Five nominees have been selected from a record number of entries to make it on to the shortlist for the Hotelier Middle East Awards Stewarding Person of the Year.

The final nominees beat out competition from hotels across the region to make it on to this year’s shortlist.

And the finalists are:

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Lalith H Kulatunga C & B operations manager/In charge of stewarding, Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi
Lalith is an inspiring leader to the team, working long and hard to ensure the success of the events he undertakes and his extraordinary ability to organize events like charity drives, cultural activities, social and environmental events makes him a strong organizer in the local hospitality industry.

Mokhter Hossain, chief steward, Dar Al Hijra Intercontinental Hotel
Mukhtar is an asset for the hotel as he spent 20 years long time in this field and his passion is developing people as well as helping others. Mukhter is initiated an idea to giving leftover food to the charity as a community service initiative which was appreciated by all.

John Esguerra, stewarding supervisor, InterContinental Doha
John has done an excellent job for the past year conducting trainings to the staff about usage of the operational equipment, handling special events inside the hotel and outside caterings, chemical usage, HACCP and Standard Operating Procedures. John is highly proactive and anticipative to the guest’s and colleague’s needs, especially during busy operations.

Ziyad Hejamady, chief steward, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah
Despite the pressures of the job and the long working hours, Ziyad has never once appeared distraught and is the personification of positive spirit. Since he took up the role of chief steward in 2006, he has been instrumental in standardising the department’s effective health and safety, and operating procedures. Ziyad single-handedly developed 85 SOPs, (Standard Operating Procedures), engineering a new culture of structure and discipline for the department.

David Mantiri, chief stewarding, Armani Hotel Dubai
All in all, David is a person who has built his career from bottom upwards at the steady progressive rate. He has achieved this through integrity, employee motivation and achieving results and targets. David always wears a smile on his face that brings a light mood to busy days.

The winner will be announced at the Hotelier Middle East Awards, which will be held on October 14 at Madinat Jumeirah Resort.