Movenpick appoints VP development Europe & North Africa

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has appointed Amir Lababedi to spearhead its expansion strategy in Europe and North Africa.

Lababedi has relocated from Mövenpick’s Middle East regional office in Dubai where he was previously based as vice president development Middle East for three years, and will report to the company’s chief development officer, Andrew Langdon.

His current position has been recently created, and he will be based in London.

Before joining Mövenpick, Lababedi was associate director at global hotel consulting and valuation firm, HVS, based in Dubai, a company he also previously worked for in London. He has also held managerial positions with Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth funds in their real estate departments.

In his new role, Lababedi will be responsible for fast-tracking the hospitality group’s plans to expand its European footprint, which will not only involve identifying opportunities to manage and lease new hotels, but to also introduce the Mövenpick Residences model that has proven successful in other global markets.

He will also be instrumental in cultivating Mövenpick’s portfolio in North Africa where the company has more than 20 properties and Nile cruisers and several more projects in the pipeline. He will lead the development strategy for this high-growth potential region.

"Our ambition is to accelerate our growth in Europe through a combination of leases and management agreements for our well-established upscale Mövenpick brand and by  rolling out our extended stay/long-stay product offering, Mövenpick Residences, in the region for the first time," explained Langdon.

Lababedi is originally from the United Kingdom where he received his formal education, attaining a BSc in Hotel Management at Surrey University and an MSc in Global Banking and Finance at London European Business School.