Jose Silva is Chief Executive Officer at Jumeirah Group LLC. Born in the Azores islands, Portugal, and raised in Montreal, Canada.
Born in Portugal, he speaks three languages: Portuguese, French and English. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montreal.
Jose Silva studied engineering in his native Quebec, however, after getting exposure to the world of food and beverage working at the local Hilton in Montreal during the summers, it didn’t take him long to eschew his apparent career path and pursue his passion – the culinary world.
After opening a restaurant at just 22 years old, he was plucked away by the Sheraton Montreal to be the chain's youngest catering director. By his late twenties he was working as the catering director and privately developing his own residential real estate units when an opportunity at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts arose.
In his mid-thirties, he was given the opportunity to venture to Europe to work as a general manager for a Four Seasons’ asset in Lisbon. With his European roots he thought it would be an interesting adventure before returning to his businesses back home. He ended up spending seven years in Lisbon, nine in Geneva, and four in Paris, becoming regional vice president overseeing France, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal in the process. As Regional Vice President, he successfully led the most prestigious portfolio of the Four Seasons Collection elevating both product and guests experiences to the highest level.
Silva was appointed general manager of the George V in Paris in 2014, which was already then widely touted as being among the world’s top hotels. That being said, Silva saw room for improvement. He focused on modernizing and expanding its appeal, increasing the number of Michelin-starred restaurants within it from one to three, with a total of five Michelin stars between them.
Silva was awarded ‘Hotelier of the Year’ by Virtuoso, the leading luxury travel agencies network in 2016. Same year, the Georges V was awarded five stars by the Forbes Travel Guide for the first time. In 2019, it was named the best hotel in the world by Virtuoso.
José Silva joined Jumeirah as Chief Executive Officer in March 2018. He brings a wealth of experience with more than 35 years’ in international luxury hospitality. Silva has a history of reviving hotels, with a passion for architecture and an inclination towards fine dining.
As CEO, José is responsible for growing the Group’s luxury portfolio through international expansion overseeing the next phase of dynamic growth whilst building on Jumeirah’s extraordinary success over the past two decades, driving the company to a new era in luxury. José thinks global with always a tactical and local approach.
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