Marco Novella appointed MD of the Lanesborough

The Lanesborough hotel in London has appointed Marco Novella as its managing director following the departure of Geoffrey Gelardi.

Novella succeeds Gelardi, who stepped down from the five-red-AA-star, 93-bedroom hotel recently after 28 years that had made him London's longest serving managing director of a luxury property.

The Lanesborough is owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and since its relaunch in 2015 has been managed by the German-based Oetker Collection.

Novella was most recently managing director of Brown's Hotel London for nearly two years. His previous roles also include managing director of Belmond Villa San Michele in Florence, Italy, and general manager of Marriott's Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection hotel, in Venice.

In his new role he will be overseeing operations of the Lanesborough while driving growth and ensuring service excellence in all departments.

Novella said: "I am delighted to be joining Oetker Collection at the helm of the Lanesborough, where my focus aside from the day-to-day operations will be ensuring the seamless guest experience."

Frank Marrenbach, chief executive of Oetker Collection, added: "Marco has such a wealth of experience and I am delighted that he is joining Oetker Collection. I am convinced that he will maintain the level of excellence for which the property is recognised. His fine leadership and expertise will be a great asset in order to carry the Lanesborough successfully into this new chapter."

Exclusive: Geoffrey Gelardi to step down as MD of the Lanesborough >>

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