Service Culture - Global Speakers Bureau

Gerald Lawless is the recent CEO of Jumeirah Group, leading the team that built it into a global brand.

Lawless joined Jumeirah in 1997 as its Founding CEO. He started with a team of less than 30 employees and grew it to more than 14,500 by the time he stepped down in early 2016. During this time Jumeirah’s international portfolio expanded to 23 hotels in 12 destinations by February 2016 with more than 100 food and beverage outlets. Other company divisions included Talise (Jumeirah’s wellness brand), Wild Wadi Waterpark and The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.

Lawless has built Jumeirah’s service philosophy on its brand promise of STAY DIFFERENT. It recognises that everyone is different which is why each of the Jumeirah properties is different and has a solid connection with its local community and culture. He personally took part in every orientation for new employees who joined the organisation through the years.

Gerald Lawless started his career with Forte Hotels which culminated in him setting up and growing Forte’s operations in the Middle East. Taking on the challenge of launching Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel, after the successful introduction of Jumeirah Beach Hotel to an eager travelling public, Lawless went on to become President and Group Chief Executive Officer of the Jumeirah Group.

At the beginning of 2016 Lawless assumed a new leadership position responsible for tourism and hospitality in Dubai Holding, the Group’s parent company. He is also head of the World Travel and Tourism Council, and is on the Future of Mobility Council for the World Economic Forum.

Italo Cardoza, is a free thinker, iconoclastic and specialist of human potential, driven and seduced by the many in-situ experiences about how in a hypercompetitive era, talents and its attributes manage to seduce, astonish and attract in an exceptional way.

Founder and Executive Director of ZONBI Activation Agency, agency for activating and discovering talents for differentiation, based on talent and passion as a mantra and business philosophy. Technically connected with Marketing to position people, products and cultures. With transformative focus towards students, professionals in and out company, executives, entrepreneurs, Change Makers, and culture redesigns from the base of talent.

Italo has given in 10 years, conferences to more than 20,000 students in Latin America, training teachers, deans, entrepreneurs, companies, his social spirit leads him to train young people in high school, unemployed people, in order to reach their opportunities. He is Business administrator and Commercial Engineer with specialties in Marketing, human talent, International Trade and Emotional Intelligence for labor management, Coach for the discovery of talent, Marketing coach, Marketing and entrepreneurship teacher and human capital. International speaker for corporate and educational entities in Latin America, with 10 years of experience for multinational companies of the customer experience, retail and Human Capital.

In his presentations to the world of entrepreneurship and corporate and invitation to the educational world evokes the message: "In everything you do, design, communicate, create, position, Is there something of you in everything you do? Are you in what you really are passionate about? ", The differentiation in its various definitions begins when you PASS your PASSION on whatever you do, this bases the attraction at all levels. This led him to create the path, "Talent, Passion and Market", irreverent and high impact theme for the educational and corporate world.