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Home Catering

Leading from the Front: Doğuş Group Chairman Ferit Şahenk

Seymone Leigh Moodley by Seymone Leigh Moodley
April 11, 2021
in Catering, News, People
A A


By Aby Sam Thomas
Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Middle East

With an estimated net worth of US$2.3 billion, this Turkish billionaire’s insights on running a business are definitely worth learning from.

When I met with Ferit Şahenk at the Dubai outpost of the internationally renowned Japanese restaurant Roka on a sunny morning in March this year, one of the first things that struck me about the Chairman and CEO of the global conglomerate Doğuş Group is the very affable and animated personality the Turkish businessman showcased to everyone around him- and when I say “everyone,” I mean that in a literal sense.

Now, you may probably think here that, well, of course, Şahenk would behave in such a lively fashion with me and my team, and yes, you’ll also perhaps grant that, yes, that’s the way he works with the few members of his executive team who were also with us that morning. But what I found particularly interesting (and quite endearing, to be quite honest) is in the fact that I saw Şahenk exhibiting the same spirited attitude as he went about interacting with the staff that day at Roka- this is where you need to know that this award-winning restaurant falls under the purview of Doğuş Group’s hospitality arm, D.ream (Doğuş Restaurant Entertainment and Management) International, of which Şahenk is Chairman. And so, when I saw Şahenk talk, applaud, and even joke with almost everyone in the Roka team who were there that morning, I found myself taken in by the magnanimous persona of this man, who, with an estimated net worth of US$2.3 billion, has been billed as one of the richest people in Turkey.

Later, when I asked Şahenk about this friendly rapport that he demonstrated with the staff at the restaurant, he seemed almost surprised by the query, pointing out that there was nothing out of the ordinary in the way he interacted with his team- this was his family, he told me, and so, this was normal for him and his style of leadership. In fact, he believes that this is the only good way to behave with one’s employees, especially in a consumer-facing, experience-driven business like this. “Your employees are the face of your enterprise,” Şahenk says. “They are the ones keeping your brand and business going. So, if you don’t treat them with love, respect, and kindness, if you’re not working to keep them happy and satisfied, you can rest assured that your end customers aren’t going to be pleased with whatever it is you are offering. So, yes, I believe in treating all of my employees the best way I possibly can- I think you have to, if you want to run a successful business.”

Şahenk definitely knows a thing or two about running a thriving enterprise- Doğuş Group, which was founded by his father, Ayhan Şahenk, in 1951, is today one of the largest private sector conglomerates in Turkey, with its portfolio including over 300 companies and more than 19,000 employees working in businesses spanning sectors like automotive, real estate, construction, energy, and more. With its key hubs in London and Dubai, the Group’s interests in lifestyle and hospitality are today centered in D.ream International, which was launched in 2012- besides operating over 150 luxury F&B outlets in Turkey, it also has a global presence with over 60 restaurants across 13 brands in 11 countries. The latter has been made possible thanks to D.ream International’s efforts in seeking out and building partnerships with the likes of Azumi Group, Coya Group, Paraguas Group, and Nusr-Et Group- the foodies among you will recognize all four companies as the names behind some of the most celebrated concepts on the global F&B stage.

For instance, Azumi Group, founded by Arjun Waney and Rainer Becker, is the operator of brands like Roka, Zuma, Inko Nito, Etaru, and Oblix, while Paraguas Group, founded by Sandro Silva and Marta Seco, runs Amazonico, El Paraguas, Numa Pompilio, Ten Con Ten, Ultramarinos Quintin, and Aarde. Meanwhile, Nusr-Et Group’s claims to fame includes its eponymous steakhouse as well as the Salt Bae Burger concept, while Coya Group, founded by Arjun Waney and majority owned by Dream International, has its namesake restaurants spread around the world. A Google search of each of these restaurants will reveal that they are inventive, innovative concepts in their own right, and that definitely seems to figure into the modus operandi that D.ream International uses when deciding what brands it should associate itself with.

According to Şahenk, all of the restaurants under the D.ream International banner belong to what he calls the high-end luxury segment- this is the lifestyle domain where he believes he and his team have the requisite experience and expertise needed to win and lead in it. “Our restaurants offer what I like to call a theatrical experience to our guests,” Şahenk explains. “From the service given, to the food provided, to the entertainment we showcase, people come to our concepts for the unique experiences they get to enjoy at our establishments. They want to experience something out of the ordinary when they come to us, and we make sure we give them just that.” Actually, it’s Şahenk’s belief that the appeal of such restaurants has only been amplified following the COVID-19 crisis that struck in 2020, with people around the world wanting to move out of their current circumstances, and get back to enjoying the finer things in life as they once used to.

This is the sentiment that is reiterated by Tevfik Akdağ, one of Şahenk’s closest associates, when commenting on the current F&B landscape in the world at large. As a Supervisory Executive Board Member of D.ream International, Akdağ is extremely well-versed about this industry, a fact that is bolstered by his executive level roles in Doğuş Group’s hubs in Dubai and London, as well as by his participation in the boards of several of its operating companies. According to Akdağ, all of the brands that fall under his company’s banner today are seeing a renewed interest from patrons, regardless of whether they are located in, say, Madrid, or Riyadh. “Given the desire and demand that we are seeing from our customers around the world, the future is looking quite bright for us,” Akdağ says. “The experiences that we are offering are working because we are keeping our guests at the center of everything we do, and that is something that is going to stand us in good stead as we move into a world after the coronavirus pandemic.”

But this is not to say that the business is not paying attention to the changes that are afoot in the world around us either. Having seen the ongoing boom in the online food delivery space, Şahenk reveals that his company is working on setting up a cloud kitchen business of its own, with them tapping into the unique brands in their portfolio to offer something new and unique to this particular sector. However, Şahenk says that this new offering will continue to target the lifestyle connoisseurs that they know how to serve- when I asked him if he’d ever consider entering into the mass market segment, he replies with an emphatic no. Why? “Because we wouldn’t be good at it,” he responds, in a matter-of-fact tone. “We know our slice of the market, and we know we can do very good things within it. As such, it makes sense for us to focus our efforts on doing what we do best, and build on our niche. That’s what is going to guarantee our success in the long term.” 

It should be clear by now that Şahenk is keeping himself very closely involved with all of what’s happening in his business, which is evidenced by him, say, keeping a finger on the pulse of the market at large and looking out for opportunities, or even with his intent interest in ensuring his staff’s happiness and well-being. All of this points to a man who is deeply passionate about the work he does, and Şahenk describes his temperament as a lifestyle in itself, because he can’t imagine himself doing anything differently either. Indeed, when I asked him what drives him to do what he does every day, Şahenk first answered by saying that he is propelled by the idea that the business he works on creates jobs, and that in turn ensures the livelihoods of so many people, wherein they are empowered to dream and build better futures for themselves and the ones they hold dear.

Now, this is, of course, a noble undertaking by itself, and while I could see Şahenk being spearheaded by this notion, I wanted to figure out the underlying factors behind this mentality, and so I kept drilling him on this, asking him to tell me why he wakes every morning to go to work. “Because I am alive,” he replies, finally. “It’s a gift to be alive. It’s a gift to be given the talents and skills we have, it’s a gift to be able to work together and build something wonderful, it’s a gift to come together and work hand-in-hand for the greater good.” Şahenk pauses for a moment here, reflecting on what he said, and then adds, “I don’t really see what other reason one needs than that.” Can’t say I disagree – would you?

Left to Right: Benjamin Wan, Yannis Stanisiere and Sanjay Dwivedi

Yannis Stanisiere
Chief Operating Officer, COYA Restaurant Group

What sets the COYA concept apart? What are some of the most unique dining elements it boasts that keep diners coming back for more?
What sets the COYA concept apart is the multifaceted experience that we offer. This is unique! There is a journey, a full experience which goes beyond dining and makes our customers want to go back. We want to give over and over to our customers this unique and memorable dining experience. But before anything, COYA is a restaurant with fantastic food and service. We are consistent. This is the key to sustainability and loyalty from our guests.

Our teams on the ground make it happen.

COYA is a combination of Peruvian food, serving innovative pisco infusion with its very own exclusive pisco library, featuring cultural events with our ongoing commitment to art and our pride in being an authentic art destination and, without forgetting our COYA Music which is homegrown thanks to our Music Director and our unforgettable parties, including our Ritual’s & Azucar’s nights. We strive to offer our customers an experience that they want to come back to over and over again. From art exhibitions, to culinary masterclasses, such happenings are part of COYA’s edge.

Please tell us more about the importance of culture and entertainment to the brand.
To set us apart from other establishments, we want to give our clients not just an ordinary dining experience. We strive to offer our customers a cultural atmosphere to walk away with something extra at the end of the visit. Art is part of COYA Culture and atmosphere.

How has your extensive experience in F&B helped you build a vision of what you wanted to bring to the COYA brand?
COYA is a journey. A lifestyle experience. Our principal Ferit Şahenk, Chairman and CEO of Doğuş Group, has a vision. It is up to us to make it happen. I hope to be able to share an extensive experience in F&B with different concepts, volumes in various continents, to the team I work with and that we can take the brand to another level while maintaining its DNA and excitement. I will strive to bring best practices and some structure in order to be able to develop COYA as one of the best lifestyle destinations and make it even more successful.

How do you create different experiences across your venues around the world –adapting to the intricacies of every culture and diner profile – while maintaining the essence of the brand?
Understanding the local clientele and culture are the key elements to make each COYA restaurant more personable to each city. We believe that adding a little personal touch of local cutlure to each establishment is the key to our success. We always adapt ourselves to the local market at various levels.

What are some localisation tactics which you have implemented in order to increase brand appeal among Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh guests?
Understanding the city’s life is very crucial when localising each establishment. For example, while Dubai’s clientele is more international and tourist-driven, we have a lot of locals who are our loyal customers since day one. And Abu Dhabi location is also mainly driven by local and business clientele, we slightly adjusted the concept accordingly to fit the local needs.

Are you planning on expanding to other countries in the MENA, specifically the GCC?
Yes, we are as KSA is opening up as a market with solid opportunities. Nonetheless, we are very present in the Middle East at large, and we will continue our growth in top lifestyle European target cities and locations.

Please tell us more about the idea behind the COYA Dubai and COYA Mayfair London members’ clubs, and how they have helped the brand.
As Sanjay once told me, “COYA, to me, is you coming to my home. I just have a bigger dining room and a bigger kitchen.’’ Having a members’ club gives us this opportunity to get to know our clients personally, and we can offer them a more personalized experience and a family atmosphere. It has been helping our business to grow further and strengthen the ties with our loyal clients. Our members have access to personalised cocktails, menu items, service, art and we have a 2021-2022 plan to increase these added values.

How did you overcome challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and mitigate its effects given the hard hit that F&B has endured around the world?
In the pandemic, we needed to be open-minded and think about what we could do to maintain our best to offer our customers. We came up with a few initiatives on the take-out services and tried our best to make it exciting for our clients and keep them engaged. The key was to adapt rapidly to minimize the impact of the pandemic.

What are your future plans for COYA and its development on a global scale?
We want to position ourselves  as one of the top luxury lifestyle brands. There are several markets where we believe COYA could be successful and currently we are pursuing several leads in Ibiza, St Tropez, St Barth, Milano, Marrakech, Zurich and others.

Please tell us more about some of the most important milestones in your career, and the moments which have helped shape your journey.
Two significant milestones helped me shape who I am today. The first one was when I moved from the restaurant manager to the corporate side as Director of New Builds, and the second one was when I became the COO of COYA.

To transition from floor operation to corporate taught me how to look at the business on a global scale and strategize and execute the plan for each concept in an accurate and timely manner. Effective decision making, allocating resources, recruiting, and hiring critical positions to each establishment are crucial elements for opening successful establishments.

The second milestone was when I became the COO of COYA. Working at this level is an exciting opportunity for me to grow even further, and I am looking forward to contributing to COYA and its further success.

The beauty of our job and one of its keys to success is to keep extremely connected and close to the teams, the clients and the operations. This is a business where we need to keep taking the pulse of our restaurants daily.

Sanjay Dwivedi
Culinary Ambassador, COYA

Your passion towards food flourished during your childhood; please tell us more about how your family has influenced your culinary journey.
When I was ten years old, I remember going on a holiday to Visakhapatnam, a coastal town in India. My mother’s cousin owned a 5-star hotel there named The Sun n Sea Hotel. During one of my visits to the hotel, I was allowed to go inside the restaurant’s kitchen, where the head chef prepared a dish. It was a whole fish with fresh herbs, lemon and butter all encased in a paper bag and cooked in a steamer. When the fish was ready, the chef carefully opened the paper bag right in front of me. The aroma and the taste of the fish was mind boggling. It was just magical.  I have never seen such theater behind a dish, and I guess a seed of culinary was planted in my head at that moment. I was brought up on spices and all food was either cooked on a gas stove or on a BBQ grill. To have a steamed fish with no spices was for me an explosion of flavours – simply just the fish flavored with herbs and lemon.

From there on, I started to do few experiments with food. I loved to watch my grandmother cook and we spent time in the kitchen together. By the age of 15, I was a champion in making omelets for all family members. I remember I tried different methods. To name a few– I whipped the egg whites separately and then added the egg yolk. Another one was cooking tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and chilies together and then adding these ingredients to whipped eggs, and baking them together in the oven. To this day, every time I visit India, there is an Omelets Sunday by Sanjay, where I make omelets for our extended family members. Last year, just before the pandemic, I was in India, where I had to make 30 omelets and as always, a great hit with the family.

You have had a very colourful career, filled with dishes served to celebrities and prominent figures; what were some of the most memorable moments long the way?
We have had a number of prominent people and celebrities visiting our outlets over the years. When we first opened COYA Dubai, we had a guest from the royal family visit us. I remember speaking with them and showing them around the restaurant. They were very impressed, and I guess were happy to see a restaurant like COYA coming to their city.

I am a big fan of Formula 1. Every year, during the Monaco Grand Prix, we would have Lewis Hamilton coming in for dinner with his friends. I remember back in 2018 when we opened COYA Monaco, Lewis came in after the race for dinner. I went up to his table and mentioned I have cooked certain vegan food for him, and he was impressed that I was aware of his preference. Since then, he has always come regularly during the grand prix and whenever he is in town.

We also had Cristiano Ronaldo and his family – he was such a lovely gentleman.

As you sampled Peru’s finest culinary offerings, how have you envisioned the dishes at COYA taking shape; how have you crafted dishes with the culture and flavours in mind?
As a benchmark since my first menu, I designed a dish ensuring flavours to be very Peruvian and at the same time giving it a Western touch. I don’t like to call it fusion food as I just think, “Fusion is Confusion.”

I always make sure we use the best ingredients. We use chillies and spices that act more like a catalyst and complement the dish rather than just add spice to it and only mask the taste.

I interact a lot with all our head chefs and staff around the world on a regular basis. We are always looking out for new ideas and techniques.

At COYA, it’s all about experimenting with traditional Peruvian dishes and using Japanese, Chinese and Spanish cooking techniques; have you found that to be the essence of what makes the brand unique?
Peruvian food is so unique, as it takes influences form Japan, China and Spain, making the boundaries limitless.

When we first started this journey, in COYA Mayfair, London, the menu was more inclined towards traditional Peruvian food. The cuisine at the time was not as popular as it is today, so the best route was to combine traditional food with something that is more familiar to the market. I guess we hit the right spot. We had raving reviews and best of all is that people fell in love with COYA. I have never been as happy as when I opened COYA ever more than when we received a Michelin star at my previous restaurant.

I love experimenting with flavours and ingredients. One of the ceviche’s we serve at COYA is the Corvina Trufa Ceviche that has Corvina, truffles, ponzu, and chives. It was quite unimaginable and unusual to use truffles and raw fish together, but the lime and the ponzu help bring out its flavours.

In COYA Dubai, we used the red snapper instead of corvina and it has been the outlet’s best-selling ceviche. It is the menu items like these that make COYA unique.

The best-selling dish of COYA across all outlets is Arroz Nikkei Cazuella or the Chilean sea bass with rice, lime and chilli. I created this dish with influences from Peru, Spain and the UK. The Chilean seabass is marinaded in miso, Aji Amarillo, tamarind, and soy for a minimum of 24 hours. For the rice, we use paella rice, which is cooked with dashi stock flavoured with soya, ginger, garlic and aji amarillo. Once the rice is cooked, we finish it with lime and chilli butter. We serve with Chilean seabass, cooked over charcoal and adding sweetcorn puree and pea shoots as the finishing touch.

The beauty of it all was that we are creating something new and unique, and I believe this has been one of the key reasons of COYA’s success.

Benjamin Wan
Executive Chef, COYA Middle East

You grew up in a restaurant environment. How has it shaped your journey towards becoming a culinary head?The desire to become a chef was there from the outset. My passion was always to cook, but I never intended to be a Head Chef or lead a team. I think that the most important thing is if you show pride in your work, do your best, and enjoy, and you will go places.

Starting off with French-casual cuisine, how have you developed your skills and explored other global palates?
My background has always been French cuisine. I believe the discipline, skills and techniques I learned have put me in good stead and helped me progress through my career. I have implemented these into COYA’s kitchens as a matter of course. In terms of palates, it was a big leap for me at first to shift from French to Latin American cuisine. Traveling to Peru helped me a lot. It took a lot of adjusting and required a lot of understanding of ingredients and techniques. There’s no better way for me to appreciate and understand the food and culture than actually experiencing it myself.

How has your training in France helped you in your role as head chef at COYA Dubai?
The French kitchen is a very well structured and disciplined environment. My experience working at numerous restaurants and executing French cuisine have definitely influenced the way I run the kitchen and manage my team. My goal every day is to pass down that disciplined work ethic to my team and encourage everyone to get involved and work together effectively.

How has the transition from COYA Dubai to overseeing the brand’s culinary offerings across its Middle East locations inspired you as a chef?
The transition was challenging as I have always been very hands on in the kitchen. It required me to step back from daily operations in the kitchen. I’m very fortunate to have a team in all locations that I can trust and believe in and I’m thankful that I have their support also.

What are some of your favourite dishes at COYA? What about popular eats and bestsellers?
My favourite dish is the Pulpo Rostizado or Roasted octopus with potato, bottarga, botija olives, aji Amarillo. It’s our take on the Spanish dish Pulpo a la Gallega. The Arroz Nikkei or the Chilean sea bass with rice, lime, chili has always been a firm favourite and bestseller at all COYA locations.

COYA is known for its fresh offerings; how do you choose ingredients and source them, ensuring that you get it right every single time?
Choosing the right supplier is an onerous yet vital process. It took a lot of communication and trial and error to build the relationship we have now with our suppliers, but it is key to sourcing the best produce locally and globally. The quality of our ingredients is paramount to our success.

What were some of the biggest challenges you have faced during the pandemic?
When regulators asked restaurants to close last year, we thought of how colleagues can support themselves and their families as well as how we can continue looking after each other and our guests. This is how we came up with ‘COYA 2 U’, our very own delivery and takeaway platform that brings their favorite signature dishes for them to enjoy at home. It was very tricky at first; to switch from in-house fine dining to packaging the same quality food for delivery was challenging. Adjusting to the timings of the execution of the food due to the delivery timings was new to us. It was a challenge, but something we are relishing and overcoming. We are learning everyday. But it’s comforting to see the orders still coming through and the positive feedback from our guests.


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Mark Willis

CEO India, Middle East, Africa & Turkey, Accor

Mark Willis is a key industry opinion leader in the IMEA region, with over 420 hotels in the current portfolio and more than 120 hotels in the pipeline. He is undoubtably an industry heavy weight due to his leadership style, strategic decision making and extensive experience in the industry. His forward-thinking leadership and understanding have positioned this region as a key market for the company globally, both in results, as well as expansion plans. Throughout his tenure as CEO, Mark has led the team through a global crisis, while ensuring results were delivered, team members were taken care of, partners were supported, and guests were reassured.

A clear success is the way Mark lead and managed the region during the difficult period of Covid. His leadership and mentorship ensured that teams, partners, and guests were always informed on Accor strategies and activities that were implemented to support the different stakeholders. Successful activities included the opening over 20 properties per year since he has joined the Accor Dubai office (even during Covid), as well as ensuring that financial results were achieved even during the most difficult times. Another standout achievement has been the hugely successful opening and launch of lifestyle brands in the region such as SLS, 25 Hours and Hyde Dubai.

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Tim Cordon

Area Senior Vice President, Middle East & Africa, Radisson Hotel Group

Tim Cordon has been with Radisson Hotel Group (RHG) (formerly Carlson Rezidor) for nearly two decades. He began his progressive career in the UK in 2003 as General Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport which, at the time, was Rezidor’s largest hotel in the UK and where he successfully positioned the hotel in the group’s top 20 performing hotels worldwide.

n 2006, Cordon was recognised with the Alpha Forum Prize – “Younger Manager” award by the British Travel and Hospitality Hall of Fame. He then took on several leadership roles in two of the group’s key properties in London before making Dubai his home in 2015, taking on the role of Regional Director of Middle East & Africa (MEA). In 2017, Cordon was appointed Area Senior Vice President for MEA responsible for leading operations and delivering business growth and profit across the group’s largest area. Cordon has played a crucial role in Radisson Hotel Group’s expansion in the region, hitting key milestones for the group worldwide and setting in place an ambitious five-year development plan to reach 100 hotels in the Middle East by 2025. By 2019, Cordon looks after 50 properties in the Middle East with a total of 10,944 keys and 57 properties in Africa with a total of 11,373 keys.

As Area Senior Vice President for MEA, Cordon continues to contribute to the group’s regional milestones as it remains on track to reach its goal of having 100 properties in the next three years, as well as becoming one of the top three hotel groups in the world. Under Cordon’s leadership, the group continues to unleash the power of its portfolio, consisting of nine strong brands, driving significant growth across the Middle East and Africa. In fact, Cordon made the Middle East the fastest-growing region for the group and the region that recovered best during 2021, growing RevPAR to 85.6% of pre-pandemic comparable.

In the unprecedented times of COVID-19, Cordon ensured the hotel group remained resilient and on track for the rebound of the travel and tourism market. During the pandemic, he ensured all hotels followed stringent health and safety measures, including launching the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol.

As travel started to rebound in 2021, Cordon remained optimistic and encouraged partnerships with industry peers and the public sector to rebuild the hospitality industry and ensure the safety of travellers, partners, and team members.

With a mission to be recognised as one of the top three hotel groups in the world by 2025, Cordon’s visionary leadership helped secure various awards for the group including the Leaders in Hospitality Awards 2022. The group won the Innovation of the Year category and Radisson RED Dubai Silicon Oasis won the Mid-Market Hotel of The Year award. The recently opened Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah was highly commended in the Leading New Hotel category. RHG also took home an award at this year’s Sustainability Innovation Awards for its Hydroponic Farm Project, in its commitment to contributing to the Net Zero by 2050 initiative that Dubai has set out. Sustainability has always been vital, as Cordon raised awareness of environmental responsibility and implemented sustainability programmes to reduce the hotels’ carbon footprint.

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Cenk Ünverdi

Regional General Manager, Rixos Hotels

Cenk Ünverdi brings 15 years of experience in the hotel industry, wonderfully spent with Rixos, one of the most prolific lifestyle hotel brands globally. Being the Regional General Manager, he currently oversees 5 hotels in UAE and gearing for upcoming hotels in the wider GCC region. Through Cenk Ünverdi’s vision, Rixos Hotels has been successfully recognised globally and continuously expanding its footprint in the region. With his leadership, the brand awareness has reached new peaks and have been visible across prestigious channels through strategic partnerships with highly-acclaimed brands such as UAE Pro League, Mubadala, RAKBANK, Aquaventure, Dubai Parks and Resorts, and Dubai Expo 2020 amongst others. Cenk Ünverdi’s passion for digital landscape and innovation plays a significant role in the success of various campaigns especially after the brink of pandemic resulting to 20% of the business. In 2021, his initiative to diversify the brand and grow the business to overcome 2019 pre-covid levels resulted in the highest increase in all business performance metrics.

Rixos Hotels is a fast, young, energetic, and growing brand and Cenk Ünverdi has been leading a successful and competitive team on a relentless quest to establish the brand as the leader in setting the stage for memorable 360° guest experiences. The brand introduced revolutionary entertainment and wellness programs in the Middle East, from staged shows to exciting creative activities for children at Rixy Kids Club to action-packed challenges at Exclusive Sports Club.

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Hakan Ozel

General Manager, Shangri-La Dubai

Hakan Ozel, the General Manager and Luxury Hotel Operator of Shangri-La Dubai has not only played an integral role in making Shangri-La what it is today but is a leading example in the broader industry due to his reputation for having a forward thinking and passionate approach coupled with robust experience. His contributions and impact across two decades of experience in a variety of locations with signature properties, has been exceptional. Some of his key accomplishments include being: highly knowledgeable in operations, renovation, refurbishment, and improvement projects; instrumental in turn-around properties, projects and crisis management by driving take-over, rebranding, and revamping efforts; a successful executive in turn-around projects and crisis management; appointed several times by corporate office for related leadership roles; vital in pre-opening many hotels.

What makes Hakan distinguished is his mindset and personality. He employs unique and highly successful strategies such as using a competitive approach to drive business results while strengthening collaborative partnerships among stakeholders. He understands that character is a differentiating element in hotels, and he brings this to life with creative and innovative ideas.

Hakan is not only highly experienced and meticulous but is also caring, compassionate, and strongly committed to the financial success of the business. His impact on the company has resulted in collective exponential growth in terms of team happiness, productivity, and goal realisation. In addition, he has been continuously developing his career and personal intellectual assets to ensure that he will assume higher responsibilities in the group in the future, while continuing to take innovative management standards and practices to places they’ve never been before in the present. He is a rarity and each and every contribution he has made has been nothing short of amazing.

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Thomas Peruzzo

General Manager, Armani Hotel Dubai

An international hotelier of Italian and Danish descent, Thomas began his career in sales and marketing in Germany. Prior to joining Armani Hotel Dubai, he held senior management roles at Artprojekt Hospitality and Grand Hotel Heiligendamm in Germany, among others. As General Manager, Thomas is responsible for driving the commercial strategy and the all-round operations of Armani Hotel Dubai, ensuring that it sustains its status as one of Dubai’s most admired properties. He is mandated with strengthening the hotel’s brand identity as well as outreach to new international markets. He is also responsible for leading activities across operations, marketing, and administrative functions through an innovative approach and collaborative management style. Recent projects have included spearheading the 2020 launch of the UAE’s first kosher restaurant and the opening of a dedicated salon area within Armani/SPA. He is also committed to ensuring strong levels of productivity and resource use efficiency. Staff welfare and happiness is another key area of focus and Thomas maintains an open-door policy for all Armani Ambassadors as well as fostering a culture centred on team member empowerment. Thomas thrives on the fast-paced, dynamic, unique, and rewarding demands of his role and his passion for the industry and Armani Hotel Dubai is driven by its amazing team members.

Thomas is not only an innovative character by nature, but he is also committed to ensuring strong levels of productivity and resource efficiency, exemplified most clearly in the recent partnership agreement signed with Ferrari to transform Armani/Pavilion into Downtown Dubai’s most successful outdoor Ramadan venue.

It is Thomas’ overall character that exemplifies him as a leader in the hospitality industry and as a role model for many young hoteliers on the rise.

Outside of work, he makes time to enjoy the Armani Hotel Dubai experience for himself as he explains: “There are so many special corners within the hotel, however, there is something magical about our restaurant terraces. When the weather in Dubai is pleasurable, there is nothing better than having dinner al fresco on one of the terraces overlooking The Dubai Fountain show. It is truly a magical experience.

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Richard G. Haddad

Chief Executive Officer, Jannah Hotels & Resorts

Richard Haddad has years of experience in the hospitality industry and has been the CEO of Jannah Hotels & Resorts for the last 4 years, in his reign we have seen many improvements across different fields and departments, including his strategic planning skills which impacted the increase of the group’s profits, helping to maintain and grow the reputation of each hotel. Richard’s vision for Jannah Hotels & Resorts is to expand to global market and showcase the Bedouin hospitality culture and expand halal tourism by tapping into the international market.

Richard has contributed to many achievements towards the group’s development, reputation, positive RGI results, overall improvement and much more. Since he joined Jannah Hotels & Resorts in September 2018, Richard oversaw the hotel and restaurant development including the launch of, Sahara Café an Arabic concept in Ras Al Khaimah during August 2020; Terrace at Cocina Restaurant an Arabic and International concept in Abu Dhabi during September 2020; EDGE Creekside Hotel, Dubai in January 202; Second branch of Feta Restaurant, a Mediterranean concept, in Dubai during January 2021; Halo Halo Restaurant and Asian concept in Dubai with 2 branches during January 2021; and the new cloud kitchen multi-concept that launched January this year.

In addition, he ensured the overall improvement and beautification of all the properties under Jannah Hotels & Resorts including the renovations that took place at Jannah Hotel Apartments & Villas RAAK and Jannah Marina Hotel Apartments.

Due to Richard’s outstanding business strategies and leadership, all properties within the group have seen a remarkable growth in the year-to-date numbers, looking at the “Revenue Generation Index”, we saw a 76% growth against last year at Jannah Marina Hotel Apartments, 129% growth at EDGE Creekside Hotel and 10% growth Jannah Burj Al Sarab, Abu Dhabi.

Richard understands the important of staying loyal to employees and the impact this makes on guest satisfaction, with his team’s help, he implemented a new service philosophy called “The Jannah Way – Culture and DNA”. The successful launch of the new DNA is just the foundation of how we want to celebrate our service culture. All guest service starts from within, in order for us to offer unparallel guest services, we had to focus on our people and the value they bring to the brand. Our Safir (which translates to Ambassador in English), is our most valuable asset in the organisation, and it is our mission to work as a family, not a team, in creating an environment that fosters pride, joy, and respect wherein the true spirit of Bedouin Hospitality thrives at every level.

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José Silva

Chief Executive Officer, Jumeirah Group

As Chief Executive Officer, José Silva is responsible for growing the Group’s luxury portfolio through international expansion overseeing the next phase of dynamic growth whilst building on Jumeirah’s extraordinary success over the past two decades, driving the company to a new era in luxury. Currently Jumeirah Group has 25 properties across 8 countries, with 50% of the portfolio located outside of the United Arab Emirates including hotels in London, Capri, Mallorca, and then Shanghai, Nanjing, and Guangzhou in China.

He has enabled Jumeirah Group to weather the greatest economic storm of the 21st century (COVID-19) and has already broken historical performance records for Jumeirah Group throughout its 25-year history in Q1 of 2022. This has been achieved through restructuring the organisation, prioritising equal representation of women across the business, investment in talent and realignment of roles to foster a more agile business that can respond to the changing market and consumer dynamics, and identifying opportune moments to invest in product and guest experiences to expand the brand offering, delivering strong financial and reputational results

With his eyes firmly set on establishing Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts as a globally recognised luxury hotel brand operating in the pure luxury segment, José Silva continues to be the driving force behind Jumeirah Group’s growth into key cities and destinations around the world.

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Yigit Sezgin

Chief Commercial Officer – India, Turkey Middle East & Africa, ACCOR

Yigit Sezgin has lived around the globe in 8 cities during the last 25 years and held senior executive roles in multinational companies such as Hilton, Ritz Carlton and Radisson Hotel Group. In his last role as CEO of BLG Capital he managed a portfolio of luxury and lifestyle real estate and hospitality developments such as Aman Resorts, Peninsula Hotel, Soho House, W Istanbul, Ritz Carlton & Mandarin Oriental Residences, Galata Port. He holds a wide range of successful achievements and a proven track record especially in Emerging Markets with strong experience in M&A, integrations, leadership, strategic marketing, brand management, commercial performance and business development. In his current role as the Chief Commercial Officer at Accor Hospitality, he oversees a portfolio of 42 Brands in 41 countries in charge of all Commercial Functions, Mergers & Acquisitions, lifestyle platform and Integrations.

Over the past 3 years of him being Chief Commercial Officer, Yigit has led the commercial activities to achieve a growth of +7 points in RGI for the region, and under his leadership, PR activities have led to an overall coverage of over 10,000 features for the region which has resulted in more than 6.9 Billion views YTD 2022, especially leading in the Middle East & Africa against its main competitors.

He has also led a number of projects namely: The integration of Turkey and India into the Middle East and Africa region in 2021 adding more than 100 properties to the existing portfolio; the integration of Rixos brand global management under his leadership into the Dubai IMEA office; launch of ALL – Accor Live Limitless; creation and launch of Kitch In in 2021; and the launch of the All Inclusive Platform following the success of the Rixos Brand.

Yigit holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, from Bosphorus University in Istanbul.

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Monther Darwish

Founder and Managing Director, Palazzo Hospitality

Over the last years, Palazzo Versace Dubai’s managing director Monther Darwish put the property on the map, coming up with innovative campaigns aimed at increasing occupancy and revenue. As a result, the property had one of the highest occupancies amongst city resorts in 2021/2022.

July 2022 set a milestone for the businessman, who launched Palazzo Hospitality, a new management company for luxury hotels, residential buildings and lifestyle brands that aims to reinvent the world of personalised luxury. Leveraging on the trusted expertise of a team of hospitality experts, Palazzo Hospitality will bring to the market a diverse range hotel brands, from ultra-luxury beach resorts to business and art properties. Founded by Monther Darwish, the company is dedicated to building world-class hospitality products.

The launch of Palazzo Hospitality comes after the success of the ultra-luxury hotel in Jaddaf Waterfront, which has witnessed an immense success due to the market positioning through different campaigns and new business products, like the e-commerce platform aimed to offer guests the ease to purchase an experience at Palazzo Versace Dubai.

The hotel’s e-commerce platform has generated millions in revenue. Darwish says: “Being an independent property gives you the freedom to experiment and that’s the beauty of Palazzo Versace Dubai. We’re free to throw into the market any crazy idea and our audience just likes how unique we are. We’ve been thinking outside the hospitality box for a while, bringing in new initiatives and projects that haven’t been implemented anywhere else in the industry. Our ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ idea was a tactic to attract younger guests, the new generation who like to experience luxury with ease of purchase”.

Palazzo Versace Dubai was also the first property to introduce a bidding platform for stays, while the F&B segment continued to be a focus for the property. F&B revenue increased, too, as Palazzo Versace Dubai came up with unique concepts that proved to be successful among UAE residents. The ‘Into the Jungle brunch’ at Giardino, Palazzo Versace Dubai’s all-day dining restaurant, was a concept focused on child-friendly activities and a great F&B offering. It has been fully booked every Friday since it launched in July 2020.

In 2022, the hotel revisited its strategies and formulated new ones to continue to bring in guests and stay above its competitors.

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David Allan

Cluster General Manager, Radisson Hotel Group

David has an ability to inspire and lead his team while continuing to fight at the forefront and his capability to communicate and comfort the owners and external stakeholders are only some of the traits where David differs distinctly from many of his contemporaries. Despite the challenging times, the hotels have been able to sustain a retention rate of over 90%, demonstrating the loyalty to his team and their commitment to each other. Everyone in the team has been a big part of supporting the wellbeing of others amidst the social distancing. From keeping the team healthy and fit by organising isolated fitness regimes, fun runs, or simply coming up with new ways of entertainment such as stay-home hobbies, story sharing, or cooking ideas, David was committed to supporting everyone’s mental wellbeing. Looking back, the teams have not only made it through 2020 with a smile, but they have also been able to achieve budget and forecast on the second half of 2020, a remarkable achievement given the circumstances. Looking at the financials for 2021, the hotels are in line with their forecast and ahead of budget for the first 6 months. His colleagues and team members will assure you; David is not only someone who lives and breathes hospitality, he is a true leader that does not only take care of business continuity but also understands what is required to meet the expectations of stakeholders, employees, and communities. “David is a highly gifted and very experienced General Manager who has not only coped with the arduous challenges of opening three full service hotels in three years, whilst continuing to manage all of them, but has successfully navigated a way through the pandemic growing market share, maintaining high levels of guest satisfaction and exceeding financial expectations. Whilst David has numerous achievements to be proud of, including being the first hotel to organise a vaccination day with DHA, he is most proud of not making any employees redundant despite the challenges of the pandemic, speaks volumes about his character”, said Bert Fol, Regional Director Arabian Peninsula & East Africa, Radisson Hotel Group.

Taking the lead for three hotel openings with total 1046 rooms within 4 years, in a competitive market, wasn’t tough enough, the biggest challenge has been the uncertainty of the past 16 months. Throughout the past year, the tourism and hospitality industry has very evidently been impacted by the crisis, leading to most hotels across the globe choosing to temporarily close due to low occupancy or restrictions. There is no doubt that this has been a difficult time for everyone, but no matter the circumstances, David would always try to emit calmness, underlining his commitment to his team, ensuring everyone’s wellbeing comes first while refusing to compromise on anyone’s job security. David did not only manage to retain all 369 team members across the three hotels, despite the very difficult cash flow situation that the hotels went through during the pandemic, he also secured business during the hard-hit period of the strict lockdowns and travel restrictions, by working closely with the Dubai Healthcare departments and offering support. Whilst many hesitated, David, recognised early that this new kind of business would help them to survive and get through the most difficult months. While the first weeks of lockdown and COVID-19 landscape and more than 700 repatriate stays, the teams had to learn to fully adapt. Between PPE equipment, strict hygiene measures, and self-isolating repatriates, David made sure to stay close to his team, while supporting and supervising them on this honourable journey. From controlling expenses, repurposing the hotel for essential service use, and temporary closure of another, David has had many factors to consider, but never forgot his responsibility towards his team members. Throughout the lockdown, David didn’t step foot out of the hotel, ensuring that his teams were looked after and never shied from questions. He made it a point to address all concerns as much as possible through personal interactions at the hotel as well as weekly newsletters. On the top of the agenda; transparency and support. Although the hospitality industry has had one of its most difficult years in terms of cash flow, David had made it his priority to support those with financial concerns be it rent or other commitments, through temporary accommodation in one of the hotels or financial support where possible. In terms of revenue results the grou had a record breaking profit conversion of 19.7 Million, a great achievement which could only be realised by a great team working under an exceptional leader.

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Artashes Avetisyan

Founder and CEO Golden group

Artashes Avetisyan is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry. Skilled in business planning, management, hospitality management, customer service, and strategic planning. He is a strong business development professional graduated from Yerevan State University and Public Administration Academy.

The “Golden Palace” Group has become one of the leading groups in hospitality in Armenia. It was established in 2000 and now owns 2 hotels in the Republic of Armenia; Golden Palace Hotel Yerevan, with 36 luxury suites; and Radisson Blu Hotel Yerevan, with 142 rooms and suites. Both hotels have a 5-star classification according to the international classification standards.

In addition to the luxurious outlets, exceptional design, and two exceptional locations, the welcoming service completes the picture. The group staff do their best to provide excellent service and meet guests’ expectations, making their stay memorable and delightful under the leadership of Artashes.

Artashes’ main mission for the group was to put hospitality service at the highest level in Armenia in order to provide guests with exceptional customer service and memorable experiences, that results in welcoming the guests back on another wonderful occasion, which he has been able to successful achieve in a short space of time.

The ideology of his vision is to continue to apply and set the highest standards of service quality and, in that way, justify and uphold the reputation that he has among guests, partners, competitors, and the wider community. Artashes looks forward to embracing the changes that modern life brings and become more attractive in the market and more interesting to guests and partners. It’s no coincidence that the group has been repeatedly recognised as the regions guest’s choice.

The “Golden Palace” Group is continually growing and doing its best to make the hospitality industry in Armenia even more fascinating.

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Bill Keffer

Cluster General Manager, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai and Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites

Bill Keffer is the Cluster General Manager of Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites and the iconic JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, a flagship of the JW Marriott Brand that opened in 2012 as the world’s tallest hotel. Bill is leading the hotel team of over 1,000 associates and more than 50 nationalities and is responsible for every aspect of this 1,608-room landmark, having already led the team to significant operational success.

Hailing from the Southern state of Tennessee in the US, Keffer has held managerial positions with Marriott International for over 25 years. Beginning his career in the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Keffer joined Marriott International in his home state of Tennessee sometime later, followed by positions in Florida and New York. In 2000, Keffer decided on a move to Asia and spent two years in Japan as the Food and Beverage Director of the Renaissance Hotel, Sapporo, followed by three years in South Korea as Director of Operations in the JW Marriott, Seoul. 2005 he saw a move to Europe taking on the role of Area Director of Operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland until 2009, when he came to the UAE as General Manager of Marriott Dubai Harbour Hotel and Suites. Throughout his career, Keffer has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including Continent General Manager of the Year 2012, Continent Hotel of the Year 2011, Global Hotel of the Year for 2011, three individual recognitions for Leadership and Engagement Excellence between 2010 and 2012, Food and Beverage Excellence in 2011, Operational Excellence in Asia Pacific Region 2005 and a special award for ‘Investor in People’ in Middle East and Africa, 2011. In his past assignments he was actively engaged in local community projects and business councils, winning a “Contribution to Culture” award in the Marriott Business Council and “Spirit to Serve” Community award in Dubai. With career spanned over 2.5 decades and counting, served in three continents for multiple owners and at the iconic properties backed with numerous awards and accolades, Bill’s committed and dedication to the industry is truly legendary.

Bill’s wealth of experience in the industry allowed him to lead the iconic 1,608 key hotel through the pandemic without having to close the hotel doors, a feat which was unachievable by many hotels across the globe, especially one of this size. Regarding revenue generation, Bill and his team adapted the hotel’s sales strategy during the pandemic, diversifying into long stay business for the hotel as well as reaching out to new markets, such as Israel. These new strategies helped maintain and support the business during the tough times and into 2021 helped drive more demand leading the hotel to achieve budget year to date. His kind and friendly demeanour combined with charismatic personality makes him approachable and well-trusted by his team which is reflected in the Associate Engagement results in 2021 where the hotel achieved 90% Engagement. And like a true mentor, Bill was overjoyed when promoting Nick Patmore (ex. Food & Beverages Director) to Hotel Manager last year. Nick’s promotion was a result of F&B exceeding its budget by 5 % in 2021, a huge achievement following a year where the hospitality and F&B industry were badly hit, helping for a speedy recovery for the hotel. If you were to ask Bill to pinpoint his favourite achievements, the avid animal lover would shout out the cat shelter project he has been part of lately. Teaming up with associates from the hotel, the group is facilitating over 25 stray cats at the staff accommodation in Ras Al Khor where our furry friends are well looked after.

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Christophe Schnyder

Managing Director, Sofitel Dubai The Palm

Christophe Schnyder is a seasoned leader within the hospitality industry, with over 30 years of experience that spans across several iconic hotels around the globe, spending the last 20 years in Dubai, UAE. His personality exudes passion and drive to deliver results through his team. Christophe is well recognised in the industry for his innate ability to develop strong performing teams through empowerment and deep trust, with several of his direct reports moving on to become senior leaders and general managers within the industry. During his illustrious career, Christophe spearheaded several high-profile openings including the iconic Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Al Qasr & Dar Al Masyaf, and more recently Sofitel Dubai The Palm. His eye for detail and drive for success is acutely tangible in the success story each of these hotels have been since day one. Under Christophe’s leadership, Sofitel Dubai The Palm has established itself as the flagship Dubai property for the Sofitel brand and Accor, which continues to shine as an exceptionally profitable asset since its opening in 2013. He is a true reflection of the brand, which radiates modern luxury celebrating the most sophisticated living. Hard work and passion have led Christophe to where he is today, but he translated it with being personable towards his team, individually recognising and rewarding his team members for excellence.

With a keen on eye on customer experience Christophe worked closely with the owning company to drive profitable long-term investment into the hotel that will continue to enhance the guest experience in an ever evolving Dubai hospitality scene.

Christophe is a visionary leader that understands the importance technology plays in the future of hospitality and in the customer journey. He quickly embraced the digital transformation of the hospitality industry and enabled the hotel to swiftly integrate two technologies that helped drive incremental revenue and improve customer journey.

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Slim Zaiane

General Manager, Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates

A hospitality veteran of more than 20 years, Slim Zaiane’s career path has taken him from Geneva to London to Dubai in senior management roles with several luxury hotel brands. In order of keeping this exciting and challenging, his day-to-day role involves being around guests and overseeing the hotel’s operations, logistics, management, and team. He thrives in achieving excellence in both guest and employee satisfaction and enjoys being extremely hands-on in all areas of the hotel to achieve the highest level of service. The most challenging part of this role is to make sure all my colleagues are appreciated in the same manner and to constantly improve and provide a healthy work environment while maintaining a work-life balance.

Slim’s leadership is responsible for launching of the newly open SPA and other hotel outlets. As well as the strong CSR activities which include: supporting constantly the local community by generating funds during the stollen event to be donated; the funds raised to support the Red Crescent and Senses residential care; supporting the medical hospital crew during Covid by extending free meals for the them to support them during the peak time of the pandemic; and supporting various local school charities.

The hotel saw a RevPAR growth of 79% in 2021 despite the difficult market conditions, enhanced quality scores are at the highest for the last 10 years. He has also successfully positioned the hotel as one of the top luxurious leisure destinations in Dubai, winning different hotel and general manager international awards. Achieving LEED platinum accreditation for the hotel and supporting ALUMNIs from different international hotel management schools to integrate the hotel industry once newly graduated is one of Slim’s priorities, along with ongoing mentoring and development plans to the senior management team resulting in reducing turnover.

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Naim Maadad

Chief Executive & Founder, Gates Hospitality

With over 39 years in the hospitality world across Australia, Asia, & the Middle East in various senior management roles, Naim has launched and operated some of the world’s best Hotels, Resorts, Spas & Lifestyle Food & Beverage Concepts. Naim’s career has exposed him to some of the best properties around the world and he has been fortunate to partake and orchestrate several amazing openings and operations. In 2010, Naim established “Gates Hospitality” a homegrown Hospitality Company representing handpicked Concepts catering for the affluent life-stylers. Gates Hospitality, the owning company of well-known homegrown brands such as Ultra Brasserie, the internationally acclaimed concept; Reform Social & Grill Dubai, Folly, as well as Publique, Dubai’s premier “Apres Ski chalet”, Bistro Des Arts, Six Senses Zighy Bay and Red Farm London at Covent Garden London.

Covering a wide spectrum of positions within senior leadership, including the role of Managing Director for both Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas and The Anantara Group respectively. During his time with these exclusive properties, Naim was instrumental in nurturing sound relationships with owners, securing the best possible locations, negotiating, and formalising contractual agreements, and appointing teams to infuse and reflect the ethos of the brands. Being based in the Middle East over the past 20 years, Naim has witnessed tremendous industry growth, gained a deep cultural understanding and has been endorsed by principals and organisations alike. He has also achieved a selection of awards from reputable publications and organizations recently including ‘Hospitality Entrepreneur of the year’ at the Leaders in Hospitality Awards by Hotel & Catering in March 2022, a Gold ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award in December 2021 as well as ‘F&B Heavyweight’ at the Leaders in Hospitality Awards by Hotel & Catering in November 2021.

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Rabih Fakhreddine

Founder and CEO, 7 Management

2021 has been a grand year for 7 Management with CEO Rabih Fakhreddine firmly at the helm, leveraging every possible opportunity and fearlessly taking the year by storm. A key player in the industry, Fakhreddine has amplified the nightlife landscape in the region with 7 phenomenal launches under his belt. While many were proceeding with caution, Fakhreddine was trailblazing with perseverance, determination, and unparalleled enthusiasm. Fakhreddine was the visionary behind several concepts that helped cement Dubai’s global dining and nightlife reputation, by introducing famous Beirut exports such as Seven Sisters, Antika Bar, BO18 DXB, February 30, and Cafe Beirut to the UAE market. Additionally homegrown concepts such as The Theater and Lucia’s that have already proved ground-breaking players within the regional landscape. Recognised as an entertainment leader in the region, 2021 has honed and elevated Fakhreddine’s ability to envision, conceptualise, and create aspirational brands that strike the balance of experiential excellence, thrilling entertainment, and a quality culinary offering. 2021 was the year that Fakhreddine kept his finger firmly on the pulse of this ever-evolving city, whilst also setting his sights further afield. Fakhreddine enhanced the nightlife scene in both KSA and Qatar with the successful launch of Antika Bar. Hailing from Lebanon, Fakhreddine has always been a visionary at heart. Working for many years in the corporate world he knew that his true passion lay on the other side of his comfort zone. With an absolute passion for the hospitality industry, he created 7 Management that has gone from strength to strength in 2021, with plenty of robust expansion plans on the horizon. 7 Management has tapped into the explosive power of this sector, resulting in a new payment option, where clients can pay with cryptocurrencies at all the Food and Beverages outlets.

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Timothy Kelly

Executive Vice President and Managing Director Atlantis Resorts and Residences

Timothy Kelly, the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Atlantis Resorts and Residences has grown the business from strength to strength after coming on board in November 2017. Although he has seen many successes over the years, these are a few of the most recent achievements to date: He successfully navigated Atlantis, The Palm through some of the most challenging years in hospitality history, not only to survive but to thrive, resulting in 2021 being the best year financially for the company since opening in 2008 (whilst also caring for over 3,000 colleagues).

Tim is not only leading the way for resorts in the Middle East but creating a product that is game changing on a global scale. During the pandemic, Tim took the move to embark on the world’s largest waterpark expansion and increased the waterpark by a third, so that with an additional tower and 28 new rides and attractions, we’re now home to the largest waterpark in the world offering over 105 different experiences to our guests. He also shook up the entertainment sector by bringing a slice of Ibiza to Dubai with Palmarama at WHITE Beach – a first of its kind partnership that had never happened before in the region that brought world class entertainment to the city in the middle of the pandemic in a responsible way.

2020 was a wonderful opportunity for Atlantis to give back to the community from a social standpoint and had the opportunity to do so in the partnership with the world-renowned artist Sacha Jafri. For over six months, Tim donated the space for Sacha to create the world’s largest canvas which was sold at a glittering auction at the resort for a staggering $62 million, raising money for children in need across the globe. This also achieved the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest painting.

In June 2021, Atlantis, The Palm announced its commitment to do business in ways that are good for both people and the planet with the resort’s first sustainability initiative Atlantis Atlas Project.

Tim is considered a hospitality heavyweight not only for his achievements, but mostly for his visionary leadership to helm not only one of Dubai’s, but one of the world’s leading entertainment destination resorts.

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Guy Hutchinson

President & CEO, Rotana Hotel Management Company PSJC

Strategic, engaged and result driven, Guy Hutchinson is responsible for developing and executing the strategic direction of Rotana and devising and implementing short- and long-term strategies to help the company realise its expansion plans. In addition, he provides executive oversight of all aspects of Rotana’s day-to-day operations. Spearheading the company’s expansion, Hutchinson led the introduction of 28 new hotels across 13 markets, launched a franchise model for the Group and oversaw the opening of new Global Sales offices in Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, and Istanbul to drive business from these key markets. Furthermore, he spearheaded the launch of a new brand at the recent ATM, Edge by Rotana, to complement our existing portfolio of products.

Hutchinson joined Rotana’s feted executive team with prestigious recognition of his own. The international hotelier’s career is notable for its creative leadership and his success in change management, repositioning, and building high performing teams.

Rotana has achieved a number of milestones as it continued its tenacious expansion over the past 12 months. The leading hospitality group has signed seven hotels last year, which include its expansion in Qatar and signings in Egypt.

In 2021 Guy Hutchinson continued to spearhead the management of the pandemic across the Rotana portfolio, swiftly instigating several successful measures, some of which include the Rotana Safe Space Program that remains today. His quick thinking and bold efforts in the initial stages of the pandemic mitigated the impact on the overall business and his team, and soon pushed the hotels into a commercial recovery phase

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Panos Panagis

General Manager of Hormuz Grand Muscat, A Radisson Collection Hotel and District Director, Radisson Hotel Group, Oman

Panos Panagis is a highly creative, detail oriented leader with a strong work ethic and passion for his job, he likes to challenge himself daily, whether it be cultivating his skills or developing talent in the Industry. He is dedicated, committed, compassionate and, more importantly, a man with vision and wealth of knowledge. His innovative strategies demonstrate his commitment to ensure high levels of productivity and resource efficiency. He continues to priorities health and safety of guests and staff. His’ primary focus is to deliver a personalised and engaging luxury experience by combining distinctive characters of Oman’s local culture with his international experience. He has implemented various organisational changes to make business agile and adaptive to the current market trends, while maintaining and creating long-lasting relationships with partners and guests. Panos’ overall character makes him a role model for young hoteliers and a leader in the hospitality industry. One of his greatest passions is mentoring young leaders; empowering them within his team and across the company so that they can grow professionally and achieve their goals.

His passion and expertise in the hospitality industry is unmatched; he is truly a one-of-a-kind leader. In the hospitality industry, Panos demonstrated excellent leadership, robust resilience, and unwavering determination to deliver results during the most challenging market conditions. In addition to working as GM at Hormuz Grand Muscat, A Radisson Collection Hotel, one of the most iconic properties in the capital, Panos Panagis’ contributions to Radisson Hotel Group extend far beyond one five-star luxury hotel with 231 rooms. During his tenure at Hormuz Grand Muscat, Panos led his team to achieve several awards, including World Luxury Hotel & Restaurant Awards for ‘Luxury Hotel in Oman & Luxury Restaurant in Oman’. During the pandemic, Panos and his team adapted the hotel’s sales strategy, diversifying into long-stay business and targeting the domestic market with staycation and food and beverage offers, which helped maintain business. Captains led by example, so he ensured that no job was too small, ensuring support for all departments.

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Adib Moukheiber

CEO, Zaya Hospitality

Adib Moukheiber is best known for his time leading one of the region’s most private and luxurious hospitality projects in the world, Zaya Nurai Island. As the former head of the ultra-luxury boutique Zaya Nurai Island, Moukheiber is no stranger to welcoming the most discerning UAE residents, as well as celebrities.

With a BA in Hotel and Tourism Management from Notre Dame University, Adib joined Zaya Nurai Island, Abu Dhabi in 2016 as the General Manager prior to this he was the Director of Sales for the Middle East and GCC at Hotel President Wilson (Starwood Luxury Collection) Geneva, Switzerland. During his time at Zaya Nurai Island he achieved great success in terms of revenue and worldwide recognition and managed to generate strong performance during COVID in 2020 and 2021 before assuming his current role as CEO of Zaya Hospitality where he leads the organisation to new heights with his vast experience and leadership skills.

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Aloki Batra

CEO, FIVE HOSPITALITY

Aloki Batra has been aptly referred to as ‘Mr Brightside’ for his perennially optimistic approach to leadership at the world-famous FIVE Hotels and Resorts, (which includes the iconic FIVE Palm Jumeirah and Instagram favourite FIVE Jumeirah Village, FIVE Zurich and FIVE LUXE, JBR). With an innovative spin on traditionally relied upon approaches and an out of the box philosophy that has yielded stratospheric results – including rapidly selling out all of FIVE Palm Jumeirah’s luxury residences for approximately US$400mn, Aloki has helped create a brand value for FIVE Hotels and Resorts that enjoys over 60% of all its bookings coming in directly through FIVE’s very own proprietary website/reservations teams. All-in-all Aloki’s marketing prowess has resulted in FIVE Hotels and Resorts in Dubai successfully welcoming over 3.79mn guests of over 192 nationalities to FIVE’s award-winning F&B venues and over 4000 events with over 360 top DJs in 1,784 days. Two FIVE Hotels have been ranked #1 with occupancy rates of over 95% and a TrevPAR that is 253% higher than its competitive set. FIVE Jumeirah Village is the most reviewed hotel on Booking.com with over 30,000 reviews with a rating of 9.

The imaginative powerhouse behind hugely successful homegrown concepts such Dubai’s iconic rooftop nightlife destination, The Penthouse, chic Italian luxury haute spot, Cinque and gourmet MSG-free Chinese favourite, Maiden Shanghai at FIVE Palm Jumeirah along with award-winning immersive street-food dining experience serving all your food-cart favourites from every delicious corner of the world, Soul Street. He has completely conceptualised and executed in-house, FIVE’s award-winning array of venues – each of which enhances the seductive appeal of the FIVE Vibe.

Looking ahead, Aloki plans to continue to evolve and encourage pioneering strategies at FIVE Zurich and capitalise on its’ already established key markets. He continues to lead FIVE’s portfolio, focusing on dynamic growth and bringing even more luxury lifestyle concepts to life.

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Antonio Gonzalez

CEO, Sunset Hospitality Group

Sunset Hospitality Group was founded in 2011 by Antonio Gonzalez with a vision to create unique experiences around the world through a diverse mix of hospitality concepts.

Under Antonio Gonzalez’s leadership, Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG) achieved excellent results, with overall business growing massively, making it one of the UAE’s most reputable hospitality investment and management companies. For the last 13 years, he has worked tirelessly to introduce new hospitality concepts that bring people together to create memorable experiences. As a result, the Group is now present in 9 countries across 26 brands with a proven record in delivering a blend of high-quality services at exceptional locations.

In 2021, Sunset introduced ten new brands, including SUSHISAMBA, Aura Skypool Lounge, METT Hotels and Resorts, Isola Ristorante Italiano, Folie Restaurant & Sea, and RAISE Fitness & Wellness, taking its portfolio to over 30 venues. The Group received 25 awards and nominations from the industry’s award-giving bodies. Sunset welcomed the year 2022 with the opening of DREAM, a dinner and show concept that received amazing reviews from guests and the media worldwide. It was followed by L’Amo Bistro Del Mare, which was rated One Toque by Gault&Millau Guide.

The Group is expanding regionally and internationally, with the Black Tap burger joint entering Riyadh in June of 2022, while METT Hotels & Resorts, with its first hotel in Bodrum, is eyeing new locations in other parts of the globe. New concepts opening in the next few months are Mott 32, a luxury Chinese restaurant originally from Hong Kong, in Address Beach Resort, and ATTIKO, a signature outlet for guests looking to unwind and celebrate, opening in W Hotel Mina Seyahi.

Celebrating its first ten years in 2022, SHG aims to reach over 50 operating venues in 14 countries and will continue to expand with a robust pipeline of new openings for 2023 and beyond, not only in the Middle East but also in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Morocco, to name a few, confirming its status as the leader in hospitality management in the UAE.

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Paul Bridger

Chief Operating Officer, Rove Hotels

Paul Bridger, a British National is a proven hospitality leader with more than two decades of diverse experience across Europe, Middle East and Asia, Paul Bridger is the Chief Operating Officer of Rove Hotels, the smart, new value hospitality brand created as a joint venture between Emaar Hospitality Group and Meraas Holding. His journey with Rove Hotels started in 2016 at the brands first opening and he has been overseeing the initiation, planning, and achievement of the brands objectives since.

Paul Bridger has led Rove hotels since its first opening in Downtown Dubai. The brand has carved out a new niche in the region’s hospitality scene for its fuss free service, unique approach, and quick growth. In the past 12 months the group has continued to go from strength to strength, with new openings and signings in prime locations and further unique twists on the region’s hospitality scene.

As the Head Rovester, Paul has always laid a keen focus on guest satisfaction. A testament to all these efforts is shown via a quick search on one of the OTA sites or TripAdvisor, with the Rove Hotels consistently occupying the top spots in their category. TripAdvisor recognised some of the brand’s hotels as ‘best of the best’ (TOP 1% Worldwide), and Hotels.com have recognised them through the ‘Loved by Guests’ Awards 2021. Other recognition has been in the Leaders in Hospitality Awards 2021’s and LIV Hospitality Design Awards ‘Interior Design Hotel’, to name a few.

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Jochem-Jan Sleiffer

President, Middle East, Africa & Türkiye, Hilton

In his current role, Jochem-Jan is responsible for Hilton’s portfolio of hotels in the Middle East, Africa & Türkiye, where Hilton has more than 170 hotels across eight market-leading brands and more than 29,000 Team Members. Under his leadership, Hilton’s portfolio in the region will more than double in the coming 3-5 years, with 180 hotels in its development pipeline across luxury, full-service and the mid-market brands.

Under Jochem-Jan Sleiffer’s leadership, Hilton is ushering in a new golden age of travel in the region – as the industry recovery continues to gather pace around the world. With a proven strategy focused on workplace culture, ESG and growth, achievements include: Team Members voted Hilton in the top 4 Best Workplaces in the UAE and KSA in 2022 – making it the top-ranked hospitality company in both markets. Hilton will continue to focus on creating a fantastic workplace culture for its teams – and be a welcoming place to work for all. In June 2022, Hilton partnered with Bunyan for Training, a local affiliate of Swiss hospitality management school Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, to train young Saudi talent willing to enter the industry. Hilton has partnered with organisations such as the SEDRA Foundation in the UAE – and such partnerships will continue to grow under the leadership of Jochem-Jan with a major part of his leadership focused on creating opportunity for People of Determination. Jochem-Jan works closely with the Dubai Executive Council – acting as a representative of the hospitality sector to advise on and promote inclusion of People of Determination in the industry.

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Giacomo Puntel

Resort Manager, Anantara The World Islands Dubai Resort

For the last 6 years and even during the most challenging year of recent times, the pandemic during 2020, Giacomo has managed to deliver a profit year after year through leading by example and always pushing boundaries to achieve the impossible. Giacomo’s engagement with guests and team members alike are unique and personal. The term “engagement” has somewhat staled, but here it means showing genuine interest in the success of the organisation and for each individual team member. Giacomo’s leadership style prides itself on the notion that, interested and engaged people do not multitask, fidget with their smartphones, or otherwise dilute their attention and participation during interactions and meetings. Giacomo actively listens, proactively comments on other contributions and offers constructive feedback or insights to other queries. Giacomo is solution-focused with those relying on him. Giacomo gracefully frames his contributions and feedback in a constructive and supportive manner, which typically has a positive effect on others. For Giacomo, leadership charisma does not mean being “larger than life,” a “dynamic speaker,” or having a strong “executive presence.” Rather, Giacomo fundamentally stands out in his ability to focus on others and not on himself. This “service to others” is at the core of his genuine charisma, it is inspirational in his messages and his ability to bring people together to realise a common goal and share in that success. Giacomo’s charisma coupled with substance and empathy makes him a very powerful asset to the organisation. He has over 26 years of experience. Inspired by his passion for wines and food from the start of his career, his priority has always been to ensure that his team and his customers are always satisfied.

Over the years Giacomo has increased profitability for the hotel and his latest achievement is the successful opening of the only resort located in The World Islands archipelago, Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort, on 18th December 202.

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Panos Loupasis

Vice President Development, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

As the Vice President of Development, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Panos Loupasis has overseen a number of important developments in the region for the brand. In particular, Panos was at the forefront for the significant growth across the MEA market over 2021, including the signing of eight hotels with a total of 1,279 rooms as well as the opening of five hotels and 809 rooms.

As a key member of the Wyndham’s leadership team, Panos supports the brand’s focus on the recovery and growth in a new era of travel post pandemic. At the forefront of development for the hotel group, Panos has personally signed up to 60 opportunities over his time at Wyndham, with the latest including the largest Tryp hotel with 672 rooms when signed and Wyndham Dubai Marina at 497 rooms.

Professionally, Panos is passionate about advancing the GCC tourism sector and has contributed his expertise, as a member of the advisory board for the AHIC (Arabian Hotel Investment Conference) and the AHIF (African Hotel Investment Forum). By working with partners – from governments to airlines, tour operators to franchisees – Panos, alongside the Wyndham team, continue to rebuild confidence in tourism, as people begin to explore once again in this new era of travel.

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Bani Haddad

Founder and Managing Director, Aleph Hospitality

In 2015, Bani Haddad founded Aleph Hospitality, a leading independent hotel management company, working for hotel owners in the Middle East and Africa to maximise their assets. In contrast to traditional hotel management models in the region, Aleph Hospitality manages hotels directly for owners, either on a franchise basis for branded properties or as a white label operator for independently branded hotels.

Introducing the 3rd party management model to the region was quite a pioneering move by Bani seven years ago and it remains his legacy to hospitality in this part of the world. In seven short years, Bani Haddad has taken the hotel management portfolio to 12 operating hotels, 947 keys, and 12 signed hotels in the pipeline, 2,000 keys, in the following countries: UAE, Lebanon , Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Monrovia, Cameroon, and Ghana. In addition, Bani has established preferred partner status with leading hotel brands, including Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Aleph Hospitality has earmarked a portfolio of 50 hotels in the Middle East and Africa by 2026. Bani’s hands-on and human leadership style has remained consistent, and Aleph’s company culture of empowerment has made it an attractive employer, with a hotel employee turnover below 5%.

Prior to founding Aleph, Bani successfully developed, launched and managed several major international hotel brands. As Regional Vice President Middle East & Africa for Wyndham Hotel Group, Bani grew the portfolio from six hotels to 49 operational hotels and 20+ under development, developed five new brands and expanded the company’s portfolio to the African continent. From fundraising and developing 40 Holiday Inn Express hotels in the GCC at Hospitality Management Services and setting up HMS as an independent hotel management company to pre- and post-opening operations at Starwood and Disneyland Resort Paris, Bani has first-hand experience in virtually every aspect of hotel management. Under Ban Haddad’s visionary guidance, Aleph Hospitality almost doubled its revenues over the past 12 months driven by the group’s portfolio expansion.

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Fathi Khogaly

Area Vice President & Cluster General Manager, Grand Hyatt Dubai

In January 2006, Fathi Khogaly became the Resident Manager at the Galleria complex at Hyatt Regency Dubai, where his main goal was to rejuvenate the residence and the shops at the Galleria. This was successfully done, where the outcomes were quite remarkable. These steppingstones simply laid the foundations, and later brought him to being appointed as the Hotel Manager in 2007 and 2009, and later General Manager in 2013 and 2016 of each property respectively.

By 2022, Fathi Khogaly added to Grand Hyatt Dubai’s extensive fleet of facilities. This included an Entertainment-plex, known as the Megaplex, which consists of Tiger Jax, a sports bar with an arcade and bowling alley; Primi by Panini, an extension to the hotel’s flagship delicatessen, Panini, and Roli Poli, a brand-new Kids Playground for all the little ones. Another key addition was orchestrating the opening of Grand Hyatt Dubai’s latest MICE venue – The Grand Hyatt Dubai Conference & Exhibition Centre. This blockbuster expansion project has added over 5000 sqm of state-of-the-art events space, and features a new exhibition hall, a pre-function area, a VIP majlis, and 2 levels of exclusive parking. Built in record time, Grand Hyatt Dubai’s Conference & Exhibition Centre was designed specifically to become one of the most renowned events, conference and exhibition venues within the destination.

Fathi Khogaly and Hyatt Hotels proved to be the complete match with their genuine common ideologies and beliefs, primarily being about care, which was also the epitome of Hyatt’s purpose– we care for people so they can be their best.

During his tenure, he continues to demonstrate in many ways how he cares for people, most notably how he cares for the associates that work with him.

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Mark Kirby

Head of Emaar Hospitality, Emaar Hospitality

Mark Kirby began his journey with Emaar Hospitality Group in 2014 as Hotel Manager of the prestigious Armani Hotel Dubai and subsequently rose to the position of General Manager. Under his leadership, the hotel achieved widespread global awards including 27 service-related accolades in 2018. Moving forward with an appointment as Area General Manager, he managed the Group’s iconic flagship hotel, Address Downtown, as well as other Downtown Hotels in the Group’s portfolio, such as Address Fountain Views, Address Sky View, Palace Downtown and Vida Downtown Residences, before assuming his current role as the Head of Emaar Hospitality Group. While being a resilient force behind the success of Emaar Hospitality Group, he has been successfully expanding the group’s portfolio to key gateway cities and tourist markets internationally.

Mark pioneered the international expansion of Emaar Hospitality Group within the UAE including Address Beach Resort Fujairah and Vida Beach Resort Umm Al Quwain. He also led the successful debut of Vida Beach Resort Marassi Al-Bahrain, the first extension of Vida Hotels outside of the UAE and Address Istanbul, a hotel situated in the heart of the luxury Emaar Square on the Asian side of the city, Address Istanbul is a destination unto itself with unlimited possibilities. Mark’s involvement was instrumental in the signing of Diriyah Gate Development Authority to launch Address Hotels + Resorts within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has allowed Emaar Hospitality Group to make its mark as one of the leading developments in the region.

He leads his team with true passion to allow growth and evolution within the industry. Popular for his approachability and willingness to mentor staff at all levels with the little details as well as critical matters, he has mentored many protégés over the years, from junior levels to those in middle management positions.

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Sandeep Walia

Chief Operating Officer, Middle East, Marriott International

Sandeep Walia is the Chief Operating Officer for Marriott International in the Middle East. With over 25 years of international experience in the hotel industry, Sandeep is currently responsible for leading the operations of Marriott’s properties in the Middle East (including Egypt and Turkey) which features over 200 operational properties and more than 100 properties in its pipeline. The company has more than 40,000 employees across its portfolio.

Sandeep took on his role as Chief Operating Officer for the Middle East mid-2021. In the last 12 months, Marriott has grown its portfolio in the region with the addition of more than 25 properties. Highlights include: Introduction of Ritz-Carlton in Jordan with The Ritz-Carlton, Amman; debut of Le Meridien in Qatar with Le Royal Meridien Doha, Residence Inn in the UAE, MEA in Qatar with Marriott Executive Apartments City Center Doha; and openings of The St. Regis Dubai, The Palm and The St. Regis Downtown Dubai and W Dubai – Mina Seyahi in the UAE.

Sandeep is passionate about the opportunity to develop the future leaders of this region’s industry. The company is committed to investing in young local talent to ensure the success of the region’s travel and tourism sector is unwavering. One of the ways the company is empowering youth is by developing the next generation of hospitality professionals through its Tahseen program – a hospitality training program that was developed by Marriott to specifically focus on fast tracking local hospitality leaders.

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