With the Middle East and Africa (MEA) division of Marriott International planning to double its hotels over five years, the company has announced that Alex Kyriakidis, a top global executive at Deloitte LLP, has been named president and managing director of the division, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Kyriakidis, currently Deloitte’s global MD for tourism, hospitality and leisure, will be based in Dubai. Kyriakidis will lead Marriott’s team in the MEA, one of the company’s four continental operating divisions. He will oversee all aspects of the division’s business activities, including operations, sales and marketing, finance and hotel development. The company’s other continental divisions are the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Arne Sorenson, Marriott’s president and COO, said, “Kyriakidis brings deep expertise in lodging and focus on growth with a global mind set. He is the perfect leader to drive and manage our growth in the region.”

Barclays Wealth has announced a further senior appointment to its expanding ultra high net worth (UHNW) team in the MENA region. Henry Hall joins as MD and will be reporting to Stefanie Drews, head of UHNW and Family Offices, UK & EMEA and Rory Gilbert, head of international private banking for MENA region. Rory Gilbert, head of international private banking-MENA, said: “Henry’s appointment adds significant experience to our client-facing team and our ability to offer innovative solutions to our UHNW client base.” Stefanie said: “Someone of Henry’s background and caliber will be able to provide clients the access to the resources of the whole Barclays group enabling them to benefit from the full spectrum of financial services including private, corporate and investment banking.” Prior to his position at Barclays Wealth, Henry was MD, head of EMEA emerging markets equities at Merrill Lynch, London.

SHUAA Capital, a financial services institution in the GCC region, has appointed Michael Philipp to the company’s board of directors. This appointment fills a vacancy on the board and will bring the total number of the board of directors to eight members. Previously, Philipp was chairman and CEO of Credit Suisse Europe and MEA, and served as a member of the group executive board of Credit Suisse. Philipp joined Credit Suisse from Deutsche Bank, where he was a member of the board of managing directors responsible for the MEA region. Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum, chairman of the board of directors of SHUAA Capital, said: “Philipp is a globally recognized leader in the investment banking and asset management industry. He is an excellent addition to our board of directors.”