DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,
Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Gourmet
Gulf® has named AJ Kumaran Chief Operating Officer of its
burgeoning food and beverage division, the company announced
Tuesday. Gourmet Gulf holds the exclusive development rights for a
variety of Middle Eastern, Egyptian, and Indian markets for
California Pizza Kitchen®, Gourmet Burger Kitchen®, Morelli's
Gelato®, YO! Sushi®, Trader Vic's®, Hard Rock® Cafe, Shiro,
Pinkberry® and, most recently, Hummingbird Bakery®. Gourmet Gulf
was founded just seven years ago.
Kumaran's duties include strategically expanding the presence of
Gourmet Gulf's growing portfolio of new and unique casual dining
concepts and cuisine franchise operations throughout its territory.
The Gulf Region has the largest under 30 age group per capita in
the world.
An industry veteran with more than ten years of C-suite
experience developing operational and growth strategies for large
multi-unit concepts, Kumaran will lead all expansion, customer
servicing and customer satisfaction, marketing, operational and
quality control activities, plus direct P&L activities for the
brands.
Kumaran will report directly to CEO and founder Sami Daud.
"We are in a key phase of growth and development," said Daud.
"We believe AJ's demonstrated experience entering new markets, plus
his ability to implement effective cost controls will help us
expand our portfolio in strategic and profitable ways for us, as
well as our franchisor partners."
Besides his nearly 15 years of executive level experience
leading nationwide brands in the United
States, Kumaran's educational pedigree includes a Bachelor
of Arts degree from the Cesar Ritz Colleges Switzerland, and an
Executive MBA from Cornell
University.
"Gourmet Gulf's portfolio of brands are among the world's most
well respected, and with our plans to become one of the largest,
fully integrated multi-franchise companies in the region, we are
also one of the area's most highly sought after franchisees,"
Kumaran said. "I am excited to be joining a company that is poised
to grow rapidly."
ABOUT GOURMET GULF
Gourmet Gulf currently operates 52
restaurants in the United Arab
Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait,
Oman, Bahrain and India. Its portfolio of brands includes
California Pizza Kitchen®, Gourmet Burger Kitchen®, Morelli's
Gelato®, YO! Sushi®, Trader Vic's®, Hard Rock® Cafe, Shiro,
Pinkberry® and, most recently, Hummingbird Bakery®. Gourmet Gulf
employs more than 1,000 people with the goal of quadrupling its
restaurant and employee base in the next two years.
Gourmet Gulf is owned by Daud Investments. Since 1964, Daud
Investments has been one of the Middle
East's most successful conglomerates. It manages a dynamic
portfolio of world-class restaurant and luxury retail investments
from its headquarters in Oman and
Dubai.
To learn more, visit the company's website at
www.gourmetgulf.com.
SOURCE Gourmet Gulf