Vaibhav Garg is a distinguished hotelier, author, and speaker with extensive experience in the hospitality industry. He has affiliations with Cornell University and has worked with Accor, IHCL (Taj), and assignments with the United Nations. 

Currently, he serves as the Group Director of Human Resources at Canouan Group, based at Canouan Estate in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In this role, he focuses on strategic human resources, process improvement, sustainable development, and responsible HR and business practices. He notably was instrumental in making the resort the first business in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to sign onto the UN Global Compact, publicly emphasizing the resort’s commitment to sustainability, responsible tourism, and community integration. 

His long-standing involvement with the United Nations includes: 

SDG Innovation Mentor UN Global Compact: He mentored for the Young SDG Innovators Programme in 2019, 2021, and 2022, guiding companies on innovation related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Advisory Committee Member for the UNDP in the Maldives: He served as an independent human resources expert and advisory committee member for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Maldives. 

His UN work aligns his HR and business strategies with the UN’s SDGs, focusing on responsible business, disaster resilience, innovation, climate change, gender equality, and partnerships. 

His long-term association with Cornell University includes: 

Industry Scholar: He is an Industry Scholar, participating in hospitality service research initiatives. 

Advisory Board Member: He served on the Advisory Board for the Cornell Institute of Healthy Futures (CIHF) from 2018 to 2020. 

Speaker: He has been a regular speaker at Cornell’s Ithaca campus since 2012, presenting research on diversity and inclusion, sustainability, corporate responsibility, and human resources. 

In hospitality and professional human resources, he led the Talent & Culture Division for Accor in the Maldives from 2016-2022. He was responsible for human resources, learning and development, and overseeing pre-opening, brand integration, deflagging, turnaround projects, and cultural initiatives for various resorts, including Fairmont, Raffles, Movenpick, Pullman, and Mercure. He also held leadership positions such as Area Talent & Culture Manager for the Group and Cluster Director of Talent & Culture for a Global Sports Event in Qatar in 2022-23. 

He has been recognized for his leadership and expertise, including:​ 

• “HR Director of the Year” by Human Capital Maldives HR Awards. 

• “Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion” award from Human Capital Maldives. 

• Named among the “101 Top Global HR Minds in the Hotel Industry” by the World HRD Congress and 50 Most Talented HR Leaders by HR Maldives Association. 

• One of his chapters on services marketing was published in the Springer book *The Future of Service Post-COVID-19 Pandemic, Volume 2*.