Emma Banks has assumed the position of managing director at JRG Dubai, the home-grown restaurant management company, which is part of Dubai Holding.
British national Banks, who assumes the managing director position after consolidating JRG Dubai’s award-winning brand portfolio of 23-plus venues and international franchises since being named general manager in 2015, has now been tasked with steering the group’s ongoing expansion and spearheading its long-term commercial strategy.
In the last 12 months, Banks has overseen the arrival of Flow, the homegrown healthy eating and creative hub at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, guided JRG Dubai through the first major relaunch of its flagship The Noodle House brand, boosted the casual dining chain’s commercial revenues by implementing a state-of-the-art delivery hub and pioneering industrial kitchen, and championed the group’s plastic amnesty initiative, which has effectively banished all non-essential guest-facing single use plastics across JRG Dubai.
As managing director, Banks will oversee JRG Dubai’s individual department heads across operations, training, culinary, finance and IT, and sales and marketing, while safeguarding the group’s multi-departmental performance and driving strategic expansion via new brands launches and ongoing diversification across its current portfolio. She will report directly to Dubai Retail CEO Nabil Ramadhan, who will support and guide the growth opportunities both in the region and internationally.
“While the last two years have presented unprecedented challenges across the UAE’s food and beverage landscape, JRG Dubai has been a robust bellwether for innovation, evolution and sustainable expansion,” said Banks.
“Our principal of balanced development has consolidated JRG Dubai’s financial performance, whilst simultaneously strengthening our brand portfolio ahead of further expansion in the coming years.
“It is an exciting chapter for JRG Dubai and with a raft of strategic additions to our senior team during the past few months, the group now boasts an industry-leading wealth of skill and experience. Our eclectic and enthusiastic team is well-placed to realise our vision and goal of offering guests an exceptional array of dining experiences across a homegrown portfolio of diverse F&B concepts.”
