Nicola Hands has been appointed as the new director of weddings and events sales at JW Marriott Marquis.

Nicola Hands

A company spokesperson said that due to the outstanding performance of the Events Booking Centre (EBC) at JW Marriott Marquis, and driving more than 100 million AED of business in 2017;  Nicola Hands, who was the director of EBC at the property, will now head both the rebranded Marquis sales office and the in-demand catering sales segment at JW Marriott Marquis.

“The new role will see Nicola take on the responsibility of driving catering sales as well as leading the Marquis sales office team,” said the spokesperson.

“An experienced business leader, with extensive property and cluster sales management experience spanning across all segments of the industry – she will oversee both teams to ensure success in this challenging market. The team will also handle wedding enquiries, an area which continues to grow at the five-star JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.”

Hands began her career with Marriott in 1996 as a banqueting waitress during her studies at Marriott Breadsall Priory Country Club and then moved on to Slough Windsor Marriott in 2000 to work in the sales and events department.

She then began a role as sales researcher in Birmingham in 2001. In 2003, she was promoted to senior events Manager at the Solihull Renaissance before moving to the Forest of Arden as director of event management for eight years.

She then spent another three years in the UK as cluster director for the Midlands sales office and director of sales at the Breadsall Priory Country Club, before joining the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai in October 2013 as director of EBC.