UK Menon

U K Menon is a lawyer-educator with four decades in education. He now specialises in the law and policies of education, with a broad interest in all areas of education, including hospitality education.

His initial hospitality exposure came through teaching at MARA Institute of Technology, where he created a legal environment course for the industry. In 1993, while heading Stamford College’s academic division, he observed that hospitality was a major enrolment area; the American Hotel and Lodging Association partnered with Stamford, and Menon received the Lamp of Knowledge award jointly with a colleague for his contributions.

Throughout his career, Menon has held positions including Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Wawasan Open University, Director of Studies and CEO at Stamford College Malaysia, and Associate Director of the Asia Law Centre at the University of Melbourne, teaching corporate and professional legal practice across Malaysia, Australia, and the United States.

In 1995, the University of Melbourne recognised him as an Honorary Visiting Scholar. More recently he designed higher education capacity-building programmes in Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tanzania, developed courses on privacy and data protection laws, and co-founded the Data Science Association.

In 2019, the Ministry of Higher Education appointed him as a consultant to review and harmonise higher education laws. He currently leads Espact Education, a company he set up with senior academics from around the world to continue playing a role in education.

Richard Christopher

Having acquired a taste for flying through the Singapore Junior Flying Club while schooling, Richard enrolled in the Republic of Singapore Air Force to fly. He obtained his Flying Wings in 1983 and retired in 2011. In that time he was privileged to interact with and learn from some of the best people and organisations across different continents, acquiring deep knowledge and experience in leading people, formulating and implementing strategies, and transforming organisations.

In the early 2000s he became interested in sustainability and began equipping himself with the necessary knowledge — one of his first courses being the Singapore Certified Energy Manager course, certified by the National Environment Agency. He established Green Ravolution Pte. Ltd. to translate aspects of the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint into action, specifically in recycling and energy efficiency.

Throughout his public and business life, Richard has always believed that continuous education is a critical part of being able to perform at the highest levels. He is excited to play a constructive role in advising and supporting education in the hospitality sector.

Prof Dominic Szambowski

Professor Dominic Szambowski, PhD, has an extensive background in international hospitality education and a reputation for bringing transformational change within institutions he has led. He has held senior positions in Malaysia, USA, Australia, and Switzerland.

He held several key roles in Asia-Pacific, including Vice Chancellor of BERJAYA University College of Hospitality, Kuala Lumpur, President/CEO at INTI International College, Subang – for the Laureate International Universities group and CEO of the International College of Management Sydney in Australia.

He also has experience of the Chinese market gained during his time with the Blue Mountains Group and with their campuses in Tianjin and Suzhou.

More recently, he has led transformations at both the Swiss Hotel Management (SHMS) School and Cesar-Ritz Colleges in Switzerland initiating a process of revitalization of the curriculum to ensure industry relevancy. While leading SHMS the institution rose to being #2 in the QS Subject Rankings for Hospitality & Leisure.

As an Australian currently residing in Switzerland, Dominic is an avid footballer and afficionado of the World Game.