#MeetTheTeam: Cristóbal González Comella

For our #MeetTheTeam series, this month we are introducing Cristóbal González Comella, our Regional Director for Latin America.

Cristóbal was born and raised in Mexico and is of Cuban and Spanish heritage. He studied at Les Roches International School of Hotel Management across three of its global campuses—Marbella (Spain), Bluche (Switzerland), and Chicago (Illinois)—obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the latter. Before graduating, he also lived in Ireland, where he completed professional training at Ashford Castle and The Ritz-Carlton at Powerscourt Estate, both resorts centered around nature and local culture.

Cristóbal has always had a deep passion for nature and the sea. Having been raised in Banderas Bay, he has remained in close contact with the natural world—observing migrating humpback whales for as long as he can remember, climbing the tallest mountains in the bay, and scuba diving in its hidden corners. This has brought him face-to-face with a wide variety of wildlife, including oceanic manta rays, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, military macaws, coatis, and multiple species of reptiles, including American crocodiles.

Cristóbal learned to scuba dive in 1995 at the age of eight and has never looked back. He further developed his passion through professional training, completing a PADI Eco Divemaster course in Mahahual (Mexico), where he also submitted and published a scientific research paper on Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (also known as SCTLD) as part of his certification in September 2020. He continued his training shortly after on the island of Cozumel (Mexico), becoming a PADI Instructor in November 2020.

Cristóbal currently splits his time between Mexico City, Banderas Bay, and Mahahual with his dog, Naya—a rescue he named after the jungle where he found her in Nayarit. He is also a passionate tennis enthusiast and has played since a young age, enjoying the sport his father competed in professionally during the 1970s.