Kerten appoints Group General Counsel Tara Marlow to strengthen Group’s Global footprint expansion and openings

DUBAI, June 2022: Kerten Hospitality, a mixed-use, ESG and lifestyle operator, appoints Tara Marlow as Group General Counsel based in the Group’s UAE office, from where Tara will be supporting and strengthening the footprint expansion in existing and new markets while at the same time supporting the multiple ongoing openings in KSA, Kuwait, Georgia, Italy, UAE, and Egypt to name a few which are set to open in the next 12 months alone.  

Tara Marlow, a British national who has lived in the UAE since 2004, is a highly experienced lawyer in real estate development and the Hotels & Leisure industry, with over 20 years of experience. Tara has been consistently ranked by international legal directories Chambers Global and Legal 500 as a leading individual in the Hotels & Leisure market and was recognised by Who's Who Legal as a 'Global Elite Thought Leader in Hospitality - EMEA' 2020. 

Tara joins Kerten following many years as a Partner and Regional Head of Real Estate and Hotels & Leisure, with the MENA region's largest law firm, Al Tamimi & Co, where she created the firm’s widely respected Hotels practice. Tara also previously held the position of Vice President, Legal for MAF Hospitality, working hand in hand with seasoned hotel professionals from various international brands, where she also established and managed the legal function, and provided legal support to the business as it developed its portfolio of hotels.  She has been an active member of the Advisory Committee of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference and, as a private practice lawyer, has been widely published and a regular speaker at industry conferences throughout the Middle East. 

Commenting on the appointment, Marloes Knippenberg, CEO of Kerten Hospitality said: “We are honoured to welcome Tara to the Kerten family. Tara is a follower and supporter of Kerten Hospitality since its birth. To have someone of Tara’s calibre believe in Kerten’s future vision and join the team is yet another great achievement. Tara shares Kerten’s owner-centric focus, and we believe that she will be instrumental in our rapid growth and in meeting our ESG-focused business objectives that deliver a return to all stakeholders involved – owners, investors, guests and communities around our projects.”

Tara Marlow, Group General Counsel at Kerten said: “I’m thrilled to be joining such a progressive, positive, agile and future-focused hospitality player who has brought innovation in the industry to new heights.  I’m very excited to be a part of Kerten’s next level of growth and to be working with the team in the ongoing transformation of its business.  I particularly welcome the opportunity to get to know our owners and to be able to continue to enhance and support the alignment of our owner’s interests with ours, which is so key to our fundamental principle of human connection and mutual success.”