Having resided 30 years in Southeast Asia, Mark loves all things business, especially as it pertains to the travel, tourism, and hospitality sector — delivering exceptional service value to guests, and brand differentiation and bottom-line results to companies through innovative business models, performance-driven management, strong corporate values, and sensible technology solutions.
Mark officially joined forces with Willem in 2012 and helped grow and diversify Khiri Travel Group into YAANA Ventures and spawned new businesses including the development of Anurak Community Lodge in Khao Sok, Southern Thailand and Cardamom Tented Camp in Koh Kong, Cambodia as well as the development of the luxury Visama Lodge tented camp model. Mark is the chief architect and CEO of HMP Master Systems, a specialist 360-degree platform solution for boutique, independent hotels, and lodges on the IT platform side.
One of the highlights of Mark’s professional career is when he partnered with Bill Black — his mentor in all things hospitality — back in 2004 to launch Bed Management Company and later Ativa Hospitality, a specialist boutique hotel management company with a strong focus on sustainability and community experience, and then in 2010 with Chris Stafford of Silverneedle Hospitality and more recently The Orient & Occident Company. Rejoining forces with Bill and Chris, two of the best hoteliers in the business, along with Willem and Sunchai perfectly positions YAANA Hospitality to deliver maximum value to property capital funds in Thailand and the region.
Mark graduated from MIT in Mechanical Engineering and from the Wharton School with an MBA in Finance with Honors. Mark speaks seven languages to varying degrees of proficiency.
Mark sits on the Boards of two public companies in Thailand, BuilderSmart (BSM), where he serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee, and Chow Steel Industries (CHOW) as Independent Director.