Dr. Ivan Ninov is the Executive Dean of Al Rayyan International University College (ARIU) in partnership with University of Derby in Qatar. ARIU is the premier higher education institution for hospitality management, tourism management and international business management education in the State of Qatar.

Dr. Ninov has extensive international academic and managerial experience, having lived and worked in Europe, the United States, Dubai, and Qatar. His main areas of expertise are Strategy Formulation and Implementation, and Quality Assurance and Improvement.

Throughout his career Dr. Ninov has been involved in the management of academic institutions, numerous research and consultancy projects, and has been recognised as a researcher within his field. In addition to this, he serves as an editor and reviewer for several academic journals and conferences, and as an external reviewer for hospitality and tourism management programmes.

Dr. Ninov holds a Ph.D. degree in Hospitality Administration, and a Master of Science degree in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management from Texas Tech University in the USA. He also holds an MSc degree and a BSc degree in Tourism from Sofia University in Bulgaria.