Chef Yves SAMAKÉ is Corporate Executive Chef Africa Business School (ABS), School of Hospitality Business & Management (SHBM) at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), where he oversees all culinary operations for the SHBM. Pr. Samaké graduated with CAP, BEP, Bac Prof cuisine, Graduated of the Ecole Hôtelière de Paris with a BTS in hotel and business. He also attended Ferrandi: A higher school of French cuisine. Pr. Samaké's professional experiences include Commis de cuisine in various Parisian restaurants, chateau Elan and Resort, Georgia, USA, and twenty years with The Ritz-Carlton hotels for whom he worked in Buckhead, Georgia; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Dubai, UAE; Half Moon Bay, California; Washington DC; and most recently for the Ritz-Carlton Rabat pre-opening. Although his cooking techniques are primarily French, Chef Samaké is heavily influenced by his West African origins and the different places and countries in which he worked. Chef Samaké has experienced a unique professional trajectory, from cooking in Dubai on a supertanker, to culinary competition in Jamaica and writing a recipe book of spa cuisine in the USA. Pr. Samaké is also an avid kickboxer and 5th-degree black belt.

Dr. Oliver BEINER is a Program Manager at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Pr. Beiner earned a Superior Technician Diploma in Hotels and Restaurants from Lausanne Hotel School, a Master’s in Business Administration, a Diploma in Sustainable Management, Self-Leadership Certification from HEC University of Geneve, a Pedagogical Certification from HES-SO, and an Adult Trainer Certification from FSEA. Before UM6P, Pr. Beiner was Operational and Academic Director of Accommodation at Higher School of Hotel and Catering, Algiers, where he lectured on Accommodation operations (reception, housekeeping), Marketing, Sustainability, and Trainer of trainers at EHLsmile. Pr. Beiner was also General Manager of Dar Ahlam Skoura, Morocco, a teacher at Hotel School of Geneva, and Project Manager of Maldives Investments LTD.

Dr. Helena WILLIAMS is an Associate Professor of Food and Beverage at Africa Business School (ABS), School of Hospitality Business & Management (SHBM) at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). She earned her Doctorate in Hospitality Administration from Texas Tech University, studied Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and earned Masters and Bachelor degrees from The Pennsylvania State University. Pr. Williams' university affiliations include Penn State, Texas Tech, Purdue, Temple, Clarkson, and Saint Mary's in Notre Dame, Indiana. Industry experience includes CEO of Contract Consultants, a multi-million-dollar conference and event planning venue, and Executive Chef and Owner of a gastro-café and art gallery in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Williams is an eminent scholar in the field of gastro-tourism and gastro-destination development. Her research often involves multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams. Pr. Williams publishes in top-tier academic journals, is regularly cited, and is a recurring invited international keynote speaker on gastro-tourism and its economic and quality of life impact on local communities, particularly in developing parts of the world. She is passionate about sharing her research with her students and colleagues, her deep commitment to exploring regional food cultures, and her dedication to eliminating food insecurity and food waste.

Pr. Fatine AMRANI is an Independent Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Pr. Amrani holds a Master's Degree in Management from one of the Top 10 French Business Schools and is a certified Leadership Trainer with SNP Communications. She started her career in strategy consulting in Morocco and the United States. She then spent three years developing and leading healthcare initiatives for Rabat major real estate development firm. Today, Amrani is an executive coach based in Casablanca, focusing on leadership and communication skills. She honed her skills working as a trainer and coach for a global leadership communication company in San Francisco. Amrani has delivered both in-person and virtual training internationally and supported executive teams with coaching for global companies, including Google, SAP, Apple, and Salesforce.

Dr. Amina LAHBABI is Head of Mission at the Office of the President, looking after the Public Relations and the Community Engagement and is in charge of the module of Marketing and Hospitality Marketing at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Dr. Lahbabi earned a master's degree in Marketing and Business Development from ENCG Settat (School of Business and Management) and holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from Cadi Ayyad University. Before UM6P, Pr. Lahbabi worked in the Sales & Marketing Department in Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Royal Mansour, Marrakech. She was also a Part-Time Professor at ENCG Marrakech, in charge of the modules of Communication and Marketing for the Executive Bachelor Program, Head of Mission in Communication at UM6P, and a member of the pre-opening team for the School of Hospitality and Business Management of UM6P. Her research theme is related to \The impact of the co-creation of value through social media on the perceived quality of the offer and customer satisfaction: Case of luxury hotels in Morocco.\""

Chef Abdelkader KANDIL is a chef at The School of Hospitality Business and Management at Africa Business School at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (ABS/UM6P). Chef Kandil earned a degree in Hotel Management focused on culinary science. He has worked in luxury hotel management for more than two decades in Morocco and abroad.

Pr. Abdelaziz BELKAZIZ is the Director of The School of Hospitality Business and Management Food & Beverage department at Africa Business School at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (ABS/UM6P) and a professor of Food & Beverage Service classes. Pr. Belkaziz's hospitality career began at a very young age in a family hotel business. This experience led him to make it his profession and continue his studies at the prestigious Paul Bocuse Institute in Lyon. He nurtured his passion and obtained his bachelor's degree. Pr. Abdelaziz has built his career mainly in the Luxury Hospitality industry by working for the Iconic Moroccan Palace \La Mamounia,\" the Mauritian flagship Royal Palm or other international luxurious brands such as The Mandarin Oriental and The Ritz-Carlton. Pr. Belkaziz ventured into entrepreneurship when he opened his dream project, creating a guest house designed like a kasbah respecting the local architecture of his home town, Ouarzazate. It is Pr. Belkaziz's mission to share his hotel business experience and instill the values of excellence, luxury, refinement, and rigor in future generations of hospitality professionals through the promotion of the Moroccan Art of Hospitality."

Dr. Mauricio MARTINS is a Permanent Professor at Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Pr. Martins received an Integrated Master in Medicine and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Lisbon Faculty of Medicine, Portugal. He has worked for the Department of Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna, done his post-doctoral work at Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, and Department of Cognitive Studies, École Normale Supérieure, Paris. Among Pr. Martin's most significant publications are Martins M, Baumard N (2020). The rise of prosociality in fiction preceded democratic revolutions in Early Modern Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 (45), 28684–28691; Martins M, Krause C, Neville D, Pino D, Villringer A, Obrig H (2019). Recursive Hierarchical Embedding in vision is impaired by posterior Middle Temporal Gyrus lesions. Brain 142 (10), 3217-3229; Martins M, Fishmeister F, Puig Waldmüller E, Oh J, Geissler A, Fitch WT, Beisteiner R (2014). Fractal Image Perception provides Novel Insights into Hierarchical Cognition. NeuroImage 96, 300-308; Fitch WT, Martins M (2014). Hierarchical Processing in Music, Language, and Action: Lashley revisited. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1316, 87-104; Martins M (2012). Distinctive signatures of recursion. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 367, 2055-2064.