HBA Appoints Petrie PR to Showcase a New Chapter in Integrated Design Excellence Led by Global Co-CEO Chris Godfrey

(images from left to right: Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, HBA Global Co-CEO Chris Godfrey, Fairmont Breakers Long Beach)




Petrie PR is proud to announce its appointment as the public relations partner for Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), the world’s leading hospitality and lifestyle design firm. This strategic collaboration represents a significant step in supporting HBA’s continued growth and deepening presence in Asia, one of the world’s most dynamic and design-driven markets.


With a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and cultural storytelling, Petrie PR looks forward to amplifying HBA’s voice, vision, and industry leadership across Asia. As HBA continues to shape the future of luxury design, Petrie PR’s expertise in positioning design and lifestyle brands will play a vital role in communicating HBA’s story, values, and design ethos to a wider audience.



A New Era of Holistic Leadership

At the helm of HBA’s transformative phase is Chris Godfrey, Global Co-CEO. An award-winning Chartered Architect from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Chris brings over 25 years of international design experience. His role extends beyond design leadership, it is about shaping the business of design through a creative approach defined by vision, strategy, and collaboration.


Chris joined HBA in 2014 to establish HBA Residential, with a vision to integrate architecture, interiors, and furniture design within a single studio. The success of this integrated model laid the foundation for HBA’s broader evolution, extending HBA’s practice into strategy and advisory, master planning, architecture, landscape, lighting, art consultancy and product design. This holistic approach now enables HBA to deliver a truly dynamic, 360-degree design service.

Chris’ appointment as Global Co-CEO in 2022 marked a pivotal new chapter for HBA. From the firm’s Singapore headquarters, he now oversees global operations, guiding 1,500+ colleagues across 25 offices and 16 divisions worldwide.


Today, Chris drives HBA’s OneHBA framework, a diverse business united by culture and operations to deliver integrated design, collective excellence, and exceptional outcomes on a global scale. This approach blends creativity with commercial strength, giving each studio the freedom to innovate while leveraging the power of a global infrastructure. Striking the right balance of scale, quality, and agility is central to how HBA creates work that is both locally authentic and globally consistent.


Chris’ design ethos is rooted in the principles of honesty, clarity, integration, and purpose; values he applies not only to design but also to building a successful global practice. This philosophy guides his leadership, ensuring HBA remains at the forefront of design excellence worldwide. Under his direction, the firm has revitalized its brand and operations, invested in people and technology, identified new opportunities, opened studios in key markets, and expanded its global reach in step with evolving market dynamics.



OneHBA: The Next Phase of HBA’s Evolution

Built on three essential pillars: Integrated Design, Collective Excellence, and Exceptional Delivery, OneHBA strategy shapes today HBA’s creative process and underpins its status as a global leader in hospitality design and beyond.


Integrated Design reflects HBA’s holistic and adaptive approach. From its origins as the birthplace of hospitality interiors, HBA has grown into a fully integrated design firm with a multidisciplinary collective of more than 1,500 creatives, who unite architecture, interiors, lighting, art, and technology to craft seamless, immersive environments. By considering every element from the outset, HBA creates spaces that are visually striking, functionally cohesive, and culturally attuned, resulting in guest experiences that are both memorable, meaningful, and imbued with a deep sense of place.


Collective Excellence underscores HBA’s commitment to leveraging the diverse expertise of its global team. With more than 1,500 creatives across 25 offices in major cities worldwide, HBA operates as a collaborative network that blends local insight with global best practice. This integrated approach ensures design that is both locally nuanced and internationally benchmarked, supported by rigorous quality standards. The result is creative synergy, continuous learning, and well-rounded solutions shaped by the richness of regional context and the strength of a global perspective.


Exceptional Delivery reflects HBA’s dedication to quality and craftsmanship. Renowned for its precision, meticulous documentation, and responsiveness, the firm carefully manages every phase of a project to ensure it is delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest standard. This consistent dedication has earned HBA enduring client partnerships, industry recognition, and a reputation for design excellence, evidenced by more than 15,000 projects completed across 80 countries worldwide.


Setting New Benchmarks: Signature Projects That Exemplify OneHBA strategy HBA’s core values come to life in some of the world’s most iconic hospitality and lifestyle destinations, where its approach continues to redefine luxury design through Integrated Design, Exceptional Delivery, and Collective Excellence, blending architecture, interiors, art, and technology to create immersive, human-centered experiences.


At Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab in Dubai, HBA channels the elegance of a superyacht, crafting sculptural interiors that capture the fluidity of the sea. Every detail is thoughtfully curated to evoke emotion through fluid forms, organic textures, and a fresh perspective on timeless elegance.


At Fairmont Breakers Long Beach in California, a 2025 Gold Key finalist, HBA reimagined this Southern California landmark with a transformative design journey. The result is a refined blend of coastal sophistication and timeless glamour. Each space,from vibrant dining and bar destinations to 185 guestrooms, harmoniously balances historic character with contemporary spirit, celebrating the building’s storied past while embracing a new era of hospitality.


At Four Seasons Kyoto, modern luxury is seamlessly layered with historical tradition. Contemporary design elements are interwoven with heritage details, honouring the city’s cultural legacy while creating an immersive dialogue between nature, heritage, and subtle luxury.


At Park Hyatt Suzhou, HBA reinterprets the traditional Suzhou mansion with a refined, contemporary sensibility. Overlooking Jinji Lake, the design blends classical architectural principles with modern sophistication, enriched by vibrant materials and artistic details that celebrate Suzhou’s rich heritage while embracing the future.


At Raffles at Galaxy Macau, cultural fusion takes center stage. The design balances Eastern and Western influences to create a cosmopolitan, opulent atmosphere that resonates with a global audience.

Opened in 2025 Surfside Miami embodies sculptural elegance and architectural innovation. World-class amenities include an iconic skybridge pool suspended 125 feet in the air and a luminous glass-roofed lobby that defines grandeur. Inspired by organic elements, its spaces achieve a harmonious balance between the natural world and the human touch.

At One&Only Portonovi in Montenegro, inspiration is drawn from the Adriatic coastline. Natural textures and a regionally inspired palette ground the resort deeply in its surroundings, while a collaboration across HBA’s studios distils monastic architecture into a modern expression. The result is a space that feels both grounded and elevated, where nature and culture converge to offer an experience that is immersive, refined, and warmly welcoming.


Currently in progress, SHA Wellness Resort, Residences & Villas in Dubai, and AMALI Island Villas in Dubai, reflect HBA’s evolving commitment to innovation, wellness, and sensory design.


SHA Wellness Resort Residences & Villas, the brand’s first Healthy Living Island Resort, is envisioned as a tranquil retreat. Interiors emphasize natural textures, soft palettes, and seamless indoor-outdoor transitions to support holistic well-being, harmoniously blending the healing power of nature with world-class wellness.


AMALI Island, a private enclave of 24 ultra-luxury beachfront villas, celebrates natural wellness and refined living. Each residence offers expansive beachfront and private berths with direct access to azure waters. Interiors feature bespoke furnishings, sculptural marble kitchens, and palettes inspired by the surrounding landscape, creating a lifestyle immersed in nature yet elevated by design.


Across these destinations, HBA’s pillars are more than ideals, they shape every design decision. Through interdisciplinary integration, global collaboration, and a relentless focus on excellent and timely delivery, HBA continues to set new benchmarks in hospitality and lifestyle design.



Looking Ahead: Amplifying HBA’s Impact in Asia-Pacific

With Petrie PR now leading communications across Asia, HBA is set to strengthen its presence in the region’s dynamic markets. This partnership will showcase HBA’s design leadership and ethos, celebrate its project achievements, and connect its creative vision with media, stakeholders, and design communities across the region. Together, HBA and Petrie PR begin a new chapter, one defined by integrated design excellence and the continued transformation of luxury hospitality design.




About HBA

HBA believes in the power of great design to positively impact lives. Design that opens to new ideas, new innovations, and new connections. Design that gives form to emotion.

Founded in 1965 by Howard Hirsch and Michael Bedner, HBA’s legacy of leadership in hospitality interior design now spans an ecosystem of design services and disciplines.

Today, HBA is a dynamic and multidisciplinary creative collective, bringing decades of experience to bear across design specialisms, markets and industries. From hotels to homes, art to architecture, landscape to lighting, HBA delivers design solutions that transcend function, creating environments that inspire and evoke emotion. With over 1,500 professionals across 25 offices in four regions, HBA collaborates with clients in more than 80 countries each year.

Honoured with multiple awards, HBA has been consistently recognized as the industry leader in hospitality design, ranking first on Interior Design magazine’s Annual Hospitality Giants of Design List for 26 years. Other prestigious awards also include 32 Gold Key Awards, 40 Hospitality Design Awards, 60 Conde Nast Traveler Hot List and other accolades of caliber, such as Interior Design’s Best of Year Awards, AHEAD Awards, DNA Paris Design Awards, SBID International Design Awards and International Property Awards.