Biography: Dilshad Dhahab was sworn in as municipalities and tourism minister in April 2012. He took over from Samir Abdullah Mustafa, who had held the post since 2009. In his current role, Shahab will oversee the KRG’s ambitious drive to attract 4 million tourists a year by 2015, from 2.2 million in 2012. The ministry has strategic goals to raise the number of hotel rooms and increase annual tourism income to $1.5m. The KRG will attempt to draw support and investment from the private sector, as well as setting up finance initiatives, providing land and establishing tax incentives. The KRG is currently finalising a masterplan for 65 tourism projects and has identified as many as 400 more for further investment. Shahab will be oversee this plan and steer $1.9bn-worth of investment in Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah to hit the 2015 targets.

Contact Tel: (+964) 6 6223 5500

Biography: Faruk Mustafa Rasool is chairman of Erbil-based conglomerate Faruk Group Holding, which he founded in 2008. The group has interests in sectors, including telecoms, medical services, real estate and contracting. Faruk Group has plans to open three hotels in Sulaimaniyah. Its projects include the Grand Millennium Sulaimaniyah, the Copthorne Hotel Baranan and Copthorne Hotel and Spa. Rasool began his career working at the Iraqi Trading Bank in 1975, before buying a building block factory with a friend. In 1987, he opened a poultry processing unit in Sulaimaniyah, then began importing Turkish goods to Iraq and Iran. He launched a small telecoms network in the KRG, which changed its name to Asiacell in 1995. He continued to expand his business interests, pulling them together under Faruk Group in 2008. Rasool graduated from Baghdad University’s College of Economy and Trade in 1964.

Contact Tel: (+964) 770 110 5241

Biography: Doaa Amin is the general manager of Tangram Hotel Erbil. She was appointed to the role in September 2012 to lead the operations team and position the Tangram brand as the leading boutique hotel for business travellers in Erbil. Tangram was originally established in China, and the Erbil hotel is the chain’s first in the Middle East. The company has ambitious expansion plans for the Middle East and North Africa. Before joining Tangram Hotels, Amin was vice-president of operations support for Kempinski Hotels in the Middle East and Africa, based in Dubai and overseeing new openings in the region. She took on that job in 2008, having previously held a number of roles with the Kempinski hotel group, including regional director of public relations and marketing manager for the Middle East and Africa region. She has a master’s degree in business strategies from Reims Management School in France.

Contact Tel: (+964) 6 6229 6900

Biography: Handren Azzo is the owner, chairman of the board and president of Erbil-headquartered Golden Mountains Company, which was launched in early 2010. The firm has about 60 employees across Iraqi Kurdistan and claims to be the region’s largest investment company with $81.7m of assets. Golden Mountains is supporting US hotel chain Best Western’s venture into Kurdistan. It owns the Best Western Erbil hotel in the city centre and the Best Western Premier hotel near the new airport. Both are currently under construction. Azzo was the company’s CEO from March 2010 to July 2011, and has been a member of the company’s board of directors since June 2010. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Mosul University in Iraq. He also has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Halmstad in Sweden.

Contact Tel: (+964) 78 0705 7773

Biography: Selim el-Zyr is CEO of Abu Dhabi-headquartered hospitality firm Rotana Hotels. It opened its first five-star property in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in January 2011. The Erbil Rotana is owned by the Malia Group and operated by Rotana. El-Zyr co-founded Rotana Hotels in 1992. It was the first regional hotel chain and has a portfolio of more than 70 properties across the Middle East and Africa. Before establishing Rotana, he was vice-president for Abu Dhabi National Hotels and oversaw its operations in the UAE and overseas. He moved to the UAE from Lebanon, where he had set up a fast-food chain in 1982. El-Zyr previously worked for the US’ Hilton International for 12 years, working in Germany, Spain, Egypt, Canada and the UAE. His first job was as chief steward at the Waldorf Hotel in New York. He graduated from Switzerland’s Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne.

Contact Tel: (+971) 2 699 4435

Biography: Ramzy Fenianos is the Europe, Africa and Middle East director of acquisitions and development for US-headquartered Starwood Hotels and Resorts. He is responsible for overseeing the group’s growth efforts in the region. This will include Starwood’s return to Iraq after 20 years, managing a new Sheraton hotel in Erbil. The group signed an agreement with US firm BCD last year to manage the property when it opens in 2015. The hotel is in the new part of the city, 10 minutes from Erbil International airport. Fenianos was appointed to his post in 2010 and is based in Dubai. Before taking up his current role at Starwood, he managed the investments and acquisitions for IFA Hotels and Resorts, a real estate investment firm listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. He has a master’s degree in real estate finance from the Ecole Superieure des Professions Immobilieres in Paris.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 331 4111