Name: François Luiggi Title: General manager Company, city: The Pierre, a Taj Hotel; New York City Number of employees: 500-plus Recent project: Launch of our new signature restaurant, Perrine First job: Assistant manager of room service at the Essex House in New York when it was managed by Nikko Hotels Little-known
Name: Kristen Bowdoin Title: Managing director Company, city: Chase Bank Credit Cards; Wilmington, Delaware Number of employees: 12 Recent project: Relaunching the United MileagePlus Explorer Card from Chase June 1; now called the United Explorer Card, it offers two times the miles on dining and hotel stays, up to
Name: Morten B. Andersen Title: General manager Company, city: SIGNIEL Seoul Number of employees: 300 at SIGNIEL Seoul; 120,000 with Lotte Recent project: Opening of the L7 properties in various cities First job: Steward at a hotel, responsible for filling the minibars Little-known fact about you: I am a diverse music
Name: Mert Dorman Title: Senior vice president, corporate marketing & distribution channels Company, city: Turkish Airlines; İstanbul, Turkey Number of employees: 24,075 Recent project: Corporate Help Desk First job: Financial consultant, Aviva Life and Pensions Little-known fact about you: I graduated from Istanbul University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and
Name: Luc Bondar Title: President, MileagePlus Holdings; vice president, loyalty Company, city: United Airlines; Chicago, Ill. Number of employees: 90,000 Recent project: With Chase, we launched the new United Explorer Card, now the best $95 travel card in the United States, allowing MileagePlus members to accelerate their earning power
Name: Edie Rodriguez Title: Americas brand chairman and corporate special advisor Company, city: Ponant Cruises; Marseille, France Number of employees: We have 30 within the United States and 1,000 worldwide, with many more coming as we grow. Recent project: The most exciting is our Blue Eye lounges coming to
Name: Heather Geisler Title: Vice president, Global Brands, Full Service Company, city: Hyatt; Chicago, Ill. Number of employees: 110,000 colleagues Recent project: We recently launched (ANDAZ)RED Cabanas across Andaz hotels in West Hollywood, Mayakoba, Costa Rica, Scottsdale and Maui, with a portion of each cabana booking going directly to
Name: George Liu Title: Chief marketing officer Company, city: Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong Number of employees: 3,500 worldwide and 12 in the United States, with more to come as we expand Recent project: Hong Kong Airlines launched its first continental U.S. destination at LAX in December, followed by SFO in March.
Name: Ashley Gochnauer Title: General manager Company, city: Kimpton Everly Hotel Hollywood; Los Angeles, Calif. Number of employees: About 125 First job: My first hotel job was with W Hotels as a guest services agent. Little-known fact about you: I am a coffee enthusiast, and it is a true hobby.
Name: Marc Ferguson Title: General manager, Delta Sky Club Experience Company, city: Delta Air Lines; Atlanta, Ga. Number of employees: More than 80,000 Recent project: Launch of our third Asanda Spa Lounge, in our Delta Sky Club at ATL First job: Retail manager at Federated Department Stores (Rich’s, now Macy’s) Little-known
Name: Zahi Hawass Title: Former Minister of Antiquities Company, city: Consultant; Cairo, Egypt Number of employees: Three to four assistants Recent project: Director of excavation at Valley of the Kings, monthly lecture series for American tourists with a tour company, other lectures around the world, writing articles for publications
Name: Frank Reilly Title: President Company, city: Reilly Financial Advisors; San Diego, Calif. Number of employees: 40 Recent project: Entering the institutional retirement plan space, expanding into our European office and offering free financial education to the masses First job: I was a dishwasher at a barbecue restaurant when I
Name: Liza Milagro Title: Sustainability manager Company, city: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Atlanta, Ga. Number of employees: 63,000 Recent project: Green Acres ATL Energy Park & Entrepreneurial Center First job: Sales rep/assistant buyer for my family’s Just Sox store Little-known fact about you: I am a vermiculturist; our worm colonies eat
Name: Slim Zaiane Title: General manager Company, city: Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates Dubai; Dubai, U.A.E. Number of employees: 400 Recent project: Our $100 million property renovation, with the full refurbishment of the Aspen Chalets, took close to four years to complete. First job: Food and beverage management trainee
Name: Trey Urbahn Title: Chief strategy officer Company, city: TAP Air Portugal; Lisbon, Portugal Number of employees: Approximately 7,800 airline employees, with another 4,000-plus at ground handling, maintenance and regional subsidiaries Recent project: Transforming TAP from a stodgy, state-owned airline to a private, innovative, profitable airline capable of competing
Name: Diego Garcia Title: Commercial director Company, city: Aerolineas Argentinas; Buenos Aires, Argentina Number of employees: 12,300 Recent project: Launching our third gateway in Argentina: Córdoba First job: I was a travel agent; I’ve been in this industry for 28 years in a variety of different capacities. Little-known fact about you:
