John has an in-depth knowledge of the hotel industry thanks to a global career spanning more than 30 years with senior positions held in the Americas, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe. In his capacity as Executive Director for the Royal Commission of AlUla, he is the hospitality lead behind one of Saudi’s most important projects.
Northen is in charge of the planning for all hotels and resorts at this historic destination with a string of exclusive hotels in the pipeline. AlUla is aiming to welcome more than 2.5 million visitors annually by 2030.
Previously, John was the Executive Director for the hotels sector at NEOM, another of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s giga projects, where he worked directly with the NEOM CEO on the development strategy for all hospitality assets. Prior to this he was Executive Vice President for the Shangri-La Group of hotels based in Hong Kong and Dubai. John was also the Group Chief Executive Officer for Columbia Asia, a large chain of private hospitals across South East Asia, India and Africa and he held Executive / Regional Vice President roles with Marriott International in Asia Pacific and the Middle East for over 20 years.