The Collective Biographies
BRADFORD ZAK, CEO & Founder
Bradford is a graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. Hotel Administration Degree, 1980, and has 40 years of operational, financial, development, and entrepreneurial experience in complex resorts, spa, hotels, and clubs in Africa (Tanzania, Zambia), Asia (India, China, Macau, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines), the Pacific (Hawaii), and the Americas (Costa Rica, West Coast USA). Mr. Zak grew up in Tokyo, Japan. His extensive experience in luxury hospitality includes ten years with Westin Hotels & Resort and five years with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
PAUL LEE, COO
Paul has known Zak for 30 years, collaborating last in 2017 with Harmony Project Zambia. Mr. Lee graduated with honors from Washington State University with a B.A. in Hotel and Restaurant in 1984. Paul possesses extensive operational and strategic management experience in a luxury resort, mid-market to large scale city hotels, and start-ups for multiple large restaurant franchises. He was most recently with Accor Hotels, Raffles Hainan China, Millennial Hotel NYC, and opened Sangha by Octave, a wellness retreat in China.
Previously he was Senior Vice President and Owners' Representative for S.M. Hotels and Conventions Corp, a major Philippine mixed-use developer, leading start-up and efficient operations of existing and pipeline mid-market properties.
KUNTAL KUMAR, Culinary Institute Dean, Group F&B Director
Author of the award-winning organic cookbook “The Original Organics Cookbook” Mr. Kumar is a graduate of Binoba Bhave University, 1997-2000, a degree in history; Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, 1996-1999, a degree in hospitality - accountancy, food science & nutrition. With 20 years of rich multi-cultural and global experience in hospitality and food & beverage encompassing business hotels, restaurants, and destination wellness centers, Mr. Kumar’s leadership includes:
HARDIYANA, Director of Authentic Experience & Human Resource
Hardi has known Zak for 25 years collaborating in Indonesia with Mandarin Oriental, and Tanzania and Zambia with the Harmony Project. He is uniquely qualified by attending Semarang State University, majoring in English Language and Literature, Semarang-Central Java on scholarship between 1994-1997.
MELANI SACHS, Wellness Co-Director
A certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, Melanie Sachs' skill as a teacher and therapist, has made her well-qualified to author Ayurvedic Beauty Care (Lotus Light Publications), now a well-regarded resource for those in the expanding field of natural and conscious body care. Recent projects include Melanie and Robert's book, Ayurvedic Spa (Lotus Light Publications), an authoritative guide for practitioners.
Melanie's work as a healing professional spans more than thirty years. Trained initially as an occupational therapist in Great Britain, she studied alternative approaches to healing under the guidance of Macrobiotic master Michio Kushi. She worked as a Macrobiotic counselor and cooking teacher independently and through holistic medical centers before becoming interested in Ayurveda.
BOB SACHS, Wellness Co-Director
Robert is a prolific author publishing 15 books, including Nine-Star Ki: Your Astrological Companion to Feng Shui (Vega Press 2001), Tibetan Ayurveda: Health Secrets from The Roof of The World (Inner Traditions, 2001), Rebirth Into Pure Land (Diamond Way Ayurveda, 1994), Perfect Endings: A Conscious Approach to Dying and Death (Inner Traditions International, 1998), The Passionate Buddha: Wisdom on Intimacy and Enduring Love (Inner Traditions, 2002), Becoming Buddha: Awakening The Wisdom and Compassion to Change Your World (Watkins Press, 2008), Wisdom of The Buddhist Masters: Common and Uncommon Sense (Watkins Press, 2008), The Ecology of Oneness: Awakening in a Free World (iUniverse 2016), and Start Your Day with a Good Night’s Sleep (iUniverse 2017), and his and wife Melanie’s most book “Ayurvedic Spa”, an authoritative guide for practitioners of Ayurvedic lifestyle and bodywork. Sachs is a graduate of the University of Lancaster with a B.A. in comparative religion and sociology, and the University of Kentucky with a Masters in Social Work.
UTA BIRKMAYER, Director Experiential Design
A graduate of Cornell Hotel School with a B.S., 1991 and master’s in hospitality, 1992, Uta has worked with Zak since 1995. Further shaping Uta’s entrepreneurial endeavors, she has completed an impressive set of additional scholastic achievements: Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Charrette Planning & Revealing the Brand Story 2008; Institute of Integrative Nutrition, Health Coach for Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies, certified 2013; Nutritional Therapy Association, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner certified 2014; Grove Consultants International, Principles of Graphic Facilitation, 2017; and Yale University, The Science of Well-Being 2018,
Since 2016 Uta has been chair for a San Luis Obispo-based CEO Mastermind group for Vistage Worldwide, Inc. where members are stretched, challenged, and supported in achieving their highest potential in work and life. In 2012 she founded Functional Gourmet working in synergy with functional and integrative medicine practitioners to bridge the gap between nutritional recommendations and the ability for patients to happily and successfully implement these fundamental changes into their lives.
In 2002 she founded Xsense Authentic Places, a ground-breaking consultancy assisting designers and operators to reveal a specific place’s real, authentic personality. In this capacity, Zak brought Uta into a Costa Rica project in 2008.