Dubai’s Marka CEO resigns after less than two years in the role

Dubai retail and hospitality firm Marka has announced that its CEO has resigned after spending less than two years in the position.

Benoit Lamonerie, who was appointed to the role in late May last year, resigned from his position on December 13 for “personal reasons and is no longer working for Marka”, the company revealed in a bourse statement.

“Until a replacement has been appointed, the management of the company will carry on under the supervision of the board of directors,” it added.

Lamonerie’s appointment came five months after former CEO Nick Peel resigned from his position in December 2016.

Read more: Dubai’s Marka appoints new CEO

Marka, which operates hospitality, fashion and beauty and sports outlets across the region, raised $75m in an IPO on the Dubai Financial Market in 2014.

However, the company was forced to restructure operations this year after struggling to become profitable.

In November, Marka also announced a plan to reduce the company’s capital from Dhs500m to Dhs49.87m in a bid to wipe out Dhs450m of accumulated losses.

Followings its cots-cutting programme, the company posted a net profit (EBITDA) of Dhs5.5m for the first nine months of 2018, compared to a loss of Dhs88.3m during the same period last year.