Courtney Mark

Courtney Mark is a lighting designer whose career of over 25 years has been devoted to reimagining how hospitality is experienced through light. In a recent move, she has stepped into the senior leadership role of Principal of Light Directions MENA, within HBA’s Dubai offices, where she is leading the practice into a future-forward era of creativity and transformation.

For Courtney, light is never just illumination – it is atmosphere, memory, and storytelling. She believes hospitality is defined not only by design, but by the emotions it evokes: the soft welcome of a hotel arrival, the intimacy of dining, the serenity of a spa, or the iconic glow of a landmark façade. Through her work, these moments become lasting experiences, crafted with light as the invisible architecture of connection.

Her journey spans award-winning projects across the United States, India, Hong Kong, Central America, and the Middle East. In 2019, she founded STUDIO MARK in Dubai, where she built a reputation for imaginative, adaptive, and high-performing solutions.

Now, as Principal of Light Directions, Courtney leads with vision and passion – pioneering hospitality lighting that inspires, elevates, and transforms the very essence of a place.