Marriott International, a global lodging company, has promoted Samir Baidas to senior vice president-development for the Middle East.

Most recently, Baidas was vice president-development for the Middle East, a position in which he is credited with delivering more than 20 management agreements to the company’s hotel development pipeline over a seven-year period.

In his new role, Baidas, who will be based in Dubai, will be responsible for implementing the company’s development strategy for the Middle East and will report to Jean-Marc Grosfort, chief development officer for the area.

Aboudi Asali, vice president-development, and Maya Ziadeh, development manager, will report to Baidas.

“Samir Baidas is an exceptionally talented and skilled management professional with more than 20 years of international and cross-cultural experience,” Grosfort said.

“I am confident that his entrepreneurial spirit, leadership qualities, ability to identify opportunities and fresh ideas will make a significant, positive impact on our long-term strategic objectives and that his drive and deep knowledge of the GCC countries and team management skills will lead the group to even bigger successes in the years to come,” he added.

Baidas joined Marriott in 2004 as vice president-development, after establishing the hospitality and real estate consultancy department at BDO Bahrain Jawad Habib.

Earlier, he spent four years in the Arthur Andersen Middle East Real Estate and Hospitality division where he conducted advisory assignments for potential investments exceeding US$10 billion in 12 countries.

Baidas earned a degree in hotel management from Hotelconsult (Cesar Ritz) in Switzerland in 1990. – TradeArabia News Service