Jerome Briet

Marriott International has appointed Jerome Briet as its chief development officer for the Middle East and Africa, where he will oversee and drive growth through new-build, conversion and franchise opportunities across new and established markets.

Briet was previously the regional vice president, mixed-use development for the Middle East and Africa.

He takes on his role from Samir Baidas who served as the chief development officer and has been a part of the company's Middle East and Africa development team for more than 14 years. Baidas will remain as a development consultant.

Briet has more than 15 years of hospitality experience, and first joined Marriott International in 2012. He has since signed more than 6,000 rooms across the Middle East & Africa, including properties such as the Bulgari Resort & Residences Dubai, Renaissance Downtown Hotel, Dubai, Marriott Hotel & Resort Palm Jumeirah, and The Ritz-Carlton properties in Ras Al Khaimah (Al Wadi and Al Hamra).

Prior to joining Marriott, Briet worked with Jones Lang LaSalle in its Paris and Dubai offices, where he handled capital markets transactions in the MENA region. He also worked with Millennium & Copthorne, where he oversaw development & acquisitions for the Middle East, Africa and India.

Briet holds an MBA in International Hospitality and Real Estate Management from the IMHI ESSEC Business School in Paris, France.

Marriott currently operates 250 properties across the Middle East and Africa with a development pipeline of over 110 new properties scheduled to open in the next five years.