This document profiles the management team of Cristal Hotels & Resorts. It introduces the founder and CEO Peter Blackburn, who has over 20 years of experience in property development and hospitality management. It also introduces the VP and COO Kamal Fakhoury, Financial Comptroller Ravindra Gamage, Director of Business Development Hamdan Talib, and Director of Sales and Marketing Sarah Marron. Each member of the management team has extensive experience in the hospitality industry.

2. Management Team

3. P E T E R B L A C K B U R N
P r e s i d e n t & C E O
Peter, the founder and President / CEO started his career in
property development and eventually moved on to a more
challenging path – hospitality. For twenty years he travelled
around London, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China and UAE looking
after renowned properties including Intercontinental,
Thistle, Peninsula, and Rotana Hotels.
He spent his years mastering the arts and science of
facilities management and building well-structured hotels.
After successfully opening 23 hotels for Rotana he finally
realized his dream of setting up a new hotel brand – Cristal
Hotels & Resorts.

4. K A M A L FA K H O U R Y
V i c e P r e s i d e n t & C O O
Kamal is the co-founder of Cristal Hotels & Resorts, and he
is a Lebanese born Canadian who spent most of his years in
the UAE & North America. He obtained his hotel
administration diploma from the prestigious Swiss hotel
school Cesar Ritz and a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel
Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
His career spanned hospitality consultancy, restaurant and
hotel operations with strong emphasis in food & beverage
management. He attained senior management roles across
chains including the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas,
Radisson, Sheraton, and Rotana Hotels

5. R AV I N D R A G A M A G E
F i n a n c i a l C o m p t r o l l e r
A self-motivated and resourceful individual, with a
bachelor's degree in commerce. Working for over 18
years in the hospitality industry, Ravindra gained his
extensive knowledge of accounting, financial management,
auditing, commercial practices and international trading.
From the Grand Regency Hotel’s Chief Accountant in Doha
Qatar to the Westin Hotel and Resorts’ Assistant Financial
Controller in Macau, Ravindra’ s accomplishments and
contributions were all highly commendable.
As the Financial Controller at Cristal Group, Ravindra’ s
objective is to improve finance, cost control, audit and
cash flow management hand-in-hand with staff training
and strategic planning and forecasting across existing and
upcoming projects.

6. H A M D A N TA L I B
D i r e c t o r o f B u s i n e s s D e v e l o p m e n t
Hamdan is an experienced Hotel Management professional
with over 30 years of Hospitality Management Experience,
he had worked in Switzerland, Singapore, Turkey, Malaysia,
Macau, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Middle East.
Managed renowned properties including Grand Hyatt
Singapore, Noga Hilton Geneva and the Palace of the
Golden Horses Malaysia.
Obtained Hospitality Educational Degrees from Swiss Hotel
Association Management School “Les Roches” Switzerland
and has a proven wealth of experiences in Management,
Operations, Marketing and Development, specifically
focused on the hospitality & leisure industry. Hamdan is
associated with Cristal Group since 2009 as the Director of
Business Development.

7. S A R A H M A R R O N
D i r e c t o r o f S a l e s a n d M a r k e t i n g
Sarah comes into the Cristal Group from IHG, as seasoned
Sales Professional with a proven track record of exceeding
revenue targets and managing high performance teams in
the Middle East as well as across Europe region.
A very Innovative and strategic thinker, Sarah Enjoy initiating
new & creative ideas and subsequently implementing
changes and new systems, which have been paramount in
optimizing results.
Primary focus of Sarah is to set up a Global Sales strategy
and to lead & embed our Sales team to exceed revenue
targets to leverage market share from key strategic accounts
within the region into the IHG Global