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Appointment

Ben Bengougam has been appointed as VP Human Resources EMEA at Hilton

Bengougam, now based in Dubai, is responsible for leading the Human Resources function across the region, which includes more than 46,000 team members in 57 countries. Since joining the company in 2010 with a European remit, Ben has facilitated Hilton's growth by strategically overseeing global processes of recruitment, development and retention of talent. He has since had his responsibilities widened to include the Middle East and Africa. Key initiatives launched during Bengougam's time at Hilton include Careers@Hilton Live, a global initiative that informs young people of the many and varied career opportunities in the hospitality sector.

Hilton
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

William Costley has been appointed as VP Operations Arabian Peninsula and Turkey at Hilton

Costley joins Hilton from the APAC region where he served as vice president for South-East Asia and India, overseeing 35 hotels across 11 countries. In overseeing the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey, Costley will have responsibility for the countries where he was appointed to his first general manager roles. A 27-year Hilton career to date has seen William live in many destinations beyond his native Scotland, from England to Turkey, UAE, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore.Known for his conceptual thinking and innovative approach, Costley's Middle East and Turkey experience will be invaluable for him in his new role based in the MEA regional office Dubai.

Hilton
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Hanna Azzi has been appointed as General Manager at Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai

Global luxury lifestyle and hospitality brand announces the appointment of Hanna Azzi as General Manager of Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai, ahead of the property's two year anniversary coming up this March. Hanna Azzi has been working with the Nikki Beach brand since June 2015 and has played a key role in the opening of Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai as Resort Operations Manager. Born in Lebanon and raised in Canada, Azzi's hospitality background includes properties such as The Address Downtown, Shangri-La, Raffles, St. Regis Doha and Four Seasons. With an extensive experience in pre-opening projects for major hotel groups in Dubai, Hanna brings more than 15 years of luxury lifestyle hotel experience to the Nikki Beach Resort on Pearl Jumeirah.  The Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts division has plans to open over 20 additional properties in the next five years. Its business model is based on experiential luxury with a very high food and beverage component.

Nikki Beach Hospitality Group
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Giampaolo Scarfi has been appointed as Venue Manager at Bice Ristorante at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah

Born and raised in Rieti, Italy, Scarfi has more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality sector. His most recent position was restaurant manager for Marriott Group. The position was the latest in a long career working for luxury hotel brands such as The Kensington Hotel in London under The Doyle Collection Luxury Hotels, The Ritz Hotel in London, and St. Regis in Rome. He also possesses a number of accreditations and certifications achieved across Europe.

Hilton
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Leonardo Baiocchi has been promoted to Regional Vice President at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts

Leonardo Baiocchi, has been promoted to Regional Vice President, effective as of March 1, 2018. He will continue to oversee his current home hotel at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, as well as extending his regional responsibilities to supervising hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Cairo. Since early 2017, Baiocchi has successfully led Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach (a flagship property) as General Manager. He arrived in Dubai from Istanbul, where he served both Four Seasons properties as General Manager for five years. Under his leadership, Dubai has been continuously recognised as one of the top resorts in the world by well-respected travel authorities, including Forbes Travel Guide and The Gallivanters Guide. Joining Four Seasons in 1993, Baiocchi boasts a wealth of luxury hospitality and management experience from wide-ranging and far-flung destinations including being a part of opening teams at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf (formerly a Four Seasons hotel), Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh, Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest and Four Seasons Hotel Firenze. Born in Nairobi and raised in Italy, Baiocchi grew up as an expat living abroad. He was drawn to hotels back in the 1970s and "80s "because they were the place to meet." After initially pursuing political science, he switched to study hospitality in the Swiss tradition. He savours time away from the job to build his 200-plus-piece collection of contemporary African art on travel to Africa and the US. He also enjoys taking his Jeep four-by-four on spins over sand dunes outside of Dubai.

Four Seasons
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Appointment

Amr Kelany has been appointed as F&B Director at Fairmont Dubai

Fairmont Dubai has appointed Amr Kelany as food and beverage manager. He has joined the hotel from his most recent role as assistant director of food and beverage at Sofitel Dubai Downtown. At the Sofitel Dubai Downtown he was overseeing the daily food and beverage operations and leading a team of 225 colleagues. Kelany has more than 20 years of global experience within luxury hotel brands" food and beverage leadership positions across the United Kingdom, Egypt, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. He holds a Degree in Hotel Administration from the Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt.

Accor
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Appointment

Andrew Vieira has been appointed as F&B Director at Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay Dubai

Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay, has appointed Andrew Vieira as the new director of food & beverage to head the property"s culinary operation. To his new role, Vieira bring 14 years of industry experience having previously handled F&B management roles in London and UAE. The British national first started his career in London then later moved to the Middle East to work the Jumeirah Group for six years following a three-year stint at The Address Downtown. Before joining Steigenberger, Vieira served as the F&B manager at The Meydan Hotel for two years. Besides his training and experiences, Vieira has completed courses in in revenue management, as well as food safety and hospitality management.

H World International
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Azar Saliba has been appointed as General Manager at Jumeirah Al Naseem

Saliba moved from Jumeirah Al Qasr to Jumeirah Al Naseem in August last year. With more than 11 years" experience with Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts, Saliba first joined the company as front office manager at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in 2006; he then worked his way up to a number of roles such as director of rooms, executive assistant manager and resident manager from 2007 to 2011. He then supported the pre-opening phase of Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in 2011, before returning to Madinat Jumeirah as hotel manager of Jumeirah Mina A"Salam in 2012. He was then promoted to the position of general manager of Jumeirah Al Qasr and Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf from 2013 to 2017.

Jumeirah
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Digvijay Singh Rathore has been appointed as Director of Food & Beverage at Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai

Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai is delighted to announce Mr. Digvijay Singh Rathore as the new Director of Food & Beverage. Digvijay has 16 years of experience in Food and Beverage industry with a vast pre-opening involvement including conventions and banqueting section. Making the announcement, Mr Simon Moore, General Manager of Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai, said: Let us welcome Digvijay into our family and wishing him a successful journey. We are proud to have Digvijay as our new Director of Food & Beverage, and we are genuinely confident that his lifelong background will optimize guest expectations and revenue at the same time. Digvijay will play a vital role in setting Food & Beverage strategies, leading the team and attaining the best results. Commenting on this appointment, Digvijay said I am very delighted to join the Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai family. I am very excited to share my ideas with the team and help to build on the hotels success especially with its current leading position in the market. Digvijay holds a BSc in Hospitality Management from IHM, Hyderabad. In the past, he also handled multiple Food & Beverage roles in India and UAE. He has an immense experience in working with different team and driving performance, sales, and guest satisfaction.

Millennium
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Taras Ettl has been appointed as Middle East and Asia Operations at Steigenberger DMCC (SDMCC)

Taras Ettl has been appointed new Managing Director and Vice President of Middle East and Asia Operations at Steigenberger DMCC (SDMCC) in Dubai. SDMCC is a subsidiary of Steigenberger Hotels AG and is responsible for all activities outside Europe. Its portfolio includes properties such as the Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay in Dubai, the IntercityHotel Salalah in Oman and the Steigenberger Kantaoui Bay Sousse in Tunisia. Further Steigenberger Hotels are also in the pipeline in Doha (Qatar), Bangalore (India) and Bangkok (Thailand), and new IntercityHotels are being planned for Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Dubai (UAE), Muscat and Nizwa (both Oman).

H World International
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Appointment

Valerie Vayssiere has been appointed as Director of Sales and Marketing at Fairmont Dubai

Ammar Hilal, General Manager, Fairmont Dubai is pleased to announce the appointment of Valerie Vayssiere as Director of Sales and Marketing for Fairmont Dubai. Valerie joins Fairmont Dubai from her most recent role as Director of Sales at the Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal, a position she held since June 2015. Prior to this role, she was the Director of Sales at Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai from 2012. Bringing along over 22 years of international experience, Valerie has previously worked for an international luxury hotel chain, with regional sales office in London for 16 years. Whilst at the London regional office, she held various progressive positions including Sales Manager overseeing the French and Belgium markets and Director of Business Development UK and Nordic Countries. Valerie obtained a Tourism Diploma from the Academy of Toulouse and began her hospitality journey in 1994 in London.

Accor
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Development Pipeline

Jumeirah Group to operate two hotels under its Zabeel House by Jumeirah brand at Al Seef

Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, today announced that it has signed a management agreement to operate two hotels under its Zabeel House by JumeirahTM brand at Al Seef, a bustling destination by Meraas on the south bank of Dubai"s much-loved creek. The two hotels will open Spring 2018 with booking channels already open, including www.zabeelhouse.com

Zabeel House by Jumeirah
Al Seef, United Arab Emirates