Five minutes with Marriott's Alex Kyriakidis

Hotelier Middle East chats to Alex Kyriakidis, the new president and managing director for Marriott in the Middle East and Africa, about his plans for the company

When Marriott revealed the news that it had appointed Deloitte veteran Alex Kyriakidis as president and managing director of its Middle East and Africa (MEA) division, it came as quite a surprise.

After all, he has some big shoes to fill. His predecessor, Edwin Fuller, is well known for nearly four decades of global service with the company, decorated for his service in Vietnam, and released his book this year. And Alex Kyriakidis? He’s never even run a hotel before, some would say. But that would be missing the point, because Kyriakidis comes with a very impressive biography of his own.

“My family runs hotels and restaurants,” he reveals. “As a child, I grew up in the industry, then when I went to university, every single holiday and weekend I had, I worked in the family business. Then of course I joined the profession.

I worked with Deloitte for the biggest hotel companies in the world, the biggest leisure companies in the world, and for government. I’ve done major strategy work, I’ve been involved with US $7 billion of hotel real estate M&A and have worked on international expansion.”

Indeed, running hotels is not the point; it is being able to run an operation the size Marriot has — a challenge which Kyriakidis admits is what drew him to the job.

“I’ve worked with Marriott for up to 30 years so I know the organisation very well and I’m hugely excited by the opportunity to work with an organisation whose focus on brands, client services, on the people, is legendary,” he says.

The other part of the challenge, says Kyriakidis, lies in being able to work with countries that vary widely in economic conditions — and in some cases, stability.

“In some respects, we have countries that are booming economically, that the sheer momentum of the investment in the economy is going to give rise to significant demand for hotel rooms.

We can think of Qatar with 2022; we can think of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with its growth in religious tourism and infrastructure; the Emirates are enormously exciting from a growth perspective given the strength of the airlines.

“At the same time, we have some countries in North Africa going through some challenges like Egypt and Libya. Let’s not forget how successful Egypt tourism was up until the civil unrest,” he continues.

Kyriakidis confirms that he will be making a big push to help revive Egypt’s fortunes, but the country needs to be seen as safe.

“After every single major event, whether it is a terrorist attack, natural disaster or a civil war, there is a recovery that is very dependent on the travellers feeling safe.
Everybody today is connected, they know exactly what’s happening live as it happens.

“The moment the public begins to feel that it’s safe to travel to Egypt, momentum will pick up. It’s getting the country to the point where the future government will direct it and some calm will return,” he believes.

But the biggest difference from the days of Ed Fuller, who retires on March 31, 2012, is the fact that by appointing Kyriakidis, based in Dubai and fluent in three languages including Arabic, Marriott has placed importance on the region.

“This is really the statement; that’s what excited me. Arne Sorenson, the chief executive, wants the Middle East to be completely on the same level as the other regions of the world, with its own president, its own team in the region. This is a very powerful statement which underscores the confidence in the region and expectations of growth,” concludes Kyriakidis.