Dr. Sheryl F. Kline is the Deputy Dean of Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and Professor in the Department of Hospitality Business Management at the University of Delaware (UD). Prior to joining UD, she served as Interim Dean and Associate Dean in the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina (USC) Columbia, SC. She developed her interest in research while at Purdue University where she held the position of C B Smith Professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and was the Director for the Center for the Study of Lodging Operations. She began her academic career at Widener University’s School of Hospitality Management. Prior to joining academia, she had a successful career as a manager in the casino hotel and resort industry and has over a decade of hospitality industry experience.

She teaches courses in hospitality management at both the graduate and undergraduate level and enjoys mentoring graduate students and doing research. She is an active member of industry associations including the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE), the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and the Delaware Restaurant Association and has served on their boards. Dr. Kline is a recipient of several teaching awards including the I-CHRIE John Wiley and Sons Award for Innovation in Teaching, and the McCool Breakthrough Award in Hospitality Education. While at USC she was selected as an Academic Leadership Fellow for the South Eastern Conference (SEC). Most recently she was recognized as one of 40 women in the state of Delaware as Delaware Business Women of the Year by Delaware Today Magazine.

Dr. Fawn T. Ngo is Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. She received her B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society from the University of California at Irvine, her M.S. in Criminal Justice from the California State University at Long Beach, and her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland. She worked as a Research Associate in the Research and Planning Unit at the Westminster Police Department in Orange County, California. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Cyber Criminology.

She is the recipient of 2014 Student Government Association Outstanding Professor Award, 2015 Faculty Senate Excellence in Research Award, 2017 University of South Florida Women in Leadership and Philanthropy Faculty Research Award, and 2018 Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching Award.

Dr. Ngo’s research areas include criminological theory, interpersonal violence, cyber crime, and predictive analytic applications in criminology and criminal justice. Her latest research focuses on the comparative performance of conventional statistical methods and machine learning and data mining techniques in predicting inmate misconduct. Her other publications examine gender differences in stalking acknowledgment and coping behaviors, the effectiveness of formal and informal responses to stalking, and stalking in same-sex and opposite-sex contexts. She has published several papers examining the efficacy of self-control theory, routine activity theory, differential social control theory, general strain theory, and gender/general strain theory in accounting for crime, delinquency, and victimization.

Dr. Paul A. Phillips, is Professor of Strategic Management, Kent Business School, University of Kent.

Paul has served as Director of Kent Business School (2007-2011) and Deputy Director (2004-7) and has held academic appointments at Cardiff Business School and University of Surrey. In 2001, he was appointed to the Charles Forte Chair of Hotel Management, which was created by a generous endowment from Forte plc in 1986 at the School of Management, University of Surrey, UK.

With more than 25 years of senior experience in strategic management, performance management, and digital business strategy, Paul acts as a conduit for those organizations who are trying to address complex technological and change management issues. Paul has specialized international experience for the private sector, Governments, and Government Agencies. Specialists projects include organizing and delivering specialist financial services short courses for international organizations, such as the China Development Bank; digital strategy advice to FTSE 250 companies and Ministry of Defence; e-procurement advice to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army; hospitals; police forces; knowledge-intensive businesses.

Paul has served as Chair of the UK Association of Business Schools (ABS) Research Steering Committee, and Member of the ABS Executive Committee. He chaired the 2010 ABS Annual Research Conference and the 2010 ABS Annual Doctor of Business Administration Conference. Paul has served on the Institute of Business Ethics Advisory Council, Westminster Business School Advisory Board and Founder and inaugural Chair of the ABS International and External Relations subcommittee. Professor Phillips has completed the Experienced Deans’ and New Deans’ Seminar Series, Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB), International. He completed the International Deans’ Programme, Association of Business School/European Foundation for Management Development, and the Leading Change and Organizational Renewal Programme, Harvard Business School, Harvard University.

Paul has served as a Visiting Professor at three universities in China: The School of Business Administration, Hunan University, Changsha; International Business School, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing; School of Economics, Shandong University, Ji’nan.

Dr. QIU, Hanqin is the Distinguished Professor at Nankai University, the Dean of the College of Tourism and Service Management. She is also a Full Professor of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Vice-President of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Hong Kong Association, the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism and the consultant on Education Administration to the Sun Yat-sen University.

Her research interests focus on the analysis of tourism demand, consumer behavior, the inbound and outbound tourism in China, the tourism development and policy issues in Asia Pacific and tourism education innovations, etc. She has published more than 80 refereed journal article in major international refereed journals. She has served as guest editor for International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and Journal of Vacation Marketing on Special Issues for China Hotel and Tourism Development. She was also the regional editor for International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

In 2016, Professor Qiu and her team founded the World’s FIRST Micro-Master’s Credentials in International Hotel Management collaborated with the edX platform, which was created by MIT and Harvard University. The program received recognition more than 40,000 online learners from over 175 countries within less than two years.

Professor Shaw is Professor of Management and the Shaw Foundation Chair in Business in the Nanyang Business School. He studies employment relationships, financial incentives, employee turnover, and social networks. Prior joining NTU, Professor Shaw was Yeung Kin Man Professor in Business Administration, Chair Professor of Management, Head of Department of Management and Marketing, and Director of the Centre for Leadership and Innovation at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Curtis L. Carlson School-wide Professor at the University of Minnesota, the Clark Material Handling Company Professor of Management at the University of Kentucky, and an Assistant Professor at Drexel University. Prior to his academic career, he was an analyst for the Boeing Company. He has published papers in leading journals in management such as the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science, Personnel Psychology, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, among other outlets. His work also appears in practitioner-oriented publications such as Harvard Business Review, Compensation and Benefits Review, and WorldatWork Journal. His 2017 co-authored paper on social capital development and entrepreneurship in rural villages in India recently won the “best paper” award for the Academy of Management Journal, the leading empirical journal in the field of management. He has given more than 130 invited talks on 5 continents. Professor Shaw is current Editor-in-Chief at the Academy of Management Journal and has been special issue editor at the Human Resource Management Review and the Journal of Personnel Psychology respectively. He has also served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Applied Psychology, and the Journal of Management, among other outlets.

Dr. Mariana Sigala is Professor in Tourism and Director of the Centre of Tourism & Leisure Management (CTLM) at the University of South Australia Business School. She is also an academic member of the CERM PI team of UniSA.

Professor Sigala has a PhD from the University of Surrey as well as a Certificate of Advanced Academic Studies from the University of Strathclyde and an MSc in Tourism Management from the University of Surrey.

Professor Sigala is a widely published authority in the area of Service Operations Management and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applications in Tourism and Hospitality. She also has an interest in e-learning models and pedagogies, having published several research studies in these areas. Professor Sigala’s research is multi-award winning featuring several best paper awards in international conferences and academic journals, such as papers published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management and the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

She is currently the co-editor of the international journal Journal of Service Theory and Practice, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the founder and advisor editor of the International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Cases. Professor Sigala is also the founder of the ICHRIE Johnson and Wales Case Study Competition, which she has successfuly chaired from 2011 to 2017.

Professor Sigala has also served on the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Information Technology, Tourism and Travel (IFITT) (as Membership Director); the International Council on Hospitality, Restaurant and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE) (as Research Director, 2008 – 2010); the Hellenic Association of Information Systems (HeAIS) (as Publicity Director); and the Executive Board of the European Council on Hospitality, Restaurant and Institutional Education (EuroCHRIE) (as President, 2004 – 2005).

George Ubbelohde, CHA, CHE, CHT, CHIA, CGSP is a passionate hospitality professional, facilitator, educator, quality assessor and management consultant with extensive hands-on international managerial experience in several countries. He is specialized in business excellence with focus on professional development and total quality in the hospitality and education industry over 30 years.

He has started his professional career in 1980 at the Sheraton Hotels Int. After obtaining Bachelor Degree in Business Administration in 1984, he pursued in the same property by working in all operational and managerial departments such as; Rooms Division, Food & Beverage, Marketing & Sales, Human Resources and Finance. Between 1986 et 1990, he progressed in his hospitality career assuming different middle management positions within the Starwood International and in several cities mainly; Brussels, London, Istanbul, Rome, Frankfurt, Lisbon and Washington DC serving as “task force” and in implementing “departmental training” projects. From 1990 to 1997 he assumed executive roles in Millenium Hotels and Dorint Hotel Group in Europe. From 1997 to 2011 he assumed the position of “Dean and Campus Director” in BBI- Brussels Business Institute (Licensee of AHLEI- American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute).

Next to this executive position, he was teaching regularly project and business management courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs as well as conducted several workshops in “hospitality management” “certification” and “accreditation” themes in various countries. He has completed successfully several accreditation projects, namely TEDQUAL and NVAO National Accreditation. In 2008, he has obtained his specialized Master Degree, Professional Graduate Specialization in Hospitality Graduate Education under EU’s VAE system.

George has been collaborating in partnership with AHLEI since 1997, has expert knowledge in developing, realizing and implementing several academic courses, curriculum development, professional certifications and specializations in hotel businesses and educational institutes.

He is a CHE – Certified Hospitality Educator, CHT- Certified Hospitality Trainer and accredited Senior Master Trainer for all AHLEI academic and professional certification programs, having conducted several workshops in Belgium, Finland, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Spain, Malaysia, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, U.A.E, Albania, Palestine, China, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. George also holds the CHA- Certified Hotel Administrator certification from AHLEI, the most prestigious certification available to a hospitality executive as well as CGSP- Certified Guest Service Professional certification. He is a lead facilitator and part of only 10 worldwide facilitators of CHE – Certified Hospitality Educator certification program.

Since January 2016, he assumes the Executive Dean role in YueXiu Institute of Hospitality Administration, the largest GAP AHLEI school of Asia, located in Shaoxing, China. He is also Honorary Professor of BHI- Beijing Hospitality Institute (Certified School by École Hôtelière de Lausanne), since 2014. From May 2014 until January 2016, George has assumed the “Managing Director” position in the prestigious luxury governmental property Xijiao State Guest Hotel in Shanghai, China. George is also Senior Consultant and Advisor for the Asian American Hotel Management Company based in Shanghai and Bright Future Education in Chongqing, China.

George is also involved in various quality assurance and certification projects as certified “Excellence Assessor” for EFQM- European Foundation of Quality Management (Business) and “Quality Auditor” UN.WTO TEDQUAL Program (Academic). George was granted the Best European Paper Award by UN.WTO- TedQual on the theme of: “Encouraging creativity and entrepreneurship among students, while keeping teachers up to date” in Brig, Switzerland, 2010.

George speaks several languages fluently and can conduct workshops in English, French, Turkish and Greek. He actively participates to several international conferences/seminars/workshops/presentations as expert guest speaker/lecturer/panelist and keynote speaker.

Mr. Bui Xuan Phong joins Sacom Tuyen Lam Joint Stock Company as CEO at SAM Tuyen Lam Golf & Resorts. He has broad customer services experience and successful track record in Customer Experience, Operations, Sales and Project Management in Banking & Hospitality. His comprehensive experience and knowledge are also in the fields of project management and transformation, Operations procedures in Banks & P&P, SOP in hotels, setting up new business and re-engineering business model.

He is a well-known trainer in Telesales Skills, Project Management Skills and a famous coach/speaker in serving hotel guests from different cultures, Leadership in hotels Transform, and the Art of the 5 star services. Mr. Phong is among the best-selling Authors with the top listed books as Contact Center, Telesales, the Myths of Re-engineering & Business Model, Hotel Management, Guest Psychology & the Art of 5 Star Services, and Leadership in Hospitality. All these books are published by Alpha Books in Vietnamese. Mr. Phong would love to contribute to the professional growth of hospitality industry in Vietnam.

Dr. AJ Aluri is an associate professor and founding director of the Hospitality Innovation and Technology (HIT) Lab in the Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTOR) program within the Department of Management at the College of Business and Economics (B&E) at West Virginia University (WVU). His academic and research expertise combines all areas of his education, research interests, and focus in the areas of hospitality information technology and management and information systems, and how these areas impact international hospitality organizations, society, and education.

His research has been published in the following top hospitality journals: Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education, and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology. He is also on the editorial board of three hospitality journals and is currently serving as Director of Networking for the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE). His industry experiences come from diverse industry sectors, where he has worked for software and technology companies, non-profits, and the hospitality industry.

Dr. Aluri played a vital role in developing the HTOR program in the B&E at WVU. He has been invited to speak at several top international and national conferences.

Throughout his career, Dr. Aluri has received several research awards; most recently, he won the "Article of the Year" award from the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in 2018 and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Education in 2016. Dr. Aluri is a recipient of the 2018 Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism Education award from the West Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association. He was also awarded the 2018 “Friend of ProStart” award from the West Virginia Hospitality Education and Training (WV HEAT) in the West Virginia Department of Education, in recognition of his commitment and support for the ProStart students of West Virginia. A little further back, he was a recipient of the prestigious 2011 Phoenix Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and also received a “Citation of Congratulations” for his contributions at OSU from the legislature of the State of Oklahoma.

Dr. Basak Denizci Guillet is an Associate Professor of Hospitality Finance and Revenue Management at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She received a B.S. degree in tourism and hotel management from Bilkent University, a M.S. degree in hotel administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Ph.D. degree in hospitality financial management from the Pennsylvania State University. She worked in the hotel industry as part of the Hilton and Marriot teams. She is the recipient of 2012 President's Award for Excellent Performance and Achievement in Teaching, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2013 School of Hotel & Tourism Management Award for Research Excellence and 2015 School of Hotel & Tourism Management Award for Service Excellence.

She is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, Anatolia and European Journal of Tourism Research. Prior to her appointment at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, she worked at University of South Carolina as an assistant professor. Her academic research interests include hospitality business analytics with an emphasis on financial and revenue management. Dr. Denizci Guillet has presented her research papers in several conferences including Annual International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE) Conference, Asia Pacific Tourism Association Conference, Annual Conference and Exposition and Annual Conference of the Association of Hospitality Financial Management Education. She published her work in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality Financial Management, Journal of Travel Research, Annals of Tourism Research, and the Journal of Intellectual Capital. She delivered workshops and training programs on strategic decision making from a hospitality financial management perspective and revenue management to hotel executives in South East Asia.

Dr. Pearl Lin is the Assistant Professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She received her bachelor degree from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), NY, USA in 2000 with a major in Culinary Arts Management. She also received ($8,000 USD) La cucina e cultura scholarship from Italian Trade Commission in 2001. During her study in CIA, she won two first places in a national tomato and turkey recipes contests and received $6,000 USD. In 2003, Pearl studied for her Master’s degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Brighton, England, after which she was a lecturer and taught several food and beverage courses in the Department of Hotel Management at Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. In 2008, she received a $50,000USD scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Taiwan to undertake PhD. studies at The University of Strathclyde, Scotland from where she graduated in 2012.

At heart, Pearl is a chef who delights in her strong connections with the professional and practical world where she received her formative experiences in our industry. Pearl has acted as the chief judge of a culinary competition run by the Council of Labour Affairs, Taiwan. Also, she has served as a judge and expert to represent Taiwan to attend International Abilympics Competition, and the Worldskills Competition in London, Korea and Bordeaux since 2008. Through her international culinary judge experience, Pearl was invited by TEDx Hong Kong to share her knowledge and expertise on the topic of Edible Ideas to the community in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Nov 2016. In addition, she was invited to share her knowledge with industry professionals and educators in Turkey, Thailand, Dubai, Macao, Hong Kong, and China. Pearl has been able to combine her academic and professional career with her passion for culinary arts. She is the author of two cookbooks, as well as co-author of a cooking DVD series and several cookbooks.

Dr. Tingting Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, USA. She received a B.S. degree in Tourism Marketing from Beijing International Studies University, Beijing, China, and an M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in Consumer Sciences Specialization in Hospitality Management from the Ohio State University, Ohio, USA. She worked in the hotel and food catering industry as part of the Marriot and Sodexo teams. She is a recipient of Best Paper Awards from the Journal of Service Management (2014, 2015) and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (2016). She is also a recipient of Young Researcher Awards (2014) sponsored by Cornell School of Hotel Administration. She has received several Best Paper Awards from international business and hospitality conferences.

She is an Assistant Editor of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology and an editorial board member of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, the Journal of Interdisciplinary Business-Economics Advancement (IIBA Journal), Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, Journal of Global Business Insights.

Her academic research interests include information technology and smart innovations in the hospitality and tourism with an emphasis on theories of value co-creation and customer engagement. She is also interested in health-related technology innovations and employee wellness programs. Dr. Zhang published her work in International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Service Management, Journal of Service Marketing, and International Journal of Electronic Commerce. She has presented her research papers in several conferences including Annual International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE) Conference, Global Marketing Conference, Annual Conference for Positive Marketing, and International Research Symposium in Service Management.