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Rosewood appoints new DOSM
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has appointed Sherif El Mansoury as the new director of Sales and Marketing for its Jeddah property Rosewood Corniche. He has joined Rosewood Corniche from Mosaic Palais Aziza & Spa Hotel in Marrakesh where he was the director of Sales & Marketing. He has also held roles in Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay and Fairmont Nile City Hotel.
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Concorde expands team
Concorde by Mourouj Fujaira has announced the appointments of Soma Ali (right) as senior sales manager and Rami Ennaba as financial controller. Ali has over nine years of sales experience and has previously worked in Holiday Inn Sharjah and Rotana Hotel and Resort Sharjah.
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New role to boost London sales
Dusit International has appointed Maria Calvo as regional senior sales manager responsible for the Spanish, Italian and Benelux markets, in addition to select UK accounts to boost European driven business in their London Regional Sales Office. Calvo’s her most recent role was key account manager at InterContinental Hotels Group.
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French joins The Ritz-Carlton
Edward French has been named chief sales and marketing officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Prior to his current role, French was senior vice president, Marketing Platforms. He started his career at American Airlines in 1992 as an analyst in revenue management. Previously, he has worked for Chase Manhattan Bank and Marriot.
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Etihad hires new airport manager
Etihad Airways has appointed Salem Al Mesmari as its new airport manager in Seychelles. Based in Mahé, Al Mesmari is responsible for overseeing the airline’s operations at Seychelles International Airport and the smooth operation of its three times a week service between the Seychelles and Abu Dhabi.
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Four Seasons Amman welcomes Sati
Four Seasons Hotel Amman announced the appointment of Yasmin Sati as the new director of Public Relations. Prior to joining the team at Four Seasons, Yasmin worked at a reputable PR agency for seven years, boasting a wide range of experience with corporations and industries, and this is her first venture into the hotel and hospitality industry.
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Heijden moves to Le Royal Meridien
Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi announced the appointment of Daniel van der Heijden as deputy general manager. He will work with the hotel’s team to complete the current re-development project as well as oversee general operations. He has more than 10 years of experience with Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
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Al Ain Rotana hires Scelza
Al Ain Rotana hotel has appointed Luciano Scelza as the new executive assistant manager. Luciano brings to the position over 20 years of experience in the hospitality management business with numerous achievements and skills in the field. Luciano has a strong background in the fields of food and beverage, sales, and customer service.
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DOSM position for Assar
Mohamed Assar joins Holiday Inn Express in Bahrain as director of Sales & Marketing. He has 19 years of GCC experience and has held positions in reputable hotel groups including Starwood, InterContinental and Banyan Tree in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain.
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Key promotions in culinary team
Ayman Valappil (right), executive sous chef at the Grand Millennium Dubai has been promoted to the position of executive chef. Chef Ayman has nearly 30 years of experience. Chef William Francisco Xavier Dias takes over as executive sous chef from his existing position of senior sous chef while chef Alaa Al Nachar will now be the senior sous chef from his role as oriental chef.
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The Torch Doha announces DOSM
Ameen Al-Darawsheh has joined The Torch Doha team as director of Sales & Marketing. Al-Darawsheh will oversee strategic sales efforts for the 5-star luxury hotel. Prior to joining the iconic hotel in Aspire Zone, he held the same role at Sheraton Deira Hotel and oversaw the Convention Center of Convention Sales for Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel.
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Sapre joins Park Rotana Abu Dhabi
Park Rotana Abu Dhabi recently welcomed Ameya Sapre as the director of Food & Beverage. He joined Park Rotana Abu Dhabi from Harrods Restaurants, UK, where he has worked for the past three years. He was involved in the opening of French Laundry pop up restaurant at Harrods with chef Thomas Keller.
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Rotana welcomes Allan
Rotana announced the joining of Greg Allan in the capacity of area vice president – Abu Dhabi & Al Ain. He boasts 30 years of experience in the industry, which included his position as area director of operations for South East Asia for Marriott International.
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New senior position at Hilton
Hilton Worldwide has announced the appointment of Kamel Ajami as the company’s first country manager in Jordan. Ajami brings more than 30 years of experience to the newly-created role, the most senior for Hilton Worldwide in Jordan.
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Panossian takes up new role in Jordan
Shahan Panossian has been appointed as the director of Sales for the IHG cluster office in Jordan. He will oversee the sales of InterContinental Resort Aqaba, Crowne Plaza Amman, Crowne Plaza Resort Petra, Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort & Spa and Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea.
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New director at Emirates Palace
Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi has appointed Linda Steeger as the new director of Sales and Marketing. Steeger will lead her team as they continue to grow in up and coming markets like China, Japan, Russia, and Brazil. She was recently recognised as the ‘Kempinski Director of Sales & Marketing of the year for Europe’ in January 2013.
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Lotus appoints new COO
Wilson Joseph has assumed the position of chief operating officer at Lotus Downtown Metro Hotel Apartments – Deira. The property plans to grow into a chain of deluxe hotel apartments and four star hotels.
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Royal Rose strengthens team
The soon-to-open Royal Rose has appointed Ammar Zakaria as director of human resources and Michael Kappes as director of business development. Zakaria will provide direction for the property in all aspects of human resources while Kappes will direct a team of 16 sales and revenue professionals to prepare for the opening of the five-star property.
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Haris joins Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines recently announced the appointment of Nur Shaffik Haris as general manager – UAE & Gulf, tasked to spearhead expansion of the airline’s foothold in the growing Gulf region. A 16-year veteran of Malaysia Airlines, Shaffik’s previous appointment was as GM West India where he was based in Mumbai.
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IHG expands roster of F&B experts
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) welcomes two new experts to its Food & Beverage (F&B) team in Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), highlighting the group’s focus on enhancing its F&B operations in the region. Stefan Breg rejoined the IHG team as F&B concept design director for the region whilst Andreas Reich is the new F&B director of Performance.