Praba G Menon

A seasoned, well-travelled hospitality professional who started as a housekeeping attendant at the poolside, progressing through a role as a restaurant busboy before becoming Director of Food & Beverage for the Regent Kuala Lumpur. His career took him to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Mauritius, the Seychelles, South Africa, and Mali in various General Manager positions.

He later returned to Malaysia to serve as Chief Operating Officer of a local hospitality group in Borneo. Most recently he held a corporate position as Group Managing Director of PestBusters Pte Ltd in Singapore, overseeing operations across five countries with expansion planned throughout the Asia Pacific region. He has since retired to Malaysia.

Menon attributes his professional success to the hospitality industry’s development opportunities and is passionately committed to training and developing young talent, emphasising the importance of allowing emerging professionals to learn from mistakes and grow in their roles.

Derek Charles Gomez

Derek Charles Gomez holds a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Catering Management from the University of Toulouse in France. He recently assumed the position of Hotel Manager at St Regis Jakarta, a major property in Indonesia’s capital.

Prior to this appointment, Gomez served as Complex Executive Assistant Manager for Food & Beverage at The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa, The St Regis Langkawi, and the Langkawi International Convention Centre. His career includes senior F&B leadership roles at prestigious properties including InterContinental Hanoi, InterContinental Saigon, InterContinental Danang, Four Seasons Riyadh, Renaissance Kuala Lumpur, and Four Seasons Langkawi.

Gomez holds certification as a Master Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers and maintains credentials as a wine specialist through the Society of Wine Educators, distinguishing himself as both an accomplished hospitality executive and beverage expert.

Satiyasilan Maniam

Sati is an experienced hotelier who began his career as a pre-opening F&B Waiter at Penang Mutiara Hotel in 1988, a member of Leading Hotels of the World. He advanced through various roles while gaining cross-regional exposure in Singapore before reaching Assistant Food & Beverage Manager.

He subsequently pursued international experience at a luxury Maldivian property and with the Savoy Group of Hotels & Spa in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, managing F&B operations for a 1,000-room property with 18 dining establishments and a team of 180 associates.

After nearly five years abroad he returned to Malaysia as Director of Food & Beverage for a pre-opening luxury property in Langkawi, then managed an Eco Lodge at Taman Negara National Park as Resident Manager. This role deepened his commitment to sustainable development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda.

Sashimenon

Sashimenon is the Complex Director of Event Management overseeing banquets, event services, event technology, and the full event planning team. His career spans over two decades of progressive growth in food, beverage, and events; beginning as a banquet waiter at Sunway Hotel Penang in 2002. Advancing through supervisory and management roles at various hotels and subsequently was appointed as the Senior Sales Manager with full responsibility for catering revenue, budgeting, and team development.

A diploma holder in Hotel Management from Olympia College, Sashimenon brings to his role as Industry Advisor with Asianhotelier.Org the rare credibility of someone who has worked every level of the banquet and events operation making him a valuable guide for hospitality professionals navigating the path from frontline service to senior management.

Derrick Felix

Derrick Felix is a seasoned hospitality leader with over 29 years of experience across international and local hotel properties. Currently serving as General Manager within Marriott International, his career has spanned multiple senior leadership roles reflecting a consistent track record of operational excellence and financial delivery across diverse property types and market segments. His rise through the ranks is a compelling example of industry-grown leadership — shaped entirely through hands-on experience, on-the-job progression, and structured professional development, proving that talent and dedication are the most powerful qualifications of all.

A specialist in hotel pre-openings, Derrick has successfully led the launch of multiple properties, with several achieving GOP and EBITDA targets within months of opening. His early career grounding in Food & Beverage and banquet management gives him a strong end-to-end understanding of hotel operations that continues to inform his general management approach today.

As an Industry Advisor with Asianhotelier.Org, Derrick brings a practical, results-driven perspective shaped by nearly three decades on the frontlines of hotel leadership. His passion for developing leaders, empowering teams, and building commercially sound yet people-focused operations makes him a valuable voice in guiding the next generation of hospitality professionals across the region.

Benjamin Ng

Benjamin Ng is a versatile and agile hospitality leader with over 15 years of experience specialising in Food and Beverage, marked by a proven track record of building high-performing teams and aligning commercial and operational objectives.

Across senior regional and property-level roles, Benjamin has led strategic repositioning of outlets to drive revenue growth, delivered significant gains in guest and service satisfaction through training and process improvement.

He has directed large-scale food and beverage loyalty programmes spanning multiple markets, launched initiatives that meaningfully increased member engagement and revenue, and led enterprise partnerships and market activations that strengthened brand reputation across the region.

Benjamin brings a rare blend of commercial acumen, operational discipline, and marketing insight to the table, underpinned by fiscal diligence in P&L management and business planning. His depth of practitioner experience across multi-outlet, multi-market food and beverage operations makes him a valuable contributor to Asianhotelier.Org’s mission of developing the next generation of hospitality professionals across Asia.

Justine Nadan

Justine Nadan is a food and beverage leader with extensive experience managing complex, multi-outlet hotel and lifestyle dining operations across international and premium hospitality brands. Her career reflects a consistent pattern of leading properties through pre-opening launch phases, building departments from concept development and budgeting through to full operational readiness, recruitment, and training. She combines strong operational leadership with creative concept development and market-driven food and beverage programming, having played a central role in opening and shaping multiple outlets spanning all-day dining, specialty restaurants, lounges, and banquet and event spaces.

Justine has consistently delivered strong commercial outcomes, significantly elevating guest satisfaction and reputation scores across major review platforms. Her experience also extends to mentoring outlet leaders and department heads, designing performance incentive programmes, and ensuring full regulatory and brand compliance across diverse hospitality environments.

Justine’s depth of practitioner experience across pre-opening leadership and multi-outlet operations reflects the kind of industry-grown expertise that strengthens hospitality standards across the region. Her insights support Asianhotelier.Org’s mission of developing the next generation of hospitality professionals across Asia.

Rajaram Nagoo

Rajaram Nagoo is a seasoned hospitality executive with over three decades of progressive leadership culminating in extensive General Manager experience across luxury and upscale hotels in Malaysia, China, and Singapore. His career reflects a rare depth of expertise in hotel pre-opening and reopening leadership, having directed the launch of numerous properties from the ground up, as well as leading the strategic revitalisation.

His leadership spans both general management and earlier specialisation in food and beverage operations, giving him a well-rounded command of commercial strategy, financial governance, and operational execution. He has also built a strong track record in talent development, having mentored and grown teams across multiple properties and markets throughout his career.

Rajaram’s breadth of experience, from food and beverage leadership to full hotel general management across pre-opening, turnaround, and stabilisation contexts, reflects the kind of industry-grown expertise that strengthens hospitality leadership standards across the region. His insights support Asianhotelier.Org’s mission of developing the next generation of hospitality professionals across Asia.