JANA HIGGS

Director, Design & Technical Services – Luxury Pacific, Accor

As Director, Design & Technical Services Luxury Pacific, Jana oversees architecture, interior design and project management-related activities for Accor’s luxury and ultra-luxury properties in the Pacific whilst safeguarding the unique identities for each of its brands. Her involvement spans from property reviews and design feasibility studies, design and construction phases to hotel openings and refurbishments.

Jana joined Accor with over 15 years of experience working on iconic hotel projects around the globe in Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as Asia.

Prior to moving to Australia from the UK, Jana held the position of Design Manager, Design & Project Development at prestigious Belmond Hotels, a global collection of hotels, based in London, where she led ultra luxury hotel refurbishments in Italy, Russia, the UK, South Africa and Botswana. She was also involved in the conversion of train carriages into a new luxury experience on the rails in Ireland, further expanding Belmond’s successful trains portfolio.

Jana joined Belmond from InterContinental Hotels Group where she held the position of Development Architect for the InterContinental Brand and was fortunate enough to work on some of IHG’s most iconic IC properties in EMEA.

With a passion for hotel design and the guest experience, Jana was also instrumental in working closely with the Brand and Operations Teams on Brand Standards and Design Guidelines, making them relevant for the developing global traveller.

Jana holds a master’s degree in architecture from the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, an Architect license from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London and a Leadership Certificate from Hult Ashridge Business School.

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