Gerald Lawless - Executive Chairman

Gerald Lawless, born in 1952 in Ireland, joined Jumeirah in June 1997 as Managing Director. Prior to joining Jumeirah, Mr. Lawless spent 23 years of his professional career working with Forte Hotels. During this period he spent a number of years in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Ireland.
He was also responsible for the Caribbean and, later, the Middle East region. Mr. Lawless established the Middle East office for Forte Hotels in Dubai in 1991 where he oversaw the development of Forte Hotels from three properties in 1991 to over twenty when he left in 1997 to join Jumeirah. Mr. Lawless has spent sixteen years in the Gulf, having worked in Dubai originally from 1978 to 1982 and later in Bahrain.

Mr. Lawless joined Jumeirah in June 1997 to oversee the opening of Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Wild Wadi Water Park and Burj Al Arab. Since then, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Beach Club Resort and Spa, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London, Madinat Jumeirah – The Arabian Resort, Dubai, Jumeirah Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa and Jumeirah Essex House in New York have been added to the Jumeirah portfolio.

Guy Crawford - Chief Executive Officer

Guy Crawford, who is British, joined Jumeirah in May 2002 as Corporate Director of Operations. Before taking up his assignment in Dubai, Guy held the position of Managing Director for Macdonald Hotels in the United Kingdom where he managed a portfolio of over a hundred hotels. Guy brings more than thirty years of hospitality experience to Jumeirah having worked for Forte Hotel Group for 23 years. During his career with Forte Hotel Group, Guy held various senior management positions in the United Kingdom, Bahamas, Morocco and Belgium and left the group as a member of the main hotel board.

Frank Van Der Post - Chief Operating Officer

Frank van der Post, who is Dutch, joined the Jumeirah Group in November 2005 in the capacity of Senior Vice President, Americas and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of the Jumeirah Group in June 2008. Frank joined Jumeirah from the InterContinental Hotels Group where he worked for over 20 years in various positions and most recently in the capacity of Regional Vice President Operations, Eastern US and The Caribbean and General Manager of The Barclay in New York. In his role with Jumeirah, Frank is responsible for all aspects of the Group’s operations. Frank is a graduate of the Florida International University, School of Hospitality Management where he obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Hotel & Restaurant Management and a Master of Science (MSc.) in Hotel Administration.  

Apo Demirtas - Chief Sales & Marketing Officer

Apo Demirtas joined the Jumeirah Group in September 2007 in the capacity of Chief Sales & Marketing Officer. In his role, he is responsible for sales, marketing and revenue management for Jumeirah Group.

Prior to joining the Jumeirah Group, Apo was based in Atlanta, Georgia, where he held the position of Vice President Market Strategy for the Americas for InterContinental Hotels Group. In his role, he was responsible for the channel marketing, sales, distribution and revenue management strategies for the company’s managed hotels.

With a Bachelor (Bsc) and Masters (MSc) of Science degree in Hotel Management as well as a Ph.D work in Microeconomics & Marketing at the Ohio State University in the USA and extensive experience in the sales, marketing and revenue management field of the hospitality industry, Apo brings great expertise and invaluable international experience to Jumeirah.
Prior to his time with InterContinental Hotels Group, Apo worked in several senior sales, marketing and revenue management positions with high profile international hospitality businesses including Hilton Hotels Corporation and the Cendant Corporation.

Alaister Murray - Chief Financial Officer

Alaister, who is from Northern Ireland, joined Jumeirah from Emirates National Oil Company in Dubai in September 2002 in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

He spent the early part of his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK and Dubai in various roles in Business Assurance and Corporate Finance. Alaister holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (FCA).

In his capacity of Chief Financial Officer, Alaister is responsible for the strategic and day-to-day finance aspects of the Jumeirah group. 

Paul Macpherson - Chief Development Officer

Paul Macpherson, who possesses dual Canadian and British nationality, was born in 1961 and joined Jumeirah in July 2005 in the capacity of Chief Development Officer. Paul joined Jumeirah from Hilton International where he held the position of Vice President Development for Asia & Middle East since 1999. Prior to joining Hilton International, Paul worked with PKF Consulting (Asia/Pacific) Ltd. as Vice President & Director in Hong Kong and Singapore. Prior to moving to Asia in 1994, Paul worked for the Royal Bank of Canada (Commercial Lending) and Air Canada (Strategic Planning).

Paul is a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada since 1989 and is an accredited Appraiser with the Canadian Institute (AACI) and holds the Professional Appraiser designation (P.App). Paul has a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Robert Swade - Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel

Robert Swade joined the Jumeirah Group in October 2005 in the capacity of General Counsel. He was promoted to Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel in July 2007.

After qualifying as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales at a City of London law firm, Robert moved to Dubai to work for Clyde & Co where he set up and ran the firm’s Dubai Media City office. After four years at Clyde & Co, Robert moved in-house, initially to a Middle East telecommunications company as Director of Legal Affairs and then, in October 2005 to the Jumeirah Group. Before qualifying as a solicitor, Robert was a researcher at the House of Commons and worked for a Government Minister. 

Robert holds a LLB degree in English and European Law from the University of Essex and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law in London.

Marwan Al Ali - Chief Information Officer

Marwan Al Ali, who was born and raised in the United Arab Emirates, joined Jumeirah Group in May 2007 in the capacity of Chief Technology Officer. Marwan joined Jumeirah from parent company Dubai Holding where he most recently held the position of Deputy CIO and Executive Director in charge of business agility and IT portfolio management. During his tenure with Dubai Holding since the inception of the company in 2004, Marwan has quickly and successfully moved up the ranks and was responsible for the development and deployment of business process transformation and IT projects for all entities within Dubai Holding.

Prior to joining Dubai Holding, Marwan held various management positions in information technology in some of Dubai’s most successful organizations including Emarat Petroleum and DUBAL Aluminum. He brings with him vast experience in all aspects of information technology having worked in a number of different industry sectors throughout his career. Marwan is a graduate of the Etisalat College of Engineering with a Bachelor (Honors) Degree in Engineering in Communications and a National Diploma in Engineering and attended the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom in a general management programme.

Saeed Al Dashti - Chief Security Officer

Saeed Al Dashti, who was born and raised in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), joined the Jumeirah Group in January 2008 in the capacity of Director of IT Security and was promoted to Chief Security Officer in July 2008. 

Saeed brings with him over fifteen years of experience in IT and security. Before joining Jumeirah, he was with the Dubai Police Head Quarters for over 14 yeas where he most recently held the position of Head of the Information and Security section. Saeed holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) degree in Electronic Engineering from the Ajman University in the UAE and is a graduate of the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom where he obtained his Masters Degree in IT Security with a specialisation in Internet and Network Security. 

Tim Savage - Chief Human Resources Officer

Tim Savage, who is English, joined Jumeirah in February 2008 as Acting Chief Human Resources Officer, Jumeirah Group. In April 2008, he assumed the role of Chief Human Resources Officer, and is based in Dubai. Tim is responsible for all Human Resources activities and operations for the Jumeirah Group.

Prior to joining Jumeirah, Tim ran his own organisational development consultancy firm for six years where he focused on effectively developing human capital in organisations through the design and delivery of high value processes, programmes and workshops. He worked with a number of esteemed clients in a wide variety of sectors including the hospitality and tourism industry. Before setting up his own company, Tim worked in senior executive positions in the field of Human Resources for, amongst others, Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, where he was the Group Human Resources Director for the company, Marriott Vacation Club International, Scott’s Hotels Limited (franchise for Marriott hotels for the UK), and Forte Hotels International.

Derek Picot, Regional General Manager. London

Derek Picot, who is British, joined Jumeirah in March 2003 in the position of Regional General Manager for Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel, in London. Derek brings over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry to Jumeirah having worked in senior management positions for some of the finest hotels in the world. He joined Jumeirah from Le Meridien in London where he held the position of Regional Manager for Café Royal and Le Meridien Piccadilly. Before his move to London, Derek worked in luxury hotels all over the world including Asia, Canada and Australia.