Elie YounesRezidor, a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group,has announced the promotion of Elie Younes to Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer. Younes, who served as the group's Senior Vice President & Head of Group Development since December 2012, is responsible for Rezidor's ambitious growth strategy across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He is based in Brussels and reports directly to President & CEO Wolfgang M. Neumann. Younes, a Lebanese national and UK citizen, conducted studies internationally at universities such as Notre Dame (Lebanon), Cornell (US), IMHI/Essec (France), Insead (France) and London City (UK). He began his career in managerial roles in Lebanon before joining HVS International in London in 2001 where he quickly progressed to the position of Director. Six years later, he moved to Starwood Hotels as Director (and then Senior Director) of Acquisitions & Development EMEA. From 2009 to 2010 he was Hilton's Vice President Development for the Middle East before moving on to Rezidor's Regional Office in Dubai as Vice President Business Development. Since 2012, he is based at the group's Corporate Support Office in Brussels, and leads an international development team across continents.b