Managing Director
Samuel Nassimov is the Managing Director of one of South Africa’s fastest growing, independently owned hotel groups, Premier Hotels & Resorts.
Nassimov attended hotel school in Tel Aviv in the 1970’s and started his career at the bottom of the ranks at the city’s famous Dan Hotel. Driven by a passion for cooking, his next step was as a trainee chef, a position in which he excelled and which resulted in a promotion to Head of the Grill Room.
Like any successful entrepreneur, Nassimov has always been driven by a love for developing, creating and completing new projects. This led him to South Africa where, his passion for hotels took flight and in 1990 he acquired the Carlton Hotel in East London. Very dilapidated and in much need of a revamp, he closed the hotel for a full year, reopening in 1991 as the King David Suites and Conference Centre.
Later that same year, Nassimov won a tender bid for the land upon which he would build the Regent Hotel. He developed the hotel into the largest conferencing venue in East London and it is on this property that he later developed the East London International Convention Centre (ELICC) and Premier Hotel EL ICC.
From a humble 40 bedrooms, Nassimov has grown the group’s portfolio to encompass 16 hotels and resorts, providing almost 2000 bedrooms to discerning business and leisure travellers and employing in excess of 1500 employees.
With an industry background spanning over 3 decades, Nassimov cites the growth in online bookings, research and marketing as an industry revolution. “Technology is radically shifting the way we conduct business and while the South African hospitality industry still has a lot to learn from our international counterparts, at Premier Hotels and Resorts we have massive plans in place to become the industry leader in this arena.”
With a superior collection of hotels, resorts and conference facilities in the principal business and travel destinations in SA and with Samuel Nassimov at the helm, Premier Hotels & Resorts is a rapidly growing force in the South African leisure, business travel and conventions industry.
Group Human Capital & Social Responsibility Manager
Sigal Nassimov-Geva oversees the day to day operations of the Human Resources department.
Sigal completed a BA (Bachelor of Arts, specialising in Computer System Analysis) degree first class and went on to complete a MBA at the University of Manchester before immigrating to South Africa to join Premier Hotels & Resorts in August 2004. Immigrating to South Africa as an inexperienced yet qualified foreign national, Nassimov-Geva has, through hard work and passion, established herself as a well-known and recognised businesswoman within the Hospitality Industry (2012 Regional Business Woman of the Year - Corporate Category).
Since becoming involved at senior management level, Sigal has played a pivotal role in the transformation of the company from a traditionally family run business into a contemporary corporate environment, in keeping with the company’s vision for growth and future expansion plans.
Group Operations Manager
A born Hotelier, with over 30 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, Group Operations Manager of Premier Hotels & Resorts, Richard Bray has made an impressive career of living his passion. Richard Bray studied Hotel Management at the Wits Hotel School and holds a Postgraduate Diploma from the University of Pretoria. Before joining Premier Hotels & Resorts, Bray followed his passion for the hospitality industry with Southern Sun Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Three Cities Hospitality. Over the years Richard Bray has received numerous people management accolades as well as a Hotel of the Year award during his time with Southern Sun.
He is one of the key catalysts in the group’s drive to offer guests consistency, an exceptional experience, tangible memories and impactful differences in people’s lives.
Keeping abreast of local and international trends, Bray acknowledges that information technology is radically changing the operations of the hotel business, providing consumers with access to information like never before and giving them a strong voice to hold hotels accountable.
He firmly believes in a service orientated approach and is dedicated to offering the best possible service and value for money at Premier Hotels & Resort’s range of luxury hotel accommodation.
Connect with Richard on LinkedIn
Group Revenue Manager
Nola Nassimov is responsible for Special Projects for Premier Hotels & Resorts, managing cross-functional collaboration on various initiatives. Nola Nassimov joined Premier Hotels & Resorts with husband Sam Nassimov at its’ inception in 1991 in a largely administrative role but soon found herself managing multiple facets of the business. Across all spectrums, Nola has had a huge impact on Premier Hotels & Resort’s first customers and sowed the seeds for many of the group’s customer service standards today.
As the business grew so did Nola’s role within the organisation and Nola was instrumental in the initial setup of the Academic College (2002), sales infrastructure (taking on the role of National Sales Manager in 2004); and Central Reservations department (2006) and later as Group Revenue Manager.
Johannesburg has long been the heart of South Africa’s business and political world, but what some may not know, is how incredibly rich the flourishing art scene is. Brimming with extraordinarily talented and passionate artists, whose work reflects cultural diversity, natural beauty and long history. There are a growing number of exceptional, independent art galleries one can visit. These vibrant, buzzing lifestyle playgrounds, offer the perfect opportunity to brush shoulders with local artists with a glass of wine in hand!
Scottburgh is a holidaymakers favourite and for a good reason. Known for its Marine Protected Area, Aliwal Shoal, Scottburgh offers holidaymakers with unforgettable diving, snorkelling and shark cage diving opportunities – this is an adventure seekers paradise.
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