THE AFRICA BAZAAR Staff Writer
January 12, 2016
International hotel operator, AccorHotels announced Tuesday that it has appointed Oliver Granet as its new Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Middle East region, effective immediately.
Mr Granet, who until recently held the role of Senior Vice President of Development at the company, succeeds Christophe Landais.
The company said Mr. Landais will transition to a new role, where he will be responsible for AccorHotels’s new expansion plans in Iran. Under his leadership as AccorHotels’s COO, the hotel group’s regional portfolio grew from nine hotels in 2000 to 71 properties in operation in 2015, and as one of the fastest growing hotel groups in the region.
AccorHotels’ portfolio in the Middle East includes over 70 operational hotels, including in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar and UAE. In the pipeline, the group currently has 55 properties under development.
Jean-Jacques Dessors, Chief Executive Officer of AccorHotels Mediterranean, Middle East And Africa (MMEA), thanked Mr. Landais for his 15-year tenure as the company’s Middle East COO, and congratulated Mr. Granet on his new appointment.
Mr. Dessors said both individuals bring to their roles a unique combination of strong on-the-ground experience built upon a global outlook, which will not only shaped the company’s entire regional operations but ensure its positioning as the leading and fastest-growing hotel group in the region.
Mr. Granet, a 16-year veteran of the hospitality industry, started his career at Accorhotels in 1999 as Chief Financial Officer for Central Europe and has since served in various senior executive roles within the company, overseeing more than 70 new partnerships.
He moved to Dubai in 2011 to head AccorHotels’ regional Development team,
Prior to joining AccorHotels, Mr. Granet worked in auditing and consulting with Deloitte & Touche for ten years.
Mr. Granet in a statement said that he looks forward “on delivering value to our partners while providing high quality hospitality services to the satisfaction of our guests. I am delighted to continue the rapid pace of our growth and cannot wait to contribute to the further expansion of our regional footprint.”
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