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Zawya
29 minutes ago
- Zawya
Global Hotel Alliance strengthens its leadership team with three senior appointments
Dubai, UAE: UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world's largest alliance of independent hotel brands, has announced three appointments to strengthen its leadership team - all held by accomplished female executives. Katharina Dein has been promoted to Vice President Commercial, Jelena Kezika becomes Vice President Strategy, and Andrea Krenn takes on the new Senior Vice President Communications role. Katharina Dein was the first member of the GHA Commercial team back in 2013, overseeing a growing portfolio of brands and building strong relationships. Dein has been instrumental in many initiatives, including the development of an online training platform for hotels used by tens of thousands of people across the world. In her new role as Vice President Commercial, Dein will broaden her scope of responsibilities, placing emphasis on optimising the performance of newly integrated properties during their critical launch phase. In addition to overseeing brand onboarding, she will work with the Development team to assess potential new brands while also being involved with identifying and then rolling out new products and services to the alliance's member brands. Leveraging her expertise and holistic understanding of the business, she will play a key role in shaping the value proposition for GHA's member brands. A results-driven business strategist, Jelena Kezika, who has also been with GHA since 2013, has played an instrumental part in shaping GHA's growth story through the ongoing evolution of its award-winning loyalty programme, GHA DISCOVERY. She has conceptualised and implemented strategic initiatives to boost member engagement and improve GHA's commercial success by driving member acquisition and increasing cross-brand revenue for GHA hotels. Kezika has also spearheaded the alliance's sustainability efforts and fostered a culture of corporate responsibility. In her new role as Vice President Strategy, Kezika will continue to shape GHA's future, planning, developing and implementing new strategies as well as significantly growing GHA's partnerships area to expand the reach of the GHA's loyalty ecosystem. Andrea Krenn, appointed Senior Vice President Communications, has led global public relations efforts for GHA since 2021, bringing a wealth of international experience in corporate communications and media relations to the company with previous positions held at Atlantis, The Palm and Dubai Tourism before founding her own consultancy. Her strategic approach has strengthened GHA's brand awareness and media presence, supporting the alliance's growth across key markets. In this role, she will continue to lead GHA's global communications strategy to further elevate the alliance's visibility and reputation. With women making up nearly two-thirds of the total GHA workforce and 60% of the leadership team, the alliance stands out as a leader in championing female representation in the hospitality industry. Chris Hartley, CEO of Global Hotel Alliance, commented: "At GHA, we are proud to recognise the exceptional talent of Katharina, Jelena, and Andrea, who each bring expertise, dedication and passion to their roles. Their leadership will continue to shape the future of our business, with each of them bringing a unique and powerful skill set that will help us sharpen our focus, deepen our impact, and create even more value for our hotel brands and loyal GHA DISCOVERY members.' These appointments come at a time of strong growth for GHA, with new brands such as Cinnamon Hotels (Sri Lanka), Sunway (Malaysia), and Rotana (UAE) joining in 2025 as the alliance continues to expand and innovate in the travel and hospitality space. -Ends- For more information visit Global Hotel Alliance and GHA DISCOVERY GHA DISCOVERY is complimentary to join, and travellers can sign up online or download the GHA DISCOVERY app and register on their mobile phones. Travellers can also connect with GHA DISCOVERY on Instagram and Facebook. About GHA and GHA DISCOVERY: Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world's largest alliance of independent hotel brands with 45 brands and 850 hotels in 100 countries. Its award-winning loyalty programme – GHA DISCOVERY – provides more than 30 million members with recognition, D$ rewards and exclusive experiences across its hotels and partners, both with and without a stay. GHA DISCOVERY generated US$2.7 billion in member hotel revenue and 11 million room nights in 2024. Through membership in GHA, brands expand their global reach, drive incremental revenue and reduce dependence on third-party channels, all while maintaining management independence and individual positioning. For more information, visit or
Zawya
29 minutes ago
- Zawya
Saudi Arabia was top buyer of Russian fuel oil in June, data shows
MOSCOW - Saudi Arabia was the top destination for Russian seaborne fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports in June as the hot summer season required more energy consumption, according to traders and LSEG data. Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian oil products went into effect in February 2023, Middle Eastern and Asian countries became the main destination for Russia's fuel oil and VGO supplies. Direct fuel oil and VGO shipments from Russian ports to Saudi Arabia increased in June by 9% month-on-month to 0.8 million metric tons. Russian dark oil products loadings to India and Turkey declined last month after previous ample supplies by 49% to around 0.34 million tons and by 33% to 0.28 million tons, respectively, shipping data showed. Nearly 400,000 tons of fuel oil and VGO were supplied in June from the Russian ports to the Ain Sukhna terminal in Egypt - the big fuel hub, which often allocates oil products for storage and further exports. Singapore, Senegal and China were also among the other top destinations for Russian fuel oil and VGO export supplies last month, according to LSEG data. Only two vessels carrying 180,000 tons of fuel oil from the Russian ports are heading to Asia via the African Cape of Good Hope. Traders have been diverting Russian oil products cargoes around Africa since December 2023 to avoid the Red Sea due to a heightened risk of attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group. All the shipping data above are based on the date of cargo departure. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Louise Heavens)
Zawya
29 minutes ago
- Zawya
Citi wins record Haul at The Euromoney Awards For Excellence 2025
Over 50 awards recognize Citi's global network Including six regional and country awards in Middle East and Africa Dubai — Citi won a record 52 global, regional and local market awards from Euromoney, including CEO Jane Fraser's 'Banker of The Year' award, at the annual Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025 event, held in London on July 17th, Including six regional and country awards in Middle East and Africa. The Banker of the Year award recognized Jane's unique leadership style and ability to influence significant change across the bank, highlighting Citi's record financial performance in recent quarters and across each of its five businesses. 'Euromoney names Jane Fraser its banker of the year for her decisive action to reshape Citi into a simpler and more coherent bank, bringing the firm new business momentum over the past year,' said Euromoney in the editorial write-up announcing the award. Fraser said, 'These awards are a testament to the extraordinary dedication of our colleagues around the world. Their hard work, innovation and commitment to our clients are driving Citi forward. I'm proud of the progress we're making against our strategy — and this recognition affirms that we're on the right path.' Euromoney, a leading global financial markets magazine, recognizes the best in banking across key areas that are most important to a bank's key stakeholders, clients, board and executive management teams. The period of consideration for the awards was the 2024 calendar year. This is a milestone moment for our team in the Middle East and Africa', said Ebru Pakcan, Middle East & Africa Cluster and Banking Head. 'The six awards are a testament to the collaboration and drive I see across the region every day, and a reflection of the Citi team's talent, tenacity, and client focus.' Citi received multiple regional and local market awards in the Middle East and Africa, including: Africa's Best Investment Bank for Financing The Middle East's Best Investment Bank for M&A Kazakhstan's Best International Bank Pakistan's Best Bank for Securities Services Turkey's Best Investment Bank The UAE's Best Investment Bank for M&A ' In its 30th edition, the 2025 Euromoney Awards recognized Citi as: The World's Best Investment Bank for Financing The World's Best Investment Bank for Debt Capital Markets (DCM) The World's Best Bank for Research The World's Best Digital Bank for Large Corporates
