Mr. Ramadan, co-founder, is responsible for the overall leadership, direction and development of the Company. Prior to founding HMC, Mr. Ramadan served as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Compaq Computer GmbH from 1987 to 1988. Mr. Ramadan received a degree in Business Administration & Electronic Engineering and an MBA.
Mr. Ramadan, co-founder, has served as Senior Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa since 1997. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Ramadan served as the Company’s Group Vice President, Americas. From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Ramadan led the Company’s international expansion efforts, initially targeting Canada and Europe. Mr. Ramadan holds a Masters of Economics.
Mr. Ramadan, co-founder, is responsible for the day-to-day management and strategic direction of the Company. Prior to his promotion to Senior Vice President in 2000, Mr. Ramadan served as the Group Vice President for the Americas (1997 to 2000), Group Vice President for EMEA (1992 to 1996), and Vice President of Operations (1988 to 1991). Prior to joining HMC, Mr. Ramadan worked for a predecessor company, serving as Manager of Sales and then as Director of Operations worldwide.
Carmen joined HMC in 1992 as a trainee manager just after graduating from the University of Barcelona with a B.A. degree in Marketing. From 1993 until 1995 she served as Program Manager in several Latin American Countries. In 1995 Carmen was promoted to the position of Director of Operations for Latin America and was instrumental in HMC’s growth in the region. In 1997 Carmen transferred back to Europe to start operations in Italy. Since then she was promoted in 1999 to the position of Director of Operations Southern Europe. In 2001 she was promoted to the position of Vice President Europe and General Manager Southern Europe. In 2005 Carmen was directly involved in the successful launch of HMC Portugal.
Before joining VOILÀ Hotel Rewards, Kool held the position of Executive Vice President with Carlson Marketing in Asia Pacific. During his six-year tenure, Kool was instrumental in Carlson Marketing’s entry into China, and also led Carlson’s large scale involvement in the Beijing 2008 Olympics and Shanghai World Expo 2010, supporting many of the world’s leading sponsor brands such as Kodak and UPS with their hospitality programs.
As Carlson’s Global Airline expert, Kool was responsible for leading the agency’s global airline vertical, supporting ten of the world’s leading frequent flyer programs in the areas of strategy, data mining, marketing communications, operations and IT. As the lead in Asia Pacific for Carlson’s Strategic Account Management project, Kool also leveraged Carlson’s global leading position in the marketing (Carlson Marketing), travel (Carlson Wagonlit Travel), and hospitality industries (Regent hotels, Radisson hotels, Park Plaza among others) to the benefit of Carlson’s client base.
Before joining Carlson in 2002, Kool was in charge of the development of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ frequent flyer programme, ‘Flying Dutchman’, while working for the Dutch airline in Amsterdam. Kool is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management Executive Leadership Program at the University of Minnesota, as well as an Alumnus from INSEAD University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Ms. Tang first joined HMC in 2000 as Area Director for the Americas where she was instrumental in the infrastructure development in the region and business expansion in Latin America. Prior to HMC, Ms. Tang was Director of Sales and Marketing for Le Meridien and the AAA 5-Diamond Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver, and subsequently opening General Manager for Sheraton le Soleil which was rated by J.D. Power and received 2nd place “Best in Brand” service award amongst 200 Sheraton hotels in North America. Ms. Tang has been a lecturer for travel schools, served on the board of directors for Tourism Vancouver, Vancouver Hotel Association and Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), and is currently an active member of Skål International.
Samira originally joined HMC in 2003 as Director of Business Development for the region. Prior to HMC, Samira’s career was in the Hotel industry and spanned over 19 years in various countries and Senior Management positions. Initially with Best Western Australia in the role of National and International Sales and Marketing Manager, then with Accor in the positions of Director of Sales and Marketing, Executive Assistant Manager and General Manager before moving to Asia. In Asia Samira resided in Korea and China as Director of Business Development / Executive Assistant Manager for the Hilton Group.
Janet Connolly began her career with HMC in 1993 as a Program Manager in the UK. Since that time, she has had the opportunity to work around the globe in each of HMC regions, including North America, Europe, South America, extensively in Asia Pacific and Australia, and, now in the Middle East. In 1995, Janet was an essential part of HMC’s founding Asia Pacific team, where she was responsible for launching programs in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Over the years, Janet has progressed through the ranks of HMC and she now leads Operations in the Middle East. Janet is also HMC’s dedicated trainer for all HMC Operations personnel & new employees.
Prior to joining HMC, Janet worked with companies such as Thomson Holidays (GUI) and Portland Direct Call Centre in Manchester. Janet trained with Trust House Forte hotel group while attending Tame side College of Technology, where she received a HND in Hotel Management.
Prior to his current position with HMC, Mr. Griffiths has served as the Vice President of Operations for the Asia Pacific Region for a total of five and a half years in two tenures coupled with a two year stint in the same capacity in the Middle East based in Dubai. Mr. Griffiths has been with the Company a total of 20 years, originally helping in the Company’s growth throughout Western and Eastern Europe.
Prior to joining HMC, Mr. Griffiths spent six years with Thomson Travel, the U.K.’s largest tour operator, where he served as both an Overseas Regional Manager based in Southern Europe as well as a Sales Development and Training Manager based in their London Corporate office. Mr. Griffiths holds a B.A. from Liverpool University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education Leeds Polytechnic.
Ms. Hu has served as the Worldwide Operations Controller over the last four years and as the Corporate Treasurer since the beginning of 2005. Ms. Hu has been with the Company a total of eight years in Finance and Accounting. Prior to joining HMC, Ms. Hu spent three years with Starbase Corporation, a software company, where she served as an Assistant Controller. Ms. Hu holds a MPA from University of Texas at Austin.
Richard Cawker joined HMC in October 1997 originally based at the Corporate Headquarters, California he later moved to Europe to help manage the rapid growth in the EMEA region. Prior to joining HMC Richard worked for Chantrey Vellacott, Chartered Accountants in London as a Senior Manager where HMC were amongst his client portfolio. Richard is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He also has a BSc Hons from Lancaster University.
Mr. Gorla joined HMC in May of 2004. As the company’s senior marketing and product development executive, Peter focuses on bringing value to HMC’s hotel partners through the enhancement of our E-Commerce and CRM products. In addition, Peter is also responsible for Strategy, E-Commerce and Mobile Marketing for VOILÀ Hotel Rewards.
Prior to joining HMC, Mr. Gorla was the Chief Marketing Officer for Taunovo Bay, a Fijian resort to be managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. Before Taunovo Bay, Peter co-founded the successful Internet start-up MUSICVIDEOS.com, which was acquired by LAUNCH.com (now Yahoo! Music) where Mr. Gorla served as the Vice President of Product Development. Mr. Gorla received a Bachelor of the Arts from University of California at Santa Barbara.