AYURVEDA · YOGA · WELLNESS RESORTS · NATUROPATHY · UHNI RETREATS
Wellness & Spa Resorts
Executive Search
18+ Wellness Leadership Placements — with an average 90 Days time-to-placement and a 12-month candidate guarantee.
18+
Wellness Leadership Placements
90 Days
Avg. Time-to-Placement
88%
Offer Acceptance Rate
12 Months
Candidate Guarantee
Specialisation withinHospitality & Travel·Crafting World-Class Experiences
Wellness, spa and retreat resorts in India span internationally-renowned retreats (Ananda in the Himalayas, Vana Retreat Dehradun, Atmantan Wellness Resort, SOUKYA, Shreyas Retreat, SwaSwara, Kairali Ayurvedic Healing Village, Somatheeram, Amanbagh, SUJÁN Rajmahal, The Four Seasons Wellness Retreat, Six Senses Fort Barwara Wellness Programme), ayurveda-specialty clinics and resort-wellness chains (Jiva Ayurveda, Isha Yoga Centre, AYUSH-registered wellness centres), global wellness brands with India presence (Aman, COMO Shambhala, Chiva-Som-affiliated offerings), and the fast-growing luxury-hotel wellness programmes (Taj Wellness, Leela Wellness, Oberoi Spa, Ananda Wellness at Aman). India’s medical-and-wellness-tourism is a ₹175,000 Cr+ economy growing double-digits.
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→A UHNI wellness retreat sought a Chief Wellness Officer — placed in 86 days
→A new wellness property needed a General Manager — closed in 92 days
→A luxury-hotel chain hired a Director of Wellness for multi-property programme rollout — placed in 78 days
→An integrated wellness platform sought a CEO — closed in 104 days
Our Wellness & Spa Resorts Track Record
Situation:
A UHNI wellness retreat sought a Chief Wellness Officer to expand programme portfolio and improve repeat-guest ratio.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate with Chiva-Som and Ananda credentials in 86 days; repeat-guest ratio improved from 42% to 61% in 18 months; ADR +38%.
Situation:
A luxury-hotel chain needed a Director of Wellness to launch signature wellness programmes across 8 properties.
Outcome:
Placed a candidate with Six Senses Wellness tenure in 78 days; programmes launched at all 8 properties in 11 months; spa revenue +52% vs baseline.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our Wellness & Spa Resorts Practice
Wellness, spa and retreat resorts in India span internationally-renowned retreats (Ananda in the Himalayas, Vana Retreat Dehradun, Atmantan Wellness Resort, SOUKYA, Shreyas Retreat, SwaSwara, Kairali Ayurvedic Healing Village, Somatheeram, Amanbagh, SUJÁN Rajmahal, The Four Seasons Wellness Retreat, Six Senses Fort Barwara Wellness Programme), ayurveda-specialty clinics and resort-wellness chains (Jiva Ayurveda, Isha Yoga Centre, AYUSH-registered wellness centres), global wellness brands with India presence (Aman, COMO Shambhala, Chiva-Som-affiliated offerings), and the fast-growing luxury-hotel wellness programmes (Taj Wellness, Leela Wellness, Oberoi Spa, Ananda Wellness at Aman). India’s medical-and-wellness-tourism is a ₹175,000 Cr+ economy growing double-digits.
Gladwin’s Wellness & Spa Resorts practice places Chief Wellness Officers, General Managers of wellness resorts, Directors of Spa and Medical Wellness, Head Ayurvedic Doctors / Physicians, Heads of Programme Design, Chief Medical Officers and CEOs of integrated wellness platforms. Every mandate addresses AYUSH regulatory architecture, wellness-programme-design credibility and the Indian-heritage-plus-international-service standard balance.
As a specialist CEO mandates in wellness platforms, our practice also covers Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, our practice also covers Hospitality & Travel practice overview, and as a source for Telecommunications — mobile network operators.
The Wellness & Spa Resorts Landscape Today
Indian wellness-tourism crossed ₹30,000 Cr in 2025 with Ananda anchoring the UHNI premium, Vana / Atmantan in upper-premium and SOUKYA / Shreyas in the ayurveda-specialty segment. UHNI wellness retreat stays average 5–14 days with ₹35,000–65,000 per night ADR; programmes are pre-designed around panchakarma, detox, weight management, stress reset, fertility or rehab. International wellness-seekers (40%+ guest mix at premium retreats) drive foreign-currency revenue. AYUSH Ministry recognition and NABH wellness-accreditation are rising baseline asks.
Key Leadership Challenges in Wellness & Spa Resorts
Programme-design credibility — panchakarma / ayurveda / yoga / naturopathy programmes must deliver guest-outcomes
AYUSH / NABH wellness accreditation and medical governance
Indian-heritage + international-service-standard balance — authenticity without compromise on luxury
Guest-recovery architecture — UHNI repeat-rate and programme-subscription
Medical-wellness vs lifestyle-wellness positioning and pricing
Global-competition from Chiva-Som / Kamalaya / Mayr-Austria / SHA Mexico
What We Look For in Wellness & Spa Resorts Leaders
Across mandates, wellness & spa resorts leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The Chief Wellness Officer
A senior wellness leader with Ananda / Vana / Chiva-Som / COMO-Shambhala programme-design credentials, physician-and-practitioner stewardship and UHNI-guest-care discipline.
The Wellness GM
A hotelier with luxury-resort GM tenure plus specific wellness-programme operations experience, brand-standard-audit discipline and medical-wellness-governance credibility.
The Director of Spa
A spa-and-therapeutic-services leader with signature-programme-build credibility, therapist-ecosystem stewardship and ESPA / COMO / Guerlain protocol discipline.
The Head Ayurvedic Physician
A senior ayurvedic physician with BAMS + Vaidya-certification or equivalent, panchakarma / specialty-treatment credibility and AYUSH / NABH compliance fluency.
The Programme-Design Leader
A wellness-programme-design leader with evidence-based-protocol architecture, diagnostic / treatment / reset / maintenance pathway stewardship and outcome-measurement discipline.
The Chief Medical Officer
A CMO with integrated-medicine credentials, AYUSH and allopathic-specialty integration credibility and governance rhythm of NABH / JCI accreditations.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
Ministry of AYUSH framework with Central Council of Indian Medicine Act 1970 (amended); National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) wellness-centre-accreditation; Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954 for wellness-product-advertising; Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 for ayurvedic-drug regulation; Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 for wellness-food programmes; Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act where fertility-programmes apply; Clinical Establishments Act 2010 (adopted by select states); state AYUSH department licensing; Companies Act 2013; FSSAI for ayurvedic-food products; FEMA for foreign-wellness-guest remittances; GST on wellness services (18% for spa, variable for medical-wellness); Trade Marks Act for programme / protocol IP.
Compensation Architecture
Chief Wellness Officers: ₹2.5–5 Cr + STI + wellness-programme-P&L participation; Wellness GMs: ₹3–6 Cr + property-P&L STI; Directors of Spa / Medical Wellness: ₹1.5–3.5 Cr; Head Ayurvedic Physicians: ₹1.2–2.8 Cr (heavy premium on Vaidya-credentialed specialists); Heads of Programme Design: ₹1.5–3 Cr; CMOs: ₹2–4.5 Cr; CEOs of integrated wellness platforms: ₹3–7 Cr + STI + ESOP.
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for Wellness & Spa Resorts
Chief Wellness Officer searches at retreat-scale properties
General Manager searches at wellness resorts
Director of Spa and Medical Wellness searches
Head Ayurvedic Doctor / Senior Physician searches
Head of Programme Design searches
Chief Medical Officer searches at medical-wellness platforms
CEO / COO searches at integrated wellness platforms
Organisations We Serve
UHNI wellness retreats — Ananda in the Himalayas, Vana Retreat, Atmantan, SOUKYA, Shreyas Retreat, Aman-wellness programmes
Specialty / ayurveda — SwaSwara, Kairali Ayurvedic Healing Village, Somatheeram, Jiva Ayurveda, Narayana Institute of Yoga Sciences
Hotel-wellness programmes — Taj Wellness, Leela Wellness, Oberoi Spa, Four Seasons Wellness, Six Senses Wellness, Raffles Wellness, Rosewood Asaya
Medical-wellness platforms — Narayana Health Wellness, Apollo Spectra Wellness, Kerala Ayurveda
Luxury-spa brands entering India — COMO Shambhala, Guerlain Spa, ESPA, Chiva-Som affiliates
Corporate-wellness and integrated clinics
Wellness & Spa Resorts leaders assessed on the Hospitality “PINNACLE” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for hospitality and travel leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for wellness & spa resorts mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Hospitality & Travel
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