Dubai Restaurant Group add eleven new advisors to the board

The new additions will represent the various segments of the F&B sector including operations, finance, and media as well as include representatives of the two Platinum sponsors.

Dubai Restaurant Group (DRG), a not-for-profit entity that aims to be a centre for research and reports highlighting the F&B industry trends in the UAE, has expanded its board with the addition of eleven new advisors that represent the various sectors of the local F&B industry.

The new advisors to DRG’s board include George Kunnappally, Managing Director for Nandos UAE representing the quick service restaurant (QSR) sector, and Tapan Vaidya of the PJP Group, representing malls and retail. Duncan Muir, Café Director at Bagel International and Tyrone Reid, CEO of Al Abbar Enterprises, both represent the smart casual café segment.

Gregory Delhaye, Chairman of Delhaye Gregory Group will represent the fine-dining sector, Fay Economides, Executive Managing Director of M-Management will represent the casual dining sector while Damian Conway of Le Burger will represent the wider F&B & SMEs in this industry.

Platinum sponsors, Deliverect and Neutral Fuels, are represented by their General Manager, Naji Haddad, and CEO & Chairman, Karl Feilder, respectively who join financial advisors, Vikrant Rohatgi and Anurag Bajpai of KPMG, as advisors to the board. Rounding off the additions is Simon Richie, Editor of hospitality media at ITP.

Naim Maadad, CEO and Founder of Gates Hospitality and a founding member of the Board of Directors of DRG, added, “The whole idea of the induction of the new team of Advisors to the DRG Board – like any Association – is to infuse expertise from a varied spectrum of professionals to provide their inputs to the Board for the betterment of the industry. We are introducing one Advisor per post and expect to add more to join in the weeks ahead.”

Set up in 2020, DRG is a not-for-profit entity to drive the focused surge in efforts towards making Dubai as the fast-emerging gastronomical hub of the globe and position the vibrant city as the innovative, creative, and top-most benchmark of the food & beverage destinations of the world.