Jumeirah reshuffles regional management team

Dubai-based Jumeirah Group has made a number of internal changes to its management team with a view to strengthen its regional capabilities and support the brand’s growth.

Doris Greif returns to Dubai to take up the new role of senior vice president operations Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), with Katie Benson replacing her as regional vice president for Europe, in addition to her role as general manager of Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London.

Jumeirah had previously announced that Graham Kiy had moved from his position as general manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives to take up a new dual role of regional vice president of Greater China and general manager of Jumeirah Nanjing, a new China hotel due to open 2017.

Jumeirah Group CEO Stefan Leser said in a statement: "Having a team of experts with regional oversight will provide valuable support to our existing properties and will enable us to accelerate our plans to expand.

"We are committed to ensuring our future properties are right for our stakeholders, right for our brand, in the right location and right for our long term strategy. Doris, Katie and Graham are highly capable professionals with a depth of expertise that adds significant value operationally, and to our development decisions."

Greif, who has worked in hospitality for more than three decades, has held a number of senior positions since joining Jumeirah in 1999. She returns to Dubai from Europe having relocated in 2014 to her native Germany to take up the role of regional vice president Europe as well as general manager of Jumeirah Frankfurt.

Greif has previously been executive assistant manager in charge of rooms at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, general manager of Jumeirah Beach Club Resort & Spa, general manager operations and general manager of Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

She left the company in 2008 to take on the role of COO - city operations at DIFC Investments LLC before re-joining Jumeirah in 2010 to become general manager of Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.

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With more than 30 years of hospitality experience, Benson joined Jumeirah in 2015 from Langham Group where she held roles including CEO and executive director of Langham Hospitality Investments, regional vice president for the Americas and Caribbean for Langham Hospitality Group, regional vice president for the Americas and Europe and managing firector at Langham London.

A joint British-Australian citizen, Benson has also held positions for Langham Hospitality Group in Melbourne and Hong Kong, as well as several senior executive positions for Starwood Hotels and Resorts throughout the Middle East, Australia and China.

In her new dual role, Benson will remain in London, and report to group chief operating officer Marc Dardenne.

Kiy took up his new role as regional vice president of Greater China and general manager of Jumeirah Nanjing in August 2016. Kiy joined Jumeirah in 2010 as the hotel manager for Jumeirah Zabeel Saray.

He has extensive experience of the Asia Pacific market having spent more than 30 years working in South East Asia and Greater China undertaking a number of general manager positions in China, Singapore and Manila. He is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese as well as German, French, Indonesian and Thai.