Guy Hutchinson, who has been president and CEO at Abu Dhabi-based Rotana Hotels & Resorts since January 2020, will leave the firm early in 2024 to take over as Hilton's president in the Middle East and Africa.
He joined Rotana in January 2014 as chief operating officer, before assuming the acting CEO title in January 2019. Before he took on those roles, his entire career was at Hilton, starting in October 2000 as manager of the Hilton Dubai Creek hotel.
Between May 2002 and his tenure at Rotana, he held various management roles in Asia and Australia, including stints in Shanghai, Tokyo and Cairns, Australia, culminating as Hilton's vice president of operations in India.
Hutchinson’s appointment at Hilton has come about due to the untimely death in April of his predecessor, Jochem-Jan Sleiffer.
Selim El Zyr, Rotana’s co-founder and vice-chairman, announced the news, saying “after nearly 10 years at Rotana, [Hutchinson’s] leadership has supported the group’s growth across the region. We wish [him] the best for what lies ahead.”
He added that “the robust strategies in place remain unaffected and on track” and said he would “enhance [his] level of engagement with the operations of the company to ensure that the service delivered to our owners and partners remain unaffected.”
Hutchinson will be based in Dubai, where he will report to Simon Vincent, Hilton's executive vice president and president in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Hilton has 285 rooms spanning 11 brands in operation or in its pipeline in the Middle East and Africa region.
According to Rotana’s website, it has 71 hotels in operation in 14 countries across the Middle East and Africa region, 37 of those hotels being located in the United Arab Emirates.