Niemann leaves Copos’ Hilton after 5-year term

Friedrich W. Niemann, who has held the general manager position at Athénée Palace Hilton Bucureşti for five years, announced he would leave Romania at the end of this month, to take over the operations of Waldorf Astoria hotel of Berlin. Niemann has been one of the most dynamic members of the expat community in Romania representing the hotel industry. Since 2005, when he came at the helm of the hotel, until 2008, he managed to boost its turnover by around 21%, to 23m euros. Last year, Hilton Bucharest announced a turnover decline by around 25% amid the crisis. German-born, Niemann, with an over 25-year experience in the hotel industry, is the fifth executive leaving the management of a 5-star hotel in the past year and a half domestically. The reins of Bucharest's Hilton hotel, owned by businessman George Copos, will be taken in September by Linda Griffin, who's worked with Hilton Worldwide for 21 years and previously held the position of Cluster General Manager in Turkey, for Adana & Mersin Hilton Hotels.