Valeri Chekheria and Levan Berulava are hospitality innovators widely credited with playing a key role in Georgia’s rapid ascension over the past decade as a global cultural hub and tourist destination. Since the early 2000s, they have held executive positions in various sectors, both public and private, in Georgia and abroad.  

After launching their careers in Georgia, they moved to New York in 2007 to pursue master’s degrees at Columbia University. They returned to join Adjara Group Hospitality and spent the 2010s growing it into Georgia’s leading independent hospitality brand, opening seven hotels across the country. In 2021, they left the company to take on executive roles at Slowness, where they spearheaded development, concepting and pre-opening across multiple projects in Europe and the United States, including a collaboration in upstate New York with American hotel pioneer Andre Balazs.  

In 2023, they returned to Georgia to take on managing partner roles at ROOMS Holding, departing the company in 2024 to focus primarily on their consulting business. Relaunched as Salt, they are currently pursuing projects and partnerships in the hospitality space in Georgia and abroad. They sit on the boards of various international organizations and Valeri is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.