Guest Speakers

FABRICE TESSIER
VP SCHOOL RELATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS

Fabrice has been a member of the Accor family since the beginning of his career, having worked in three operational as well as two regional and four corporate offices. His achievements have been rewarded with a recognition Award from Ecpat NGO in 2004, a nomination for Innovation by The Hospitality Awards in 2010 as well as Company with best-recognized relations with schools in 2018 and 2019.

Fabrice Tessier started his career as a restaurant manager in Paris after his bachelor in Hospitality Management from Ecole Hôtelière de Paris. Loving the industry, he decided to pursue a career in hotel management and has worked in close areas of hotel operations, holding different positions including Trainer, and F&B Manager opening a Novotel in Comoros Islands. Fabrice’s passion has always been in developing talent within the organisation so the move into human resources was a natural progression.

He moved to the South Pacific Islands as Human Relations and Training Manager. He then pursued his studies with a certificate in Human Resources at Institut de Gestion Sociale in Paris and completed a Master’s in Human Resources Management & International Mobility at Paris Marne La Vallée University.

One of Fabrice’s most notable experiences in 2000 when he was appointed Vice President Human Resources Accor in Asia based in Bangkok. 22,000 employees were working in the organization including 260 expatriates in 10 Asian countries. In the region, he oversaw the implementation of remuneration systems, boosted mobility both within and outside the region, developed national managers, and organized training programs for all employees. There, with the support of other hotels, he developed a partnership with Ecpat to promote actions protecting children from sexual exploitation in the tourism industry. This led to an agreement by many hotels to sign a Code of Conduct between Ecpat with WTO and Unicef, now expanded within Accor. From there he moved to different positions in HR within Accor as VP HR, and Project Director

Since 2010 he holds the position of VP School Relations and Partnerships for Accor Group. His role is aligned with the future needs of recruitment for Accor, namely, to identify and develop partnerships with the best Hospitality Schools, Universities and Business Schools. The goal is to see an increasing number of graduates taking management positions within Accor for the benefit of our industry development.

Based in Paris, his department is part of the Hotel Services department in Corporate Talent &
Culture. Fabrice gives lectures about HR-related issues in a few Universities and represents Accor in several School and Institution boards. Additionally, he is coordinating actions in Europe and is an active supporter of the “Ecole d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme Paul Dubrule” in Cambodia.

THOMAS SLADKO
ISPD MANAGING DIRECTOR

Thomas Sladko is Managing Director of the ISPD Protocol & Diplomacy Academic Institute, based in Brussels. He is a strategic communication advisor, external affairs researcher and expert in the bilateral and international protocol.

During his 15-year professional career, he organised more than
300 high-level events such as receptions, state visits, representative journeys, state funerals, speeches and cultural nights. Thomas has worked with more than 70 nationalities and served in Vienna, Lisbon, Brussels, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Muscat.

Thomas served as Deputy Head of Protocol of the Austrian Federal Chancellery for nearly 10 years. Previously, he worked for the corporate communications department of Lufthansa in New York and as a journalist for different publications in Brazil and Austria covering European Union, economy and society features.

The debut of his career was in the Capital of Europe, Brussels at the regional European office of Carinthia (one of the Austrian regions).

As protocol expert, consultant and capacity building specialist, he served different European Agencies, governments and international organisations in reaching their higher standards in protocol and external communication. He was a leading expert in some of ISPD’s flagship projects for the Pentagon, the Dubai/UAE EXPO2020, Diwan of Royal Court Protocol of Oman, Frontex, PDO (Petrol Development Oman) among many others.

He is the author of various publications and articles such as “Protocol & Diplomacy Today – A collection of thoughts by leading experts” and Co-Author of the book “Soft Diplomacy – Modelling Global Interactions” adding to it various concept papers and research publications across industries.

Thomas Sladko holds Master Degrees in Communication Science & Philosophy and in Advanced Latin American Studies with a specialisation in Protocol. In 2021 he was awarded the Honorary Professor Title in Soft Diplomacy of the California Church and University Institute. Thomas speaks 5 languages.

KYLIE THUYEN
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER THE GRACE HOTEL, SYDNEY

I am proud and enthusiastic hospitality professional. I have
been in the industry since I graduated from HTMi in 2008, my passion and love for the industry are growing bigger by day. Thanks to the many career fairs organised by HTMi every semester, I was thrilled to secure the Front Office Management Trainee opportunity with the Rotana Hotels & Resorts group in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates before my graduation. The experiences I gained in my four and a half years in Dubai and Abu Dhabi across the Rotana, Jumeirah and the Shangri-La groups were priceless. It is such a wonderful industry that could open up endless travel opportunities and help to shape and build you with all these valuable soft skills for life.

In 2013, I took the chance to apply for the transfer from Shangri La Dubai to Shangri La Sydney. I truly fell in love with Sydney and has called this beautiful city home since.

During my 13 years of experience in hospitality, I have held various managerial positions in Front Office and Human Resources departments. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love within the industry I am so connected to all these years. It is 13 years and counting

JOHN LOHR
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION HOSCO

John Lohr currently serves as Hosco’s Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation. He is a Glion Switzerland graduate who has amassed over 12 years of hospitality, tourism and education business development work experience in +40 countries.

For Hosco, John leads the partnership development with hospitality schools, departments, associations and national organizations. Earlier, John worked with IHG hotels in Thailand and India and served as the Director of Business Development for the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) in Europe. He has also held various board positions for EuroCHRIE, the Council of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Educators and is a member of multiple global hospitality education and training associations.

John resides in Poznan, Poland with his family and regularly visits the Hosco global headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.