With over 16 years in hotel design and management across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Chinyu joined Six Senses Hotels Resorts & Spas in 2016 as a Technical Services Manager and has since grown to a regional role. Her experience spans architecture, design, construction, and project management in hospitality and mixed-use developments. Holding degrees in Architecture and Project Management, Chinyu is dedicated to driving design excellence through innovative solutions that harmonize the needs of owners, designers, guests, and operations.

Soo Chin Lim currently serves as the Design and Projects Director for the Architecture, Design & Construction (AD&C) Department, overseeing projects in Japan, Korea, and the Micronesia region.

She joined Hilton Worldwide AD&C in Shanghai in 2012, later transitioning to the Singapore regional office in 2016, and subsequently relocating to the Tokyo Area office in 2022. As the principal point of contact throughout the entire hotel development process—from inception to opening—as well as for existing operating CapEx projects, she plays a key role in ensuring project success.

Soo Chin Lim collaborates closely with the Owning Company and a professional team of consultants to facilitate the smooth delivery of high-quality hotel properties that align with Hilton’s architectural and construction standards. Her key responsibilities include:

• Ensuring cost-effective architectural design and construction while maintaining compliance with Hilton’s design and construction standards.
• Promoting operational efficiency, design excellence, energy efficiency, and sustainability throughout construction and future operations.
• Conducting design reviews and approvals for various elements, including Architecture, Interior Design, FF&E, Lighting, Landscape, and Signage.

Sen, a Malaysian national, started the Kuala Lumpur office of Horwath HTL in September 2002. Since that time (22+ years), Sen has been involved in hotel advisory services across the length and breadth of Malaysia. Malaysia has been his focus with more than 100 hotel advisory services under his belt. He is the most knowledgeable of the hospitality industry of Malaysia.

He has undertaken feasibility studies, repositioning studies, and strategic advice. He has also represented hotel owners in the hotel management company selection process, review management contracts, hotel valuations and undertaken hotel operations’ reviews. Prior to joining Horwath HTL, Sen spent almost 2 years with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group as a Business Development Manager. Before that, Sen was with PKF Consulting Ltd / PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consultants Ltd (hospitality consulting firms) for 4 years. Sen started his hospitality career in 1994 with Shangri-La International Management as an Internal Auditor for 3 years.

Sen is a qualified professional accountant with the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (UK) – ACCA.

Sustainability expert Juliet Kinsman is an editor, journalist, speaker and consultant, who shares stories to inspire impact. As founding editor of Mr & Mrs Smith, as a broadcaster and author of many guidebooks, such as The Green Edit: Travel — Easy Tips for the Eco-Friendly Traveller (Ebury) and The Bucket List: Eco Experiences (Rizzoli), Juliet has shifted the narrative in boutique travel and sustainable luxury. Her purpose-led non-profit consultancy, Bouteco, works to amplify the impact of boutique eco-hotels and sustainable luxury brands, ensuring their efforts are celebrated authentically and free of greenwashing through ‘edutaining’ impact reports and solutions-led content. In 2020, Juliet became the first Sustainability Editor for Condé Nast Traveller. She created a dedicated sustainable travel channel for The Standard, hosting two award-winning evergreen podcast series which impart inspiring, accessible impact-led travel advice as well as her own climate podcast series, Funny Old World. Juliet’s values-driven approach to articulating genuine sustainability efforts makes her a much-valued and trustworthy voice in our industry helping to close the gap between awareness and action. Follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram for sustainable travel insights.

www.julietkinsman.com

Gemma Lim brings a unique blend of investment acumen and brand strategy to the panel. She began her career in investment advisory at LJ Partnership, a global multi-family office managing over $15 billion in assets, before pursuing an MBA at Columbia Business School specialising in brand strategy, real estate and hospitality. This pivotal experience deepened her understanding of global hospitality trends and market dynamics, preparing her for leadership roles in the industry. Upon returning to Asia, she joined SCDA Architects in a Business Development role for hospitality brand Soori, working personally with principal Soo K.Chan to look at new global development projects.

Currently, Gemma serves as the Brand Director at Ormond Group, where she oversees the strategic direction and growth of the group’s brands: MoMo’s, Tune Hotels, and Ormond Hotels. Her role encompasses brand positioning, partnerships, and marketing strategy as the company scales its portfolio across new properties in Asia and beyond. As the hospitality landscape evolves, Gemma remains focused on ensuring that Ormond Group’s brands deliver exceptional value for modern travellers, while driving sustainable growth and maintaining the group’s unique brand identities.

Patrick began his architectural and interior design career over 25 years ago in America; his experience covered from masterplan to construction administration in commercial retail, corporate office, theme park, hotel design. His notable projects and international clienteles included Disney, Legoland, Marriott, and Starwood.

In the last decade to 15 years, Patrick has expanded and focused his expertise in hospitality in Asia with AccorHotels in luxury, lifestyle brands as well as midscale market segmentation. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in Interior Design, and also an accreditation of LEED AP v2.0 in the United States of America.

Ho Kwon Ping is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings and Laguna Resorts and Hotels, and Executive Chairman of Thai Wah Public Company. All three family-owned companies are listed in Singapore and Thailand.

He was the founding Chairman of Singapore Management University (SMU), and has chaired

Singapore Power and MediaCorp Singapore.   He has served on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Diageo, Singapore Airlines, and GIC.

Among various awards, Mr Ho has received the London Business School Entrepreneurship Award;

CEO of the Year at the Singapore Corporate Awards; CNBC Travel Business Leader Award;

Distinguished Alumnus Award from the National University of Singapore and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the American Creativity Association, China Hotel Investment Summit, Australia Hotel Investment Summit and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Honoured for his contributions and accomplishments in the hotel industry in the Asia Pacific region and globally, Mr Ho is the only two-time recipient of Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific – HICAP’s Innovation Award (2003) and Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) in its 30-year establishment.

For his services to the country, he has been decorated with the Meritorious Service Medal and

Distinguished Service Order by the Singapore Government. Mr Ho has also been conferred honorary doctorates from Johnson & Wales University, Hong Kong Poly University, and Singapore Management University.

Architecturally trained in the US and licensed in Singapore, Colin Seah honed his sensibilities working for the likes of Rem Koolhaas and Daniel Libeskind. He also spent 4 years at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Architecture researching design pedagogy and serving as design critic.

As MOD’s Founder and Director of Design, Colin has won the “Luminary Award” at INDE awards (Indesign, Australia) 2024, their highest accolade recognising excellence in design, in a designer’s body of work. In addition, he has been named Designer of the Year by International Design Awards USA 2010, and is a two-time recipient of Singapore’s highest design accolade, the President’s Design Award. He is also a three-time Grand Prize Winner of the Gold Key Award, the highest international hospitality accolade, named Hong Kong Perspective’s ’40 under 40 architects’ and Marcus Corporation Foundation Prize 2007 ‘emerging architect with potential for greatness’ and recognized as ”Rising Star in Architecture” by Monocle.

Colin Seah has been a juror for the Inaugural Dezeen Awards, a Global Advisor for leading surfaces manufacturer Cosentino and invited by the Singapore Tourism Board to redefine Singapore as a destination for 2020 and beyond.

Architecture-trained Justin Chen is fascinated with how design and business come together to create unique experiences and concepts for the way we live today. With his human-centric approach to design, the deputy CEO of Arcc Holdings has transformed his family’s traditional real-estate business into a fast-growing, hospitality-oriented company focusing on creative spaces and neighborhoods.

Having spent over a decade in real estate development and hospitality, he currently also leads Arcc Spaces – a collection of shared workspace brands that work with corporates to transform the way they work and drive innovation across a network of over 20 locations across Asia, including Kuala Lumpur.

For Chen, businesses have an equal responsibility to their employees and the communities they serve. This lesson impressed him when he saw his father in action. Chen spent six years of his childhood in Mali, Africa, where his family has continued to operate a factory inherited from his grandfather.

Embodying a mantra of ‘Globally Connected, Locally Rooted’, his passion is in helping to showcase and invigorate local communities across the region. “There is so much opportunity to do something that is meaningful and that gives back to the local community.”