Speaker profile

George
Nando's

A seasoned hospitality industry professional, George has been into franchise operations, management and brand development for over 20 years. He has launched and/or grown brands like Subway, Bateaux Dubai, Charley’s Philly Steaks, Whittard of Chelsea, Second Cup Coffee, Johnny Rockets and a host of UAE bred concepts in the Middle East, Africa and CIS regions.

Starting his career with the Taj Group of Hotels in India, George has worked at the senior management level with large conglomerates headquartered in Dubai with a MENA footprint. His previous roles were as the General Manager at Al Madani Group, General Manager & Board Member at BinHendi Enterprises, both in Dubai, and as Senior Franchise Strategy & Business Development Specialist at ADNOC Distribution, Abu Dhabi.

Currently, George is the Managing Director of Nando’s, based in Dubai.

Most recently, George was Executive Director – Private Equity at Regulus Capital Limited, the Cayman Islands registered Investment Manager of over USD 1.2 Billion worth of assets in F&B, healthcare, education, logistics and real estate in the MENASEA region.

He was also the General Manager & Board Member of Al Faris Restaurants LLC (Exclusive Developer of Johnny Rockets Restaurants in the UAE, Oman, North & Sub Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe) and sat on the Boards of Diamond Lifestyle Limited, Gulf Pinnacle Logistics Limited, Al Najah Education Limited and Al Maha Infrastructure Limited.

George is a founding member of the Dubai Restaurants Business Group under the aegis of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, is on the advisory board of the Middle East Food Forum and regularly speaks at industry events. A graduate in Hotel Management, George also holds a Masters degree in Tourism Management.