Joined UNWTO in June 2018 as Executive Director.

Mr. Butler has been involved at the highest level with Spanish tourism promotion for more than 25 years. He served as Director-General at the Spanish Tourism Institute (Turespaña) from 2016 to 2018 and from 2012 to 2013. He has held positions as Councillor at the Spanish Embassies in Germany (2014-2016 and 2007-2011) and the United Kingdom (1999-2004), and was the Director of the Spanish Tourism Office in Miami, USA from 1995 to 1999, and in Frankfurt, Germany from 1991 to 1994, among other responsibilities at Turespaña in Madrid. In addition, he has served as an external consultant to UNWTO and on the boards of directors of Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH), AENA Airports and Aldeasa (currently World Duty Free), all based in Madrid.

Mr. Butler has a B.A. and a PhD. in Naval Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He has postgraduate degrees in Senior Management (IESE Business School, University of Navarra) and Corporate Finance (London Business School).

A native Spanish speaker, he is fluent in English, French, and German.

Madhu is the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, working closely with our member companies, partners and key stakeholders to guide the industry’s collaborative efforts on sustainability and community engagement. She joined International Tourism Partnership – our former organisation, as Director in June 2018.

Madhu began her career in the hospitality and tourism industry in 1998, working in operations, sales and marketing with leading companies, including Marriott International, Hilton, Starwood and Emirates Airlines across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the UK. Since 2009, Madhu has worked in the not-for-profit sector on a range of development issues, including poverty and inequality, education and livelihoods, gender equality, water & sanitation, sustainable cities and human rights.

Prior to joining International Tourism Partnership, Madhu was Director for Partnerships & Development for WSUP (Water & Sanitation For Urban Poor), before which she was Director of Development & Partnerships at British Asian Trust, a charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales. She has held a number of non-executive roles including Chairperson for Clean Team Ghana, and Mentor for Cartier’s Women’s Initiative Awards. She holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Thomas has been working in the travel and hospitality industries for 15 years. Following the completion of his masters in tourism and business from Dublin Institute of Technology, Thomas moved to the USA to work for one of the USA's first LEED accredited hotels. At Booking.com, Thomas focuses on product innovation and partner education, working to help both partners and customers on their sustainability journeys.

Rusmir Musić is the Global Business Development Lead for IFC’s EDGE Green Buildings Market Transformation Program. Rusmir joined IFC in 2011 where he initially worked as Strategy Officer for the Climate Business Department and was part of the team that synthesized IFC’s Climate Implementation Plan. Rusmir hails from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he left at age 17 - as a war refugee - for the United States. He received his BA in Chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross and his MA from Humanities and Social Thought from New York University. After working in the education sector, he received an MBA from the Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where he was Salutatorian of his class.