Kempinski Group leaders have spent the last two years telling anyone who would listen that Europe's oldest luxury hotel company plans to grow bigger, denser, and decidedly more asset-heavy. It now has an executive whose entire job is making that happen.
The company this month named Noel Attard as chief development officer, handing the 20-year Kempinski veteran oversight of global portfolio expansion across targeted acquisitions, management contracts, branded residences, and brand debuts in both priority and emerging markets. Attard steps up from chief transformation officer, a role he took on in early 2025 — meaning the strategy he is now charged with executing is largely one he wrote.
“As the author of our development strategy, Noel is uniquely positioned to step in and oversee its end-to-end execution, continuing his efforts to strengthen Kempinski’s luxury proposition through disciplined expansion,” said René Nijhof, chairman of Kempinski S.A., in a statement.
The appointment lands at a pivotal moment for the 73-hotel company. Kempinski CEO Barbara Muckermann, who first laid out her three-pillar vision at ILTM in 2024 — elevate the brand, go asset-heavy, and expand into key destinations — made her boldest move yet this spring with the acquisition of Augustine Hotel, Prague, Kempinski’s first hotel purchase in more than 50 years.
She has been blunt about why ownership matters in building a curated ultra-luxury collection, telling Luxury Travel Advisor in April: “You need to put the money on the table.”
Attard’s remit covers the rest of that map: filling gaps in European capitals and luxury leisure destinations, deepening Kempinski’s strength in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and, eventually, cracking North America, where a branded residential project in Miami’s Design District is already underway.
He brings operator credentials to the dealmaking seat. Attard’s two decades with Kempinski span group-level strategic planning, more than 10 years as CEO of Kempinski Trading DMCC in Dubai, earlier stints as financial controller and general manager, and hotel openings including Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz in Gozo, and Kempinski Hotel Adriatic in Croatia.
“This next phase is about capturing immediate opportunities while ensuring seamless continuity with our brand heritage and portfolio of storied hotels across the world,” Attard said. “We have built a robust roadmap that is true both to Kempinski’s storied history and its growth-forward trajectory, and our priority is to execute that plan in full alignment with our core values to deliver the results we are known for.”
Kempinski currently operates 73 properties in 33 countries, with more than 21 projects under development. Turning that pipeline into flags is now Attard’s problem to solve.
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