Tamara Lohan MBE is an entrepreneur, technology strategist and keynote speaker who has redefined how people experience travel. As Founder and CEO of Mr & Mrs Smith, she transformed a small idea conceived during a disappointing weekend away into a global travel platform with more than 1.5 million members. What began as a printed guidebook quickly became a pioneering online business, driven by Tamara’s vision for combining innovation with human connection. Her journey is a lesson in resilience, creativity and the power of building something meaningful from scratch.
With a background in marketing and a sharp instinct for digital transformation, Tamara served as Chief Technical Officer for over 15 years, overseeing the design and development of the company’s proprietary booking engine, in-house systems and apps. Under her leadership, Mr & Mrs Smith evolved from a boutique publishing venture into a fully digital, membership-based service with offices around the world. When she took on the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2020, she faced the extraordinary challenge of steering the business through the pandemic, leading a newly remote workforce and maintaining the company’s distinctive brand culture. Her ability to adapt, innovate and inspire during this period laid the foundation for one of the company’s greatest achievements — its acquisition by Hyatt in 2023.
Tamara’s career is proof that success rarely follows a straight line. She has spoken openly about the setbacks and hard decisions that shaped her leadership style, encouraging others to embrace the messy reality of entrepreneurship. Whether she’s addressing future leaders at the London Business School TELL Series, inspiring women in business for Baker & McKenzie, or discussing innovation with executives at KPMG, L’Oréal and Google, Tamara’s talks blend honesty, humour and practical insight. She champions women in technology through her work with the WITs END network, mentors start-ups including handwritten-marketing platform Inkpact, and serves as a Non-Executive Director for Fortnum & Mason and Much Better Adventures.
Audiences connect with Tamara because she speaks from lived experience — building a business while raising a family, staying curious in a fast-changing industry, and leading with both empathy and determination. Her story shows what can happen when creativity meets courage, and why true innovation begins with believing there’s a better way.
