Global spa consultancy and management firm WTS International has announced the appointment of Dr Abhishek Jain as senior corporate representative, based in New Delhi, India.

Dr Jain will be in charge of overseeing WTS’ business development and assisting with operations in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean region, Malaysia and India.

With more than 14 years’ experience in the luxury hospitality, spa and wellness industries, Dr Jain is an industry leader in the Indian subcontinent.

He completed a degree in integrative medicine at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bangalore and followed this with a research role at the National Institute of Naturopathy under the Ministry of Health for the government of India.

He also undertook consultancy work for a number of world-class spa, yoga and sports businesses, and assisted in the pre-opening of what is thought to be the first Ayurvedic centre outside India, at The BodyHoliday at LeSPORT, on the Caribbean island of St Lucia.

Dr Jain gained significant operational knowledge as senior leader at this spa – which delivers 250 treatments every day – in a wellness complex and specially-built Ayurvedic centre within the resort.

In 2011, he joined The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts and later led the ESPA Spa at The Leela Palace, Udaipur – a luxury tented spa by the lakeside – which has since won many awards.

Dr Jain has also worked for international retail brands such as Elemis, ESPA, Forest Essentials, Kama Ayurveda, La Thérapie, Essie and OPI in both development and staff training.

“The main challenge in my new role will be to ensure operators and investors understand the huge benefits of working with a world-class company such as WTS International,” said Dr Jain.

“I feel confident that my background in pre-opening – and the expertise of WTS’ large family of colleagues – will enable us to add substantial value to the operations of our clients,” he added.

Gary Henkin, president of WTS International said: “The market for spa and wellness is growing rapidly in this region. Our aim is to offer our world-class operational and consulting services to investors in these markets to enable them to establish robust, profitable businesses and to realise the true value of their investments.

“The appointment of Dr Jain – when coupled with our existing team of global experts – gives WTS International the range, strength and depth required to satisfy the highest level of commercial operations in these markets. We look forward to talking with the leading operators and investors in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean region, Malaysia and India – and to working with them.”