Skift Take
Despite being located in the global center of luxury hospitality, Jumeirah has struggled somewhat to grow its footprint.
The surprise exit of Jumeirah Group CEO Katerina Giannouka 15 months into her role is the latest resignation for the government-owned hotel brand of Dubai.
Jumeirah Group was founded in 1997 on the idea of modernizing Arabian hospitality and sharing it with the world. For years, it showed steady progress in this mission.
Founding CEO Gerald Lawless led for 19 years until his retirement in 2016. It came under the ownership of the Dubai ruler’s investment corp in 2004, and benefited from the emirate's tourism boom.
Jumeirah received global recognition for its flagship Burj Al Arab hotel – colloquially called the world’s only seven-star hotel. When Lawless left in 2016, the group