Power 50: 40-31
We continue our countdown of the most powerful hoteliers in the Middle East with numbers 40 to 31.
The full list was revealed exclusively to the attendees of the Hotelier Great GM Debate yesterday at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
It was well received, but do you agree? Enjoy reading.
40
Ulrich T. Eckhardt
President Middle East and Africa, Kempinski Hotels
Ulrich T. Eckhardt oversees the 15 Kempinski Hotels currently operating in the region, including the world-famous Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and Kempinski Hotel Ajman, a hotel which he not only launched in 1998 but also continues to manage despite his regional promotion.
Over the past year, the company has opened two hotels — the Kempinski Residence and Suites – Doha and Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo — and is expected to unveil the Kempinski Residence and Suites Palm Jumeirah by the end of the year.
There have been some setbacks, with Eckhardt revealing earlier this year that three properties in Damascus, Syria, a hotel in Marrakech, Morocco and a hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt have all been cancelled.
However, he said Syria, the Levant and Morocco remained markets of major interest and two further properties have since been signed, the Kempinski Hotel Saba Saba in Ariusha and Kempinski Hotel Royal Maxim in Cairo.
Responsible now for leading Kempinski’s expansion in the Middle East, Eckhardt plans to more than double the portfolio to 30 hotels by the end of 2012.
39
Robert Gaymer-Jones
chief operating officer Sofitel Worldwide
Luxury French brand Sofitel, part of the Accor group, has undergone a dramatic repositioning over the past couple of years, spearheaded by chief operating officer Robert Gaymer-Jones who enters the Power 50 at number 39.
Gaymer-Jones is a regular visitor to the Middle East, which is now home to six operating Sofitel hotels with an additional three properties due to open soon, including Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq by Thalassa Sea & Spa, Bahrain
Achievements over the past 12 months include the opening of Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach and Sofitel Al Khobar The Corniche.
Sofitel has also extended its reach in North Africa and opened three new hotels in Morocco — Sofitel Rabat Jardin des Roses, Sofitel Agadir Royal Bay Resort Morocco and Sofitel Marrakech Palais Imperial Morocco, while Sofitel Essaouira Mogadir Golf & Spa is opening at the end of 2010.
The launch of So Spa at Sofitel Rabat Jardin des Roses will also mark the entrance of the spa brand to the Middle East.
The company’s influence is set to grow, with a second hotel in Dubai now underway.
38
Anthony P Liddiard
chief executive officer, RMAL Hospitality
With more than 30 years’ international experience in the hospitality industry, chief executive officer Anthony Liddiard is the driving force behind dedicated hotel and restaurant development business, RMAL Hospitality.
The group holds the franchise rights to several restaurant chains across the Middle East and North Africa — including Frankie’s Italian Bar and Grill, Wagamama, Trader Vic’s, and Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse & Grill — and, additionally, owns the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi.
The growth of these brands in the two years since the formation of the company is remarkable, and more is yet to come. Liddiard has partnered with Dubai Pearl to develop and operate famous Las Vegas brands MGM Grand, Bellagio and Skylofts, as well as the luxury Baccarat Hotel, at the AED 7.4 billion (US $2 billion) mixed-use development.
Liddiard was hand-picked by the giant Al Fahim Group to run RMAL Hospitality in 2007 following extensive regional experience, including a number of senior positions with Intercontinental Hotels Group Middle East and Africa, including vice president sales and marketing, MEA, GM, and director of operations for UAE & Qatar.
37
Siegfried Nierhaus
Managing Director, Atlas Hospitality
This year Siegfried Nierhaus has taken up the reigns of Atlas Hospitality, charged with increasing asset development and value creation by building home grown food and beverage brands and bringing international brands through franchise and joint partnerships to the Atlas portfolio.
No stranger to the Middle East, Nierhaus spent the last two years as the region’s director of future openings for The Rezidor Hotel Group. Prior to that, he opened and also managed Radisson Blu at Dubai Media City, which is owned by Atlas Hospitality.
In his new role, Nierhaus will continue to work with Rezidor and will be launching the first Regent hotel in the region in the form of the 377-room Regent Emirates Pearl, a joint venture between Atlas Hospitality and Tourism Development & Investment Company, due to open in 2012.
36
Alan Leibman
President and Managing Director, Kerzner International
Alan Leibman is in charge of two of Dubai’s most prestigious properties, Atlantis The Palm and One&Only Royal Mirage.
Leibman was integrally involved in every aspect of the design and development of the 1539-room Atlantis ocean-themed destination resort located on the crescent of the man-made Palm Jumeirah and has remained responsible for the operational development of the property.
As of May 2010, he has also been overseeing four of the company’s top-rated luxury resort properties under the One&Only brand located in Mauritius, the Maldives, South Africa and Dubai, and is leading the launch of One&Only The Palm in Dubai, which will open in October 2010.
Leibman was also instrumental in overseeing the strategic development of Mazagan in El Jadida, Morocco, which opened in 2009.
He currently sits on the Board of Directors for both Kerzner International Holding Limited as well as Kerzner Istithmar Limited.
Leibman joined Kerzner International (formally Sun International) in 1995.
35
Robert Maclean
principal, National Institute of Hospitality, Oman
Robert MacLean, who hails from the Scottish highlands, has been in the hospitality business for around 30 years.
After studying hotel management at Robert Gordon’s in Aberdeen, Scotland, MacLean started his career in the industry. After several years he moved to Wales and was involved in a family enterprise where he improved his cooking skills. There began his involvement in the teaching profession, where he taught students of hospitality.
After three years, MacLean took up a position with the new National Hospitality Institute in Oman, as a lecturer in Food and Beverage and Front Office.
He has now been the principal of NHI for 12 years and has seen the hospitality industry in Oman grow rapidly during his time there, supporting the development of training and standards throughout this period and hence claiming his much deserved place in this year’s Power 50.
MacLean actively promotes all aspects of hospitality in Oman, from food safety and the Oman Chef’s Guild to assisting hotels in reaching their Omanisation targets.
34
Shaikha Al Mutawa
Business Development Director, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM)
Making her mark at number 34 is Shaikha Al Mutawa, a new entry to the Power 50 2010 and the first Emirati woman to be included in the ranking, a noteworthy achievement in itself.
Al Mutawa is one of the most proactive and passionate of the directors at the DTCM, and has made driving the green agenda among hoteliers her mission.
She positively encourages sustainability in hotels, leading initiatives such as the DTCM’s mission to reduce CO2 emissions in hotels by 20% by 2011 and the inaugural Dubai Green Tourism Awards, for which she received accolades from general managers and engineers across the emirate.
The ongoing success of both programmes has spurred Al Mutawa to continue pursuing a more environmentally-friendly industry, and we expect to see her playing an increasingly strong role in this over the coming 12 months.
33
Paul Bell
Managing Director, Aldar Hotels and Hospitality
Aldar Hotels and Hospitality made its mark in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2009 with the opening of seven hotels on Yas Island, all up and running in time for the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix on November 1.
The achievement was in large part thanks to the dedication and hard work of Paul Bell, who in just two years laid the foundations to make Aldar one of the top hotel owners and operators in the Middle East.
Almost a year after the inaugural Grand Prix and the Yas Island hotels — one of which is managed by Aldar, two by IHG, two by Rotana and two by Rezidor — are eagerly awaiting the second F1. After all, it cannot be denied that the addition of 2500 rooms to the Abu Dhabi hotel market caused friction in the emirate’s demand/supply relationship, with extra visitors to Abu Dhabi not impacting positively on occupancy figures because of the extra beds.
But that said, the opening of the seven hotels as promised — at a time when more projects were delayed or cancelled than brought to fruition — was a major achievement, plus all received glowing reports during the F1. For this reason, Bell deserves to remain in the Power 50, with all eyes now on future developments from Aldar.
32
Michael Weyland
General Manager, Hotel Division, Landmark Group
His role heading up retail giant Landmark Group’s hotel division brings Michael Weyland into this year’s Power 50 at number 32.
The company has developed a new brand, Citymax, launched just last year and designed to “address the substantial gap that exists for value driven and mid-market hotels in the region”.
Weyland has been responsible for driving the openings, first at Al Barsha in Dubai and now in Bur Dubai, with a third property underway in Sharjah.
As the son of a hotel general manager, he grew up in plush five-star properties on various islands in the Caribbean, and since then has worked in the industry for 28 years with brands such as Sheraton, Steigenberger Hotels, Dorint Hotels and Resorts, Accor Hotels and Ramada.
Founded in 1973 with a single store in Bahrain, the Landmark Group has successfully grown into one of the largest and most thriving retail organisations in the Middle East and India with more than 900 stores, plus a restaurant division called Foodmark.
31
Ahmed Ramdan
Chief Executive Officer, Roya International
Seasoned consultant Ahmed Ramdan, CEO of Ròya International, is a man in demand. Since setting up Ròya International in 1998 following a career in operations, Ramdan’s creativity has resulted in projects such as Shangri-La Abu Dhabi, which was designed, built and ready for operation in less than two years and The Monarch, featuring the largest suite in the Middle East.
Most recently, he led the development and opening of Media One Hotel in Dubai and the Talal Liwa Hotel, which he launched in less than nine months. And never one to shy away from a challenge, upcoming projects include a resort on Saadiyat Island, the first Dusit in Abu Dhabi and Bab Al Bahr — A Luxury Collection Hotel to open in Ajman.
Ròya International has also increased its asset management services with the launch of Hotel Management Oversight Services in partnership with Deloitte, and at the same time, Ramdan is working closely to support the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority in a variety of tourism initiatives.