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Sascha Hemmann.

Meet the three new executive committee members at the Dusit Thani Dubai: director of rooms Sascha Hemmann, director of food and beverage Wolfi Z Malik and director of finance Alex Vasanthakumar.

Director of Rooms

Sascha Hemmann joined the Dusit team in Dubai two months ago from a position with Raffles in the Caribbean, and says there were a variety of factors which drew him to this new role.

"I knew Dubai from a while ago - I've worked here twice before, 12 years ago and about six years ago, so I know the city, although of course it has changed a lot," he explains.

"I think in our industry it's a place where you've got to be at the moment. The roots for a lot of companies are here, and this city sparks a lot of industry trends. It's a fascinating place: it's fast-moving, fast-growing, and very comptetitive.

Hemmann believes that a property is only as good as its staff, and says he was delighted to find a strong employee base at Dusit. "There seems to be a very stable staffing base joining the company, and there isn't much movement going out, which is great. Of course there are opportunities within the brand, with new properties coming up, so people are being promoted and moving forward, but they're not leaving Dusit. So there's a very strong, dynamic, loyal team in the group.

However Hemmann says a focal point of his new role will be concentrating on retaining this team of employees.

"The big thing I've heard about since getting to Dubai is the issue of retaining staff. In a way it is a challenge, but that word sounds very negative; I think it's positive, I think it's an opportunity for us as a company and I think ultimately this issue is going to show which companies have done their homework in terms of training staff and working with development plans.

"Dusit has development plans for every single employee. And I think it's only by being dedicated like this that you can keep staff: follow development plans, talk to them regularly and give them opportunities.

Hemmann is eager to build on Dusit's good work thus far, but says he will not be making any hasty decisions.

"I don't want to jump in and change things around that aren't really necessary. For new people coming in it's very important to see how everything works, how the hotel ticks, and then make changes if it's feasible to do so," he explains.

"There are undoubtedly changes to be made here; the hotel is about seven years old, and in a fast-moving city such as Dubai you've got to keep in mind that everyone else is doing renovations or refurbishments. For our part, our suites are going to be refurbished, we're extending the fitness centre, and this will all be happening over the next couple of years, so I feel honoured to be part of the team."

And Hemmann is not the only new recruit on the team. "Three out of six of us joined around the same time," he explains. "The whole team meets regularly, which is essential so we can check we're all on the same page. The vision of the company cannot be implemented if the executive committee members are not working towards the same goals, so that's imperative.

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