Resident in the country for nearly four years, Lietsa worked at the Kuwait Regency Palace and most recently on the opening team of the Kuwait Hilton Resort, and he also spent two years at the Sheraton Kuwait in the 1990s.

Educated and trained in Finland, he has spent most of his career in the Middle East, starting out at the Dhahran International Hotel in Saudi Arabia and also working at the InterContinental in Abu Dhabi, as well as for Jumeirah International in Dubai.

Well versed in both hotel operations and outside catering services, Lietsa will be a valuable addition to Le Meridien as it expands in Kuwait, in particular given the impact the group will make on conference and event business with its new purpose built facilities and additional hotel properties.

�Building a portfolio of new menus and implementing a unique culinary style will be my priority,� he said. �Le Meridien is already well known in Kuwait for the excellence of its catering operations, but there is room to add that little bit extra that will set the hotel � and the new properties � ahead of the crowd.

�Le Meridien hotels are noted for their innovation and style � now customers can expect similar development in our restaurants and outside catering.�

Since it formed an alliance with A�amal Holdings, Le Meridien has taken control of Ritz Kuwait and rebranded it as Le Meridien Kuwait after a total refurbishment, and will open two designer �Art+Tech� hotels in the country within two years, starting with Le Meridien Safat at the end of this year, as well as a convention centre.