Salil Panigrahi is a visionary hotelier par excellence with a keen eye for visual design and aesthetics, which has inspired him to create some iconic resorts in the Maldives. Salil started his career as a certified chartered accountant at Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. A deep understanding of the products, markets, and industry trends makes him an invaluable asset to the Maldivian tourism industry. Salil Panigrahi was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) by the Government of India on January 9, 2021, as a recognition of his significant contributions to the tourism sector in the Maldives.
Dillip RathaDeputy Managing Director Finance & Treasury
Dillip Ratha leads the company’s operational finance, project finance, and asset management, supporting overall growth, profitability, and performance. He has expertise in a range of jurisdictions around the world, including India, Africa, and the Maldives, bringing with him a strong discipline and financial methodology and a keen sense of institutional best practices. Dillip has been instrumental in managing the cost efficiencies across resort operations, always maintaining the group's financial strength and liquidity headstrong through the most challenging of times. He ensures that costs remain within industry-accepted metrics while constantly inspiring business heads to strategically achieve greater financial efficiencies.
Shrikant Dash drives the growth of Atmosphere Core in existing and new markets including India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
With a keen eye for dynamic and consistent growth, Shrikant ensures development success by establishing strong relations with private and institutional investors, creating and implementing robust growth strategies, and strengthening the company portfolio. He brings strong entrepreneurial acumen, project development expertise, and deft hand at driving business through strategic initiatives.
Prior to joining Atmosphere Core, Shrikant handled growth and development of EoN Resorts Group in the Maldives. He started his started his career with HSBC and worked in India and UAE for over 5 years.
Shrikant holds a Bachelors in Civil Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli and a Masters in Business Administration from XLRI Jamshedpur, both premier institutes in India
An experienced growth leader, hotelier, and management expert, Stephane Laguette has over 30 years of experience in the global hotel industry. Stephane’s key strengths include a result-oriented approach, a keen eye for innovation, and a passion for growth. Years of diverse roles and portfolios, including 10 years with Accor Group, helped hone Stephane’s impeccable sales and marketing skills. A global citizen, Stephane has gained profound experience from living and working in different countries and from exposure to diverse cultures, which provided him with opportunities to solve multiple problems and develop comprehensive strategies.
A consummate hospitality veteran with over 28 years of experience, Souvagya Mohapatra has spent most of his professional career with MAYFAIR Hotels & Resorts. At MAYFAIR, Souvagya played a significant role in building the brand from the ground up, establishing several renowned luxury resorts pan India. He has contributed to the Indian hospitality industry through his involvement in reputed organisations and national associations such as The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Souvagya received the ‘Honorary Diploma for Outstanding Contribution and Excellence in Tourism & Hospitality’ under the auspices of the World Academy of Arts & Culture, the World Congress of Poets during its 39th Annual Event. He has been featured in Hotelier India’s Power List every year from 2016 to 2021 and recognised as the Hotelier of the Year during BBC Good Food & Food Food Awards in 2018.
Meet Our Management Team
Abhijit Kumar Ghosh
Senior Vice President - Creative and Quality Assurance
Abhijit Kumar Ghosh Senior Vice President - Creative and Quality Assurance
Abhijit is no stranger to the Maldives, where he has previously managed international resorts in different capacities. He has an experience of over 20 years in the luxury hospitality and wellness industry. Most of his hospitality career has been spent in the development and management of renowned luxury hotels and resorts, including Six Senses, Hilton, Soneva, Taj and Oberoi. He has strong experience in managing multi-cultural teams across Jordan, Thailand, India and Vietnam.
Ashwin Handa directs and oversees operations, working closely with the General Managers of the resorts. Ashwin has been in the hospitality industry for over 26 years. His well-honed business acumen coupled with a result-driven, hands-on leadership approach has led to an impressive track record of boosting both guest experience and profitability.
Heidi Grimwood’s passion has been in the health and wellness industry from the beginning of her working career. She’s a strong leader with over 19 years of management experience and 22 years in spa operations. In her previous assignment, Heidi was the Co-Director of FG Innovation Management Ltd, a spa management company in Ireland. She has also worked with Inchydoney Lodge & Spa, Aghadoe Heights Hotel & Spa, One and Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives and Steiner Transocean - Worldwide.
Vijayan BalachandranVice President – Human Resources
Vijayan's impressive journey in the hotel industry started over two decades back as a Training Manager. Vijayan has successfully handled diverse facets of the hospitality industry. Before joining Atmosphere Core, he worked with several brands like, Leela Group of Hotels, P&O Cruises (UK) Ltd, Inter Continental Group Kuwait – Northern Arabia, Six Senses Resorts & Spa Maldives, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Meydan Hotels &Hospitality Dubai, The Oberoi Group UAE, FIVE Hotels & Resorts and Al Habtoor City Complex (Hilton, V Curio Collection, LXR & La Perle by Dragone) Dubai.
Michel Politano Vice President - Revenue & Distribution
Michel Politano is an eCommerce professional with over 13 years of experience in sales, revenue and distribution. He has expertise in maximizing distribution chain and profitability, market penetration, online media planning and advertising and enhancing sales performance. He has served as the Group Director of Sales & Distribution at EMAAR HOSPITALITY and has since held several roles, including Group Director of Distribution and Area Director of e.Distribution - Dubai. Michel holds a Masters Degree in Science of Business Management from Euromed Marseille School Of Management.
Cyrus Madan
Senior Vice President – Business Development, South Asia
Cyrus MadanSenior Vice President – Business Development, South Asia
Cyrus Madan brings in more than 25 years of experience, with expertise in creating and operationalizing mid-market hotel brands, acquisitions (both land and hotels), hotel operations and training. Before joining Atmosphere Core, Cyrus held the position of Senior Vice-President for Business Development with Lemon Tree Hotels Limited where he played a key role in growing the company's Asset Light Model. Over the last 8 years, he has individually sourced and contracted 60+ hotel projects (2, 3, 4 and 5 star brands). He's very familiar with management contract negotiations, owner relationship management, asset management and managed hotel operations.
Bharat Raheja
Senior Vice President - Sales & Marketing , South Asia
Bharat RahejaSenior Vice President - Sales & Marketing , South Asia
Bharat joins Atmosphere Core with over 27 years of experience in the hospitality industry. A steadfast, committed and passionate leader, he uses an analytical and strategic approach complemented with outside-the-box thinking to overcome challenges. Bharat will develop new markets, build performance-driven teams, accelerate sales, and contribute to commercial strategies and facilitate our fast-growing presence in South Asia.
Before joining Atmosphere Core, he served as the Global Director of Sales- India at Minor Hotels, Director- Sales & Marketing- India at Premier Inn , Regional Director of Sales- India & Director of International Sales at Hilton Worldwide. Bharat had initiated his career in hospitality with The Oberoi Group and thereafter Taj Hotels and Resorts. Having successful roles in Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management across various leading local and global brands. His extensive experience and ground knowledge will add immense value to achieving our goals.
Bharat holds a Bachelor's Degree of Arts in English Honors. His interests include travelling, reading, engaging in world affairs, technology, and gaming. He is proficient in English and Hindi
Sanjoy BhattacharyaVice President – Corporate Finance , South Asia
Sanjoy Bhattacharyya is a seasoned accounting and finance professional with over 25 years of experience in driving strategic financial operations, budgeting, statutory compliance, risk management, funds raising and financial restructuring. He is also adept at conceptualizing and implementing financial procedures.
In the past he has held senior positions at Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, The Imperial, New Delhi, Zuri Hotels and Resorts and Bloom Hotel Group, New Delhi. He is a certified Chartered
Accountant and has completed his B.Com (Hons) from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata.
