Founder and CEO

Rifaquat Ali Khan Mirza has been a hospitality industry veteran with experience across luxury  and lifestyle hotels of over two decades working with ITC Hotels and Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels.

Post which he set up a boutique  firm – THE WORKS with strategic advisory services across the spectrum of the hospitality business with niche specializations in operational excellence, pre-opening set up for hotels and restaurants, brand creation and management, restructuring bleeding businesses, India entry strategy for foreign brands and hand holding that process, investment advisory, organizational behavior advisory, growth strategy.

He works closely with leadership teams of clients in providing multi-year long standing solutions to complex business situations. It is through his real time data driven approach along with a pulse of the industry knowledge that his firm is able to deliver practical solutions with  a blend of macro and micro perspectives. His fine understanding of hotel finance keeps him in good stead as the industry specialist consultant for Dun and Bradstreet India. Known for his inimitable dynamic style and articulation with an undercurrent of fun he has always taken the people first approach.

He loves to be at the fore front of the food and beverage industry and speaks regularly at industry events apart from being part of the advisory and jury committees. A serial creator he is always keen to collaborate and set up new properties, the latest being Plus Que Parfait a platform for Indo-French culinary collaborations with a successful multicity tour of Accor Hotels with a French Vegan celebrity chef and hopes to re-ignite it once international travel normalizes.

​He is always keen to talk about how human capital can be optimised and is up for a sharing industry  insights especially in the areas of sustainability, wellness and technology which are his latest focus areas. He founded Lush Vitality – a nature-based wellness brand recently moving into a product business; advises E-jal a holistic sustainable water solutions business and is part of a team building blockchain solutions for the hospitality industry whilst dipping his toes into the metaverse and Web 3.

Little known aspects of his persona, mainly because he does not wear it on his sleeve : his penchant for fitness and passion for social service through his NGO – Giggles Foundation.

His love for  the spoken and written word cuts across languages and style. You might find him busy creating some re-mixes on the DJ console or even narrating some shayari, a request he gets regularly courtesy the family name he shares with a pre-eminent Urdu poet.

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You can mail him at rifaquat@theworks.co.in or just call through the link below.

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