Zia Shiekh

Zia Shiekh has 30 years of work experience in financial services, real estate, BPO and hospitality, with the last 20 years heading various companies as CEO. Zia worked in investment banking and real estate securitization with Morgan Stanley in London and New York, after which he set up Infowavz, one of India’s first international outsourcing companies. In 2004, he acquired Stream Asia-Pacific and led its turnaround into a highly profitable organization across India, Malaysia and the Philippines. After the listing of Stream on the American Stock Exchange, Zia established Svenska Design Hotels in India as a chain of upscale lifestyle boutique hotels. Starting with two properties in Mumbai and Bangalore in 2011, Svenska now has 40 hotels operational in various parts of India, with the brand now planning its international expansion. Svenska has received various awards, including the prestigious HICSA prize for the “Best Small Luxury Hotel in South Asia” and recognition by leading organizations such as Forbes, UK’s Guardian, CNN Condé Nast, Lonely Planet and Economic Times Outstanding Hospitality Brands. Zia has an MBA degree with distinction from the London Business School, and was Dean’s Scholar during his international exchange program at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. He has also studied hospitality at the Cornell Hotel School in Ithaca, New York, specializing in real estate, hotel development and asset management. Most recently, he completed the Seed Program from the Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business