Leven joined Royal in November 2013 and held several senior roles, including managing director UK and Ireland of Royal Caribbean International and vice-president EMEA. He also chaired Clia in the UK and Ireland between 2016 and 2018 before leaving Royal and the cruise sector in March 2021.

His hospitality experience extends to the hotel sector too after a stint earlier in his career as vice-president of commercial UK and Ireland at hotel giant IHG.

In his new role, Leven will "lead the transformation and expansion" of Swiss-headquartered Orascom’s hotel business, Orascom Hotels Management, which has a portfolio of 33 hotels across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Leven will work alongside Joachim Schmitt, who has moved into a newly-created chief operating officer role at OHM. He will join the group’s global executive committee and report directly to group chief executive Omar El Hamamsy.

El Hamamsy said Leven’s appointment was testament to the group’s commitment to attracting "top-tier talent".
"Stuart’s proven track record in commercial, sales and marketing aligns well with our strategic drive to further elevate our premium to luxury hospitality offerings," he said.

"Supported by Joachim’s operational leadership, I’m confident that our hotels business is well positioned to continue building on the impressive growth achieved."

Orascom’s interests include Egypt’s El Gouna resort on the Red Sea, and Switzerland’s Andermatt. In 2018, it partnered with Thomas Cook to open Cook’s Club and Casa Cook properties in El Gouna, both of which live on beyond Cook.

It also operates the five-star Chedi Al Gouna hotel, which had been due to open late last year.