David Ashen is an award-winning designer, strategist, and business leader with more than three decades of experience creating environments that connect brand, culture, and human experience. As CEO of Saguez & Dash, the U.S. practice of Paris-based Saguez & Partners, David leads the firm’s integrated approach to hospitality, residential, senior living, retail, and food-and-beverage design. Saguez & Dash was formed in 2024 through the merger of Saguez & Partners and dash design, the New York-based firm David founded in 2004.

Throughout his career, David has championed the belief that the most impactful environments begin with a compelling story, one that brings together identity, place, and the people who experience it. This philosophy has guided his work across luxury hotels, destination resorts, restaurants, multifamily developments, senior living communities, and complex repositioning initiatives throughout the United States and internationally.

A pioneer in integrating brand strategy with interior architecture, David approaches every project as an opportunity to create meaningful connections between a client’s vision, a destination’s character, and the end user’s journey. His portfolio includes collaborations with leading hospitality companies, developers, restaurateurs, and global brands seeking to transform spaces into memorable, enduring experiences.

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Engineering from Tufts University and a Master of Architecture from University of Pennsylvania. His background in human-centered design continues to inform his belief that successful environments are not simply designed—they are experienced.

Beyond his professional work, David is the co-founder of Ageless Living Collaborative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the environments and experiences of older adults through education, advocacy, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. He also serves on the boards of the Pixie Project, the Thorn Tree Project, and the Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to using design as a catalyst for connection, community, and a better quality of life.

Verena Haller is Global Head of Design & Creative Services at The Lifestyle Group, Hyatt. She brings a wealth of experience having served as Chief Design Officer at Standard International, shaping the design, brand vision, and guest experience of The Standard, The StandardX, and The Manner hotels expanding across the globe.

Verena joined Standard International from Equinox Hotels, where she worked as Senior Vice President, dedicated to creating and defining the design and brand vision, as well as the guest experience for their new hotel concept.

She originally started her career in Europe, working in multiple architectural offices, honing her skills before joining Skidmore Owings & Merrill’s Interior Design department. There, she refined her international knowledge and experience, as well as her hospitality and design skills.

For over a decade, Verena has worked on design for leading brands such as The W, Four Seasons, and James hotels. Verena worked with Ian Schrager as Executive Vice President of Architecture and Design and was instrumental in the opening of various Edition Hotels. She later partnered with Morgans Hotel Group as Senior Vice President of Design, defining the brand’s next steps and guiding design and guest experience. She opened multiple properties in the US, Europe and UK, utilizing her vast expertise to help create unique experiences.

At Standard International, she helped expand The Standard brand worldwide, leading all design and development efforts, while also carefully curating and managing the collective of design talent in partnership with the brand. Verena directed the design of The Standard, London, the brand’s first international property which opened in 2019, followed by properties all over the globe. As Global Head for Design & Creative Services at The Lifestyle Group, Hyatt, she is actively involved in furthering the development of a rapid and dynamic global pipeline. Verena’s unique, innovative vision and refined eye for detail are essential assets that greatly contribute to the overall success in the expansion and evolution of Hyatt’s brands.

Mary Alice Palmer is a creative innovator, trailblazer, and celebrated leader in the residential and hospitality interior design industry with an incredibly diverse career spanning 30-plus years. An inherent interest in art, design, and culture was cultivated through extensive travels throughout her life creating a unique imaginative perspective that defines her ability to tell stories through great design. As a true multi-disciplinary artist and designer, Mary Alice’s career trajectory has soared across luxury creative categories in interior design, fashion, and film. Beginning at Parsons School of Design she catapulted first to the world of luxury residential interiors and architecture in New York, then to set design on feature films and television, to founding an iconic line of handbags and accessories before synthesizing her varied experiences into hospitality interior design.

Driven by an insatiable curiosity, Mary Alice harnesses an entrepreneurial mindset with a desire to create immersive and sensory-driven destinations—a perspective that has carried through her career, coalescing into her role as Global Creative Director and Founding Principal of ROAM Interior Design. As the leading creative force within the practice, Mary Alice exudes her remarkable ability to craft unique stories to infuse her design philosophy within a talented global studio.

Mary Alice’s portfolio spans international waters and continents, each location offering an imaginatively unforgettable experience and unique story, reflected in every design detail and enhanced by history, folklore, and contemporary creative culture to develop a truly rare sense of place. Notable projects span across boutique and luxury works such as Amaala Triple Bay Yacht Club, Saudi Arabia; Mitsis Grande Hotel Rhodes, Greece; St Regis Mallorca, Spain; Hotel Saint George, Marfa, Texas; Ritz-Carlton Portland, Oregon; Auberge Resorts Bishops Lodge, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Esperanza, Los Cabos, Mexico.

Her current work includes luxury brands St. Regis Estates, the Ritz-Carlton, Auberge Collection, One & Only, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, Nikki Beach, and Fairmont.