المتحدثون

Mahmoud Abdulhadi is Deputy Minister for Investment Attraction at the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism. Having joined in July 2020, Abdulhadi leads the Ministry’s investment attraction activities with the aim of expanding Saudi Arabia’s growing tourism sector. He and his team are responsible for enabling and facilitating domestic and international private sector investment, supporting sector development by creating opportunities and updating regulations, as well as managing investor relations to create a sustainable investment environment for the private sector.

To execute this mandate, Abdulhadi draws on 17 years of experience at UBS where he was latterly Chief Executive Officer and Head of Investment Banking at UBS Saudi Arabia. During his career at UBS, Abdulhadi worked on a variety of transactions in M&A and equity capital markets spanning multiple sectors including infrastructure, entertainment, telecoms, oil and gas, financial institutions and agriculture to name a few.

Abdulhadi holds a master’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering and Management from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Christopher Lund oversees the Hotels consultancy division of Colliers in the Middle East and North Africa. Over the past decade, the Hotels team has worked on more than 800 projects and deals in the region, providing advisory services to hotel developers, investors, operators, governments, law firms and banks. Christopher specializes in development consultancy and strategic asset management, ranging from standalone hotels to large-scale destinations and portfolios, as well as hotel company strategies, condo-hotel investment models and negotiating complex hotel management agreements. His operational and asset management experience allows him to have a 360-degree view and hands-on approach when providing actionable advice to enhance hotel profitability. Christopher holds an MSc in Real Estate Investment and Finance from Henley Business School, with other degrees and certificates from New York University, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

Chris was born into a family of hoteliers and he started working at the family-owned Yacht Club very young. While learning the trade hands on, he developed his life-time passion for extreme sports. But it wasn't until his early twenties that Chris experienced the synergy between travel and adventure, embarking on a three-day expedition kayaking with whales in Canada. That immersive experience only reinforced him to push his career in hospitality and after an MBA at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in 2008, Chris joined the team that launched Shaza Hotels in Geneva. He eventually moved to Dubai to lead the company’s international growth. From 2014 to 2017, he was also the Vice-President of Development for Kempinski Hotels covering Africa and the Middle East.

It was while living in Switzerland that Chris discovered the world of experiential lodging at an eco-luxury camp in the Swiss Alps. 10 years later, he finds himself launching a new eco-lodge brand of his own.

ENVI Lodges combines his love for adventure, his passion to create meaningful experiences, and his ambition to promote responsible hospitality.

A Jordanian national, Basel Talal, has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. The majority of this time was spent with Radisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hotel groups. Basel is now Regional Director, Radisson Hotel Group, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Levant, where he is responsible for operations and profitability. Radisson Hotel Group quickly expands in Saudi Arabia, with over 40 properties in operation or under development. Basel began his professional career as Front Office Manager at the Radisson SAS Resort in Aqaba. His drive and dedication to the hospitality industry led him to the position of Operations Manager at the same hotel. He was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager in mid-1999, taking over the launch of the Radisson SAS Muscat. After three years at the Radisson SAS Muscat, Basel relocated to Saudi Arabia to become the General Manager of the Radisson SAS Hotel Jeddah. In 2005, he opened the first Royal Suites Hotel in Jeddah, Radisson SAS Royal Suite. Following this assignment, Basel became the General Manager of Radisson Blu Resort in Sharjah. He spent five years managing the resort, successfully overcoming several challenges following the global financial crisis. Prior to his current role, Basel was appointed District Director -Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he has played an instrumental role in establishing the Group’s operations in the Kingdom. Basel’s commitment goes beyond the successful operations of the Group’s hotels in Saudi Arabia, and he takes an active role in Radisson Hotel’s “Talent Development” program in Saudi Arabia. Basel also actively supports Radisson Hotel’s balanced leadership efforts in the Kingdom, a program designed to encourage more women to enter the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia and develop more women into leadership positions. Basel contributed to Radisson Hotels' rapid development in Saudi Arabia by growing the KSA hotels portfolio and footprint. Basel is an experienced dealmaker who oversees agreements from inception to completion.