Management team for Sofitel London Heathrow revealed

Caterersearch can exclusively reveal the senior management team launching Arora International Hotels’ flagship Sofitel property at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 next year.

The £200m Sofitel London Heathrow will be one of Europe’s largest luxury hotels with 600 bedrooms and conference facilities for as many as 2,800 people when it opens next March.

Heading operations at the hotel, which is the only one at the massive Terminal 5 development and has a direct link, will be John Donaldson as executive director.

Donaldson has worked as general manager of the Arora International Gatwick hotel and was most recently sales and marketing director for the Arora Group.

He is also a director of golf course and hotel, Wentworth, part owned by Surinder Arora, chairman of Arora International.

Supporting him will be Vincent Madden as hotel manager and Raj Shah as director of sales and marketing.

Donaldson said: “We are delighted to be part of such an exciting project. Our first task is to recruit outstanding people to join us in the key functions of the hotel.”

Madden was general manager at the Arora International Manchester hotel and Shah was most recently with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels as director of sales for London.

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By Chris Druce

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