CEO & Founder - OD Group

Marc Rahola is CEO and Founder of OD Group, a holding company that includes business in hospitality, real estate, private equity, construction, architecture and engineering, and agriculture. Current projects see the group managing and developing hotels across a range of locations including Ibiza, Mallorca, Barcelona and Côte d’Azur.

Marc was born in Barcelona into a family of entrepreneurs: his father Victor Rahola, a prestigious architect; and his mother Mayte Matutes, a well-respected interior designer. He later went on to join the wider family hospitality business, Palladium Hotel Group, in 1998.  During his 10 years there, he was part of a huge expansion which saw the business invest more than $500 million to grow to over 3,000 keys. Marc’s role involved creating and shaping teams in Mexico, Jamaica, Brazil, Italy and developing processes including acquisition, planning, licensing, and construction. In 2009, Marc founded OD Group based on the initials of his first hotel, Ocean Drive in Ibiza. From that first hotel, Marc and his team has built a collection that sees each hotel as an experiential hub, connecting guests to their surroundings and in turn enriching their stay.

For the past twenty years Baranowitz and Kronenberg have become renowned for creating hotels, restaurants and public and commercial spaces that attract modern nomads and locals alike. B+K Architecture has proven able to turn historical landmarks and rough, sometimes inaccessible spaces into instant design classics that are open and welcoming, drawing on the stories of the past. With their unique contextual awareness, they are not only keeping local history relevant, but are also serving the needs of global cities of the 21st century. They have developed a narrative driven mode of developing their designs which gives context and meaning to what would otherwise be a collection of easily forgettable facts, things and places. They are storytellers, drawing implicitly on the sensuous connection between life, selves, history, memory, craftsmanship and experience.

Among their projects are Sir Joan Hotel in Ibiza, The Sir Albert and W Hotel and Spa in Amsterdam, and award winning restaurants Topolopompo, Jaffa-Tel Aviv and Pastel Brasserie in Tel Aviv. On Monday morning of Sleepover they will present their plans for the forthcoming W Ibiza at Santa Eulalia.  

CEO – BeachBox Ibiza

Born in England in 1963, Leitersdorf is an architect, real estate developer and venture capitalist. After obtaining a both master’s degree from the AA School of Architecture in London (1990) and a Master of Sciences in Real Estate Development from Columbia University (1992), he has been a real estate entrepreneur ever since. His portfolio includes retail, offices, residential homes and lands in the U.S., Switzerland, Israel and Spain. He is the founder of Savanna Partners, a New York based real estate investment and development firm which has invested over $750m in multiple assets types throughout the US east coast in 15 years.

Since 2014 he is CEO of BeachBox Ibiza as well as owner, developer and designer of Six Senses Ibiza. This entity is developing over 80,000m² land including a 30,000m² hotel and villa community resort in the northern shores of the Spanish island. In total, 120 hotel rooms are under renovation, 28 luxury villas, 3 restaurants, state of the art spa, gym, pools, beach club and vast public spaces for body, mind and soul practice are being realized. Jonathan will present his plans for Six Senses Ibiza at our Monday morning Hotel Talks, before joining a panel discussion later in the afternoon on the ‘Evolution of the Self’.

Co-Founder – SLOW

As co-founder of SLOW, Claus Sendlinger dedicates himself to the cultivation of arts, crops and inner gardens. SLOW embraces the imperfect, the strange and indigenous; it defies conventions and reframes the way people live, work and interact in times of haste and acceleration. With a farm in Ibiza, a treehouse in Tulum and soon a campus in Berlin, SLOW provides more than mere physical spaces for a journey to an altered state of being. 

Sendlinger has been on the forefront of design and travel innovation since he began his career in 1987 with the founding of an event agency and, some years later, as a tour organizer for high-end travel experiences. With his out-of-the-box mindset, he realized early the need for alternatives to conventional ways of traveling. In 1993, Sendlinger founded Design Hotels™, the first hotel marketing consortium dedicated to the arising boutique hotel movement of the early 1990’s. Here he created a culturally sophisticated network of artists, architects, designers, hoteliers, journalists, and like-minded travellers. Amongst other awards, Condé Nast Traveller listed Sendlinger among the 48 top influencers worldwide for changing the way people travel.

Founder – Ibiza Preservation Society

Graduated in Law and Economics and with a Masters in Law, Sandra began her professional career at the Foundation for Sustainable Development in Central America. Later, she worked in Mexico as programme officer at the UN Development Program. Back in Spain she was coordinator of the Swiss foundation AVINA, oriented to supporting civil society environmental leadership. From 2004 to 2008 she was director of programmes at the Foundation for Ecology and Development, leading projects in areas such as urban water efficiency, climate change, responsible consumption and corporate social responsibility. 

From 2009 to 2010 Sandra was hired as a consultant for Johnson and Johnson, to develop their CSR strategy and activities, building the necessary internal capacities for follow up. In 2011 Sandra and her husband moved to Ibiza, to live closer to the countryside. Since then, Sandra is directing there the Ibiza Preservation Foundation, aiming to protect Ibiza and Formentera’s land and sea. Her passion is building alliances between private and public stakeholders to address the main environmental challenges (including creating the Mar Blava Alliance against oil drilling or the movement Plastic Free Ibiza).

Founder – The Future Laboratory

In more than one way, The Future Laboratory is ahead of the game when it comes to trend forecasting. Not only is the London-based company leading the industry, but it is also helping to shape countless others by conducting deep research in a number of fields and sharing its findings with those who hear them speak. 

Co-founders Martin Raymond and Chris Sanderson realized that thoughtful analysis on the shapeshifting needs of the global consumer is an invaluable tool for businesses, governments, and citizens to respond to those needs effectively.

Chris takes a leading role in the LS:N Global Trend Briefings, media events, and conferences, with names such as LVMH, Google, BFC, UBA, Pernod Ricard, Love Travel, QIC, and Mecca on the growing list of people he has influenced.

Head Chef - La Granja

“I work with seasonal products creating my menus as I ponder the great variety of vegetables that surround me,” says Catrimán.

Born in Patagonia, José’s cooking is rooted in the South American traditions of home cooking and the mastery of the open flame. He developed his professional skills working in kitchens around Europe for over 19 years before settling behind the stove at La Granja. His main goal is to create a more natural, whole and real style of cooking with an additional focus on food that is free of refined sugars, dairy and gluten.

With the on-premise garden as his guide, Jose uses wood and fire to create freestyle menus that recall the ‘grandmother’ style cooking of Italy and Catalonia, translated into modern recipes that capture the essence of the Ibizan countryside. He takes a veggie-centric approach to every meal, giving as much attention to a simple carrot as he does to the locally-sourced meats that he expertly grills.

Farmer - La Granja

“I believe in community and feeding people the best food possible,” says Szymanowicz.

A first generation farmer, Andy grew up in the suburbs of New York before starting his own farm business in Sonoma County outside of San Francisco 20 years ago. Since then, he has founded a large scale farm in upstate New York, where they provided produce to top chefs like Dan Barber of Blue Hill Stone Barns and Jean Georges of ABC Kitchen.

Andy has a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Ecological Horticulture and brings a passion for growing plants and a safer food system to the farm at La Granja. With an eye towards design, he has developed a garden that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is functional, allowing each visitor to experience the beauty of the plants as they grow around the terraced fields. A strong believer in the model of agritourism, his goal is to educate people about the benefits of eating organic produce while supporting their local farming community.

Artistic Director – Heart Ibiza

José Corraliza, born in Madrid, has been living in Ibiza since 2014, where he works as a General Manager and Artistic Director at Heart Ibiza, a project created by the Adrià Brothers and Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil.

He has spent more than 25 years traveling around the world working on the music, performances and events sectors. Before his arrival to Ibiza, he lived in Montreal (Canadá) for 10 years, where he worked for Cirque du Soleil as Vice President of Touring Shows and Operations.

Chief Development Officer – Pacha Group

Sanjay Nandi holds an MBA from the London Business School and is currently an Operating Partner with Private Equity firm Trilantic Europe. He has been involved in several deals in the hospitality industry and has been a member of the Board of Directors of Istanbul Doors and the London-based Tom Aikens Group Ltd. He is also responsible of expansion of Pacha Group, Lío and Destino Hotel as Chief Development Officer of the Group.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking in 2007, Sanjay was a member of the Lehman Brothers Mergers and Acquisitions Team in London participating in various corporate finance transactions with deal values in excess of $40bn.

In 2013, Sanjay became Managing Partner at Good Food Society in London to develop new hospitality concepts in international markets. The company currently has 4 successful concept restaurants in Europe, namely Hovarda London, Yosma London, Ristorante Frescobaldi London and Ristorante Frescobaldi Firenze. Two new restaurants – Playa and Caffe Cinquanta – will be opened in May.

Co-Founder – Scorpios / San Giorgio

Co-founder of the beach club Scorpios and hotel San Giorgio on the island of Mykonos, Thomas Heyne started his career running a nightclub in the German city of Ulm and flying in DJs and dancers from Amsterdam’s legendary It Club at a time when house music was far from the mainstream in southern Germany. 

In 2004, alongside Mario Hertel, the visionary took over Paradise Club in Mykonos to turn it into one of the world’s most popular nightclubs. Years later, in 2012, they launched San Giorgio as a pop-up Design Hotels Project destined to become a permanent fixture of the island. Seeing a clear shift from thumping beats to balance-restoring cultural gatherings, they opened Scorpios in 2015 as a contemporary interpretation of the ancient Greek agora.

In April 2019 Scorpios and San Giorgio have joined forces with Soho House and will build a String collaboration as one of the first ‘out of house’ experiences for member and non-members.

Founder – Sport S2 Life Ibiza

Carlos is a body and mind coach, professional sportsman, physiotherapist, nutritionist and founder of Sport S2 Life Ibiza.

His work is based on the balance of the body and mind using bodyweight training, breathing, relaxation, freedom of movement, sound, space, imagination, creation, energy and mindfulness through different methods benefiting from elements such as Earth, Air, Fire, Sea and Nature. 

Sport S2 Life Ibiza is a concept based on listening to the body, knowing its limits, going into a space which reflects the individual, learning, sharing, breathing and feeling the present, balance, mindfulness and healing.

Writer, Campaigner & Event Curator

Rory Spowers is writer, campaigner and event curator, specialising in systems change and consciousness issues. 

His books include A Year in Green Tea and Tuk Tuks (HarperElement), covering the creation of Samakanda, an ecological learning centre in south Sri Lanka, and Rising Tides, a history of ecological thought (Canongate), critically acclaimed by the UK Sunday Times, The Observer and a variety of magazines. 

Most recently, Rory was a Writer on Bruce Parry’s 2017 feature documentary Tawai, and is now Creative Director of the Tyringham Initiative, a world-class think-tank and incubator for new paradigm projects and consciousness studies.