Andrew joined Google in 2008, where his title is 'Head of Products, Southeast Asia', and he claims his job is "to cause Googley things to happen in Southeast Asia".
He studied computer science and artificial intelligence and the University of Toronto, and has worked at big companies like Nortel Networks and Microsoft, as well as been at early-stage internet startups doing things like software to automatically edit videos, or text-based bot conversations with people.
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Brett Henry is Vice-President of Abacus International’s Marketing Division where he leads product and content marketing for both agency and airlines, Corporate and Marketing Communications, Market Research as well as Training. He also has overall responsibility for the company’s business in India in his role as Vice President India.
Brett brings to Abacus more than 15 years of travel industry experience with a focus on marketing, business development, and driving productive relationships. He has held leadership roles at companies across the travel distribution value chain including airlines and global distribution systems.
Brett brings to Abacus more than 15 years of travel industry experience with a focus on marketing, business development, and driving productive relationships. He has held leadership roles at companies across the travel distribution value chain including airlines and global distribution systems.
Dhruv returned to India after 8 years in Europe and his most recent role prior to co-founding Yatra was as Director Group Operations and Technology of the Ebookers Group where he was responsible for sales of over $850 million achieved thru multi channels including online, call centers and retail shops.
With regard to technology, he was accountable for developing the IT strategy and for leading the technology development and infrastructure teams, some 150 employees over 13 locations.
Prior to his stint at Ebookers, he has worked with Ford Motor Company in their Business Strategy team based in London where he was part of the European Business Turnaround team and also has significant work experience in India having spent over 6 years with Arthur Andersen based in their office in Delhi. Dhruv holds an MBA from INSEAD and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
With regard to technology, he was accountable for developing the IT strategy and for leading the technology development and infrastructure teams, some 150 employees over 13 locations.
Prior to his stint at Ebookers, he has worked with Ford Motor Company in their Business Strategy team based in London where he was part of the European Business Turnaround team and also has significant work experience in India having spent over 6 years with Arthur Andersen based in their office in Delhi. Dhruv holds an MBA from INSEAD and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Hrush is one of Cleartrip's founders and is responsible for the definition of its corporate strategy as well as implementation of the web site Cleartrip.com.
Hrush graduated from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and History. Returning to India in 1998, Hrush worked with Plexus Technologies for a year, serving as lead designer and founding their ecommerce strategy practice. While at Plexus, Hrush also served as lead consultant for the launch of Indiatimes.com. In 1999, Hrush co-founded Paper Plane, a boutique consulting firm focused on business strategy and design in the online space.
Hrush has had several firsts in the Indian market, including the first online air-ticket auctions and the first travel site to be integrated with a GDS for air ticket bookings.
Hrush graduated from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and History. Returning to India in 1998, Hrush worked with Plexus Technologies for a year, serving as lead designer and founding their ecommerce strategy practice. While at Plexus, Hrush also served as lead consultant for the launch of Indiatimes.com. In 1999, Hrush co-founded Paper Plane, a boutique consulting firm focused on business strategy and design in the online space.
Hrush has had several firsts in the Indian market, including the first online air-ticket auctions and the first travel site to be integrated with a GDS for air ticket bookings.
Dynamic hotelier and restaurateur, Loh Lik Peng was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Singapore parents who were practicing medicine there at the time. He attended Law school in England before returning to Singapore in 1997. Loh became a corporate litigator upon his return before leaving the profession and stepping into the hospitality industry in 2003. Since then, Loh has started ventures across Singapore, Shanghai and London.
Loh is a member of Singapore Tourism Board's Tourism Consultative Council as well as the Honorary Treasurer of Singapore Hotel Association and Vice Chairman of Shatec Institutes. In 2005, the Singapore Tourism Board awarded Loh with the "New Tourism Entrepreneur Award" for his work in transforming a simple shop house into Hotel 1929.
Loh is a member of Singapore Tourism Board's Tourism Consultative Council as well as the Honorary Treasurer of Singapore Hotel Association and Vice Chairman of Shatec Institutes. In 2005, the Singapore Tourism Board awarded Loh with the "New Tourism Entrepreneur Award" for his work in transforming a simple shop house into Hotel 1929.
Martin joined Wego as CEO in March 2006 and with 18 years of travel industry experience, the last ten focused on the Asia Pacific online travel space, is the veteran of the Wego team.
He was previously Executive Director, Commercial for ZUJI, where he was instrumental in establishing and building the business and brand to become Asia/Pacific's leading full service online travel retailer, with operations in six countries. Prior to ZUJI, he was a key member of the team involved in bringing Priceline's buyer-driven e-commerce model to Asia.
Martin has also held senior commercial roles at British Airways and American Airlines, where he was Managing Director, Asia Pacific from 1997-99.
Outside of the travel industry, Martin has significant experience in the financial services sector having held various positions with HSBC, Merrill Lynch and Fidelity Investments.
He has an MA degree in Geography from Oxford University and an MBA from London Business School.
Martin is an avid traveler, having visited almost 100 countries, and a keen, but still not-terribly-good, golfer. He is married and has a four-year-old son who has already been to 14 countries!
He was previously Executive Director, Commercial for ZUJI, where he was instrumental in establishing and building the business and brand to become Asia/Pacific's leading full service online travel retailer, with operations in six countries. Prior to ZUJI, he was a key member of the team involved in bringing Priceline's buyer-driven e-commerce model to Asia.
Martin has also held senior commercial roles at British Airways and American Airlines, where he was Managing Director, Asia Pacific from 1997-99.
Outside of the travel industry, Martin has significant experience in the financial services sector having held various positions with HSBC, Merrill Lynch and Fidelity Investments.
He has an MA degree in Geography from Oxford University and an MBA from London Business School.
Martin is an avid traveler, having visited almost 100 countries, and a keen, but still not-terribly-good, golfer. He is married and has a four-year-old son who has already been to 14 countries!
Morris Sim is Co-Founder and CEO of Circos Brand Karma, the leading full-service business solution that protects the value and cultivates the potential of brands. Hoteliers around the world use Brand Karma to increase conversion and distribution, as well as to operationally improve guest satisfaction and loyalty. Founded in 2006, Circos has offices in the United States and Singapore.
Passionate about technology and marketing, Morris has been identifying and applying innovative trends to improve business performance for the last 20 years. As a Senior Director of Marketing at Microsoft, Morris developed communities and social networks from 2002-2005 to improve Microsoft's brand perceptions and market share worldwide. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Technology Officer of PoloRalphLauren.com, the first ecommerce site from a major design/retail shop, now a thriving and profitable business with more than 1M customers per year. His career began at Microsoft, where he was responsible for designing end-user features and launching Microsoft Access 1.0, the first mass market Windows database program.
Morris is a graduate of Stanford University.
Passionate about technology and marketing, Morris has been identifying and applying innovative trends to improve business performance for the last 20 years. As a Senior Director of Marketing at Microsoft, Morris developed communities and social networks from 2002-2005 to improve Microsoft's brand perceptions and market share worldwide. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Technology Officer of PoloRalphLauren.com, the first ecommerce site from a major design/retail shop, now a thriving and profitable business with more than 1M customers per year. His career began at Microsoft, where he was responsible for designing end-user features and launching Microsoft Access 1.0, the first mass market Windows database program.
Morris is a graduate of Stanford University.
Ross Veitch is an internet product specialist and entrepreneur with 15 years experience developing web sites and services across the Asia-Pacific region. His experience is primarily in strategy, product management and technology. He is currently Chief Product Officer at travel search engine Wego.com where he focuses on ways to make travel shopping easier & faster.
Previously he was Head of Production & Engineering for Yahoo! Southeast Asia where he helped launch and evolve a wide range of media, communications, community & commerce products across multiple markets.
Previously he was Head of Production & Engineering for Yahoo! Southeast Asia where he helped launch and evolve a wide range of media, communications, community & commerce products across multiple markets.
Timothy Hughes is Vice President Commercial at Orbitz Worldwide and HotelClub - one of the world’s largest online travel companies. In this role he is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of online hotel sales in more than a dozen languages. He has led acquisitions in online travel that have exceeded purchase cases by 30% or more. In his “spare” time he is the the editor and publisher of one of the top online travel industry blogs (the BOOT: the Business Of Online Travel), writer at the Travel Tech and Online Industry blog Tnooz and regular presenter on industry trends and analysis. Tim is a former lawyer and venture capitalist. As a venture capitalist and consultant he helped a number of start-ups (inside and outside travel) secure funding and held regular client briefing sessions for a brokerage house. When practising as a lawyer he represented technology, new media, Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting clients in Australia, Europe and Hong Kong. He first joined the online travel industry in 1999 and has worked for top tier online travel companies in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce and Hons Law Degree from the Australian National University.
Twitter: @timothychughes
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughes
Blog: http://www.thebusinessofonlinetravel.com
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Twitter: @timothychughes
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughes
Blog: http://www.thebusinessofonlinetravel.com
Subscribe to Blog: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheBoot
Timothy O'Neil-Dunne serves as the lead for the Airline, Aviation and Airport Practice. Timothy has worked in aviation and travel distribution for more 30 years, including time with Worldspan and Microsoft/Expedia before founding T2Impact in 1998. He leads the group's efforts in the international arena, providing e-commerce services to travel and technology clients, and others involved in transaction processing oriented e-businesses.
Timothy was a founding management team member of the Expedia team where he headed the Ground Transportation and International portfolios. He was formerly Head of Technology for Worldspan where he managed all of the International Technology Services from product to infrastructure. Mr. ONeil-Dunne is a published authority on Global Travel Distribution, a respected travel industry commentator, frequently writing in trade and consumer publications, and speaking at conferences worldwide. He is a permanent advisor to the World Economic Forum.
Timothy was a founding management team member of the Expedia team where he headed the Ground Transportation and International portfolios. He was formerly Head of Technology for Worldspan where he managed all of the International Technology Services from product to infrastructure. Mr. ONeil-Dunne is a published authority on Global Travel Distribution, a respected travel industry commentator, frequently writing in trade and consumer publications, and speaking at conferences worldwide. He is a permanent advisor to the World Economic Forum.
William has been a partner at Softbank China & India Holdings, an early stage venture capital firm that is backed by Softbank of Japan and Cisco and focused on the technology, media and telecom sectors, since March 2007. William began his investment career 14 years ago as a technology analyst in Taiwan. Most recently at Deutsche Bank, he was responsible for Internet and Telecom Equipment across Asia as well as China technology including telecom equipment, Internet, media, PCs, display, handsets and software. Prior to this, he covered Telecom Equipment and Digital Media companies with Banc of America Securities in San Francisco. William also worked as an associate analyst with the team covering PCs, Enterprise Hardware, Handhelds, Storage and Semiconductors at Bear Stearns in New York.
In 2006 he was ranked #3 All-Asia analyst for Technology/Software and IT Services by Institutional Investor Magazine Asia. In 2005, he was ranked #1 stock picker in Technology, Media and Telecom, and #3 overall for Hong Kong/China by Forbes/SCMP/Starmine as well as was a ranked analyst by Institutional Investor Magazine Asia. William is a regular presenter at industry conferences and has authored a number of white papers including: The Digital Home Handbook - Intelligence At The Edge and China Internet WVAS - The Second Coming. He currently sits on the boards of advisors/directors for companies including Punch Entertainment, SRT, Radiance, Massive Impact, Naiscorp - Socbay, Peacesoft - Chodientu, IVIVI, iTalki, Niurenku, the AAMA Shanghai Angels and the Music Matters and ad:tech China conferences. He holds a BA from Bowdoin College.
In 2006 he was ranked #3 All-Asia analyst for Technology/Software and IT Services by Institutional Investor Magazine Asia. In 2005, he was ranked #1 stock picker in Technology, Media and Telecom, and #3 overall for Hong Kong/China by Forbes/SCMP/Starmine as well as was a ranked analyst by Institutional Investor Magazine Asia. William is a regular presenter at industry conferences and has authored a number of white papers including: The Digital Home Handbook - Intelligence At The Edge and China Internet WVAS - The Second Coming. He currently sits on the boards of advisors/directors for companies including Punch Entertainment, SRT, Radiance, Massive Impact, Naiscorp - Socbay, Peacesoft - Chodientu, IVIVI, iTalki, Niurenku, the AAMA Shanghai Angels and the Music Matters and ad:tech China conferences. He holds a BA from Bowdoin College.
Wu Hai is Founder and CEO of Orange Hotel Group. Orange Hotel Group is bringing its distinctive, high-design hotel product to consumers in China at budget hotel prices. Headquartered in Beijing, Orange Hotel Group currently operates 16 hotels in Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Nanjing.
In 2001 Wu Hai founded Fortunetrip, serving as Chairman & CEO through its acquisition by Sina in March 2004. Wu Hai continued to serve as CEO of FortuneTrip within Sina until the acquisition of FortuneTrip by eLong (NASDAQ:LONG), the second largest online travel company in China in May 2005, after which he served as a VP, Sales within eLong through 2006. eLong is controlled by Expedia, the largest online travel company in the world.
From 2000 to 2001, Wu Hai served as SVP, Sales & Marketing with Ctrip.com. Ctrip.com is the largest online travel company in China (NASDAQ:CTRP). In this role Wu Hai was responsible for sales, marketing, business development and QA. Wu Hai helped Ctrip transition from being a pure online player to having a broader model that spanned online and offline channels, a critical decision that allowed the company to survive the dot com collapse in 2000.
From 1997 to 2000, Wu Hai co-founded SmartTravel, serving as CEO through its acquisition by BizExpress in December 1999. SmartTravel was the first online travel company in China.
From 1991 to 1997, Wu Hai had a number of roles in state-run companies, WOFEs and JVs.
Wu Hai’s first job was as a cashier with China Central Research Institue of Science and Technology of Chemical Industry, a government research management organization.
Wu Hai holds a bachelor degree from Central University (Beijing) in Finance and Economics. Wu Hai is currently a student in INSEAD’s EMBA program.
In 2001 Wu Hai founded Fortunetrip, serving as Chairman & CEO through its acquisition by Sina in March 2004. Wu Hai continued to serve as CEO of FortuneTrip within Sina until the acquisition of FortuneTrip by eLong (NASDAQ:LONG), the second largest online travel company in China in May 2005, after which he served as a VP, Sales within eLong through 2006. eLong is controlled by Expedia, the largest online travel company in the world.
From 2000 to 2001, Wu Hai served as SVP, Sales & Marketing with Ctrip.com. Ctrip.com is the largest online travel company in China (NASDAQ:CTRP). In this role Wu Hai was responsible for sales, marketing, business development and QA. Wu Hai helped Ctrip transition from being a pure online player to having a broader model that spanned online and offline channels, a critical decision that allowed the company to survive the dot com collapse in 2000.
From 1997 to 2000, Wu Hai co-founded SmartTravel, serving as CEO through its acquisition by BizExpress in December 1999. SmartTravel was the first online travel company in China.
From 1991 to 1997, Wu Hai had a number of roles in state-run companies, WOFEs and JVs.
Wu Hai’s first job was as a cashier with China Central Research Institue of Science and Technology of Chemical Industry, a government research management organization.
Wu Hai holds a bachelor degree from Central University (Beijing) in Finance and Economics. Wu Hai is currently a student in INSEAD’s EMBA program.
