Valerie Barrie, director of Sales and Marketing at JW Marriott Marquis Dubai has been awarded with a Leadership Excellence award at CMO Asia & World Brand Congress’s 50 of GCC’s Women Leader Awards.

Since embarking on this role in February 2016, Barrie, a Scottish national, has been working closely with the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai senior management team to further strengthen the iconic hotel strategies across key market segments , and oversee the achievement of sales targets.

Under the JW Marriott luxury tier group, Barrie has lead strategic campaigns across the property’s 14 acclaimed restaurants, bars and lounges, indulgent Saray spa and innovative Meetings, Incentive Conference and Event facilities, which have entrenched the hotel as a leading destination, boosting the UAE’s ability to cater for the luxury leisure and business markets. Her many successes have not only been recognised by her immediate team  but also by a jury of senior leaders, researchers and academics including Arun Arora, ex-president of The Economic Times, Steve Brown, chief patron of CMO Asia, and Dr Indira Parikh, president of Antardisha.

The World Brand Congress is the largest rendezvous of the best brains behind some of the world’s most successful and sought after brands. The Congress is a meeting place for branding and marketing leaders from every sector across the world, answering critical business challenges and experiencing the power of brand-building and rapid-fire ideas on marketing to reach the consumer. Under the strict criteria of strategic perspective, future orientation, track record, compliance, integrity, ethics, ability to foster sustainability and marketing competencies, Barrie has been recognised as excelling at making a difference to the Marriott International group.

In addition to her experience with JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, Barrie brings over 20 years of hospitality management experience across the UAE, Australia and the UK, where she has been responsible for leading the sales and marketing functions across a luxury property portfolio that includes JW Marriott Dubai, Hyatt Regency Coolum (Australia), Novotel Twin Waters Resort (Australia) and Aberdeen Marriott Hotel. - TradeArabia News Service