Cristina is the lighthouse in the ocean, the backbone and soul of AJL Atelier. As one of the founders of the company, she looks after the team – core members as well as expert contractors – and the administration of the Atelier, making sure that everything runs smoothly and stays on track, for employees, clients and partners.

With her intuitive personality, detail-orientated focus and fervent passion for coaching and developing team members, Cristina is an invaluable member of the team who is constantly creating value for our clients. 

Cristina brings years of experience coordinating C-Suite executives and leading a variety of strategic HR initiatives such as improving company culture, tracking and boosting employee motivation, enhancing individual and team performance or developing and maintaining leadership talent pools.

Previously, Cristina worked in a number industries including Airlines, Ground Handling, Vacation Rental and Industrial Components Production.

Katie has worked for both corporate and start-up companies within the short term rental and vacation ownership sectors.

Whilst she has gained a peripheral view and experience in the Hospitality Industry, she has a distinct ability in Sales & Business Development, where she puts her personable but persuasive personality to good use. Katie brings to the team strong leadership & organisational skills with a focus on both quality of work and performance.

Moving forward, her focus with be on developing the AJL Atelier team and expanding our business further, together with strategic growth in Europe for key partners. She is a determined team member offering integrity and credibility, with a passion for effective communication and shared success. Katie´s interpersonal skills and experience enable her to build effective relationships with multicultural teams and key stakeholders.

Gernot brings a profound understanding of the hospitality tech ecosystem and it’s dynamics. Before his focus on the short-term rental industry, he spent the last +5 years at the world’s largest OTA, Booking.com, where he gained wide-ranging knowledge of the hospitality tech ecosystem. He led product strategy, commercial development, and operations for newly established product teams and acted as “GM” in a fast-moving new product development vertical.

He is a big picture strategy thinker who is simultaneously able to zoom in and think through execution details. This is an extremely effective combination when evaluating businesses, and in gaining a strategic advantage.

 At AJL Atelier, he’s leading the redesign of operational workflows and acts as strategic business adviser for the broad range of AJL’s the client portfolio.

Monique brings 20+ years of diverse professional experience in leadership roles at corporate and startup companies in the hospitality and fashion industries.

She was the 1st business team member at Futurestay, a management and optimization platform for independent short-term rental managers, and she has 7+ years of experience in business development, strategic partner management, branding, marketing, onboarding, and customer success. Monique has worked closely with hosts and property managers, technology service providers, and leading global OTAs, which makes her uniquely capable of understanding the short-term rental industry’s challenges and opportunities from multiple perspectives.

Formerly in fashion, she worked at global retail brands such as Gap, Coach, and Ann Taylor, where she was responsible for multi-million dollar businesses and managed the selection, marketing, branding, and promotion of the company’s products to increase customer sales.

 Monique will use her expertise to engage with relevant client projects and help expand AJL’s presence in the USA

Ivan identified and oversaw the on-the-ground operations for a Property Management Company for a couple of years after some initial experience in the luxury hotel industry.

Having gained knowledge and experience working with an innovative Operations Management Tool,  he is motivated and skilled at providing operational insights to Property Managers and Operations managers alike, advising on processes and best practices. 

The practical and technological experience acquired enables Ivan to provide AJL Atelier and its partners further industry knowledge and a fresh perspective on the consulting services they provide.

Mirela has worked in a key support role for over 10 years, with a focus on companies in hospitality and service providers. She brings both passion and positivity to the whole team and although working remotely, her engagement is noted. 

She is a hard-working, motivated individual, who always strives to achieve the best standard possible, at any given task. 

Mirela demonstrates the ability to work under pressure, solve problematic situations as and when they arise and maintain a good work environment for the team.  For her, it is important that every day brings new challenges and always something new to learn.

Markos brings a passion for research and answering questions with data. Before focusing on the short-term rental industry, he spent 4+ years as a quality assurance manager at an international logistics company, where he gained experience in data-led company performance and service quality improvement. His technical solutions and performance improvements led the company to be awarded the ISO 9001 certification.

Formerly a researcher in academia, he worked at ETH Zürich, where he used his technical expertise to investigate biological processes. He is now applying his scientific mindset and excellent analytical skills to solve business problems and provide a fresh perspective to clients.

At AJL Atelier he will use his expertise to strengthen our research capabilities and contribute to our industry knowledge with data-driven insights.