Global Travel & Tourism Summit Printed Programme

Profiles
JW Marriott Jr
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Marriott International, Inc
JW Marriott, Jr is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marriott International, Inc,
one of the world’s largest accommodation companies. His leadership spans more than
50 years, and he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a global accommodation company
with approximately 3,000 properties in 68 countries and territories.
Known throughout the industry for his hands-on management style, Mr Marriott has built a highly regarded
culture that emphasises the importance of Marriott’s people and recognises the value they bring to the
organization. Today, approximately 151,000 Marriott associates serve guests throughout the world.
Regarded as an innovator, Mr Marriott began shifting the company’s business model in the late 1970s from
hotel ownership to property management and franchising. His strategic decision allowed the company to
accelerate its growth and broaden its leadership position.
Mr Marriott has also worked to compile a family of 18 lodging brands that range from limited service to
luxury hotels and resorts. Today, the company manages and franchises hotels and resorts under the Marriott, JW
Marriott, Renaissance, Bulgari, The Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace
Suites, and Fairfield Inn brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott
Vacation Club International, The Ritz-Carlton Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, and Horizons brands;
operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay
division, operates conference centres and; manages golf courses.
INDUSTRY
Mahmud Jan Mohamed
Managing Director, Serena Hotels Africa and Head of Tourism Department for the
Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development
Mahmud Jan Mohamed is the Managing Director for Serena Hotels Africa and also
heads the Tourism Department for the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development
from his base in Nairobi.
In this capacity he is responsible for twenty six Hotels, Lodges and Safari resorts in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,
Rwanda, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Jan was instrumental in placing TPS Serena Hotels Kenya, on the Nairobi Stock exchange in 1997, and in
the development of the Tanzania and Zanzibar Serena properties from green field sites, in 1994. Between
2005 and 2007, he acquired and developed Hotels in Uganda and Rwanda under the SERENA banner.
Jan has held senior positions in East Africa which include: the Founder Chairman of the Kenya Tourism
Federation; trustee of the East African Wildlife Society and; a Director on the Corporate Governance Board
of East Africa.
Serena Hotels has been voted the ‘Most Respected Company’ in the tourism sector in East Africa for five
successive years in surveys carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Jan is a member of the Hotel Catering Institutional Management Association (AHCIMA). He has attended
Advanced Management training programmes at Cornell University and is a member of the Cornell Hotel
Society.
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