Jumeirah strenghtens regional team

Jumeirah, the fast growing Dubai based luxury international hospitality group and member of Dubai Holding, has announced the appointment of Ms Doris Greif as General Manager of Jumeirah HanTang Xintiandi, the most prominent and prestigious new hotel development in the downtown Luwan district of Shanghai, scheduled to open Summer 2008.

Doris joins the Jumeirah team in Shanghai from Jumeirah Emirates Towers, where she has held the position of General Manager since 2004. Doris, who been part of the Jumeirah group for the last eight years, working in Jumeirah Beach Club Resort & Spa, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Group's Corporate Offices, will bring a wealth of experience to Shanghai.

As the company continues to grow and develop in line with its ambitious expansion plans, Jumeirah has now appointed Mr Hans Heijilgers as General Manager for Jumeirah Emirates Towers and Area General Manager for Dubai city hotels and Mr Dean Huntsman as Director of Operations for the Gulf Region.

Hans has been with Jumeirah since last year, aiding the Regional Vice President Gulf in setting the business strategy for the region and supporting the upcoming hotel openings, having previously worked for the Intercontinental group in South Africa as well as various hotels in Holland, France, Germany, Morocco, Bali, Kazakstan, Hong Kong, South Africa and China.

Dean joins Jumeirah after 19 years with Hyatt, where he worked with the group in his native Australia, as well as Hong Kong, China, Oman, Korea, Indonesia and Guam. The skills and knowledge shared by these two gentlemen will constitute a significant contribution to the existing Jumeirah Regional team.

This is another strategic step in building a solid platform for Jumeirah's anticipated extensive growth in the Gulf. With ambitious expansion plans to grow its portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts to 57 by 2011, this is an important and strategic step in aligning the organizational structure to successfully manage the widespread growth and change the company is undergoing.

Marco Nijhof, Senior Vice President, Gulf, for Jumeirah, said: "We are delighted to be announcing the recent management changes within the Jumeirah team in what is a very exciting time for all of us. The knowledge and experience that Doris will bring to Jumeirah HanTang Xintiandi will help us to further develop and communicate the key strengths of the Jumeirah brand throughout Asia, whilst Hans and Dean will play vital roles in developing the new and existing Jumeirah hotels within Dubai."