Mário Candeias is a hotel veteran, leading the most ambitious Iranian hotel project, Espinas Palace (Espinas Hotel Group), Tehran. Earlier he held key positions in Portugal’s benchmark hotel brands, Pestana and Tivoli (owned by Minor Hotels, Thailand) and served as Regional Director and General Manager for the flagship properties of these renowned brands, several members of The Leading Hotels of the World. He spearheaded many branding/marketing concepts and industry-wide events that helped advance the hospitality sector in Portugal. With degrees in Hospitality and Marketing, plus an MBA, he also coursed Executive Education programs at Cornell University (USA), Lausanne (Switzerland), Harvard (USA), and INSEAD (France). mcandeias13@hotmail.com