KATARA HOSPITALITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Boainin Currently Holds the Position As Chief Corporate Services Officer ( Head of Qatari Affairs ) .
Ahmed is talented and value-driven professional, offering more than 25 years of management experience, gained by working in Qatar Petroleum and other reputed national organizations, in the fields of Hospitality Operations, Human Resources, General Services & Administration and he was also an integral part in the establishment and management of newly created subsidiaries.
His Excellency Mr. Ali Bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Finance was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Katara Hospitality in March 2021. H.E. has more than 30 years of experience in the banking and financial sectors in Qatar. He became QNB Group Chief Executive Officer in July 2013 and held this position until 2018. He was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry in November 2018 - October 2021. Prior to this role, he was the Executive General Manger and Group Chief Business Officer of QNB. HE Mr Al Kuwari is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for a number of organisations, including Qatar Stock Exchange, Qatar Development Bank and Masraf Al Rayan. He additionally is Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) and Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of QFCA. HE Mr. Al Kuwari has a Master of Science in Management Information System from the Seattle Pacific University, and a Bachelor of Math and Computer Science from Eastern Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Boainin Currently Holds the Position As Chief Corporate Services Officer ( Head of Qatari Affairs ) .
- Chief Corporate Services Officer
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Hassan Al Thawadi has been a member of the Board of Directors since September 2011. He holds the position of Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the organization responsible for coordinating amongst public and private Qatari entities to ensure that infrastructure and development projects are delivered in readiness for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Job Titles:
- Chief Asset Management Officer
As Chief Asset Management Officer, Irfan Sharief is responsible for the overall asset management function which includes driving superior operating hotels performance, diversifying, and increasing Katara Hospitality footprint and development.
Irfan Sharief is a seasoned hotelier with over 20 years of experience in the areas of operations and finance at both field and corporate level with global hospitality brands like Marriott International, Starwood Hotel & Resorts and Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
Prior to joining Katara Hospitality in April 2019, Irfan Sharief was the Area Director of Finance for the Gulf, Levant and Pakistan Region with Marriott International. Prior to his time with Marriott, he held Regional Director of Finance position with Starwood for the Africa continent and multiple Director roles in both field and corporate with Starwood and Hyatt Hotels both in the Middle East and the USA.
Irfan Sharief earned his B.S. in Business Administration from the Robert Morris University in USA and M.B.A in Revenue and Asset Management from the Glion University in Switzerland.
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
- Civil Engineer
Juan Aguilar is the Chief Development Officer, he is responsible for the development of new projects and major renovations, as well as all technical aspects within Katara Hospitality portfolio including Capex expenditures, from planning to delivery.
Juan joined Katara Hospitality in October 2013 as Corporate Director, Project Management, where the successfully completed and ongoing projects include The Peninsula Paris, Excelsior Hotel Gallia Milan, Raffles Hotel Singapore, InterContinental Carlton Cannes, InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam, The Ritz Carlton Doha, Sealine Beach Resort Qatar, Lusail Katara Twin Towers Doha, Marriott Hotel Doha, Somerset West Bay Doha, Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Egypt, Tazi Palace Hotel Tangier and Westin Excelsior Rome.
Prior to this, Juan was the Assistant Site Manager, Development Associate and Director of OHL Construction, Director Investor Relations, Strategic Planning and then CEO of Mayakoba Development. His extensive experience in luxury hospitality real estate includes developing hotels, resorts and golf courses for luxury brands such as Fairmont, Rosewood, Banyan Tree, Viceroy, Four Seasons and the PGA TOUR. Juan has also served as Chairman and/or Board Member of several companies.
Juan Aguilar is Civil Engineer by the Polytechnical University of Madrid graduate, with 20 years of experience in developing hospitality projects.
Kushagra Priyadarshi holds the position of General Counsel and oversees the integrated legal function across our portfolio and jurisdictions. He has been instrumental in leading and driving key projects for the organization. Kushagra has handled, on behalf of the company, some of the key acquisitions/ disposals, critical financing/ restructuring, and other high-stake governance matters related to the company. His ability to handle highly complex matters with a solution-oriented strategic focus has been crucial determinant on several headline projects of the company.
Kushagra has considerable experience with both the Government and private sector, having worked for the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India as well as projects/ firms in the US and India. Kushagra holds Master of Laws from Harvard Law School, Harvard University and Bachelor of Laws from National University of Juridical Sciences, India (amongst the top three law schools in the country) where he was a gold medalist.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Investment Professional Executive
Lourie Kruger is a globally experienced investment professional executive with more than 20 years' international experience in banking, real assets and hospitality, gained in over 35 countries, and throughout the investment lifecycle: from origination and underwriting, through active management, to disposal/exit.
Prior to joining Katara Hospitality, he headed up the M&A and Finance functions across Africa and Middle East for Westmont Hospitality Group (WHG), one of the world's largest private owner/operators of hotels.
Lourie has been based in the GCC since 2009, initially spending 10 years with Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), a major investment company focused primarily on mixed-use real estate and hospitality with investments in 37 operating companies across 24 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North America.
During his time at KHI, he was CFO of the company, responsible for overseeing the corporate finance activities of the company, treasury, and M&A initiatives, including leading the disposal drive that saw the company dispose of 32 portfolio companies over an 8-year period.
Before moving to the Middle East, he was working for a South African investment bank where he was a founding member of the African Real Estate team. Lourie holds degrees in Computer Sciences, Financial Economics, and an MBA from London Business School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Managing Director of Ooredoo Group
Currently, Mr. Fakhroo is the Managing Director of Ooredoo Group since November 2020, he has been a Board member of Ooredoo Group since 2011. He is also a Senior Advisor to the Minister of Finance.
From 2014 to 2020, he served as Deputy Undersecretary for Budget, Treasury and Financial affairs at the Ministry of Finance. Previously (2007- 2014) he was the Co-head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), where he lead some of the sovereign wealth fund's most high-profile deals.
He is also a Board Member at Accor SA since 2015. He previously served as member of the Board of United Arab Shipping Company, Canary Wharf Group, Chelsfield LLP and CITIC Capital.
Fahad Abdulla Al Mana has been a Board Member of Katara Hospitality since July 2019.
Mr. Mohammed Abdulrazzaq Al-Hashmi was appointed as Board Member of Katara Hospitality in March 2021.
Al-Hashmi is the Post Acquisition Director of the Real Estate Department of QIA, where he oversees post-acquisition asset management in the real estate sector. Prior to this, Al-Hashmi was a Manager of the Real Estate Department of QIA and an Associate of the Real Estate Department of QIA. Al-Hashmi is responsible for the management of QIA's real estate portfolio, and is primarily focused on preserving capital investments and creating value through value added opportunities by conducting asset valuation, market research, analysing macro and micro drivers of the economy, and also managing QIA's property and asset managers actively and growing the relationship with existing partners.
Al-Hashmi graduated from Qatar University with a Major in Finance and Minor in Marketing.
Nasser Matar AlKawari has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Katara Hospitality in January 2023.
AlKawari comes with more than 25 years of experience in various leadership positions across different countries. He worked in world leading Energy companies such as Qatargas and ExxonMobil, he played an integral role during his time at Qatar Development Bank, his last appointment was the Chief Executive Officer of Msheireb Properties and prior to that he was the Chief Executive Officer of Astad Engineering Consultancy and Project Management.
AlKawari earned a bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in USA, followed by an Executive MBA from the London Business School in UK. He successfully completed prestigious leadership programs from the IESE Business School in Spain and the Thunderbird School of Global Management in USA.
Rachid Mohamed Rachid is a prominent Egyptian entrepreneur with investments around the world and is the former Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment to Egypt. Rachid is currently the Founder of Alsara Investment Group, the Chairman of Valentino and the Chairman of Balmain; two of the leading luxury fashion companies in the world. Rachid is also the Founder of Bidayat, an international investment company, which supports creative entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean region.
Rachid earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alexandria in and an Advanced Management Diploma from the Harvard Business School. Rachid was the President of Unilever North Africa, which led several of Unilever's largest international companies across the globe.
Rachid was also the Minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt and was the first international businessman to hold an Egyptian cabinet post in recent history. Rachid played a significant role in the liberalization of Egypt's economy, successfully implementing major reforms that strengthened the country's core industrial sectors and attracted significant foreign investment. During his tenure, Egypt's annual industrial growth surpassed 20% and yearly exports tripled in value.
Rachid is a holder of "Cavaliere di Gran Croce, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" presented to him by the president of the Italian Republic and is currently a board member of the Katara Hospitality Group in Qatar and the co-Chairman of the Virginia Commonwealth University Advisory Committee in Doha.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Alwaleed Al - Thani Was Appointed As Board Member of Katara Hospitality in March 2021
Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani was appointed as Board Member of Katara Hospitality in March 2021.
Currently, Sheikh Ali Alwaleed Al-Thani is the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar's Investment Promotion Agency.
Previously, Sheikh Ali was the Director of the State of Qatar's Office to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, where he oversaw negotiations and standing committees in the WTO related to Market Access, Agriculture, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Subsidies and other key areas. Moreover, he was elected by consensus as Chairman of the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) Committee in 2017, which is responsible for one of the principal legal agreements of the WTO. In his role as Chairman, he oversaw the regular functioning of the committee, and was involved in the ongoing Investment Facilitation working group discussions.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief Financial Officer ( CFO ) at the Qatar Foundation
Sheikh Salman Hassan Al Thani was appointed as Board Member of Katara Hospitality in March 2021.
Sh. Salman Hassan Al Thani is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Qatar Foundation and oversees the Finance and Strategy functions. Key responsibilities include QF Strategic Planning, business planning; budget development, performance management and insurance activities in order to ensure alignment with the QF Strategic Plan under the Vice Chairperson and CEO leadership.
Prior to his appointment in April 2016, Sh. Salman held the roles of the Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer as well as the Chief Financial Officer & Director of Tax at the Qatar Financial Center Authority (QFC Authority).
Between 2010 and 2014, Sh. Salman was with the Qatar Central Bank in various roles culminating in his role as the Risk Management Director. He also served on the board of the Qatar Securities Depository & the Chair of the Financial Markets Development Sub-Committee as well as on the Financial Stability & Risk Control Committee.
He joined Qatar Petroleum Project Finance Department after completing his undergraduate degree in Banking and Financial Studies from Qatar University where he received H.H. the Heir Apparent's Golden Award in Education Excellence and an academic excellence medal from Qatar University.