Marriott reveals new sales & marketing leaders for MEA

Marriott International has revealed the expansion and strengthening of its sales and marketing leadership team for Middle East and Africa.

The revamped brand, marketing, sales and consumer services (BMSC) leadership team comprises professionals from Marriott International and legacy Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Led by Marriott International veteran, Neal Jones, who is the chief sales and marketing officer, Middle East and Africa for Marriott International, the team will provide dedicated support to the company’s regional portfolio and will be responsible for driving topline revenue for Marriott International brand.

With a current portfolio of over 240 hotels with 54,000 rooms in 30 countries, Marriott International is working towards targeting a projected growth of 150,000 rooms operational and pipeline in 38 countries by 2022 across Middle East and Africa.

Marriott’s BMSC leadership team for Middle East and Africa has been formed with the following hospitality professionals currently on board and a vice president luxury brands soon to be announced.

Paul Dalgleish, vice president of sales & distribution will be responsible for property, market and area sales organisations as well as the global sales organisation, whilst leading the Middle East and Africa distribution strategy. Previously vice president of sales for Marriott International, Dalgleish has played a  role in the rapid expansion of the Middle East and Africa region.

Sarah Allen is the vice president of revenue strategy & analysis, and will be responsible for property, market and area revenue management, remote revenue management solutions and revenue management analysis. Formerly vice president of revenue management, Marriott International Middle East and Africa, Allen is a Marriott International veteran and has played a key role in moving hotels onto Marriott’s revenue management platforms implementing processes as well as setting up shared services across the markets. She was also the business leader for the integration of Protea Hotels which was acquired by Marriott International in 2014. 

Read on to find out about the other members of the new leadership team...

The vice president of digital, loyalty and portfolio marketing, Jitendra Jain, will be responsible for the company’s loyalty programmes, partnerships, cross-brand marketing of Marriott International’s regional portfolio and will lead all digital marketing, platforms and products. A Starwood veteran, Jain previously led the marketing function for the former Starwood portfolio in the Middle East.

Sandra Schulze-Potgieter, vice president of premium and select brands will be responsible for brand marketing and management for Marriott International’s portfolio of premium and select Brands and will oversee restaurants & bars marketing as well as area field marketing. She was previously senior director, brand marketing & eCommerce for Marriott International Middle East and Africa managing field marketing, brand marketing, public relations, partnerships, social media, digital, as well as loyalty.

Sarah Walker Kerr, vice president of communications Middle East and Africa, will be responsible for devising and implementing the overall communications strategy for Marriott international in the region, driving visibility, enhancing the perception of the company and its brands and increasing its share of voice in the media. She will provide strategic counsel to the senior executive leadership team, managing internal and external communications, crisis communications and reputation management as well as brand communications. She was previously regional director of public relations Middle East, Africa, India & Japan for the Ritz-Carlton hotel company.

Finally, Raheel Baggia, senior director, BMSC planning and services will be responsible for integration and change management, programme execution and training. Prior to this, he served as director, BMSC consulting - Middle East and Africa. Since joining Marriott in 2013, he has been working on strategic continent projects both in his previous role supporting BMSC-Middle East and Africa as well as in Europe where he was part of the global operations team.