As featured on Travel Trade Maldives (TTM) – Crown and Champa Resorts Celebrate Graduation of Five Participants from Cornell’s GM Program [September 05, 2023]
Five participants from Crown & Champa Resorts graduated this year from the prestigious Cornell School of Hotel Administration’s General Managers Program. The five participants include Fathuhulla Ibrahim, General Manager of Veligandu Island Resort & Spa; Ali Navaz, General Manager of Komandoo Island Resort & Spa; Mohamed Zahir, General Manager of Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa; Areef Ahmed, Director of Operations at Meeru Maldives Resort Island and Mohamed Nazeer, Director of Operations at Kagi Maldives Resort & Spa.
The program was divided into two parts, where the participants first attended online sessions from February 2023 until June 2023. For the latter part, they attended Cornel University, New York, USA, in June 2023.
According to the participants, the primary course takeaways include identifying the key challenges and opportunities facing hospitality businesses in the contemporary world. The program was about surfing ideas for state-of-the-art hospitality products and services that can stimulate demand and address consumer expectations.
“It guided me to assess the strengths that are key to my personalized approach as a manager. We also learned to develop context-specific solutions for HR challenges”
Nazeer, Director of Operations, Kagi Maldives
“I would like to highlight our discussions on post-COVID-19 challenges. This includes the behavioural changes of guests that has led to current and future challenges. This course has equipped me to formulate an action plan for a successful professional career along with a global network of hospitality professionals”
Zahir, General Manager, Vilamendhoo
Throughout the program, the participants acquired extensive industry knowledge by developing a deeper understanding of strategic agendas and learned to assess competitive scenes and make informed decisions.
“The course enhanced my ability to lead and motivate teams, manage conflicts and adopt a positive organizational culture. Additionally, I gained knowledge in financial analysis, marketing strategies and leveraging innovation to drive business growth”
Navaz, General Manager, Komandoo
This experience has been a remarkable opportunity for the graduates to connect with general managers and senior managers from all over the world by sharing information and learning from each other.
“Lots of important tools to share with management and other team members, coaching one-on-one sessions as well, through the training department. How can we satisfy customer needs and wants more effectively and efficiently than completion? Today, we have to understand and learn changing consumer interests to create unforgettable experiences to share with their family, friends, and social media channels and last forever”
Fathuhulla, General Manager, Veligandu.
“I believe it is an honour to be a part of the prestigious Cornel family. What I would take most out of the course is the priceless connections. We had discussions on the competing interests within a hotel to understand the concept of value creation and decision-making“
Areef, Director of Operations, Meeru Maldives
At their very inception in the year 1922 the Cornell School of Hotel Administration created and implemented the world’s first undergraduate hospitality management degree program with just 21 students and a single professor. Now, a century after that, this prestigious establishment has thrived to perfect hospitality education internationally. Cornel, to this day, has been going past obstacles in the pursuit of nothing but excellence, spreading its seeds of magnificence across the globe.
Those who completed the program from Crown & Champa Resorts in the past alone speak for themselves. One such example is the Chief Operating Officer of Crown & Champa Resorts, Mohamed Solah, who rose through the ranks to sit at the top of the industry now.
“I believe the program facilitates you to make right managerial decisions strategically. It certainly helped me to keep up with new industry trends by enabling to network with top industry professionals across the globe. It was a refreshing experience to meet everyone under the same roof to reflect and resonate with where the industry is heading.”
Mohamed Solah, Chief Operating Officer, Crown & Champa Resorts
All the graduates from Crown & Champa Resorts unanimously believe that their education has paved the way for a remarkable professional journey.\
About Crown & Champa Resorts
Crown & Champa Resorts is the leading resort collection in the Maldives that caters to every purpose of travel and connects travellers with a passion for a life fully lived to the best of this idyllic destination, offering world-class hospitality and thoughtful, attentive services in authentic Maldivian experiences.
The diverse collection of properties includes nine resort islands; Kudadoo Maldives Private Island, Hurawalhi Island Resort, Kagi Maldives Spa Island, Veligandu Island Resort & Spa, Komandoo Island Resort & Spa, Meeru Island Resort & Spa, Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa, Kuredu Island Resort & Spa, Innahura Maldives Resort, and the city hotel, Champa Central Hotel.
For media releases, interviews or more information, contact info@crownandchamparesorts.com
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