One of the hospitality industry’s leading business women is returning to her North East roots to take on a new position at The Apartment Group.
Northumberland-born Debrah Dhugga launched her career in hospitality as a receptionist for the Swallow Hotel in Gateshead and quickly climbed the career ladder.
And for the last 10 years Mrs Dhugga has been managing director of luxury operator Dukes Hotel, overseeing hotels in London and Dubai.
Despite regularly enduring a 7,000 mile commute between her two main places of work, Northumberland has remained her family home and she has consistently returned to the region to the family home in Stannington every other week.
Now she is making the move permanent, having taken up the post of chief operating officer with The Apartment Group (TAG), the leisure company owned by Duncan Fisher which operates popular venues in Sunderland and Newcastle including Floritas, House of Smith and As You Like It, as well as luxury boutique hotels in Northumberland, including Le Petit Chateau and Newton Hall.
Mrs Dhugga will be joining the board of The Apartment Group in September.
She said: “I will be sad to leave the Seven Tides and Dukes London family, it has been a wonderful experience and I have so many fabulous memories, and worked with some amazing people.
“TAG is at an exciting stage and while already a very successful business, I am excited to be involved in the new developments as well as being based back in Northumberland. This was too good an opportunity to turn down, yet hard to walk away from a business I have believed in and involved with for 10 years.
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“I am very much looking forward to joining TAG, working with a great team and the new challenge it will bring as well as moving back to an area I am very passionate about.”
Bin Sulayem, Seven Tides CEO, thanked Mrs Dhugga for her commitment to the company and said he was sorry to see Debrah go and wished her every success in her new role.
In her new role, she will report to group founder Mr Fisher and work closely with the team to oversee brand development, operations, as well as the group’s aggressive expansion plans.
Mr Fisher said: “Debrah is extremely talented with an unrivalled passion for the hospitality industry and we are thrilled and privileged to welcome her to the team.
“She has a proven track record of developing brands, as well as being incredibly focused on customer service and staff development.”
“She will be a key component in helping TAG move into its next stage of growth.”