DOHA: UK-based international private medical insurer InterGlobal has appointed John Young as its country manager for Qatar, with responsibility for building distribution and sales of individual and group PMI and for InterGlobal’s operations in Qatar.

He will report to Mike Delamere, InterGlobal’s regional general manager in the Middle East.

John Young has 26 years of experience in domestic and international private medical insurance, both in client facing and technical roles.

He joins InterGlobal from Europ Assistance, where he was senior business development manager, responsible for the sales and marketing of the company’s corporate expatriate health insurance range of products.

Previously, he was health claims manager for AIG Europe and also managed the employee benefits division for AXA Gulf/Alliance Insurance in the Middle East.

Mike Delamere, InterGlobal says: “The country manager is one of the most important roles at InterGlobal. Our country managers are the face of the company to our corporate and individual clients and are also responsible for increasing sales of our individual and group PMI plans.

They also fulfill an important role liaising with local hospitals, clinics and other organizations, which deliver health care to our clients.

“John brings extensive experience of the private medical insurance market to InterGlobal from both a client-facing and back office perspective and has the ideal combination of skills required to succeed as a country manager. I look forward to working closely with John, to further develop our business in Qatar.”

ABU DHABI: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, the premier manager of ultra-luxury hotels and resorts throughout the world, has appointed Luigi Romaniello as Rosewood Abu Dhabi’s managing director.

Romaniello will oversee all areas of the new hotel including the property’s array of signature restaurants and Sense spa. Romaniello has been with Rosewood for 11 years, most recently as managing director of The Mansion on Peachtree, A Rosewood Hotel & Residence in Atlanta, Georgia.

With considerable experience of opening new hotels, Romaniello will manage Rosewood’s newest addition to its already outstanding collection of notable properties.

Rosewood Abu Dhabi will be located on Sowwah Island, the core of Abu Dhabi’s new Central Business District between the prestigious commercial development Sowwah Square and the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and is due to open in summer 2012.

The property will be a landmark five-star high-rise hotel and residences featuring about 190 guestrooms and suites, around 140 serviced residences, an array of signature restaurants, Sense spa, superb shopping and stunning views of the surrounding water and city.

A seasoned veteran with more than 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Romaniello joined Rosewood Hotels & Resorts in August 1999 as resident manager of Caneel Bay, A Rosewood Resort in the US Virgin Islands.

For the following five years, he successfully oversaw day-to-day operations as hotel manager of Rosewood Crescent Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

In 2007, he was promoted to managing director of The Mansion on Peachtree, A Rosewood Hotel & Residence in Atlanta where he led the team to a successful opening of the hotel.

“Rosewood is committed to creating world renowned hotels and resorts,” said Bob Boulogne, chief operating officer of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.

“We are pleased to have such a distinguished industry veteran open this spectacular property. His years of experience and wealth of knowledge in the hospitality industry is well suited to lead efforts at Rosewood Abu Dhabi.”

Prior to joining Rosewood, Romaniello began his hotel career in Dallas at the Grand Kempinski Hotel before moving to Austin, Texas to join Stouffer Hotels.

He continued his career with the Amway Hotel Corporation at their flagship Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He later moved with Amway to become executive assistant manager for Peter Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands.

RIYADH: Saudi Re has appointed its Sharia board. The appointment of the Shariah board, which became effective in May, further supports Saudi Re’s direction in preserving the cooperative reinsurance in its operations.

Saudi Re was successful in appointing internationally renowned scholars, who have the knowledge and exposure to the insurance and reinsurance industry.

The members of the Shariah Board are Abdulsattar Abu Ghuddah, Mohamed Ali Elgari, and Yousef Al-Farraj.

Fahad Al-Hesni, CEO of Saudi Re, said: “The Shariah board will help Saudi Re to remain responsive to our clients’ requirements and develop solutions that satisfy and cater for the takaful industry demands for Shariah-compliant reinsurance services.”

Saudi Re is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange and is described as the largest capitalized reinsurer in the GCC.

The company received a BBB+ rating from S&P with a Stable outlook for the third consecutive year. This is a reflection of Saudi Re’s strong capitalization position at SR1 billion and strong balance sheet factors, and the company’s competitive advantage being the only domestic reinsurer in Saudi Arabia.