Chris Cowls had a background in international hospitality management working in senior roles for companies such as Compass, Grand Met and Forte when he left corporate life to become an entrepreneur. In 2000 he and his brother Nick founded the internet company Eproductive Ltd where Chris is CEO. The company provides cloud based software solutions to major hospitality and charity retail organisations. Chris also co-founded and coordinates a hospitality networking group - fiftytwenty -which has 150 of the sector’s leading players as members. Additionally he has been a non-Executive Director and Trustee at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square for many years.

Philippe has been Chief Executive of the Institute of Hospitality since September 2002. This followed a successful career as a caterer in the British armed forces, including command of the Army School of Catering, as well as being the Army’s Director on the Board of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes, before being appointed to the staff of the Defence Attaché at the British Embassy in Paris. Philippe is a Fellow of the Institute, as well as being a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, the Tourism Society, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Royal Society of Arts; he is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. He holds degrees from Surrey, Bournemouth and the Open Universities. He is a council member of People 1st, the Sector Skills Council, as well as being a member of the Advisory Board to the Swiss Education Group.

Peter Starks has twenty five years of successful experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. He is the President and CEO of The Cruise Institute, providing Performance Management Consulting, Training, Retention, and in-house academy services to the cruise industry. He is also Founder and Managing Director of REDGlobalGroup, which provides traditional and computer based training solutions in the international hotel industry. He has successfully served as general manager of restaurants, private clubs, and international five star hotels. He is a past SVP of JHM Hotels and past Area VP of Marriott Hotels for Europe, The Middle East and Africa. He also served as Director of Tourism Projects for the UN, managing a portfolio of over $300 million in development aid projects.

Roddy Watt has a background in hotel operations with Hyatt International and Sheraton Corporation. In 1984 he founded The Berkeley Scott Group, a company that over 20 years was to become the market leader in recruitment within the hospitality sector. Roddy has therefore been responsible for the appointment of many of the most senior figures in the U.K. hospitality industry. In 2004 Berkeley Scott was floated on AIM, and subsequently Roddy has gone on serve as Chairman, Non-Executive Director or advisor to a number of hospitality and service companies, exploiting his ability to build businesses, and develop strategies for growth and value creation.