The TravMedia Summit

As Vice President of Global Air Account Management at Expedia Group, James Marshall leads the global team focused on growing relationships with, and developing new services for, airline partners. His role focuses on increasing the visibility and reach of air partners, attracting high-value customers from around the world to their offerings. By providing Expedia Group’s data insights and tools, technology and marketing solutions, Marshall helps airlines manage and grow their business.  

Marshall joined Expedia Group in 2010 after ten years in a variety of roles with Amadeus.

Marshall holds an MBA from INSEAD. He also graduated from ESCP Europe where he earned a master’s degree in international management. Marshall maintains triple citizenship from Spain, France and the UK and has lived in Asia for over 30 years. He currently resides in Singapore with his wife and two daughters.

Always a movement enthusiast, Heather has been teaching Pilates for over two decades. She is a Lead Educator for REAL Pilates and conducts multiple trainings in Hong Kong and Singapore each year. Heather opened Hong Kong’s Flex Studio in 2005 and Flex Studio Singapore in 2023. The studios have become the cities’ premiere fitness destinations and Classical Pilates Teacher Training Centres. Heather also leads annual retreats in Asia and workshops to empower people to take control of their physical well-being. Her interest in movement and the body stems from a decade-long training in classical ballet as a young girl and subsequent daily yoga practice while living in New York City in the 1990s.

Heather has degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Columbia Business School and extensive marketing experience with the Walt Disney Company. Her decades in the Pilates industry have led to an extensive network of connections, global resources, and a firm belief in the endless possibilities Pilates offers.

Richard Quest is CNN's foremost international business correspondent and anchor of Quest Means Business, the definitive word on how we earn and spend our money. Based in New York, he is one of the most instantly recognisable members of the CNN team.

Quest hosts CNN International's signature monthly feature program, Quest's World of Wonder, an immersive travel series that finds him exploring a new destination each month and meeting fascinating people who reveal the heart of that city.

Quest’s dynamic and distinctive style has made him a unique figure in business broadcasting. Quest Means Business destroys the myth that business is boring, bridging the gap between hard economics and entertaining television. Guests of the show have included world leaders such as David Cameron and Petr Necas of the Czech Republic; Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase and Robert Zoellick, the former President of the World Bank; European policymakers including IMF boss Christine Lagarde, EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn; and some of the most influential names in corporate America including DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

Quest also serves as CNN Business editor-at-large and often hosts the digital live financial show "Markets Now" live streamed from the floor of the NYSE at CNNBusiness.com. He regularly reports from G20 meetings and attends the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, each year. Quest has covered every major stock market and financial crisis since Black Monday in 1987 and has reported from key financial centres globally, including Wall Street, London, Sao Paolo, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

In addition, Quest is CNN's established airline and aviation correspondent, where he presents the monthly CNN Business Traveller show, the definitive authority on making the most of doing business on the road - moving from A to B on company time. As a business travel specialist, Quest has become a voice of authority on subjects like the launch of the Airbus A380. He has interviewed all the major airline executives, including current Delta CEO Ed Bastian, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes and President of Emirates Sir Timothy Charles Clark. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) awarded Quest the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award for his reporting on the travel business.

Quest extensively covered the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 across CNN/US and CNNI. He travelled to Kuala Lumpur, where he landed a television exclusive interview with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. His book 'The Vanishing of Flight MH370: The True Story of the Hunt for the Missing Malaysian Plane' details his unique perspective on covering MH370 for CNN.

Quest's coverage of breaking news, which has spanned more than three decades, has seen him report on a range of stories, from the death of Yasser Arafat and the Lockerbie Pan Am 103 crash to the death of Michael Jackson. Quest is more than just business; few journalists have had guests as varied, from His Holiness, The Dalai Lama to actress Joan Collins to the founder of Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner.

In 2014, Quest fronted the CNN Freedom Project documentary Cocoa-nomics, which explored how the chocolate industry is trying to eradicate slavery from its supply chains. Joined by an executive vice president at Nestle, Quest visited cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast to see if any progress had been made in the fight against child labour.

Prior to joining CNN, he worked at the BBC, where he was the North America business correspondent based on Wall Street for 12 years. Quest is British, holds an LLB (Hons) degree in Law from Leeds University, and was called to the Bar.

Aindrila has been the Editor for Robb Report India since June 2025. Previously, she was heading content for Times of India—OMS division, leading the digital footprint of Bombay Times and content for ET Panache Travel with Economic Times. Aindrila also spearheaded Burda Luxury India's flagship title: Travel + Leisure India & SA. She was responsible for turning around the T+L brand in India from 2018, wherein the title grew by over 300% in its digital reach, and she was instrumental in increasing readership of its print edition through strategic partnerships. Aindrila is a thought-leader in India's current media landscape and is responsible for turning around the brand perception of T+L in the Indian market through campaigns like #WhyWeLoveIndia and #GoingPlacesWithPeople, among many others.

Aindrila comes with over 22 years of experience in journalism, covering lifestyle, fashion, beauty and travel beats. She has handled diverse portfolios in her career tenure, both in print and digital, including leading the Indian license of the globally successful, Ziff-Davis-owned AskMen.com portal. Prior to this, for 11 years, she was a senior editor at Bennett & Coleman's Times of India Group, where she was responsible for luxury and lifestyle products, including being the founding editor of Femina Wedding Times, and launching iDiva.

With more than 20 years of experience in brand marketing and hospitality management, Candice spearheads brand initiatives to further solidify Hilton’s esteemed luxury positioning. Overseeing more than 60 trading and pipeline properties in Asia Pacific across the company’s three luxury brands: Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Candice is responsible for delivering on Hilton’s robust luxury growth momentum in the region, driving strategic brand development, and elevating service quality, brand value and performance.

Most recently, Candice served as Vice President of Luxury Brand Management & Marketing for Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Marriott International, overseeing luxury brand management, innovative brand marketing and strategic growth for its eight luxury brands across the region. Prior to that, she held key positions at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Emaar, overseeing various aspects of branding, marketing and communications in diverse markets. An astute hotelier with a keen understanding of the exclusivity, quality, and prestige that draw discerning travellers, Candice has built a strong reputation for driving brand distinctiveness and elevated guest experiences. Honed over two decades of international experience in the hospitality and luxury space, she excels in localising global strategies for luxury hotel openings and unique brand activations. Her success in this vast and multifaceted sector has been reflected through many prestigious awards, most notably being named #1 in "The Power of 25", Hotelier Middle East’s 2019 list of 25 influential women in hospitality and ranked among the top 50 storytellers of the region by Forbes Middle East.

A passionate advocate for developing female leaders and cultivating young talent, Candice empowers her teams to reach their full potential. Originally from India, she has built her career in the UAE and now resides in Singapore with her husband and two children, whom she often looks to for inspiration on how to further attract and engage an up-and-coming generation of travellers.

Sheema has been in the tourism, hospitality, and public relations industries for over two decades. She lived and worked in the U.S. for 8 years. Her experience includes sales and marketing, planning and implementing marketing strategies, consumer promotions, and developing and maintaining trade and media relationships. She is also the executive director of Mileage Communications (India). Her professional affiliations & memberships include IAC Chair for IPW since 2001; past President of SKAL International, Delhi Chapter; Executive Committee member of SITE, India. She is member of the Visit USA Committee and the past President of the Delhi chapter of Visit USA Committee.

Nick founded TravMedia in 1999 after ten years as travel editor of Courier Newspapers, Australia. His knowledge and contributions to the travel industry are extensive. Nick is a proud supporter of the SATW and sponsors the ONE Travel Conference Travel Writer Award for outstanding work in promoting US travel. He is an active member of the ASTW, a judge for the Gourmet Travel Annual Awards, and supports the British Guild of Travel Writers Awards and the ASTW Awards.

Nick created IMM 13 years ago, and The Summit 8 years ago. The platform also powers the online event marketplaces for IPW, Destination Canada’s Corroboree and ATE.

Adam runs the award-winning content portfolio for Hong Kong’s flag carrier airline Cathay Pacific, including its inflight magazine Cathay and online Inspiration content hub. Hong Kong born-and-raised, he’s worked in news and lifestyle, running Hong Kong’s city-living bible HK Magazine and joining the launch team for the South China Morning Post’s Inkstone vertical. He’s freelanced for CNN, the Guardian and Monocle, and wrote the Wallpaper* City Guide for Hong Kong. Adam spent five years on the board of The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong. He likes great food and interesting people, and finds that they often (although not always) go together.

Akshita leads the brand’s multi-platform editorial strategy, spotlighting luxury, lifestyle and conscious travel across the subcontinent and beyond. Under her leadership, Travel + Leisure India & South Asia has launched inaugural issues under themes such as Art, Sports, and Craft + Culture, in addition to content IPs that blend travel with culture and impact. Akshita is a TedX speaker and recipient of multiple accolades, including honours for her work in heritage tourism and sustainable development.

Melody has been the travel editor of The Star in Malaysia since 2017, but she has been a journalist - for the same company - for 29 years overall. She started her career straight out of school as an entertainment reporter, covering mainly music, film and theatre. Throughout her years in the entertainment scene, she had the chance to travel to many places around the world, covering movie/TV junkets and concerts and interviewing actors, filmmakers and singers, leading to an interest in travel writing.

After a few short stints in other sections, she finally took on the challenge of heading the travel desk in September 2017, which runs under The Star's features section called StarLifestyle. She kicked off her new role with work (and personal) trips to Bhutan, Mauritius, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and several places within Malaysia. And then the pandemic hit ...   She does not have "favourites" - destinations, experiences, food, cultures, people - only favourite memories of her travels. Or at least, the ones she can still afford to remember as she slowly enters her third decade in the media.

Xinyi is a seasoned travel trade journalist with nearly two decades of experience covering Asia Pacific's dynamic travel and tourism landscape. As Editorial Director at Northstar Travel Group, she leads the editorial strategy and direction for the company’s regional trade titles – Travel Weekly Asia and Meetings & Conventions Asia – delivering authoritative, insightful and engaging coverage of the region’s travel and business events industries.

Gaynor Reid has over 30 years of experience as a journalist, editor and PR specialist. Formerly Vice President Communications and CSR for Accor Asia Pacific for 20 years, she sat on the group’s Executive Committee and played a key role in setting Accor’s strategic objectives for the region. Reporting to the Chairman & CEO, she raised the profile of PR for the group and was responsible for building and protecting the brand’s reputation across 20 countries. Last year she set up her own PR agency, Catalyst Communications, serving the tourism and hospitality sector and her clients include Ovolo Hotels, Accor, and TravMedia.

Based in Hong Kong, Lilit is responsible for editing and reporting on travel news and trends in the Asia-Pacific region. She began her role with CNN Travel in New York and relocated to Hong Kong in 2019. Her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and The Atlantic. Marcus' first book, Save the Assistants: A Guide for Surviving and Thriving in the Workplace, was published by Hyperion. Lilit is fluent in American Sign Language and in French, and she enjoys using her language skills to cover interesting topics.

An engaged, dynamic and constantly curious writer, Karen is actively involved in the publishing scene and covers a broad range of topics that intersect with travel, including luxury, F&B, culture and wellness. She contributes regularly to publications including Channel News Asia, South China Morning Post, The Straits Times, The Peak, Prestige and Portfolio and has served as associate editor of Style: Weekly. She is happiest when uncovering the wonders and beauty of far-flung destinations around the globe, from the breathtaking Himalayas in Bhutan and Tibet to the fascinating history of Tunisia and the cultural and historical treasures of Uzbekistan.