Dr. Cihan Cobanoglu is the Dean and the McKibbon Endowed Chair Professor of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM) in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida (USF), who also serves as the Director of the M3 Center for Hospitality Technology and Innovation and Coordinator of International Programs for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He is a renowned hospitality and tourism technology expert. Dr. Cobanoglu is a Fulbright Specialist commissioned by the Fulbright Commission (2018-2021). He is a Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) commissioned by Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals (HFTP) and Educational Institute of American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). He is the Editor of the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology (JHTT)(Indexed in SSCI IF=4.2) and a co-author of 10+ books and 20+ conference proceedings.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Mithat ÜNER, Ankara’da doğmuştur. İlk, orta ve lise öğrenimini T.E.D. Ankara Koleji’nde tamamlayan Üner, lisans eğitimini ise Hacettepe Üniversitesi İ.İ.B.F. İşletme Yönetimi Bölümü’nde almıştır. Yüksek lisansını “Genel İşletme” alanında Gazi Üniversitesi bünyesinde yaptıktan sonra, M.Sc.-University of Wisconsin’de “Internatinal Business” alanında da master programını tamamlamıştır. Gazi Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İşletme Anabilim Dalında doktorasını almıştır. İtalya’da Pisa Üniversitesi’nde, İşletme Bölümü’nde doktora sonrası çalışmalar gerçekleştirmiştir. 1984 yılında Gazi Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü’nde Araştırma Görevlisi olarak çalışmaya başlayan Üner, aynı Üniversitede Mesleki Eğitim Fakültesi, Ticaret ve Turizm Eğitim Fakültesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi’nde öğretim üyesi olarak görev yapmıştır. 1991 yılında yardımcı doçent, 1994 yılında doçent ve 2000 yılında profesör unvanlarını kazanmıştır. Ticaret ve Turizm Eğitim Fakültesi ve İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi’nde yaklaşık on yıl dekanlık görevini yürütmüştür. Gazi Üniversitesi Vakfı Yönetim Kurulu Üyeliği, Avrupa Üniversiteler Birliği Temsilciliği, Anabilim Dalı Başkanlığı, Bölüm Başkanlıkları, uluslararası çeşitli programlarda yöneticilikler, dergi yayın kurulu üyeliği ve genel yayın yönetmenlikleri gibi çeşitli görevlerde bulunmuştur. Pazarlama ve Pazarlama Araştırmaları Derneği Kurucu Başkanlığı görevini de yürütmüş olan Üner’in, pazarlama yönetimi, stratejik pazarlama planlaması, uluslararası pazarlama, uluslararası işletmecilik, hizmet pazarlaması, turizm pazarlaması, elektronik ticaret gibi konularda yayınlanmış çok sayıda ulusal ve uluslararası makaleleri, bildirileri, kitapları ve projeleri bulunmaktadır. Halen Atılım Üniversitesi İşletme Fakültesinde dekan olarak görev yapmakta olan M.Mithat Üner, evli ve iki çocuk babasıdır.

Erdogan Ekiz joined TEAM University in Tashkent Uzbekistan as Full-Professor of Marketing and Dean of Faculty. He was previously Associate Professor at Westminster International University in Tashkent, and Ad-Hoc Professor at The Ostelea in Morocco. Before this Dr. Erdogan was the Founding Dean of the School of Hospitality Business and Management at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. He was an Associate Professor at King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Tourism, Saudi Arabia, where he served as Director of both the Postgraduate Studies and International Relations and Agreements Unit. He also served as the launching Head of the Travel and Tourism Department. He worked as a Director of Studies at the London School of Commerce, and Associate Professor at the University of Derby, University of Worcester, and University of Northampton’s common degree program (held in Saudi Arabia) on an ad hoc basis. Dr. Ekiz is a certified trainer, recognized by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) of Saudi Arabia, worked with MEHRAT and BETA training centers on an AdHoc basis.
Dr. Ekiz completed his Ph.D. in tourism and hospitality management at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has a B.Sc. in tourism and hotel management and an M.B.A. in services marketing from Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus. He is a ‘Certified Hospitality Educator’ (CHE) from the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and ‘Qualified Learning Facilitator’ (QLF) from École hôtelière de Lausanne. He is an ‘Advanced Trainer’ with Distinction of International Air Transport Association (IATA). He has over 20 years of teaching experience in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cyprus, Turkey, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Morocco. He is the Middle East Representative of the Association of North America Higher Education International.
Dr. Ekiz is acting as the Asia-Pacific Coordinating Editor of the Journal of Travel and Tourism as well as the Middle-East Coordinator of the Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Tourism. His expertise includes service failure, consumer complaining behavior, tourist behavior, and culture. He has around 200 published journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers. His papers have appeared in respected refereed journals such as the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, Tourism Analysis, etc. He is an editorial board member of top-tier journals, such as the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, the Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Tourism Analysis, and several more.
He has successfully completed several consultancy projects with major companies in the industry and is still working on a dozen grants and consultation projects for both government and private sectors. Dr. Ekiz has a wide range of hands-on management experience within the sector, from fast food to 5-star hotels.