Welcome to the bench

Our Team

Jonathan Worsley

Chairman & CEO
The Bench

Matthew Weihs

Commercial Director
The Bench

Ali Shahid

Marketing Director
The Bench

Daria Smith

Portfolio Director
The Bench

Jon Howell

CEO and Founder
AviaDev

Sally Marwaha

Operations Director
The Bench

Mala Patel

Event Director – Africa
The Bench

Tanja Millner

Production Director
The Bench

Marina Franolic

Head of Investor Relations
The Bench

Michelle Turney

Head of Sales & Partnerships, Saudi Arabia
The Bench

Olja Nicholl

Head of Sales and Strategic Partnerships, FHS World and Branded Residence Forum
The Bench

Muhammad Ahmed

Senior Digital Marketing Manager
The Bench

Diala Chamandi

Sponsorship Sales Manager
The Bench

Jay Green

Sponsorship Sales Manager
The Bench

Son-Trang Nguyen

Production Manager
The Bench

Joan Calimpong

Investor Relations Manager
The Bench

Laura James

Finance
The Bench

Asma Eladaoui

Account Manager
The Bench

Usama Aslam

Marketing Manager
The Bench

Abdur Raffey

Marketing Manager
The Bench

Bilal Haider

Operations Associate
The Bench

Ibrahim Mohsin

Marketing Associate
The Bench

Lyza Rashid

Marketing Associate
The Bench

Fatimah Ilahi

Production Associate
The Bench

Innara Perwaiz

Production Associate
The Bench

Kaisha Driscoll

Accounts
The Bench

SAHIC team

Arturo Garcia Rosa

President & Founder

Profile

Florencia Rufino

Managing Director

Profile

Pablo Garcia Rosa

Business Development Manager

Profile

Veronica Bracchi

Finance Manager

Profile

Graciana Garcia Iribarne

Strategic Advisor

Profile

Our journey

1998

Jonathan Worsley co-founds IHIF (International Hotel Investment Forum) in Berlin

2001

The data benchmarking company, The Bench is founded in London

2006

AHIC (Arabian Hotel Investment Conference) launched in Dubai hosted by the Jumeirah Group

2008

The Bench merges with STR Global. Sally Marwaha and Jennifer Pettinger become first employees of the business

2010

AHIF (Africa Hotel Investment Forum) launched in Casablanca, let by Matthew Weihs

2012

The Bench's Dubai office becomes operational

2015

The Bench acquires 50% of the SAHIC (South America Hotel Investment Conference)

2016

AviaDev Africa is launched with Jon Howell and Mala Patel in Kigali, Rwanda

2017

Digital Marketing division is launched by Ali Shahid

2018

Saudi Arabia Hospitality Investment Conference launched, hosted by DUR Hospitality

2019

The Bench acquires 100% of the Adriatic Hotel Investment Forum (now IDEEA, led by Marina Franolic)

2020

Launched the Digital Hospitality Tomorrow Series in April 2020 to 6000 industry delegates around the world.

2020

Future Hospitality Hybrid Summit launched with the G20 Secretariat

2021

The Bench Saudi Arabian offices become operational with Saudi national, Jana Bader, as General Manager

2021

Startup Den launched at Future Hospitality Summit in Dubai

2023

FHS Saudi, hosted by Al Khozama, takes place at Al Faisaliah Hotel for the first time to over 1000 delegates.

Our Values

01

We delight our customers by going the extra mile

02

We innovate and facilitate connections

03

We care about our communities and the environment

04

We create valuable experiences

05

We nurture relationships

The Bench Advisory Board

John Blakey

Founder – The Trusted Executive Foundation

Profile

Jennifer Fox

Industry Executive

Profile

David Keen

Founder & CEO
QUO

Profile

Marloes Knippenberg

Chief Executive Officer
Kerten Hospitality

Profile

Gerald Lawless

Ambassador
World Travel & Tourism Council

Profile

Haitham Mattar

Managing Director MEA & South West Asia
IHG

Profile

Anita Mendiratta

Special Advisor to the Secretary General, UNWTO

Profile

Gaurav Sinha

CEO & Chief Strategist
Insignia Worldwide

Profile

Nick van Marken

Managing Director
van Marken Consulting

Profile

Young Leader Advisory Board

Adnan Aleid

Senior Director, Royal Commission for Riyadh City

Profile

Nivesh Bhagtani

Founder, Young Hotelier Network

Profile

Shenin Hamid

Founder & CEO, Inspire Events

Profile

Stella van Toor

General Manager, Sustainable Hospitality Challenge

Profile