Luxury hospitality company Jumeirah Group has appointed industry veteran Niamh O’Connell as its first vice president of wellbeing, group and corporate.

Jumeirah says the move is part of the group’s renewed focus to elevate the wellness offering across its 6,500 key portfolio of 26 luxury properties across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.

With nearly three decades of experience in luxury wellness and hospitality across Europe, the US and the Asia Pacific region, O’Connell will work alongside Jumeirah’s hotel and operations teams to craft an all-encompassing wellbeing strategy.

This will include spa services, fitness offerings, longevity programmes, therapies and holistic wellness as well as branding, design and programming.

Katerina Giannouka, CEO of Jumeirah, said: “The relationship our guests have with wellness and wellbeing today has transcended from isolated treatments offering a functional fix to an all-encompassing guided approach to longevity, life balance and self-care.

“Niamh is a world-class expert in this space and I’m delighted to have her join our team as the vice president of wellbeing.

“This is a new role we deemed essential as we begin to invest strongly in advancing our wellbeing offering through new concepts, therapies and partnerships, designed to enrich the life and wellness experience of our guests while staying at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts.”

Prior to joining Jumeirah, O’Connell held senior roles at Hyatt International Hotels & Resorts, and most recently, was the group vice president at Rosewood Hotel Group, where she was responsible for the strategic development of wellness and brand experience.

Commenting on her new role, O’Connell said: “It’s a true privilege to join Jumeirah at this pivotal moment in the brand's journey. Over the past three years, a remarkable shift in the landscape of wellbeing has been witnessed, and now the industry stands on the brink of an exhilarating transformation.

“I look forward to inspiring a new approach to wellbeing across our hotels and resorts, guided by the principles of lifelong learning, longevity and inclusivity. By adopting this approach, my aim is to ensure we empower our guests to enhance their physical and emotional wellbeing through sustainable wellness practices."