Luxury hotel operator Jumeirah Group has secured the services of former Hilton chief executive Sir David Michels and Whitbread chief executive Alan Parker.

They have joined Jumeirah parent company Dubai Holding, which in turn is owned by the Dubai Government, as has former Mandarin Oriental head of development Michael Williams.

All three become non-executives on the hotel group’s management board.

Jumeirah chairman Gerard Lawless said: “With expansion plans to grow our portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts to 57 by 2011, Jumeirah Group’s management board has made yet another important, strategic step in aligning its organisational structure to successfully manage the widespread growth and change the company is undergoing.”

Jumeriah Group’s international portfolio includes the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai as well as the Jumeriah Carlton Tower in London.

It currently has nine hotels in the UK, USA and UAE with 11 properties under development in the Middle East, East Asia and on the South Bank in London.

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By Chris Walton

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