New Appointments at Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa

Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa welcomes three new key members to its senior management team – Airika Sirak as director of sales & marketing,  Priti Pandey as director of revenue management, and Sivakumar Gopalakrishnan as executive sous chef.

A passionate and result-oriented professional, Airika Sirak brings over twenty-five years of industry knowledge and expertise.The Estonian national has previously contributed to the growth of a prolific portfolio of notable international hotel chains, such as Hilton and Marriott International, in Europe and UK, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and now Maldives. Within her new role, Airika will orchestrate impactful business, sales, and marketing initiatives to drive business growth, and greater brand awareness, as well as mentor her team members to reach their goals and advance within their respective organisations.

Priti Pandey started her career with Marriott International in 2013 as reservations supervisor with Four Points by Sheraton Ahmedabad, and has been loyal to the hotel brand since. As a data-driven professional, she sees her role as paramount in streamlining distribution channels, optimising revenue streams, and in aligning the resort’s long-term strategy in the highly competitive hospitality landscape of the Maldives.

Chef Sivakumar Gopalakrishnan brings in extensive experience of over fifteen years, which helped shape his food philosophy of high quality, innovative, sustainable, and mindful consumption. Prior to his role, Sivakumar worked at renowned properties such as The Oberoi, Trident and The Leela in India and Le Cirque in New York, where he oversaw the main kitchen operations, was responsible for a team of over 100 members, the planning and executive of various menus and serving styles, as well as working closely with the sales teams to achieve budgets and lead the team to deliver the best dining experiences to guests. His restaurant was featured in Conde Nast Traveller’s Top 50 restaurants in India 2018 -19.

Commenting on the new appointments, General Manager Nilesh Singh said: “We are delighted to welcome Airika, Priti and Shivakumar as integral parts of Le Meridien Maldives Resort & Spa. Each of their outstanding career accomplishments and incomparable experience is truly an asset and will be instrumental in helping the teams achieve new benchmarks.”