Laurent Jeanjean appointed Vice President of Universal City Dubailand

The milestone development was launched in Dubai on 30 April, 2007 in the presence of Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Saeed Al Muntafiq, Executive Chairman of Tatweer, and Thomas L. Williams, Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks and Resorts.

Jeanjean will be responsible for chalking out a strategy for Universal City Dubailand and ensuring its objectives are met through positioning the development as a landmark leisure and entertainment destination within the UAE and the region.

Khalid Al Malik, CEO of Tatweer, said: 'Jeanjean's appointment will add incredible value to Universal City Dubailand's operation in Dubai. His extensive professional competency and experience in this domain will help him drive the mission of Universal City Dubailand.

'Through the Universal City Dubailand project, Tatweer has become synonymous with the most innovative leisure, tourism and hospitality destinations, not only in the Middle East, but across the globe. We are confident the presence of an industry expert such as Jeanjean will further consolidate the strengths of the project, which will begin its operations by December 2010.'

In his previous role as Director of Parks Operations of Disneyland Resort Paris, Jeanjean's responsibilities included planning new attractions and implementing all new Walt Disney operational systems, building operational synergies between the two Disney parks, and improving other internal systems and onsite marketing and sales activities.

Jeanjean said: 'It is a privilege to be appointed to a pivotal position at a high profile corporation such as Universal City Dubailand. I look forward to leveraging all my previous experience and driving the project to its highest level of success in compliance with international standards of excellence. In addition, we will aim to create an unparalleled family fun environment for all our guests visiting the Universal Studios Dubailand theme park.'

Jeanjean holds a bachelor's degree in management and economics from the Social and Economic Faculty of Montpellier. He also studied French political, philosophical and religious ideas in the Faculty of Letters.

Universal City Dubailand's unique offering of diverse components will attract tourists from around the world, including the Asian sub-continent, central and east Europe and Africa.

Universal Studios Dubailand will evolve as a place where visitors can relive stories once reserved for the silver screen. Scenes from the biggest names in filmmaking history such as 'The Mummy' and the motion picture 'King Kong' amongst many others will be transformed into adventures with the completion of the project, which will contain five lands including Hollywood, New York, Legendary Heroes, Epic Adventures and Surf City Boardwalk.

Universal Studios Dubailand will be one of five similar family entertainment destinations around the world, including Hollywood, Florida, Singapore and Japan.