Speaker Biographies
THRIVE
Three days of market insight, investment discussion, founder-led exchange and hospitality experiences across Dubai.
Anna Sebastian is the founder of Anna Sebastian Hospitality (A.S.H.), a global consultancy
specialising in creative and commercial strategy for luxury hospitality. She also founded
Celebrate Her, a non-profit community of over 700 women across 72 countries in the drinks
industry, built to give women in the industry greater visibility, support and equity.
Anna was named #4 in Drinks International’s Bar World 100 for 2026, having featured on the list for four consecutive years, and was the 2026 recipient of the International Tales Catalyst Award, recognising women and non-binary leaders championing inclusivity across the global beverage community. She has also featured in the CODE list of the most influential women in hospitality.
Since founding her consultancy in 2022, Anna has worked with the likes of Fairmont Hotels, Four Seasons, MGallery, Sofitel, The Savoy, Raffles Hotels and Mandarin Oriental, alongside a range of brands and personalities looking to engage new audiences. Her services span concept
ideation, strategy, venue (re)openings, industry positioning, menu development, design, training, PR, marketing and brand positioning.
At the centre of that work is trend intelligence. Anna and her team are known across the industry's thought leaders and trend hunters, always looking for what’s next in luxury hospitality and helping the brands they work with spot it first and shape their strategy around it. She is a regular judge, speaker, presenter and panellist for the Hotel Magazine Awards, Bar Magazine and the Class Awards, and in 2025 joined the educational committee of Tales of the Cocktail.
Anna’s path into hospitality began in 2010, as a host at the reopening of The Savoy’s legendary American Bar, where she found her love of connecting people, curating experiences and creating memorable moments. She was part of the award-winning teams behind the American Bar and the Beaufort Bar, both placing on the World’s 50 Best Bars list on multiple occasions, including No.1 for the American Bar, and winning Tales of the Cocktail’s Best International Team and Best International Hotel Team.
In 2017 she became Bar Manager at the Artesian Bar at The Langham, rebuilding the team and returning it to the World’s 50 Best Bars list. Under her leadership the team won Bar Manager of the Year and Best Menu at the Class Bar Awards 2020, and both Best Team and Best Menu at the Imbibe Awards 2020. It was during her time at The Langham that Celebrate Her was born, out of a conversation with her team after a shift.
What began as a single event for 20 women grew into a global platform: the World’s 50 Best 50/50 diversity programme followed, and through lockdown the community became a space for women across the industry to connect, share and support one another. Today Celebrate Her is one of the largest communities of women in the drinks industry worldwide, and recently launched the first ever Drinks Industry Data Survey, mapping the makeup of the industry, its challenges and opportunities, and where change, funding and support are most needed.
Anna Sebastian
Founder, Anna Sebastian hospitality
