Deepak Ohri

Graduating from the Institute of Hotel Management and the Indian Institute of Management, he started his career at the Indian Tourism Development Corporation before working at some of the leading hotel groups in the world. Ohri’s tenure has included high-profile hospitality groups Kempinski Hotels and Taj Hotels.[6]

In 2003 Ohri founded lebua Hotels & Resorts. Having seen that guests were craving something more than the ‘standard hotel experience’ he set about transforming the hospitality offering.

Starting with one single restaurant within the famous State Tower Bangkok, he then took the reins of Challenge Hospitality, re-branding it as lebua and setting out to develop a complete hospitality destination that not only provided guests with a luxurious place to stay, but surpassed expectations by providing unparalleled guest experiences. Today, the State Tower Bangkok houses two hotels and 11 restaurants and bars, including the famous Sky Bar where The Hangover Part II was shot.[7]

The brand now also has properties two properties in India[8] and one in New Zealand.

2019

• World Travel Awards - World's Leading Travel Personality[9][10]
• Asia’s Greatest Brands & Leaders – Global Asian of the Year[11] 

2018

• Brand Vision Award 2018 - The Extraordinaire Award[12]

2013

• The Stars of the Industry Group 2013 – THOUGHT LEADERS AWARD for Innovation in Hospitality[13]

2012

• The Indira Group of Institutes, India[14]
• The Achievers and Leaders Award, CMO Asia & Asian Confederation of Business[15]

2011

• The Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards for 2011– 2013: The Best in Asia Entrepreneur of The Year Award[16]

2008

• The Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards for 2008 – 2010: Most Enterprising Entrepreneur Award[17]

2007

• Art of Travel the Ultimate Luxury Travel Book, Netherlands 2007/2008 – Entrepreneur of The Year Quality Award

2003 - 2019

• INSEAD Business School of the World, Paris[18]
• Harvard Kennedy School, US[3]

• Harvard Business School[19]
• New York Times International Luxury Conference[20]
• WTTC, Brazil[21]
• WTTC, Thailand[22]
• WTTC, Spain[23]
• Entrepreneurial Summit of IIM Bangalore, India[24]
• India Conference, Harvard[25]
• India Conference, Columbia Business School[26]
• INSEAD Global Luxury Forum, Switzerland[27]

• World Travel and Tourism Council, Japan[28]
• Global Tourism Economy Forum, China[29]

• The Economy Hotels World Asia Conference, Singapore
• Real Estate Funds and Emerging Markets Conference, NYC[30]

• The Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit, LA[31]

• Worldwide TRI*M Conference, New York

• Forbes Global CEO Conference, Singapore[32]
• Cityscape Conference, Singapore

• World Travel and Tourism Council Global Travel and Tourism Summit.[23]

Ohri has lectured at many prestigious business schools including Harvard Business School[33], Columbia University[34], NYU Stern School of Business[1], and MIT Sloan[35]. He also provides mentorship to business students, giving them career advice and industry insight.