In the dynamic world of hospitality, Andrew’s 17-year career trajectory has been one of evolution and adaptability. From the polished corridors of Four Seasons to the healing spaces of Six Senses, to leading the pioneering spirit of Nomade People and now stewarding the growth of uncommon luxury at Proper Hospitality. Andrew has intentionally chosen to participate in the industry’s evolution, each leg of this journey a step towards greater innovation, to gaining a deeper understanding of experiential hospitality, and a relentless pursuit of growth.

Ariela was born and raised in The Valley of Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter and prodigy of Frances Kiradjian, one of the greatest female entrepreneurs in the travel and hospitality worlds. She grew up traveling the world at 6 months old and began attending conferences as young as 5 years old. She graduated from Oaks Christian High School in 2013 and then ventured to London and Heidelberg to study international business.

Two years into college, she decided the most comprehensive and advantageous education she could get was from her mother, and in 2015 she became a full-time partner at The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association. In 2017, Ariela and Frances Founded Stay Boutique, the brand that represents the Boutique Community through events, media, membership and travel guides.

On June 6, 2018 Ariela introduced what is considered the world’s newest Industry, The Boutique Industry, where she concentrated the boutique niches of various industries to create one home for them. That same year, she led a group of Boutique Hotel Developers around Scotland to consult on building new Boutique Hotels and she led the first Social Club Dinner Party in partnership with The Hoxton. In October she was selected by Rebecca Minkoff to be a part of her organization supporting women-owned companies, The Female Founders Collective.

Ariela has been featured in numerous publications including Inc. Magazine, Hospitality Business, LODGING Magazine, The Hedonist Magazine, The Ringer, Travel Dew and Vue NJ. She has been the Editor-in-Chief of all BLLA and Stay Boutique Magazines: 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Ariela has been selected by great organizations to speak on stage as a thought-leader including the Wall Street Journal, Hospitality Experience, Top Hotel Projects and the Information Management She and her mother are the leaders of the boutique movement, aiming to create the most inclusive industry in the world.

Atit Jariwala, CEO, Bridgeton Holdings, is a hospitality and real estate enthusiast who operates, owns and invests in a multitude of business types and asset classes, as well as in technology ventures that intersect with the physical world.

With a national portfolio, currently valued near $1 billion, Atit has owned and operated over fifty hotels, dozens of office buildings, industrial parks, and residential buildings.

With an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, Atit has founded numerous startups and is an active venture capitalist, investing in many technology start-ups. Atit is an honored board member of one of New York’s largest nonprofits, the Henry Street Settlement. He received his MBA from Stanford University and his BA from Yale University.

Ben is responsible for overseeing the firm’s investment activities in the United States. Ben most recently worked as an advisor to PointState Capital focusing on a significant hotel and real estate investment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Prior to joining PointState, Ben was Managing Director and Global Head of Lodging at Goldman Sachs. During his 11 years at Goldman Sachs, he focused on M&A advisory assignments, capital raising, mortgage lending, and restructuring. He advised on over US$50 billion of hotel transactions and his work spanned multiple geographies and ranged from single assets to corporate-level transactions. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Ben worked at Bank of America Securities and began his career as a consultant for Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates. Ben received his BA in History from Georgetown University.

Dr. Daniel Langer is a distinguished leader in the luxury sector, serving as the founder and CEO of Équité, a premier global consultancy and marketing firm renowned for its expertise in luxury strategy and brand activation. Recognized as one of the “Global Top Five Luxury Key Opinion Leaders to Watch,” Dr. Langer has made significant contributions to understanding luxury in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. He is also a partner at MOIQ, a disruptive multifamily office in Singapore.
As the Executive Professor of Luxury Strategy at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, he is instrumental in developing a world-class center for disruptive luxury. He also shares his insights at NYU and has been invited to lecture at prestigious institutions globally, including London Business School and Singapore Management University.
Dr. Langer’s extensive consulting portfolio includes advising some of the world’s most iconic luxury brands across various sectors, including automotive, fashion, high jewelry, branded luxury residences, and hospitality. His expertise is frequently sought in high-profile legal cases and multi-billion dollar M&A projects within the luxury industry.
An accomplished author, Dr. Langer has published several best-selling books on luxury management, available in both English and Chinese. His thought leadership is regularly featured in leading publications such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, and The New York Times. He is the host of the Future of Luxury Podcast with Dr. Daniel Langer, and writes two pf the most influential weekly columns in the luxury industry.
With an academic background that includes an MBA and Ph.D. in luxury management from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and executive education from Harvard Business School, Dr. Langer combines rigorous academic knowledge with practical experience. He is known for pioneering research that decodes luxury value drivers and creates sustainable competitive advantages for brands.
Daniel Langer continues to influence the future of luxury through his engaging keynote speeches, masterclasses, and workshops around the globe, inspiring executives to innovate and elevate their brand strategies, commercial capabilities and gain insights into the needs of Ultra High Networth clients. He splits his life between Scottsdale, Malibu, Paris and Singapore, speaks seven languages and is an avid runner, cyclist and yoga practitioner. Follow him on Instagram @drdaniellanger and on his website daniellanger.digital

David has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in numerous hotels in the United Kingdom, Australia and at the corporate level in the U.S.

David started his ground up career working for Hilton and Marriott in the U.K. before taking his first General Manager position in 2001 for Thistle Hotels. David went on to work for Ian Schrager Hotels as General Manager of St Martins Lane in London, and later as Regional Vice President for Europe, overseeing both Sanderson and St Martins Lane where he successfully worked on repositioning Sanderson as a market leader.

David’s successful work in London led to his promotion to Senior Vice President of Operations at the corporate offices in New York. In this position he oversaw the day-to-day operations for 11 Morgans Hotel Group properties compromising of 3073 rooms. In 2009 David assumed the role of Managing Director at The Ian Schrager Company.

Working directly with Ian, David developed the operational structure for two new brand concepts and oversaw the sale and handover of the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York.

Most recently David was the Chief Operating Officer for André Balazs Properties, where he oversaw the management of nine uniquely positioned hotels including the Standard brand, the Mercer in New York, Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and opened the highly acclaimed Chiltern Firehouse in London.

In 2011 the foundations for Salt Hotels were laid with the development of its flagship property Salt House Inn in Provincetown. The further evolution of Salt Hotels has been under David’s guidance and direction and now operates four properties.

David sits on the Board of Garden State Equality and The Garden State Film Festival and on the advisory board of Provincetown Film Festival and is an active member of the Boutique Strong Council for BLLA.

Founder and CEO, Boutique & Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA), Co-founder Stay Boutique, the world’s only association and alliance focused on the boutique world.

Frances, a 25+ year hospitality and travel industry seasoned professional, created BLLA to give a voice to independent, upscale hotel properties as well as small brands around the world, offering them the opportunity and the means to compete on a level playing field with major hotel companies. BLLA serves hundreds of worldwide members including hotels, small brands and the vendor suppliers that sustain them.

Recently, BLLA & Stay Boutique added businesses that fall under the boutique category including restaurants, bars, nightlife, wellness, retail and more, making our community inclusive on a grand scale globally.

Ms. Kiradjian’s travel experience cuts across various areas of the industry, but always with a razor-sharp focus on the hospitality and lifestyle sector.  As founder and CEO of CCRA (travel agency consortia), Kiradjian created and developed the first travel agent centric hotel booking portal which combined multiple hotel inventories and allowed for mark-ups of a net rate which continues to serve as an important business model for travel-related technology companies. She lead the company over 15 years and sold her shares in 2005 after locating a buyer and served as CEO of the newly formed combined company until her departure at the end of 2006.

Kiradjian began her career in the travel industry as a national accounts manager at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, where she managed top global accounts like Baxter Healthcare, Toyota and Disney.  Kiradjian is a graduate of the University of Southern California, (USC) from the highly respected Marshall School of Business.

Frances also lead many associations over the years. She held the position of President for HSMAI (Hospitality Sales & Marketing), SMEI (Sales & Marketing Executives International), founder & President of the Los Angeles Professional Women in Travel and in 2008 founded a new female empowerment group that is now more than 10,600 women globally, past member of the CEO organization VISTAGE, past Board Member of LABTA (Los Angeles Business Travel Association), Advisory Board Member of Kind Traveler, Board Member Whole World Water, past Board Member Boutique Design New York, past Board Member HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association), past member of SKAL and PROST (industry clubs).

Kiradjian has spoken on dozens of hospitality and travel panels at major conferences, keynoted and moderated and also was invited several times to speak at UCLA, USC, Cal Poly Pomona’s Hospitality School and Purdue Universities. She was invited to keynote at World Hotels Singapore annual conference. Frances has held discussions at global events such as World Travel Market in London, ITB in Berlin and IHIF in Berlin.

Kiradjian has also been featured in many magazine articles and on the covers of Today’s Hotelier, Hotel Business, Business Travel Magazine and Carlson Travel’s Hall of Fame in Minneapolis (including a video interview sent globally to all offices).

Jersey Banks, grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Denver, Co. Leaving Denver after high school, she attended The New School University in New York City where she studied contemporary dance and began a lifelong love of the city. Like many graduates in the arts, she was a “starving artist”; a professional dancer, by day, and a “jack of all trades” in the city’s hospitality workforce by night. Engaging in high profile guest services, hosting events, being the scantily clad and untouchable entertainment, beverage “aka” bottle service, bartending, and even “working the door”, she caught more than a glimpse behind the curtain, becoming satiated to both nightlife and her performance pursuits.
After taking a break from dance and wanting to refine her service experience into something that fed her interests in art, people, and working during daylight hours, she eventually cartwheeled into real estate. She hated it. It did, however, foster the meeting of Lyon Porter, (her soon-to-be life and business partner). In 2014, they accidentally turned a single-family townhouse in Brooklyn into a boutique hotel and lifestyle brand, Urban Cowboy Hotels. What started as a passion project for design and good conversation, became a much-needed antidote to the exclusive pay-to-play nature of the city. “The Cowboy” evolved into a community of travelers and artists. Now with 5 properties under their umbrella, the Creative Studio in Brooklyn, A luxury boutique hotel in Nashville, a lux lodge resort “adult camp” in the Catskills, a 70’s Motel, Dive Bar & Swim Club called the Dive Motel, and a downtown boutique, her hometown hero project and homage to the west in Denver, Co.
As a co-founder and owner, Jersey’s role with both brands has evolved from the innkeeper of the mom-&-pop B&B in Brooklyn to overseeing operations across all locations and heading company culture. She is now focused on Brand Development through experience, merchandise, and design as the CEO of the Urban Cowboy Creative Studio. The Studio serves as the in-house creative and brand management team for all Urban Cowboy projects, private clients, and collaborations. Jersey also shares a 4-year-old with her partner Lyon.

Mary C. Rogers
Managing Director and Area General Manager
Montage Laguna Beach, Montage Healdsburg, Pendry West Hollywood, and Pendry San Diego
With more than two decades of luxury hospitality industry experience, Rogers joined Montage
International as the general manager of Montage Laguna Beach in April 2021. One short year later, Rogers
was promoted to Managing Director of Montage Laguna Beach and Area General Manager, overseeing
three hotels in California, including Montage Healdsburg, Pendry West Hollywood and Pendry San Diego.
Prior to Montage, Rogers was the vice president and general manager of Fontainebleau Miami Beach and
the first female to serve in that capacity since the resort’s opening in 1954. Rogers originally joined the
Fontainebleau as vice president of rooms in 2009 and was promoted to general manager, overseeing all
operational components of the property in 2018. Previously, Rogers was part of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Company, working at hotels and resorts across the U.S. and beyond, including The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons
Corner, VA, The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, The Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall, Jamaica and The Ritz-
Carlton, Lake Las Vegas. Rogers holds a Bachelor of Arts in Hotel and Catering Management and graduated
magna cum laude with First Class Honors.
Over the span of her 20 plus years of luxury hospitality career, Rogers has proven herself as a role model
for women in the industry as a founding member of the Florida Chapter of Women in Lodging and chair
of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association’s “Women’s Path to Power” committee. Since joining
Montage Laguna Beach, employee engagement has gone up, over 30 associates were promoted and 60%
of the executive team at the resort is now female. In 2020 Rogers was named “Florida 500 Most Influential
Business Leader” in Hospitality and Tourism by Florida Trend Magazine and the South Florida Business
Journal designated Rogers “2019 Hospitality Power Leader”. In addition, Rogers was awarded “Corporate
Executive Woman of the Year” by The U.S. Minority Chamber of Commerce.
Rogers’s involvement in the community is extensive, servicing on the Board of Directors for Visit Laguna
Beach and The Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach. She also serves on the Hotel Advisory Board for
Preferred Hotels and Resorts and is a member of the Resort Committee for American Hotels and Lodging
Association. Rogers is an active member of Women Leading Travel and Hospitality and most recently,
Rogers joined Chief, a private network build to drive women into positions of power and keep them there.
Rogers is also a mother to two girls (ages nine and ten) and believes in women not giving up their
dreams to have a successful career and family life. Her husband: John also works in the hospitality
industry and together they love to travel and check out new restaurants and hotels.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/BOARD MEMBERSHIP
• Hotel Advisory Board Member, Preferred Hotels and Resorts (2022- Present)
• Resort Committee Board Member, American Hotels and Loging Association (2023-Present)
• Board of Directors, Visit Laguna Beach (2021 – Present)
• Board of Directors, Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach (2021-Present)
• Member Chief (2022-Present)
• Member, Women Leading Travel & Hospitality (2022-Present)
• Former President, Miami-Dade Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (2013-2015)
• Founding Member, Florida Chapter of Women in Lodging and Chair of FRLA’s “Women’s
Path to Power” Committee (2014-2021)
• Board of Directors, Greater Miami and The Beaches Hotel Association (2018-2021)
• Board of Directors, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (2019-2021)
AWARDS/RECOGNITION:
• 2023 Nominee “ForWard Paving the Way (Female Trailblazers) by American Hotels and
Lodging Association (AHLA)
• 2021 Nominee for The LA Times B2B Publishing “Influential Women Forum and Awards”
• 2020 Designated “Florida 500 Most Influential Business Leader” in Hospitality and Tourism
by Florida Trend Magazine
• 2019 & 2018: Designated “Top 500 Influential Floridian” in Hospitality and Tourism by
Florida Trend Magazine
• 2019: Designated Hospitality “Power Leader” by The South Florida Business Journal
• 2019: Awarded “Corporate Executive Woman of the Year” by The U.S. Minority Chamber of
Commerce
• 2018: Designated “Top 100 South Florida Hospitality Leaders” by Data Bird Research Journal
• 2015: Nominee for Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce “Businesswoman of the Year”
• 2014: Designated “Faces of Hospitality: People to Watch” by Florida Restaurant and Lodging
Association

Hotelier and Creative Director Maya Mallick is responsible for bringing the historic Culver Hotel in Los Angeles back to life, transforming it into a beacon for the community and one of the most sought-after luxury boutique hotels in the city. Under Mallick’s stewardship, the Culver Hotel swiftly became an iconic gathering place for in-the-know Angelenos, playing an integral part in the revival of Culver City, and earning the property many accolades, including being named one of the “Best Hotels in Los Angeles” by Travel + Leisure. In 2017, Mallick was the recipient of the Chamber’s “Trailblazer Award” acknowledging her extraordinary contribution in revitalizing Culver City and The Culver Hotel as a premiere destination.

An artist at heart, Mallick began her career in fashion, developing and manufacturing her own clothing label with her sisters which kick-started her career in creative entrepreneurship. As the daughter of a pioneering female hotelier and restaurateur, she came across the neglected hotel in 2007, and was inspired to revive its energy as a storied architectural jewel and National Landmark of the area. A designer with a soft spot for historic buildings and authentic craftsmanship, Mallick meticulously restored the 46-room flatiron with a fresh and relevant palate, scoured markets for antiques, hand-selected fabrics, and custom-made pieces to stay true to the integrity of the property. Drawing from her passion for design and experiential curation, Mallick was able to bring back the classic elegance and nostalgia of the 1920’s, and reimagine the property through an artistic and modern lens – not just as a hotel, but a creative venue for exclusive events, musical programming, memorable culinary experiences and local collaborations. Her vision was to create an artful and lively destination with a European ambiance that could provide people happiness, beauty and a part in its history. Mallick has always been drawn to the world of boutique hotels because they are creative platforms that bring together design and community and allow us to create experiences unique to a property’s story, character and neighborhood. She truly embraces the Art of Hospitality and is dedicated to continuing her journey towards mastering it.

Sam Bakhshandehpour is Chief Executive Officer & Board Member of José Andrés Group (JAG), a restaurant and media
company. Driven by the mission of “Changing the world through the power of food,” JAG’s platform spans 40+ world-class restaurants across 9 markets globally, including the 2-Michelin starred minibar by José Andrés and numerous Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants. Mr. Bakhshandehpour also runs José Andrés Media (JAM), which produces food-related cultural content across scripted and unscripted media channels – film and television, books, podcasts, and digital content, including the Emmy- award winning series José Andrés and Family In Spain and The New York Times bestselling Zaytinya cookbook. JAG also houses numerous global partnerships as well as a consumer products platform offering best-in-class products from around Spain.
Through his hospitality investment platform, The Silverstone Companies, Mr. Bakhshandehpour has made numerous investments including The Electric Jane (private
membership club and live music lounge / restaurant), Cultivate Hospitality (F&B programming), Bazaar by José Andrés, and select other hotel, restaurant and lifestyle
properties.
Named one of the “Most Important People in Hospitality” on the Observer’s 2023 Dining and Nightlife Power List, Mr. Bakhshandehpour previously served as
President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of sbe Entertainment, a private-equity backed hotel, restaurant and nightlife company with over 80 properties
globally. Mr. Bakhshandehpour started his career on Wall Street with J.P. Morgan Securities running the Global Casino and West Coast Real Estate & Lodging Investment
Banking practice focused on mergers & acquisitions and capital raising. Mr. Bakhshandehpour holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He serves on the
board of Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) as an Independent Director and member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. Sam also serves on the Restaurant Advisory Boards for both Fiserv Inc (NYSE: Fl) and Bilt Technologies, Inc. Previously, Mr. Bakhshandehpour served on the boards of The New Home Company (NYSE:NWHM), including the Audit and Compensation Committees, and Georgetown University McDonough School of Business’ Board of Advisors. He is a trustee of Federal City Council (FC2) and a founding member of the Georgetown Wall Street Alliance West. Mr. Bakhshandehpour is also an active member and former Chair ofthe Bel Air Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization.

Samantha Ahuja focuses her practice on hotel acquisitions, operations, development and finance, hotel management agreements, licensing agreements, and commercial real estate acquisition and sale.

She advises domestic and international clients on the acquisition and disposition of hotels and other commercial property, hotel management and operations, franchising, licensing and branding, restaurant management agreements, lease negotiations, and casino agreements. She regularly prepares and negotiates purchase and sale agreements, financing and development agreements, and other documents related to the acquisition, financing, development, leasing, management, and disposition of real and personal property with a focus on hotels and resorts.

Samantha regularly works on complex transactions involving a combination of hotels, resorts, condominiums, food and beverage facilities, and other shared access amenities. She also advises her clients on traditional and investor financing, joint ventures and capital and legal structures for complex transactions. She works regularly with her clients on piecing together the various aspects of a deal while taking into balancing the business and legal objectives of the client.

Samantha works closely with her clients to address operational issues that arise over the course of ownership. Most recently, she counsels clients on a wide range of blockchain related matters, from anti-money laundering and know-your-customer best practices for cryptocurrency transactions to legal issues associated with novel uses of blockchain within the hospitality industry.

Samantha also serves as pro bono counsel to many affordable housing cooperatives and tenant associations with the District of Columbia. She works with her clients to find alternative financing, investors or other government grants to maintain long-term housing affordability.

Experienced Vice President and Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. Strong professional skilled in opening and managing upscale and luxury resorts and hotels. In depth knowledge of Food & Beverage, Rooms, Golf Operations, Revenue Management, and Asset Management. I lead a team that provides a full spectrum of services in the area of strategic planning, operations development , sales and marketing planning, branding, I.T. infrastructure development, finance, and construction management.