Kai Schukowski – Kempinski’s youngest GM is due to leave his role in the Middle East to pursue his career with Kempinski Hotels in Europe.
Schukowski will leave Kempinski Hotel, Ajman at the end of December 2016, where he will begin his new tenure as General Manager at Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square, located in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius.
Commenting on the recent decision, Schukowski said: “It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience to spearhead Kempinski Hotel Ajman for the past three-and-a-half years and I am forever thankful for the support and achievements along with our hoteliers. Having transitioned from Hotel Manager to my first general manager position, I have found it to be a challenging but incredibly rewarding time, as together with the team, we have managed to successfully reposition and “turn the hotel around”, becoming the “top of mind” talk of the town, as the preferred getaway destination in the UAE.”
Following Schukowski’s graduation from the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai, in 2009 he took a position as the corporate operations performance analyst at Kempinski’s head office in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was involved in the strategic planning of the brand and reported directly to the company’s COO.
During his two years in this position, he proved his talent and potential and was given the opportunity to become the regional operations manager in charge of all Kempinski hotels in China. In this role, he worked on the development planning of the brand NUO (the first Chinese luxury brand) and was also responsible for the regional strategy for Kempinski and its operational implementation and quality standards validation.
In the summer of 2013 at the young age of 26, Schukowski was appointed as Hotel Manager at Kempinski Hotel Ajman, the first Kempinski property in the region of India, the Middle East and Africa. In November 2014, Schukowski took on the responsibility of acting General Manager due to the resignation of the regional president, who was the General Manager for 17 years.