Today (17 October) marks the first day of the annual World Spa and Wellness conference, hosted at London’s ExCeL exhibition centre.

The two-day in-person event is curated for international spa and hotel directors to network and share their experience of operating successful spas, as well as engaging in panels with leaders from within the industry.

The schedule includes panel discussions, workshops, keynotes and networking opportunities.

Session topics will range from leadership and communication and mastering KPIs to drive profitability, to recruitment and spas’ role as a front-line preventative health strategy.

The speaker line-up includes industry figures from across the global sector, such as:

Ana Coelho – director of spa, Rocco Forte Italy.Andrew Gibson – global wellness and hospitality advisor.

Becky Woodhouse – CEO, Pure Spa
UK.Finlay Anderson – area spa director UK, IHG
.

Hans-Peter Vei – spa director, Grand Hotel Bad Ragaz
, Switzerland.Lindsay Madden-Nadeau – founder, Meraki Bespoke Wellness Strategies
.

Patrizia Bortolin – wellness director at Preidlhof Resort, Italy
.Pat Perdue – CEO Pat Perdue and board member of Leading Spas of Canada.

Sonal Uberoi – author of The Wellness Asset and wellness director of Four Seasons Hotel Madrid.Zoe Wall – MSpa’s medical spa advisor.

The event’s annual World Spa and Wellness Awards will also be announced this evening. Categories up for grabs include Boutique Spa of the Year, Therapist of The Year and Spa/Salon Leader of The Year, among others.

World Spa and Wellness is a component of the wider Professional Beauty London exhibition, which also features Salon International. To read more about the conference, head to the official website.