New African hospitality group to be unveiled at AHIF.

A new hospitality group, with several hotel brands and more than 2,200 rooms and suites under construction, spread between 15 properties in 13 African countries, will reveal itself to the media for the very first time at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) on Tuesday 24th September, at the InterContinental Hotel in Nairobi.

The business was founded in 2011 with the business strategy of investing 315m. euros. The top executive team’s experience includes Accor, Jumeirah, Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental and AC Hotels by Marriot.

AHIF has been selected as the venue for the launch because it is the premier hotel investment conference in Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers.

The speaker line up features government ministers from four countries and dozens of CEOs and board-level executives from the most important companies building and running hotels across the continent, including:

Phyllis Kandie, Cabinet Secretary for East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism, Kenya

Carvalho Muaria, Minister of Tourism, Mozambique

Dr. Maria Mutagamba Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Uganda – Government

Jean Max Rakotomamonjy, Ministre du Tourisme Madagascar

Simon Vincent, President EMEA, Hilton Worldwide

Alex Kyriakidis, President & Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International, Inc.

Herve Louis, Chief Finance Officer, ACCOR

Ulrich T. Eckhardt, President India, Middle East & Africa, Kempinski Hotels

Jean-Gabriel Peres, President & CEO, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts

Ewan Cameron, Chief Executive Officer, Lonrho Hotels

David Scowsill, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council

Patrick Fitzgibbon, Senior Vice President Development - Europe & Africa, Hilton Worldwide

Samer Abu Ayash, Senior Vice President - Head of Design, Construction & Real Estate, Kingdom Hotel Investments

Rui Barros, Senior Vice President & Managing Director EMEA, Wyndham Hotel Group

Neil George, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Development Middle East & Africa, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Peter Norman, Senior Vice President Acquisitions & Development, Hyatt International (Europe Africa Middle East) LLC

Taras Ettl, Vice President Development - Middle East & Africa, InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG)

Bani Haddad, Regional Vice President - Middle East and Africa, Wyndham Hotel Group

Marianne Ndegwa, Jordan, Managing Director, Kenya Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC)

Rohan Patel, Director, Sankara Hotel Group Kenya Ltd

Olaf Schmidt, Global Sector Head - Hotel, Retail & Real Estate Investments, IFC (International Finance Corporation - World Bank Group).