Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding is delighted to announce two new management appointments.

David Stepetic has been appointed as the new general manager of Jumeirah Dhevanafushi, taking over from Chris Ely who has returned to Dubai to embark on the role of hotel manager at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

An American national, Stepetic joins Jumeirah from Laucala Island Resort in Fiji where he has been general manager for the past two years.

His industry experience spans over 26 years, 19 of which were with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in the Maldives, Tokyo and the United States where he held a number of senior roles in the areas of food and beverage and banqueting.

In his new position Stepetic will lead the team and continue to build on the success and reputation of the award-winning resort in the Maldives.

A British national, Ely joined Jumeirah in 2005 working in sports and leisure for a number of our hotels and resorts in Dubai.

In 2007, he was promoted to a director’s role with the development team at Jumeirah, working on several development projects in Dubai.

In 2010, Ely was the first Jumeirah colleague to join the pre-opening team of Jumeirah Dhevanafushi as director of operations, overseeing rooms, food and beverage, spa, engineering and housekeeping.

Two years later he was promoted to general manager and has since established a strong team on the island and successfully led the operations at the resort.