Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, Middle East & Africa (MEA), held its 2014 Annual General Manager's Meeting yesterday, with the theme for the event "The Road to Excellence". The meeting was hosted at the Grand Millennium Al Wahda hotel in Abu Dhabi and was attended by the Group's General Managers from properties across the Middle East and senior management from the Regional Office team.

The event was opened by Mr. Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President & CEO, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, Middle East & Africa, who outlined his vision for the Group and thanked the team for their efforts over the last year. As the Group continues to extend its footprint across the GCC with new market entries into KSA, Mr. Alzaabi emphasised the "positive change in the Company's direction" and recognised the support from the team in its progress to date. "Today, marks the continued journey for our Group on the "Road to Excellence" where we are driving a culture of progress and innovation to lead the company forward" added Mr Al Zaabi.

Mr Thomas Tapken, the newly appointed Vice President - Operations, Middle East & Africa hosted his debut GM's Annual Meeting for the Group and it was his first opportunity to meet a number of his regional team. Experienced hotelier Mr. Tapken recently joined the Regional Office team with the remit to provide maximum business growth and profitability, whilst maintaining quality standards across the portfolio of hotels in the region.

The theme for the day "The Road to Excellence" was determined to reflect the new corporate strategy put in place last year and the recent senior executive appointments to the Regional office team, including Mr. Tapken and Mr Naeem Darkazally, Vice President - Sales & Marketing and several management appointments across Branding, HR as well as new Area Offices in Kurdistan and Kuwait.

"As we aim to maximise the performance of our operational properties and successfully bring further properties on-stream it is critical we have a single vision and focus for the company which is to excel in every aspect of what we do as this will drive the business forward to the benefit our guests, owners, and employees."" said Mr. Tapken.

The one day event featured a number presentations from the Regional team and guest speakers including Mr Martin Kubler, Social Media consultant and former hotelier, who gave an insight into Social Media in the Hospitality sector. The day was rounded off with a finale presentation from Mr Adrian Hayes, British, UAE based, record-breaking adventurer, speaker, corporate coach and sustainability ambassador.

About Millennium & Copthorne Hotels

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) is the global brand of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (M&C), a global hotel company which owns, manages and operates over 150 hotels across some 80 locations worldwide throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and the United States. Its properties are in key gateway cities such as London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. Occupying the best locations around the world, MHR has the perfect address for business and leisure travellers. M&C is the hotel arm of Singapore listed global real estate company City Developments Limited and is a member of the Hong Leong Group.

Millennium Hotels & Resorts, Middle East & Africa currently operates over 50 hotels and 15,000 keys, in addition to 32 hotels in the development pipeline across the region. From a single property in Abu Dhabi, Millennium Hotels & Resorts, Middle East & Africa has expanded into various neighbouring destinations, cultivating partnerships with reputable owners, and is now recognized as one of the fastest growing hotel management companies in the region. For more information, please visit www.millenniumhotels.com.

Louisa Cheong
Manager, Group Corporate Affairs
6428 9305
Millennium