Heineke Brand

Heineke worked from 1998 in human resources specialist positions across a number of industries, and entered the five-star hotel industry in 1998 as HR Manager and an opening team member of Sun International’s Zimbali Lodge & Golf Resort. He was appointed Director of HR at the Table Bay Hotel, and was a member of the Excom team when the hotel was voted Best Luxury Hotel in Africa and the Middle East, and 4th Best Hotel in the World, by Condé Nast Traveler in 2002.

From 2004 to 2010 he was Group Director of Human Resources for Arabella Starwood South Africa, supporting 1,500 employees across two hotels, a wine farm and a brewery and restaurant. He moved to Brussels in 2011 to join the Starwood Africa & Indian Ocean (AFIO) Office as Regional Director of HR, leading the discipline across 34 operating and 23 pre-opening hotels, supporting 12,000 employees across 22 countries. In 2014 he moved the AFIO Office from Brussels to Dubai.

Following the acquisition of Starwood Hotels by Marriott International in 2017, Heineke was appointed Area Director of HR for Sub-Saharan and North Africa. Based in Dubai, he led the discipline across an area comprising 24 countries, 45 operating hotels, 58 pre-opening hotels and 17,000 employees, and in 2018 led the integration of more than 30 Starwood hotels into Marriott’s systems. He returned to South Africa with his family in 2020 and joined the firm.

• LLM, Master of Laws in Labour Law (UCT)
• LLB, Bachelor of Laws (UNISA)
• Bachelor of Arts Honours in HR & Labour Relations (UJ)
• Bachelor of Social Sciences (UFS)

Heineke has worked in multinational corporate human resources and employment law in the hotel and leisure industry since 1992, discharging his duties across Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda.