Introducing the first names announced for AHEAD Asia 2026 judging panel, comprising the APAC region's leading architects, interior designers and developers.
AHEAD follows a carefully developed judging process to ensure a rigorous and balanced approach, with the criteria for success based not only on creative excellence and guest experience but commercial viability.

Chris Godfrey is Global Co-CEO of HBA, the world’s leading hospitality design firm. An award-winning RIBA Chartered Architect with over 25 years of international experience, he leads more than 1,500 employees across 25offices worldwide from the firm’s global headquarters in Singapore.
Since joining HBA in 2014 to establish HBA Residential, Chris has transformed the studio into a global leader in integrated design, expanding the firm’s scope beyond hospitality interiors to include architecture, landscape, lighting, art consultancy, product design, and brand strategy. Appointed Global Co-CEO in 2022, he has introduced
Aik Wee Ong is Senior Director Asia Pacific.
Aik Wee is part of the Senior Leadership Team and oversees the business across Asia Pacific, leading a team of seven. His return marks a homecoming, as he previously spent over a decade with Design Hotels prior to 2020, playing a key role in shaping the brand’s commercial presence across the region and building long-standing relationships with member hotels and regional partners.
“Aik Wee brings a rare combination of commercial acumen, a refined design eye, and deep regional insight,” said Stijn Oyen, Managing Director of Design Hotels. “His understanding of both the brand’s creative ethos and the evolving dynamics of the Asia Pacific market makes him exceptionally well placed to lead our next phase of growth in the region.”
Aik Wee rejoined Design Hotels following his most recent role as Deputy Managing Director at a Singapore-based, design-and-build studio, where he led a multidisciplinary team and gained hands-on experience scaling a business, developing talent and navigating a highly entrepreneurial environment.
Aik Wee returned at a pivotal moment as Design Hotels’ footprint across Asia Pacific continues to evolve. He will work closely with Design Hotels’ global teams, member hotels and regional partners to support sustainable growth while preserving the brand’s distinctive identity.

Aldwin Ong is more than an interior architect—he is a storyteller, crafting immersive narratives that transcend time, place, and expectation. With an illustrious career spanning Wilson Associates, Aston Design, LTW Designworks, and now as Senior Vice President for CCD’s Asia Pacific HQ in Singapore, he has shaped some of the world’s most evocative hospitality spaces, each infused with a signature blend of artistry, wit, and soul.
Renowned as a thought leader in global hospitality design, Aldwin has garnered the trust of the industry’s most prestigious brands, not just for his visionary approach but for his relentless pursuit of the unexpected. His philosophy—“Why Not?”—challenges conventions, breathing life into spaces that spark emotion and provoke curiosity.
Trained as an architect with a fine arts foundation, his design language is deeply rooted in the symbiosis of architecture and art. His love for the culinary and the arts finds its way into his creations, where the alchemy of flavors and forms merge into spatial poetry—each space a canvas, each experience a composition of nostalgia, provocation, and delight.
With over 20 years of shaping luxury and lifestyle hospitality, his work stretches across, yet remains profoundly personal—imbued with a sense of place, memory, and the quiet power of storytelling.

Belinda is Senior Director Interior Design at Marriott International Global Design Asia Pacific Excluding China. In this capacity she leads the MI GDAPEC Interior Design team who together are responsible for the design and design direction of more than 600 open properties across 25 brands in 22 countries and territories across APEC, as well as close to 400 properties in the pipeline.
An award-winning interior designer and seasoned industry leader, she brings a diverse background that provides a unique basis for her work. More than 25 years of progressive professional experience informs her approach to design, which reflects a disciplined balance of practical considerations and creative aesthetic awareness. Passionate about Hospitality Design and deeply committed to excellence in design, Belinda has led and mentored teams of international designers throughout her career, building strategic relationships with key stakeholder groups including major international operators beyond MI. Currently focused on shaping aspiring design careers, Belinda champions the freedom to Be Extraordinary and takes an inordinate amount of joy in the continued development of opportunities for others.

As Founder and Creative Partner of BLINK Design Group, Clint Nagata has spent nearly two decades inspiring spaces that transcend their moment—designing legacies that hold meaning long after the first guests arrive.
Born and raised on the Hawaiian island of Oahu in a Japanese-American family, Clint’s passion for travel, hospitality and culture shaped his earliest understanding of design: that the most powerful spaces are those rooted in narrative, reverence for place, and emotional resonance.
After thirteen years at WATG in Honolulu, where he left as their youngest partner, Clint established BLINK in 2006—drawn by a fascination with Asian design vernacular and the desire to create something stronger than an individual thought.
That founding vision has evolved into BLINK’s guiding philosophy: Designing Legacies—a commitment to creating spaces that feel inevitable, that belong to their setting with cultural authenticity, timeless elegance and purpose.
BLINK has grown from its first studio in Bangkok to an international design house with established presences in Singapore, Dubai, and—as of November 2025—London. The London studio marks a pivotal moment in BLINK’s global journey, expanding the group’s creative influence across Europe and bringing together an elite team of visionaries and strategists.
A rising force on the international design stage, BLINK is a collective of bold thinkers united by an open-minded approach and restless enthusiasm for exploration. Clint’s constant journeying through diverse cultures and landscapes has shaped the studio’s ethos and attracted some of the industry’s brightest talent.
Clint sets the strategic direction across all BLINK studios and oversees every project from conception through completion. Calm, approachable, and thoughtful, his character is woven into every interaction at BLINK—from the innovative S.W.A.P exchange programme that fosters collaboration between international studios, to the Wish To Remember scholarship that sends designers across borders to explore new cultures and techniques.
Design, for Clint, is an act of exploration. While luxury hotels and resorts remain central to BLINK’s portfolio—collaborating with world-leading brands including One&Only Resorts, Six Senses, Banyan Tree, Nobu, Park Hyatt, Orient Express, Mandarin Oriental, Waldorf Astoria and Alila—the studio has expanded into branded residences and destination spas, shaping some of the world’s most celebrated destinations from Bali to Kyoto, the Maldives to Mauritius, and now across Europe with landmark projects including Six Senses Loire Valley Residences and a timeless Normandy retreat.

Hayley is Co-founder of Melbourne based Interior Architecture & Design studio, Mitchell & Eades, and is an internationally acclaimed designer with a career spanning three continents. Mitchell & Eades combines timeless sophistication with a contemporary vision of human experience creating design that delivers the authenticity that people crave. With a focus on spaces which cannot be tethered to a single point in time, combined with a level of empathy for design which extends far beyond the aesthetic, Mitchell & Eades insights translate into award-winning, multi sensory, design experiences.

Kesaté B. Tadesse is a principal and managing director at AvroKO's Bangkok Studio, specialising in luxury hospitality projects throughout Asia and the extended region for established and emerging brands. He oversees design, strategy and overall culture and operations of the studio to develop world-class hospitality environments for clients.
Kesaté has over 17 years of experience working on and leading architecture and interior design projects ranging from hospitality and residential to commercial and retail spaces for clients across the private and commercial sectors. Having worked on projects in the US, China, South-East Asia, and the Middle East, his designs integrate a global perspective while emphasising the unique characteristics of local environments. He's worked on large-scale architecture projects as well as community-based projects—including collaborations with local artists and design-build projects in rural areas.
Kesaté graduated with Bachelors of Architecture (B.A.) and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from City University of New York and has taught architecture at the university level in Thailand.

As Design Director at BAR Studio, Lucas leads a team of designers and stakeholders on luxury hotel projects in diverse destinations.
Over the past 20 years as a cross-disciplinary designer, Lucas has created award-winning projects of varied scale – from large architectural typologies to hospitality interiors and bespoke products. His dynamic career has seen him work independently as an architect within his own practice and as a design lead with renowned firms. Today, he brings this innate ability to shift between macro and micro processes to BAR Studio, resulting in deeply engaging, connected designs.
Originally from New Zealand, Lucas’ dedication to international design culture has led him to live in Japan, China and Europe, with a base in Melbourne, Australia.

Masayuki is the Chief Development Officer for Trunk Hotels & Resorts based in Tokyo. He is responsible for the expanding Trunk development in Japan and global. He also served as the Chief Creative Officer and led the team of architectural and interior design, concept and planning to deliver successful opening of Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park which received the AHEAD Asia - Hotel of the Year and ranked #4 for the AHEAD Global – Accolades in 2024.
Educated in Switzerland and the US., Masayuki has over 22 years’ career in the luxury hospitality industry, he has a wealth of experience working with leading hotels, specifically at Park Hyatt Tokyo, Park Hyatt Shanghai, Andaz Tokyo and Andaz Maui. He has an extensive background in hotel operations, sales & marketing, creatives and development.

Nilgun Arsankan is Executive Vice President, Projects at The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, where she oversees the global development and transformation of The Peninsula Hotels and the Group’s wider portfolio of residential, commercial, and mixed-use properties.
With over 25 years of international project experience, she has delivered high-profile hospitality, cultural, commercial, and infrastructure developments for institutions including The Peninsula Hotels Group, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and New York University.Trained as an architect with a master’s degree in civil engineering and construction management, Nilgun brings a rigorous, design-led and execution-focused perspective to complex projects worldwide.

Phillip Pond is the founder and principal of Atelier Pond, an international hospitality design studio with roots in New York and Bangkok and a portfolio spanning hotels, resorts and restaurants across Asia, the Americas and beyond.
With three decades of experience, Phillip has led design at some of the industry's most respected firms, including Yabu Pushelberg and AvroKO, where he served as Chief Creative Officer before establishing Atelier Pond in 2019. His studio's work is anchored in a conviction that has become, for him, almost a credo: that the most resonant hospitality design is derived from the living culture of a place — drawn out of it, coaxed from it — never imposed upon it from above.
This philosophy has shaped landmark projects including AER at the Four Seasons Mumbai and the Bardo Savannah — where Atelier Pond adapted a cluster of historic structures into a layered urban resort whose program, spaces and design language all take their cues from the social traditions of the city itself. The awards have followed: AHEAD in both Asia and the Americas, Interior Design, Michelin, among others.
The Atelier Pond approach integrates deep expertise in food and beverage operations, brand strategy and architectural storytelling — producing spaces that don't merely reference their communities, but function as genuine extensions of them.

As Vice President of Design at Shangri-La Group, Teresa oversees the design direction and execution of a global portfolio of luxury hospitality projects. With an architectural background and over 25 years of industry-leading interior design experience, she brings an astute, holistic perspective that bridges bold aesthetic innovation with rigorous operational feasibility.
Teresa’s career is rooted in a deep passion for hospitality design, having honed her expertise in the competitive luxury landscape of London before joining Shangri-La. Throughout her tenure, she has mentored international design teams, partnered with renowned designers to create iconic guest experiences, and delivered numerous award-winning projects. Her breadth of hospitality knowledge seamlessly integrates high-level design strategy with meticulous project management, ensuring that every space is as functional as it is memorable.

Mr. Yang Bangsheng is one of the most influential interior designers in Asia and an advocate of China's culturally distinctive hospitality design.
With 30 years of experience of forward-looking concept and sticks to the design philosophy of "Made in Nature". Mr. Yang leads YANG in edging into global hotel design giants, provide services for more than 700 quality hotels including those under lHG, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Kempinski, and Banyan Tree.
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RH Contract provides a business-to-business partnership like no other in the industry. With our multi-category product assortment, unparalleled product design and curation capabilities, uniquely integrated interior design approach, the benefits of RH’s purchasing power, and our global supply chain and logistics scale, RH Contract has proven to be a unique, valuable project partner.
Visit siteWe’re the leading B2B media company in hospitality design
We create content and commercial solutions to connect communities developing exceptional hospitality experiences around the world. We’ve been publishing beautiful magazines, curating exceptional events and crafting online content since our launch in 1999.
Visit siteThe brand Lasvit, founded in 2007 by Leon Jakimič, sheds new light on Bohemian glass and takes it into the next millennium. Lasvit combines the authenticity of glass craft with innovative technologies and creative craftsmanship. In a few short years, Lasvit has established itself as the authority delivering bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations made from hand-blown glass.
Collaborations with renowned designers and artists produce also unique glass collections. Nendo, Ross Lovegrove, Daniel Libeskind, Maarten Baas, Czech legends René Roubíček and Bořek Šípek are among those who choose Lasvit in order to embody their unconventional artistic vision, endow it with the precision and mastery of our glassmakers, and produce impressive creative oeuvre. This is a manifesto of Lasvit’s uncompromising mission: To transform glass into breathtaking light and design experiences.
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TOPHOTELPROJECTS is the heart of a global community of suppliers and decision-makers which initiates and supports the communication relating to building, design, furnishing, and operation of hotels.
We are a German research firm covering global hotel constructions, that over a decade branched out into hospitality events, media, and hotel design.
No other company comes close in supporting the hotel industry by efficiently combining different business areas into one integrated solution.
Ever since the hotel industry veteran Rolf W. Schmidt founded the company in 2009, our core activity is building the world’s most comprehensive directory of:
We took the complex, ever-evolving global hospitality industry and introduced it to our German sense of efficiency and sheer hard work.
Our research team of some 25 experienced professionals spends 1,800 hours a month researching hotel projects around the world.
Our database has been 10 years in the making, during which we gathered information on over 24,000 hotel projects and 120,000 related companies. Currently, our database has information on more than 6,500 ongoing hotel projects worldwide – important details included.
TOPHOTELPROJECTS today represents an exhaustive, ever-growing network of professionals from all major sectors of the hospitality industry: owners, developers, investors, brands, operators, architects, designers, and suppliers.
In 2019, TOPHOTELPROJECTS and Sleeper Media signed a strategic partnership with mutual co-investment. This partnership combines digital expertise and in-depth data of TOPHOTELPROJECTS with Sleeper Media’s leading hospitality offerings. It is all about synergy and a win for all sectors of the industry.
Visit siteKALDEWEI – your worldwide partner for iconic bathroom solutions shaped from superior steel enamel. KALDEWEI’s extensive range of bathtubs, shower surfaces, and washbasins are ideally suited to the demands of the hospitality industry delivering an increased level of health and wellbeing awareness for your hotel. The smooth, non-porous glass surface not only gives you security against germs and dirt but is also the material of the future. KALDEWEI steel enamel is made of 100% natural materials and is 100% recyclable, so it’s good for your guests and the planet too.
To learn more visit KALDEWEI.com
Visit siteFounded in 1892 in Switzerland, LAUFEN has become one of the world's leading companies for sanitary ceramics. Today LAUFEN Bathrooms provided integrated bathroom concepts with high-quality products, ranging from sanitary ceramics to bathtubs and shower trays, furniture, faucets, and accessories.
Visit siteDesigning and manufacturing everything in bathrooms.
Roca began life as a family business manufacturing cast iron radiators at a factory in Gavà, near Barcelona in 1917. Over the years, the portfolio gradually expanded and by 1929, Roca entered the bathroom environment for the first time. With an attentive focus on social changes, Roca has since been pioneering when tackling issues surrounding sustainability, design, and technology, and remains at the forefront of these innovations today. Today, Roca reaches over 170 countries, supplied by 76 production plants with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. After one hundred years, Roca is still proud to call itself a family business.
Visit siteVilleroy & Boch, formed in 1748, is a leading ceramics manufacturer steeped in European culture and history, and one of the biggest international premium brands in the areas of bathrooms and wellness.
Villeroy & Boch offers the finest and most innovative bathroom products and furnishing concepts for both private customers and property developers. The company is a pioneer in the realm of ceramic product design and innovation. Villeroy & Boch beautiful, high-quality products are hallmarks of French design flair and German engineering efficiency.
Visit siteMusic Concierge is one of the leading experts in the creation of brand identity through music, specialising in providing complex playlist solutions for some of the best-known names. For over a decade, we have been responsible for the signature sounds of internationally renowned hotel groups, iconic retailers and other branded spaces across the globe.
Visit sitePreciosa Lighting elevates the heritage of Bohemian crystal through contemporary lighting designs since 1724. The company is built on centuries of tradition and the unique art of master glassmakers from Crystal Valley. We honour this heritage and craftsmanship by creating innovative lighting products that stand the test of time.
Our lighting styles range from individual luxury lighting to dynamic and interactive installations. As a global company, Preciosa cooperates with designers worldwide to create exclusive lights that reflect our spirit. Our historic chandeliers and contemporary projects can be found in hotels, resorts, fine restaurants, luxury residences, cultural institutions and on board yachts and cruise ships in locations as varied as New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Moscow or London.
Preciosa Lighting can create unrivaled emotional experiences by combining the traditional art form of chandelier craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. This knowledge is what drives our intention to unveil the symbolic as well as the aesthetic power of decorative lighting. It led us to create Preciosa’s Signature Designs which are highlighted by countless customization possibilities to perfectly fit the owner’s desires.
Signature Designs are authentic, timeless, and celebrate design. We are inspired by the allure of crystal combined with light. Creative craftsmanship is evident through the versatility of each light; customizable for space and its uses. Preciosa’s advanced use of technology is seen in every element of the design. They present contemporary styles with a timeless quality.
Visit siteBorn in 2017 under the creative direction of Gil Saul, SOPHSTONE speaks to a niche clientele
which values individuality over current trends. Driven more by creativity than profits,
SOPHSTONE remains steadfastly independent. A family-owned boutique manufacturer,
providing the flexibility required to incorporate age-old techniques and old-world craftsmanship
absent in a market saturated by global brands.
Within the picturesque surroundings of the Malang Region of East Java, Indonesia, Gil borrows
inspiration, not from concrete and steel, but rather the harmony of living within nature. There is a
realization that tradition, craftsmanship, and innovation can coexist. Overcoming the familiar and
continually producing recognizable, ambitious, and culturally relevant luxury. The SOPHSTONE
brand is proudly manufactured entirely in-house, creating exclusive, original designs of
uncompromising quality.
No product created by the human hand will ever be without flaws, yet the human touch is vital to
SOPHSTONE’s philosophy of unrivaled craftsmanship. There is beauty within the subtle flaws of
imperfection and warmth in the human touch. At the same time, SOPHSTONE has standards
and practices throughout its manufacturing process that are as rigorous as any you’ll find in any
industry. The perfect balance between modernity and tradition.
Over the years, SOPHSTONE has been honored to be the chosen product in commercial
projects throughout the Americas and abroad. Ranging from hotels, resorts, restaurants,
schools, airports, and more. Whether it is a small independent location or a large scale
corporate project, SOPHSTONE is there to meet and exceed all expectations, on time and on
budget
Visit siteFor 30 years Gessi has been designing and creating concepts to enhance the use and benefits of water with the commitment to realise the aspirations of style, personalisation, physical and mental wellbeing of individuals in the most private of living spaces. Creating a new sector, the Private Wellness sector, Gessi has transformed places that were previously utilitarian into environments capable of exciting and regenerating those who live in them on a daily basis.
Created in a zero impact green park, the company's creations bring a message of beauty, love of nature, attention and safety for the user into the homes of those who choose them. The serenity and passion with which they are made, engraved in each object, give a positive vibration to whoever uses and enjoys them.
A global reference for lifestyle, innovation, design and sustainability, the Gessi collections furnish the world's most beautiful hotels, public spaces, yachts and private homes.
Visit siteThe Awards were first launched at the House of Lords in 2016 to recognise, celebrate and reward accessibility across hotels, restaurants and other public venues worldwide.
The judges focus on style, thoughtful design, innovation and liberty that delivers exceptional accessibility. The aim is to encourage hospitality industry bosses, architects and designers worldwide to consider ways in which they can address the current and future needs of disabled guests.
Visit siteWe shape dreams out of steel. And create bathrooms for the future. To achieve this, we have been making architectural bathroom products for perfect feel-good moments since 1952. And that you can rely on.
What do we rely on? On our consistency as a family company. Our roots in our East Westphalian home. And on our material: glazed titanium steel. We used it at our production site in Delbrück to create baths, washbasins and shower areas in flowing designs. For inspiring freedom.
Visit siteThe globally operating Geberit Group is a European leader in the field of sanitary products and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024. Geberit operates with a strong local presence in most European countries, providing unique added value when it comes to sanitary technology and bathroom ceramics.
The production network encompasses 26 production facilities, of which 4 are located overseas. The Group is headquartered in Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland.
Visit siteWith its brands hansgrohe and AXOR, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. The 120-year plus history of the company is marked by innovations, such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen faucet, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. Hansgrohe stands for long-lasting quality products and for responsibility towards people and the environment. Hansgrohe is a reliable partner to its customers worldwide, where countless projects show how hansgrohe showers turn the hotel bathroom into an oasis of wellness or how AXOR bathroom collections created in collaboration with international designers, complete the furnishing of a luxurious hotel, villa or high-end residential home. AXOR brand inspires, constructs and produces taps, showerheads and accessories for luxurious bathrooms and kitchens to perfection. While hansgrohe brand offers premium assortments in showers, faucets, washbasins, furniture and accessories. The company, its brands and products have collectively won more than 600 awards since 1974. Hansgrohe will continue to develop ground-breaking solutions that not only shape the flow of water but also enhance user’s daily interaction with it.
Visit siteWith its brands hansgrohe and AXOR, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. The 120-year plus history of the company is marked by innovations, such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen faucet, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. Hansgrohe stands for long-lasting quality products and for responsibility towards people and the environment. Hansgrohe is a reliable partner to its customers worldwide, where countless projects show how hansgrohe showers turn the hotel bathroom into an oasis of wellness or how AXOR bathroom collections created in collaboration with international designers, complete the furnishing of a luxurious hotel, villa or high-end residential home. AXOR brand inspires, constructs and produces taps, showerheads and accessories for luxurious bathrooms and kitchens to perfection. While hansgrohe brand offers premium assortments in showers, faucets, washbasins, furniture and accessories. The company, its brands and products have collectively won more than 600 awards since 1974. Hansgrohe will continue to develop ground-breaking solutions that not only shape the flow of water but also enhance user’s daily interaction with it.
Visit site