Meet The Team
Nav Dulai
Founder
Founder of Zube and its associated brands, Nav is one of UK’s most experienced specialists in textile care and preservation. with 28 years of expertise spanning dry-cleaning, commercial laundry, linen hire and wet-cleaning across a diverse range of fabrics and techniques, his particular specialism lies in wedding dress cleaning and preservation — an area demanding an advanced and highly nuanced understanding of textile chemistry and bridal restoration processes.
Throughout his career, Nav has earned the trust of an extensive roster of exclusive clients, including some of the world’s most prestigious brands in retail and hospitality as well as leading department stores. His reputation is built on an unwavering commitment to excellence, meticulous attention to detail, and a consistently high standard of customer service that drives outstanding client retention.
He has a proven track record of negotiating and securing high-value commercial laundry and linen hire contracts, combining deep technical knowledge with a natural ability to build strong, trust-based relationships at every level. An excellent communicator, Nav excels in dispute resolution, innovative problem-solving, and identifying new opportunities to push the boundaries of what is possible within the sector.
Beyond his commercial work, Nav is a committed advocate for sustainability, wellbeing, and mindfulness across textile care and PBSA environments as well as being actively engaged with the B Corp movement.
A passionate wellbeing practitioner, mental health advocate, motivational & personal development coach and mentor, he brings the same dedication to growth in his personal life as he does to his industry — driven by a deep commitment to continuous development, charity work and making a positive, meaningful impact on the communities and people he serves. This ensures Zube’s mission & impact extends far beyond profit — but to purposeful, societal contribution and transformational change, allowing individuals and communities to prosper and thrive.
Rav Hayer
CEO
Brian Welsh (MBA, MRICS)
Senior Strategic Board Adviser
Brian is an industry leader with over 20 years’ experience in operational real estate, most notably as a pioneer of the student accommodation industry in the UK and Europe. His experience includes senior fundraising, investment, development and property/asset management roles at a number of the most successful businesses in the sector.
As CEO of Nido / Head of Student at Round Hill Capital, Brian oversaw the expansion of the portfolio from 2,000 to over 10,000 operational beds and a pipeline of a further 10,000 by raising and deploying over €1.5Bn in equity across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, NL and Germany.
Prior to joining Nido / Round Hill, Brian was Chief Operating Officer of ThreeSixty Developments (formerly Knightsbridge Student Housing Ltd) / The Student Housing Company, where he oversaw the acquisition and delivery of over 17,100 beds across Europe, breaking into new PRS and PBSA markets which have since become established, including Ireland and Spain.
Before ThreeSixty Developments, Brian was Head of Operational Strategy at Liberty Living plc, one of the UK’s largest PBSA providers.
Brian founded OPRE Solutions Ltd in 2023 to perform advisory and board services to investors in the Operational Real Estate space.
With his wide-ranging and unique experience in fundraising, investment, operations and development of operational real estate, his expertise is highly valued by many market participants.
Philip Hillman
Senior Strategic Board Adviser
Philip has extensive experience in the Shared Living Sectors and was one of the first advisors to lenders, investors and operators active in the emerging PBSA sector in the UK in the early 1990’s. Philip has worked with most of the leading players in the sector and led the JLL Student housing team who were the leading valuers and agents in the PBSA sector.
Philip qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and was subsequently elected a Fellow of the RICS.
In the period 2005-2021 He advised on most of the leading UK PBSA portfolio transactions, with lot sizes typically ranging from £200m to £1 billion and was awarded ‘PBSA Personality of the Year’ in 2018 and admitted to the ‘PBSA Hall of Fame’ in 2021.
Philip was an International Director and Chairman of Living Capital Markets at global real estate advisors JLL. He subsequently left to pursue a career as a consultant to the Living Real Estate sectors and now regularly speaks at or chairs the leading Living conferences in the sector.
Philip’s consultancy clients include QX Global and Places for People; he has also worked as a strategic board advisor to PBSA provider Abodus and as a consultant to PBSA data provider, StudentCrowd.
Mason Lee
Director of UK Operations
Mason brings a diverse and accomplished background spanning industrial engineering, military service, and operations management. His multidisciplinary experience gives him a uniquely grounded perspective on complex projects, team leadership, and organisational efficiency.
Prior to his current role, Mason worked at Hyosung Goodsprings as an electrician, where he took on significant responsibility managing large-scale technical projects and developed a strong foundation in operational problem-solving and engineering discipline.
Mason served in the Marine Corps Artillery Battalion from 2019 to 2021, completing his service at the rank of Sergeant having been recognised for his leadership and offered further advancement. His primary role was as a mechanic responsible for the maintenance and repair of tanks and military vehicles. He also completed joint training exercises with the US Marine Corps, sharpening his technical precision and composure under demanding conditions.
Following his military service, Mason pursued academic development at Newcastle University in England, studying Business Management. He subsequently joined Zube as Operations Manager, where he applies his blend of technical expertise, leadership experience, and strategic thinking to drive operational excellence across the business.