KERTEN HOSPITALITY TEAM
Bringing to life a great concept needs the right people.
The Kerten Hospitality Team consists of highly-connected international experts with backgrounds in hospitality, brand development, financial services and office management, coming from companies such as Four Seasons, Park Hyatt, Hilton, Regus and many more. Our team will become an extension of your team; a partner to bring your vision to life using one brand.
Yeshwant Desai
Board Advisor
As a veteran Middle East professional who has spent more than 40 years in the financial services industry, Yeshwant Desai is a Board Advisor to Kerten. He started his career in commercial banking, and moved to the Middle East in 1975. In 1985, he joined Bank Muscat in Oman and laid the groundwork for its current success. During his time as CEO of the company, he was heavily involved in mergers and acquisitions as well as overseas expansion initiatives. An astute businessman, he has actively advised leading private investors and institutions in Oman. He has held directorships in several public companies, and currently serves as Advisor to Lighthouse Funds, an India-focused private equity fund.
Marloes Knippenberg
Chief Executive Officer
Marloes’ innovative mindset has helped span the organization’s operational and pipeline portfolio to new heights and geographies in LA, the Middle East, CEE, the Mediterranean, moving further east. Her hospitality journey started with Hilton where she held senior operational and commercial management positions for 10+ years. At Kerten Hospitality, which she developed and launched with the backing of Kerten, Ireland-based investment vehicle, Marloes demonstrates the added value that mixed-use, tailored hospitality solutions and personalized approaches deliver. She pioneers her Disruptive Innovation vision across the larger ecosystem with the aim to establish an industry platform where technology, hospitality and sustainability coexist and evolve for the benefit of consumers, investors and businesses.
Leona McDarby
Chief Financial Officer, Kerten
Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of corporate fund raising, IPO listing, commercial and financial management experience in global companies with significant operating scale and complexity. Prior to joining Kerten, Leona held roles including CFO with Ireland’s largest Alternate Financial Services Group in real estate asset classes across Europe, Chief Operating Officer at UBS Bank in Switzerland working in UBS Investment Bank, Group Operations and Global Asset Management managing international transformational programs. She has also served as CFO with large property development and investment groups with international holdings and worked in similar roles across several industries including hospitality, healthcare, technology, real estate, manufacturing and others.
Sanam Khan
General Counsel
General Counsel with 13 years solid background in the legal services industry. Specialised in Corporate and Commercial law, Succession, International Arbitration and Compliance. Qualified in Law from BPP Law School, London.
Fluent in local laws and regulations in the UAE, and the legal frameworks and practices in the GCC. Advisory areas include cryptocurrencies, international insurance, company restructuring, distribution agreements, joint ventures, franchising and business setup, in addition to providing pre-litigation counsel and structuring transactions.
Successfully undertaken and completed various DIAC and LCIA Arbitrations under the laws of the UAE and the substantive laws of England and Wales, and handled cross-jurisdictional and high-value disputes.
Mishary Alhajery
Country Director, Saudi Arabia
A seasoned real estate development strategist with over 20+ years of experience in roles influencing the development of residential, commercial and industrial products. Hospitality expertise acquired over a decade in aligning infrastructure for upscale and midscale industry projects with gross development value exceeding USD530 million and utilizing various financing projects including REITs and closed-ended funds. Mishary has held C-level executive roles for over 10 years in companies from different verticals including real estate development, property management, hospitality development, construction management and manufacturing.
Batur Asmazoğlu
Chief Operating Officer, Kerten CEEMEA
Well versed in financing and business operations for large projects, Batur Asmazoğlu is Kerten’s COO for the CEEMEA region. He has 10+ years of investment banking experience at HSBC, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, based in London, Moscow and Istanbul. He has led the financing for over $8 billion of construction, energy and infrastructure projects as well as over $7 billion of Eurobond placements for corporate purposes. More recently, he has led infrastructure, hospitality and energy investments’ financing for two family offices, successfully financing the largest bridge and highway concessions and the largest thermal energy plant in Turkey among other mega-project sales.
Jorge Fernández Ortega
Corporate Director of Operations
Jorge Fernández is the corporate director of operations for Kerten Hospitality, and supports the CEO in all aspects related to owner relations and operations. He has worked in the industry for more than two decades, in five-star hotel management and development in EMEA and Latin America, with international hotel companies as well as boutique hospitality firms such as ACE Hotels and HOSPES. His expertise means he is able to lead the business in a way that not only results in profit for all shareholders, but also in a way that they become a reference for the sector as best practice.
Tuncay Senli
Corporate Director of Food and Beverage & Project Openings
Both Kerten’s food & beverage as well as project openings are under Tuncay Senli’s watchful eye. A seasoned & dynamic hotelier, and a creative food & beverage leader, Tuncay has more than 25 years of international experience in hotel management and operations. He will be responsible for all facets of F&B including strategic direction, development of restaurants and bars concepts, F&B operations and quality assurance across all brands except Frikadell. Rest assured, his dual roles are well served by his expertise as well as global knowledge after having worked in seven countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, China and Lebanon.
Liz Scannell
Real Estate Consultant
Liz Scannell is Kerten’s real estate consultant, and provides industry and operational advice to the company in relation to serviced offices. She also prepares forecasts and property models for new Ouspace venues as and when required. Having worked with Kerten since 2014, Liz has been in the serviced office industry since 2010 and has over 18 years real estate experience. She has a wide range of financial and transactional experienced, with particular experience in real estate. Liz qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte and was formerly Finance Director of Serviced Office Group PLC, the second largest serviced office company in the UK.
Jaume Puigdengolas
Corporate Executive Chef
Michelin star Chef Jaume Puigdengola is the man behind the creation and development of the company’s growing portfolio of current and future F&B concepts. He has been Head Chef in numerous restaurants in Spain and has a vast experience in the Middle East. A psychologist graduate, Chef Jaume traces his steps in the culinary world to the early childhood days around the kitchen table when he helped his parents prepare the family meals. Today, when he is not busy in the kitchen creating fusions of global tastes inspired by multiple travels abroad, he likes to visit the local market and deliver on the quest for local products – a childhood habit since his early years spent on a farm.
Antony Doucet
Brand Director
As Brand Director for Kerten Hospitality, Antony Doucet develops and launches successful new brands for the group, which includes The House Hotel, Cloud7, Ouspace and Frikadell concepts. He has worked across managerial, sales and operational positions for 12 years with Hyatt International. Co-founding and leading brand development for all the Kerten Hospitality brands, one of Antony’s focus points is building communities and connecting people, which is essential to deliver successful mixed-use products. Antony is Istanbul’s Louis Vuitton City Guide food editor and contributor and Tutor/Speaker in Luxury Hospitality at Nisantasi University.
Frederic Fitoussi
International Manager, Frikadell
Frikadell’s international manager Frederic Fitoussi oversees the operations of the brand, and developing the brand on a global front. Having spent more than 18 years across the Middle East and Europe, he has worked across a variety of roles in the F&B space - including marketing, sales, operations, leasing and international business development - lending him an all-round perspective and understanding of the sector. Specialising in casual dining and QSR concepts, he has earned a reputation for achieving bottom-line results, improving sales, formulating and implementing business solutions and providing quality work to exceed team and company objectives.
Sandra Anido
Quality Operations Manager
Sandra Anido is the Quality Operations Manager at Kerten Hospitality where she supports the development of Kerten’s new hotel and beach club openings in the Middle East. Sandra has 20 years of hospitality experience, and has worked in Turkey and London across a range of properties, including managing luxury boutique hotels, beachfront resorts, as well as apartments and club houses. Her philosophy is to offer uncompromising, guest-focused, heartfelt top quality hospitality.
Velina Nacheva
Internal & Corporate Communications Manager
Seasoned corporate communications professional with extensive agencies experience and in-house roles working as part of cross functional teams that collaborate with global brands and different verticals from myriad industry sectors. Her master’s degree in Journalism from Carleton University, Canada’s leading university, has opened her vista and established a collaborative mindset she now uses in the digital space and in her co-working ecosystem. In her previous media life, she interviewed business leaders, visionaries and game-changers who inspired passion for travel, hospitality, aviation and all things networking online and offline. When she is not on her desk absorbing current events, she can be spotted daydreaming on the beach with a book and mint-drink in hand.
Dara O’Shea
Senior Associate
Dara, born into Generation Z, is the driver of change and the voice of the future in the team. Gen Zers, along with their ultra-connectivity, have some unique and possibly unexpected traits, they prefer face-to-face interactions in the workplace, and also expect to work harder than previous generations. Gen Z is also the most diverse generation, and possibly one of the most practical, valuing things like saving money and working in a stable job. Therefore Dara, with his Generation Z mind-set, is a key player on the team when it comes to driving the right products in a mixed-use development, being ROI sensitive, practical and being able to question the status quo, all while keeping the growth objectives in mind.
Tarun Bajaj
Group Financial Controller
A seasoned hotelier with a finance mindset and an entrepreneurial spirit, Tarun brings over a decade of Hospitality Finance and Operations experience to the Kerten Hospitality team. Tarun’s experience includes all aspects of accounting and finance for hospitality start-ups as well as Tier-1 hotel operators in a variety of roles ranging from entry level position to senior leadership. Tarun’s key role at Kerten Hospitality is to provide ongoing support to the Hotel Financial Controllers, General Managers & Hotel Owners, to oversee the financial consolidation of the group and to contribute to the organization’s future stage of growth.
John Morrissey
Group Financial Controller
As Group Financial Controller, John, a qualified Chartered Accountant, works closely with the Group Chief Financial Officer and supports the overall group finance function. Prior to joining Kerten, John held roles in one of Ireland’s largest service providers to the investments industry and with Grant Thornton Ireland as Manager in the Outsourced Accounting Services division, a fast paced and service delivery focused environment. John brings over a decade of finance experience working across numerous industries including construction, real estate, technology, funds and energy.
Nancy Wolff
Technology Strategist
Nancy is Kerten’s Technology Strategist with a focus on tech and enterprise strategy. Nancy has held executive technology leadership roles in the Middle East and North America across a number of diverse companies. She specialises in enterprise architecture and mergers & acquisitions, and is also an advisory board member and a mentor to technology start-ups. Nancy has more than two decades of leadership in technology and business strategy, allowing her to lead Kerten Hospitality to the next level of hospitality tech, enabling it to deliver the best guest experience.
Preeti Mulchandaney
IT Business Transformation Manager
Strategic Leader with extensive experience in digitizing the current business operations leading to lean process and enhanced productivity. A Master’s Degree holder with PMP and Six Sigma certificate has given her strong theoretical knowledge on resolving business issues by digitization. During her career span she has lead various innovative technology & challenging business projects including performance management in Burj Khalifa and award winning Smart Watch project. Her dedication in researching, developing and leading smart innovation projects has resulted in enhanced client and company operational efficiencies.
Maher Hatoum
Ouspace Manager, Jeddah
As the manager for Ouspace in Jeddah, Maher Hatoum is focused on the brand launch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the demand for a concept like Ouspace is high. With a degree in finance and a career experience spanning sales, Maher’s expertise lies in serviced offices. His skill set has resulted in positive customer relationships with the honed ability to deliver exceptional outcomes.
Gökhan Alpozu
Chief Financial Officer, Turkey
As the Chief Financial Officer for Kerten Hospitality in Turkey, Gökhan Alpozu directs and manages all operations related to finance, accounting, HR, purchasing, and IT. Supplying leadership and guidance to his team, he is also a keen enthusiast of education and learning. Prior to this role, Gökhan was the General Coordinator at Galatasaray Tacspor Sports Club in Istanbul, and has held a variety of managerial positions with educational institutions like Istanbul Bilgi University, a member of Laureate International Universities Network. He has extensive experience in mergers & acquisitions, buy-ins and buy-outs, regulatory offices and private equities. He holds an MA in Marketing and a BA in Business Administration.