Martin is a highly experienced sales and marketing professional and will lead the hotel�s sales efforts both within Afghanistan and internationally.  Martin joins the hotel from Scot Holland, the Central Asian real estate company, where he was in charge of real estate consultancy specialising in human resources for the energy sector.

The Kabul Serena Hotel was opened last November and is located in the centre of Kabul; the Kabul Serena Hotel has provided Kabul with a world-class hotel for international visitors to the City and is also becoming an important resource for Kabul residents.  The hotel employs over 300 staff, 90% of whom are Afghan. 

Christopher Newbery, the hotel�s General Manager, says: �This is an important appointment for the Kabul Serena and so I am delighted to welcome Martin to the hotel.  As Kabul�s premier international hotel the sales function will be extremely important to establishing our credentials as one of the leading hotels in the central Asian region and as the hotel of choice for the discerning visitor to Afghanistan.�
 
The Kabul Serena Hotel is run by the Serena Hotels, which falls under the Tourism Promotion Services of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).  AKFED in turn is a member agency of AKDN, the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org). 
Serena Hotels enjoys a long-established reputation for the highest standards of comfort and service within environments that meticulously promote indigenous architectural, craft and cultural traditions. It builds hotel capacity in regions that are underserved with business and tourist accommodation by other hotel chains. Serena properties have been at the forefront of human resource development, the generation of foreign exchange revenue and providing employment to local residents while bringing environmental sensitivity to the tourism industry in the regions where they operate.  Serena operates 22 hotels, inns, resorts, safari lodges and tented camps in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private development agencies working to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia and the Middle East.  The Network�s agencies work for the common good of all citizens, regardless of their gender, origin or religion and its underlying impulse is the ethic of compassion for the vulnerable in society.  Its annual budget for philanthropic activity is in excess of US$300 million.

Serena Hotels
http://www.serenahotels.com