Haitham Mattar is the Managing Director of the ‪@Intercontinental‬ Hotel Group for India, Middle East & Africa. In addition to working for global hotel giants, he has also led tourism for the Governments of Ras Al Khaimah and Saudi Arabia.

Haitham’s story is one of individual will, grit and resilience. He talks about the importance of maintaining and nurturing relationships all his life and how he’s now trying to get new generations interested in hospitality.

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Chapters:
00:00 Preview
00:33 Growing up in the US
01:24 Leaving home at 17
04:25 Cautiously optimistic
07:42 Working in hospitality
08:46 Move to Dubai
09:31 Becoming Director at IHG
13:13 The pivot to tourism with RAK
18:47 The world’s longest zipline
20:03 Working with UN Tourism
21:13 Getting noticed by Saudi Arabia Tourism
22:21 The importance of relationships
24:06 Regrets
26:54 The Ego vs the Saboteur
30:11 Upcoming book
30:40 Talent in Hospitality