7. Ilir Caushi
Operations director Middle East, Zuma
Caushi's hospitality career began as a teenager in London, working with Sir Terence Conran restaurant group in St James's and The City. A move to the UAE saw him open Mourad Mazouz’ first restaurant in Dubai and he realised he had a natural aptitude for the business — enabling him to quickly rise through the ranks to achieve management status, covering all areas of front-of-house. He joined Zuma Dubai in 2009 as an assistant manager and within five years he had become assistant general manager. He then transferred to Zuma Abu Dhabi to be its general manager for a year, tasked with facilitating and managing the new venue’s team and launch. When he returned to Zuma Dubai, Caushi took up the reins as general manager and, this year, was promoted to operations director Zuma Middle East. In this role, he is instrumental in driving the continued success of both UAE outlets. Another 2016 highlight was Zuma Dubai maintaining a place on San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants list for the fourth year in a row. This is a feat that no other Middle East-based restaurant has been able to do; the only other restaurant in the region to be included has not maintained this status consistently.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 15
Number of years with this company: 8
Number of years in this role: 1
Number of years working in the Middle East: 8
Nationality: Albanian
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