Dr James Mabey holds degrees from the United States, Thailand, Dubai, and China including an MBA, Law Degree, and a Doctorate Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr Mabey has lived in Asia since 1999, and has over a decade of business consulting and real-estate development experience in the region. He speaks Mandarin, Thai, Laotian, and Spanish. Prior to joining Standard International, Dr Mabey previously held key positions as, Chief Operating Officer Antaeus Group (Hospitality and Real Estate), Interim Chief Development Officer and Senior Vice President of Development – Asia Pacific, for Jumeirah Group, Senior Director of Development for Marco Polo Hotels, and Director of Development for Jumeirah Private Island, Phuket, as well as China Operations and Development Manager for the International Resort Development Group. He also served as Economic and Tourism Development Advisor to the Thailand Ministry of the Interior, and Phuket Governor’s Office from 2005 to 2011.

Dr Mabey is a frequent speaker at industry and academic conferences, and guest lecturer at universities throughout Asia Pacific. He is also Associate Professor of Hotel Development and Strategy with the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management. Dr Mabey serves on the Board of Directors for the Iswara Dewata Group in Jakarta, and the Industry Advisory Committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management. Dr Mabey was the recipient of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Face of the Future 2013 award. In 2018, at the ALIS Wall Street Journal roundtable, he was named by Hotels Magazine one of the top 20 global hotel executives under 40 years-old.