05. Christian Gradnitzer

Austrian

Senior director, F&B Operations, EMEA Hilton

In his 17 years working in the Middle East, Christian Gradnitzer has been a part of more than 40 successful F&B concepts. Currently he is responsible for 183 Hilton-operated restaurants and bars and 37 franchise outlets, employing 3000 people in the Middle East, and strategic future F&B development for Hilton in the EMEA market. The group has 70 hotels in the pipeline for the Middle East with an average of three Hilton-operated outlets at each hotel, and around 30 franchise-operated outlets expected to open in the near future.

Gradnitzer has been rejuvenating Hilton’s F&B portfolio by setting up lease, third party agreements and franchise brands, balancing it out with innovative, market-driven offerings. His priorities for 2018 mirror Hilton’s updated F&B values – foster employee recruitment and retention, create a quality guest experience and stay focused on results to build commercial success.

NUMBERS GAME...

Number of years working in the Middle East: 17

Number of years working in the F&B industry: 25

Staff: 3000

Story continues below
Advertisement