Vanessa began her career in luxury hospitality management working at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, the Badrutt’s Palace in St Moritz, and The Mark Hotel in New York City - holding positions of Director of Guest Relations, Assistant Human Resources Manager, Front Office Manager, and Director of Revenue Management. More recently, she was a member of the pre-opening and opening team of Mandarin Oriental’s flagship property in New York City.

In addition to her hands-on hotel operations experience, Vanessa has gained, since 2005, extensive experience in property development working as an advisor for the conceptualization and strategic positioning of high-end and large-scale mixed-use resorts around the world. Her most recent assignments have taken her to Croatia, Morocco, Greece and the Caribbean. Vanessa holds a hospitality degree from the Lausanne Hotel School and is fluent in French, English, German, and in her native Spanish. She has been invited to speak at international industry conferences such as The WTO and UNESCO Conference on Tourism & Handicrafts (Teheran, 2005), and Residential Tourism, what future? (Lisbon 2006).