Linda Boronkay is the founder and creative director of Boronkay Studio, known for creating emotionally rich, transportive interiors across the globe.

Formerly design director at Soho House, her work blends heritage and modernity with a cinematic sensibility, drawing on rich and holistic sources of inspiration—art, cinema, design, architecture, fashion, and craftsmanship—to form a complete story rooted in place, culture, historical narrative and creativity. Before completing her degree in London, Boronkay began her career in the fashion industry, living around the world from New York to Tokyo—an experience that immersed her in global design and artistic cultures, leaving a lasting impression and shaping her distinct, cinematic sensibility.

Boronkay is a respected voice in the design world, regularly invited to speak, judge, and contribute thought leadership across the industry. She frequently appears as a panelist at international conferences and has recently served as a judge for the Global AHEAD Awards, the Dezeen Awards and on the BBC.

Sarah Doyle serves as both the global brand leader and deputy managing director at Design Hotels, where she oversees creative, content, publications, partnerships, PR, and community management. Working directly with hotel owners and the extended creative brand community, including architects and designers, Sarah shapes brand strategy and stewards all community engagement—cultivating meaningful connections across the Design Hotels portfolio while driving innovation and long-term brand value.

Doyle discovered her passion for hospitality at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where she served as global brand director for W Hotels Worldwide. In this role, she helped open many of the brand’s most iconic destinations and played a key role in defining its distinctive global identity. She has since held senior leadership positions at MSC Cruises’ Explora Journeys and at BACARDÍ, bringing a cross-industry perspective to brand building and guest experience.

She began her career in New York City at Momentum Worldwide, leading marketing and sponsorship initiatives for American Express across fashion, music, and film. Originally from the U.S., Sarah currently lives between London and Berlin.

Ethan Gabany leads the development function at Weller Development Partners, where he oversees the firm’s development activities across its active portfolio. His responsibilities include development finance, architecture, design, and construction for luxury hotel and branded residential projects throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Gabany works closely with internal teams, brand partners, designers, and consultants to guide projects from early feasibility and underwriting through design development, construction, and delivery. His role emphasizes disciplined execution, coordination across complex stakeholder groups, and thoughtful integration of design intent with financial and operational objectives.

He holds a BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and remains actively involved in the hospitality and design community. Gabany serves on the Board of Directors of Boutique Design (BD) and the Cornell Hotel Society of Washington, DC, where he supports industry engagement, mentorship, and professional development.

Hilari Jones is a principal and studio design leader for hospitality at HKS. With over 20 years of experience in architecture, Jones is a seasoned design professional specializing in hospitality projects across the globe. Her portfolio includes luxury hotels and resorts of all scales, developed in partnership with some of the world’s most prestigious hospitality brands throughout the U.S., Latin America, China, the Middle East, and beyond.

Dedicated to the craft of creating bespoke experiences, Jones combines a deep understanding of cultural context with a commitment to environmentally responsible and accountable design solutions. Her passion lies at the intersection of sustainable and inclusive design, believing in the potential of design to address pressing environmental challenges within the sphere of high-end luxury spaces.

Through her role as mentor and design guide on Sensa, the innovative case study exploring neuroinclusivity in luxury hospitality spaces, and as a member of the HKS Designing for Emotion cohort, Jones strives to introduce innovative solutions to transform guest experiences, while prioritizing sustainability, without compromising high standards of brand quality, or aesthetic appeal.

Beyond her design practice, Hilari is a dedicated mentor and advocate for community engagement within the architectural profession. She actively supports emerging designers and contributes her expertise to initiatives that foster inclusivity and collaboration in the design industry. Her holistic approach to design and leadership continues to influence the future of hospitality architecture worldwide.

Joon is a senior associate and creative director at Wimberly Interiors, bringing more than 22 years of experience
in design development for hospitality and entertainment destinations. His experience in urban development has led him to work with well-known clients such as Marriott, Novotel, Renaissance, LeMeridien and Canopy by Hilton, Westin, Sofitel, and others.

Nick Solomon is a globally recognized design leader with more than two decades of experience shaping immersive environments. His career began in architecture and design roles across Madrid, New York, and other global cities, including positions at Estudio Lamela; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and Grimshaw Architects.

Formerly chief creative officer at AvroKO and now VP of lifestyle drand design at Hilton, Solomon is known for creating resonant brand visions that seamlessly connect strategy, narrative, and place. Shaped by an international upbringing and a multidisciplinary design background, he excels at translating complex ideas into compelling experiences that endure.

His portfolio spans award-winning projects—from Michelin-starred restaurants to flagship hotels, and custom furniture to major transportation hubs—all unified by a belief that great design begins with a powerful story and a clear, human-centered vision.

Cori Tahara has spent nearly two decades in hospitality management and real estate development, in roles in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Currently VP of real estate and development for the MINA Group—a San Francisco-based restaurant management company founded by award-winning chef Michael Mina—Tahara manages the design, development, and new openings of the company’s portfolio, including recent projects in Santa Monica, Riyadh, Orlando, and Washington, DC.

The MINA Group specializes in developing and operating innovative full-service dining concepts and currently owns and operates more than 30 restaurants in the U.S. and Middle East.

Since joining the MINA Group in 2014, Tahara has led multiple areas of project development from budget projections to OSE specifications, from small pop-ups to multimillion-dollar endeavors. Prior to joining MINA, Tahara led special projects for Gjelina Group in Venice, California, including Gjelina, Gjelina Take Away, MTN, and Gjusta.

Driven by the belief that the physical place and human connection shapes and enriches people’s lives, Jessica Werner approaches projects with artistry and strategy and transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Werner launched and leads Sage Hospitality Group’s Sage Studio and their work: Building brands, developing emotionally focused, experiential spaces, creating financially successful and sustainable businesses, and fostering communities with substance, culture, and discovery across adaptive reuse, renovation and repositioning, and ground-up projects.

At Sage, Werner has led more than 50 mixed-use, hotel, restaurant, and bar projects, leveraging her deep design, construction and development, brand creation and activation, and partnership and opening expertise she has garnered throughout her career.

Eternally curious and an artist at heart, Werner is a lover of poetry, good design, The New York Times crossword, and the beauty of experiencing life with family and friends. She resides in Denver with her two young daughters.

Hines Fischer is an award-winning hospitality product designer and lead product designer at Goodrich, where he leads the design of custom furniture and lighting for hotel, restaurant, and large-scale hospitality projects. His work spans bespoke FF&E and mass-produced products, with a focus on materiality, construction, and the integration of narrative into functional design.

Trained as an industrial designer, Fischer brings deep expertise in furniture construction, lighting dynamics, and fabrication, informed by hands-on experience in woodworking and metalwork as well as close collaboration with manufacturers worldwide. He works closely with interior designers and branding teams to develop pieces that extend a project’s conceptual vision while meeting the practical demands of hospitality environments.

Across his career, Fischer has developed products for RBW, Parla, Kallista, Bernhardt Design, Forces at Play, Arteriors, Desiron, and SA Baxter.

Jean Lin is a New York City-based gallerist, founder of design gallery and studio Colony, and author of What We Keep, published in 2024. Trained as a fashion designer, she has professional experience as a fashion designer, interior designer, editor, writer, trend forecaster, educator, and curator. Lin has served as part-time faculty at her alma mater, Parsons School of Design, and a guest lecturer and critic at Rhode Island School of Design, Pratt Institute, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and Tama Art University in Tokyo.

The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Jean came of age in the 1980s and ’90s in a middle-class Asian household in Massachusetts suburbia. Design, style and aesthetics were not a consideration, while family, integrity and hard work were. After a few slightly rebellious years, Lin finally came to understand the power and merit of the latter. Only after she embraced her heritage of values has Lin been able to fully explore who she truly is and what she has to offer the world: Finding and sharing the substance behind beauty beyond what is most readily prescribed.

Carl Long is the president and CEO of Purchasing Management International (PMI), one of the leading procurement firms in the hospitality industry. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University and a MBA from the University of North Texas.

Long is an active member of the International Society of Hospitality Purchasers (ISHP), where he previously served as president, and he is also involved with NEWH. A strong advocate for best practices in purchasing, he regularly teaches seminars on project procurement.

His global experience includes overseeing PMI’s operations in India and managing projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.