HMCA 2024: Organizers Unveil Speakers, Panelists, Urge Industry practitioners to be Part of Conference

Renn, E. Offor

Organizers of the yearly Hotel Managers Conference & Awards (HMCA) have unveiled speakers and panelists for this year's 6th Hotel Managers Conference & Awards tagged Lagos 2024 with theme, “Innovative Strategies: Nurturing Resilience and Excellence in Guest Experience in African Hospitality”. The Conference is set to hold on the 13th & 14th July, 2024 inside the Grand African Ballroom, Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos State, the economic Capital of Nigeria.

The speakers for this year, as always, were carefully selected from hospitality industry experts whose impacts continue to shape the hospitality industry in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Shedding light into the prime of importance the speakers play in this year’s conference, Mr. Olugbenga Omotayo Sunday, CEO Tojum Hospitality and Chief Convener of the Hotel Managers Conference & Awards explained that the speakers are the ones whose job enable the effective achievement of the ridding theme for this year’s conference.

“Each of the speakers form the core of the faculty that drives home the theme of the conference and the achievement of every delegate's transforming experience through impartation of knowledge, practical trainings and group engagements to stimulate the change we desire in the managers who attend this year's HMCA.

‘The faculty speakers for this year are men and women who have vast experiences about the hospitality industry in Africa and across all the continents of the world. The cumulative years of the experience of the speakers is over a hundred and fifty years! And all that knowledge would be condensed into 2 days!

‘So, HMCA Lagos 2024 promises to be a potpourri of an immersive and engaging atmosphere, interactive, high networking and mentorship opportunities are all available at the HMCA Lagos 2024’, Mr. Sunday Olugbenga concluded.

The Hotel Managers Conference & Awards, Lagos 2024 would have two Lead Speaker. One is Mr. Olufemi Falebita MIH. He is the current Regional Chairman, Institute of Hospitality UK, Nigeria. His core hospitality expertise centers around Operations Turnaround, Change Management and Branding. The other Lead Speaker is Mr. Bayo Adedeji. Mr. Bayo Adedeji is the present Group Chief Executive Officer at Wakanow. Mr. Adedeji is a proven expert as a Growth Hacker, a Turnaround Expert, Product Innovator, Finance Leader and Profitability Driver.

Other notable Guest Speakers at the conference includes Mr. Karl Hala, one of the most distinguished icons of the hospitality business and he is the current Group General Manager of Continental Hotels Nigeria. He would be giving the Welcome Address as host General Manager! Having spent over 50 years in the industry, Karl Hala carries a remarkable portfolio with outstanding impact in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Europe.

Dr. Michael Pinder, current General Manager of JS Signature Hotel, Port  Harcourt, Rivers State would also be speaking. Dr. Pinder is an astute hotelier with nearly four decades in the industry covering four continents. Another Guest Speaker is Lydia Aluoch Akunja. Lydia is a trainer and hotelier and currently lecturing in the department of Hotel and Hospitality Management at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya and she is currently pursuing her PHD. Another Guest Speakers is Mr. Enock Alumasi Makanga, Managing Director, Impart Chefs & Hospitality Academy Limited, Kenya. 

Chief Samuel O. Alabi, is another Guest Speaker. Chief Alabi is the Company Secretary and Chief Legal Officer for Eko Hotel & Suites. A position he has held for years. Then, Mr. Ekene Nnabuihe is another Guest Speaker of note. He is a expert Pan African Hotelier. And Guest Speaker is Benedicta Ogar, Lead Consultant, CityBee Consultants and Cavodah Hospitality.  

Panelists for the conference includes Mr. Danny Kiopouroglou, General Manager, Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos; Mr. Ahmed Raza, the General Manager, Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel Lagos. Then, Mr. Michael Williams, General Manager, Ebonylife Place, Lagos; Dr. Ekwunife Ifeanyi, Director of Operations, Goldenhut Hospitality Solutions Limited Nigeria and Funke Olusoga-Ogunlade, Hospitality and CX Expert, Founder, The FunkeO Company.

The Hotel Managers Conference was conceived and organized annually to build capacity in hotel Managers across Africa as we keep pushing, bridging the big gap between International Hospitality brands and Indigenous brands both in administration and general operation standards.

This 6th edition of HMCA is a Pan African edition and so would see Delegates, Sponsors and participants fly into Lagos from every State in Nigeria and not less than 15 African countries between 12th and 15th July 2024.

The Hotel Managers Conference & Awards was conceived and organized annually to build capacity in hotel Managers and Head of Departments of various hospitality brands in Restaurants, Bars and all the organizations across Africa as we keep pushing, bridging the big gap and building capacities in hotels in Nigeria and Africa to match what obtains in other hotels internationally, while recognizing and celebrating outstanding performances in hospitality outfits. The Conference is a platform where Hotel General Managers. Our core focus is to build capacities in managers through hospitality experts with global relevance in order to draw timely knowledge for professional exploits.