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Masa is a designer with a background in architecture and design management, specialising in hospitality and interior design. She has contributed to high-end projects across the UK and Middle East, bringing a passion for crafting immersive, sensory experiences that elevate guest comfort and wellbeing.

Her diverse experience spans from working at leading design practices to set design in the film industry, where she developed a cinematic approach to storytelling through space. Having also completed yoga teacher training, she integrates holistic principles into her design philosophy, creating environments that blend creativity, wellness, and human connection. Shaped by diverse cultural influences, Masa’s work draws on context and heritage to create a strong sense of place, resulting in hospitality spaces that are both soulful and thoughtfully designed.

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Daisy is an award-winning architect and WELL Accredited Professional specialising in wellness-centred design. Driven by a deep resonance  for the intersection of architecture and well-being, she has contributed to high-profile projects, working on luxury hotels and resorts in Saudi Arabia, and serves as a design-management consultant to help firms deliver successful projects across the GCC.

Her expertise in wellness and therapeutic design also spans Africa, Latvia and Montenegro with a strong emphasis on local craft and material. Supported by a strong background in design management, she balances creative vision with efficient delivery to ensure seamless project execution. Daisy’s work reflects a steadfast commitment to elevating hospitality spaces through thoughtful, wellness-driven design.

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Walid El Mernissi holds a law degree and a BBA from HEC Montréal, majoring in entrepreneurship. After an initial career in media in North America, he decided to return to Morocco in 2018 to join the Maison d’Asa adventure as Business Development Manager. In 2022, he officially took the reins and drove a new international dynamic. Under his leadership, Maison d’Asa has established itself as a leading wellness brand, collaborating with more than 60 5-star hotels worldwide, including the Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace, Six Senses Zighy Bay, and Atlantis.
Today, Walid passionately pursues his mission: to share his culture by creating holistic and authentic wellness experiences inspired by the traditions of the Orient and the Mediterranean.

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Sara Idhajoub is an accomplished spa and wellness leader with nearly two decades of international experience across luxury hotels and resorts in Morocco, Italy, Montenegro, and Azerbaijan. Currently serving as Spa and Kids Club Manager at The Oberoi Marrakech, she blends a deep passion for holistic wellness with strategic management expertise to create memorable guest journeys.

Over the years, Sara has held senior leadership roles with renowned brands such as Chenot Palace, Royal Mansour, and One&Only. She has been instrumental in multiple pre-openings and spa transformations, driving innovation in guest experiences, sustainability initiatives, and staff training and development.

Her career is rooted in hands-on expertise, beginning as a spa therapist and growing into a visionary leader recognized for her ability to exceed client expectations, nurture high-performing teams, and elevate wellness offerings. Sara brings a multicultural perspective to her work and a strong belief in the power of wellness to connect, heal, and inspire.

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A graduate of the University of Lyon and Godmer House in Oxford, Asma El Mernissi has over 25 years of experience across multiple fields related to wellness. She has held senior leadership roles including Export Director in tour operating, Commercial Director of Morocco’s leading private hotel chain (17 properties and film studios), and Director of its international travel agencies and sales offices. She has also overseen the international development and promotion of thalassotherapy, thermalism, and balneotherapy. A pioneer of franchising in Morocco, she is also an international speaker on ancestral Oriental wellness and a consultant for spa, thermal, and thalasso projects. She is the founder of Maison d’ASA, the first international Oriental luxury brand with an organic product line, recognized three times with international awards.

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After gaining experience at Lancôme-L’Oréal in Mexico, LVMH in New York, and Danone and Sara Lee in Barcelona, Caroline Bauchet-Bouhlal joined the family-owned Es Saadi Marrakech Resort in 2003, where she created the marketing department and developed the Wellness division. In 2007, as Development Director during the opening of the Es Saadi Palace, she led the rebranding, communication, and expansion of the Resort’s outlets and services. Since 2017, she has served as Deputy General Manager alongside her husband, Jean-Alexandre Bauchet-Bouhlal, the General Manager.

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Founder & CEO, OROROWA Holdings | Chair, Africa Wellness Initiative (GWI)

Mariane Akwenye is a visionary entrepreneur and custodian of Africa’s ancestral wellness wisdom. From becoming Namibia’s first black female commercial pilot to founding OROROWA Holdings, her journey is a testament to courage, reinvention, and calling.

Through her collective of ventures; Nomad Wellness, Nomad Institute, Makai Apothecary, ÆRIKÈ, SpaFari, and the TuMuna Foundation (which trains visually impaired women as therapists) Mariane is building an ecosystem that reclaims Africa’s sacred role in global wellness. She is not simply creating spas or products, but restoring a legacy, ensuring that even the forgotten custodians; those who see differently are central to the future of restoring and wellbeing.

As Chair of the Africa Wellness Initiative under the Global Wellness Institute, she speaks with both ancestral authority and futuristic vision. Her mission is to shift the global narrative: wellness is not imported into Africa, it is remembered from Africa.

Mariane redefines wellness by restoring the voices of Africa’s true custodians; from the soil, from the unseen, from those who see differently

Shaping a movement that invites the world to heal, thrive, and remember.

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Patrick Saussay is founder and CEO of GPSA consulting company and in charge of evianSPA international development on behalf of Evian mineral water brand.

Thanks to 25 years of expertise, Patrick provides with his team a world-class support in business strategy on the wellness market, management of spa projects, and creation of spas, wellness concepts, and spa brands. From concept definition to go-live support, he delivers project services with a strong focus on quality of delivery, project management and balance between guest experience and profitability. He currently manages several projects in France, Africa, Asia, and his support was instrumental in the creation of the wellness concept and spa at the legendary Negresco 5* hotel in France, and the evianSPA flagship in the Palace Hotel Royal 5*, opened last year.

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Gil Amsallem has been a physiotherapist for over 30 years, trained in manual therapies as well as traditional Asian, Indian, and Western massage techniques.

As an author, speaker, and health & wellness consultant, he divides his time between private practice, professional training, and consulting for leading cosmetic brands, thalassotherapy centers, spas, and institutes.

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