “buy-and-build” consolidations (a.k.a. “roll-ups”) in a variety of niche sectors in partnership with private equity firms. Industries have included: global travel/hospitality, marketing and communications, outsourced accounting, family office services, and technical field support. Jeffrey Fine is President of Everest Financial Corp., a family investment office and platform that sources, evaluates, and owns private debt and equity investments in PE/VC - backed companies and commercial real estate.

Jason Lin

Founder, CEO
Talent Basket

Jason is a serial internet entrepreneur with the mission to create a positive impact through human capital empowerment. Jason started his career in sales at New York Life Insurance Company. From 2008 to 2009, he worked as the social media strategist for the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. In 2010, Jason moved to Silicon Valley and started Talent Basket. As the founder & CEO, Jason supports global youth development by building a platform to provide free digital upskilling and connecting global youth to internship and economic opportunities worldwide.