THE-ICE Board of Directors
Dr Paul Whitelaw – Chair & Director
Paul Whitelaw has been a Director on THE-ICE Board since November 2012.
Paul joined Southern Cross University as Academic Director, The Hotel School Partnership, in 2020. Previously, Paul was the Associate Director of Higher Education for William Angliss Institute in Melbourne (2014-2020), and prior to this was a Senior Lecturer at the College of Business at Victoria University and the Centre for Tourism and Services Research, where he lectured in quantitative and computer based hospitality management systems in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Ms Gienke Osinga – Deputy Chair & Director
Ms Gienke Osinga holds a Bachelor degree of the Hotelmanagement School The Hague and a Master in Change Management. Her first steps in her career were with KLM Catering Services at the procurement department inflight services. She switched to KLM City hopper, in those days a daughter company of KLM, where she was responsible, among others, for revenue management, commercial planning and the budgeting process.
Later on she worked for KLM the Netherlands, the marketing and sales department for the Dutch market, where she was involved in the first E commerce business projects such as online booking tools and online check in. Further responsibilities were the launch of a frequent flyer program, the introduction of a corporate credit card and more.
In 2001 she decided to switch to education. During her years with KLM she was asked as a guest lecturer, assessor and graduation coach for NHTV students, on a regular basis. Working with students gave her so much pleasure and satisfaction that she took the opportunity when the start of a hotel management program in Breda, was announced. She started as a curriculum developer for the hotel management program of NHTV University of Applied Sciences. Since 2012 she has held the position of Dean of the Hotel Management program and the Facility Management program of Breda University of Applied Sciences.
She is the chair of the Association of the Dutch Hotel Management Schools. Recently all public funded members of the Association successfully passed THE-ICE accreditation.
Professor Peter Ryan – Treasurer & Director
For over 25 years Professor Peter Ryan has been actively involved with a number of higher education providers, specialising in the areas of regulatory approvals, quality assurance, and corporate and academic governance. Peter has also provided strategic advice and regulatory due diligence for prospective purchasers of private higher education institutions.
Peter is Founder & Director of the Higher Education Leadership Institute (HELI) which offers postgraduate courses in e-learning and higher education teaching practice.
Professor Ryan is a qualified accountant and Fellow of CPA Australia.
Professor Ryan was elected as Treasurer and Director on THE-ICE Board in 2019.
Dr Lilibeth C. Aragon – Director
Dr. Lilibeth Aragon is currently the Dean of the Lyceum of the Philippines University-Manila’s College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management. She has an extensive background in the Cruise Line industry, having worked on-board various fleets of P&O Cruises UK for years. She has also contributed in the continuous improvement of Training Regulations and Competency Based Learning Materials and Assessment for ASEAN and Technical Education and Skills Development. Dr. Aragon is also an Accreditor for Tourism, Hospitality and Graduate programs of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA). She provides assistance to Philippines Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as part of National Capital Regions Quality Assurance Team (NCR-RQAT).
Dr. Aragon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Tourism, Master in Business Administration and a Doctorate degree in Business Administration from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She also holds a Higher Degree Certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust of London. She is a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) and Trainer by American-based company American Hospitality Lodging and Education Inc. She also completed the Certified Guest Service Professional Course (CGFS).
She currently serves the Association of Administrators in Hospitality, Hotel and Restaurant Management Educational Institutions (AAHRMEI) as the Internal Vice President and the Philippine Association of Researchers for Tourism and Hospitality (PARTH) as Board Member.
Dr. Aragon is an ASEAN Master Trainer, the first batch to represent the Philippine delegation held at Bali, Indonesia.
Ms Tanja Florenthal – Director
Ms Tanja Florenthal is the dean of Cesar Ritz Colleges. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, sustainability, and innovation and enjoys sharing her knowledge with students. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, an MBA, and a Master of Arts in Higher Education and she is currently pursuing her doctorate. She has lived in the Philippines, Malaysia, USA, Thailand, India, UAE, Israel, and Switzerland.
Dr Atty Gezzez Giezi G Granado – Director
Dr. Attorney Gezzez Giezi G. Granado is a graduate of BS Tourism from the University of Santo Tomas. From the same university, he also graduated Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, and Doctor of Civil Law. He worked as a Travel Agent and later on a Travel Agency Operations Manager while earning his Law Degree.
For 19 years now, he has been teaching Tourism and Hospitality Laws, Legal Policy Issues in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry, and Sustainable Tourism at the UST College of Tourism and Hospitality Management. He is also teaching Torts and Damages, Legal Research, and Legal Technique and Logic at the Faculty of Civil Law.
Dr. Attorney Granado has been conducting studies, written cases and a resource person for different subjects related to Sustainable Tourism, Legal Policy Issues in Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Tourism and Hospitality Laws, and Tourism and Hospitality Education.
He takes part in various capacities such as a Project Director, Consultant, and Researcher of different local government units for their strategic and development plans related to the Tourism and Hospitality Industry and their respective Tourism Codes.
At present, he serves as the Dean of the UST College of Tourism and Hospitality Management and sits as a Board of Director/ Trustees of international and local professional organizations.
Dr Joey Jou – Director
Dr Joey, Wei-Ting Jou worked for a University in the Department of Hospitality Management in Pingtung, Taiwan from 2001 to 2009 and then joined Inno Hospitality Consulting Group in Taipei and Shanghai until 2011. He then worked for a property management company and completed several hotel development projects from 2011 to 2015. After leaving, he began his own business, the Lavie Consultancy with a focus on hospitality business development and government projects.
In 2015, Dr Jou obtained his doctoral degree of Hotel and Tourism Management (D.HTM) from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He then joined the National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism in 2021 as an Assistant Professor and teach the international master program until now. Dr Jou has over 20 years of experience both in the hospitality education and consultancy fields.
Professor Dr Oswin Maurer – Director
Professor Dr Oswin Maurer is a well-published, highly-regarded and innovative academic with extensive international experience in key roles such as the development and implementation of internationally-accredited undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programmes.
Dr Maurer’s areas of interest and expertise include: strategic management and marketing; international business and business economics; food industry management and internationalisation; and tourism management and economics.
With an academic and research career spanning close to three decades, Dr Maurer has authored/ co-authored an impressive range of publications and has been involved at the core level of designing and implementing educational projects for senior management and government officials across the continents including Europe, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Dr Maurer has also been key in the development of various national research programmes on internationalisation, competitiveness and corporate social responsibility, to name a few.
In addition to his academic achievements, Dr Maurer is a much sought-after advisor and research consultant and is a key contributor in the building and leadership of an international research base and network through the establishment of the Competence Centre in Tourism Management and Tourism Economics (TOMTE). TOMTE organises several seminars and workshops every year, including the Consumer Behaviour in Tourism Symposium (CBTS) which takes place every year since 2008 in the month of December in Brunico.
Dr Maurer was elected as Director on THE-ICE Board in November 2015.
Associate Professor Simon Pawson – Director
Associate Professor Simon Pawson is an academic leader and researcher. He began his hotel career in 1988, and in 2004 made the transition to tourism and hotel management education. His areas of teaching and research interests include business studies, specifically leadership, marketing and strategic management, social / environmental justice, community-based tourism, responsible tourism, sustainable tourism, destination marketing & national identity, sustainable tourism, heritage tourism, destination management, social sciences research, leadership, strategic management and organizational behaviour.
Simon has been an active researcher and social advocate in Cambodia since 2002. His research projects include investigating social and environmental consequences of tourism development in Siem Reap, antiquities theft, human trafficking, pro poor tourism, heritage and cultural tourism, attraction development, tourism and rural development, community-based and responsible tourism.
Simon is a graduate of The Australian National University (PhD) and Macquarie University Graduate School of Management (Masters). At present he is the Associate Dean of Hospitality, and Academic Director, Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School at Torrens University Australia. He is also the lead researcher of The Cambodian Sustainable Tourism Development Collaborative Project. Simon is also a member of The Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE).
Previously Simon was Head, School of International Tourism, Hospitality Management and Retail Marketing at the International College of Management Sydney (ICMS); he was also Chair, Academic Conduct, Appeals and Disputes Committee. The hospitality and tourism industry honoured Simon in 2004, when he was awarded the Australian Hotels Association’s Young Achiever of the Year, in recognition of his commitment to and achievements in tourism and hospitality. In the same year Simon also received Rotary Australia’s Pride of Workmanship award.
In private life, Simon undertakes philanthropic work in Cambodia, notably in connection with community development. He has been involved in a range of projects since 2003, the main involving NGO initiatives amongst Cambodia’s rural poor.
Ms Isobel Stockdale – Director
Isobel Stockdale is the Head of the Centre for Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism in the Business School at the University of Derby, UK. The focus being academic development and leadership, management of the discipline including collaborative partner provision, quality assurance and governance and the development of external networks She has held a management position for 10 years and in education for over 25 years.
Isobel has worked in the role of programme leader and was instrumental in the development of the first spa management degree in the world and the establishment and running of an award-winning commercial day spa within the University.