HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, July 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 21, 2025, the Board of Directors of Club Med Holding is pleased to announce the appointment of Stéphane Maquaire as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Club Med Holding, effective immediately.
Based on the recommendation of Henri Giscard d'Estaing, Club Med's succession and evaluation process identified Stéphane Maquaire, a French national, as uniquely qualified to lead the company into a new phase of profitable growth. Stéphane Maquaire will lead Club Med Holding from Paris and ensure the preservation of the French identity and values.
The Board wishes to thank Henri Giscard d'Estaing, for his accomplished leadership over the past two decades, which has been instrumental in delivering Club Med's successful transformation and in preparing the company for its next chapter.
Stéphane Maquaire brings strong leadership experience with French companies on the international stage. With deep expertise in premium brand transformation as well as commercial real estate, he has demonstrated a consistent track record of growth, operational excellence and consumer-facing innovation. Stéphane Maquaire joins Club Med from Carrefour, where he served as Executive Director for Carrefour Brazil and Latin America.
As part of its continued commitment to international governance and diversity, two new members will be added to the board. Philippe Heim is a seasoned executive with extensive management experience in France and internationally, while Takuya Yamada, Chairman of IDERA Capital, has collaborated closely with Club Med in recent years.
About Club Med
Founded in 1950 by Belgian water polo player, Gérard Blitz, later joined by French businessman, Gilbert Trigano, Club Med pioneered the all-inclusive concept. With 75 years of rich history, Club Med operates nearly 70 premium beach and mountain resorts in 40 countries spanning across 5 continents with new openings and renovations planned every year, offering even more hidden treasures to worldwide travelers. Club Med celebrates the beauty of the world - and the curiosity of those who inhabit it. Thanks to the support of its shareholder, Fosun Tourism Group, and the success of its repositioning strategy, today Club Med is not only the world leader in premium, all-inclusive vacations, but also a global brand with customers all over the world, cultivating new ideas with enthusiasm and freedom. Club Med employs nearly 28,000 Gentil Organizers (G.Os) and Gentil Employees (G.Es), representing 110 nationalities.
Media Contact
Maneekan Viratham Poonsawat
PR and Communications Manager, Thailand & New Markets
maneekan.virathampoonsawat@clubmed.com
+66 80 207 8885
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Club Med appoints Stéphane Maquaire as President and CEO
ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the landmark fourth edition of the international, open-air biennial exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert X, welcomes visitors to experience a stellar line-up of Saudi and international multi-generational artists whose site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations will engage in a powerful dialogue with the awe-inspiring landscapes and layered heritage of AlUla.
As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in Northwest Saudi Arabia, solidifies its position on the global stage as a dynamic, emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region's first public art biennale, and a key highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.
The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 acclaimed artists whose diverse works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials, and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla's distinctive environment, further cementing Desert X AlUla's reputation as a globally significant platform for site-responsive land art.
Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as a cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Curated by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield, and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores 'Space Without Measure.' Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme fosters contemplation of imagination within AlUla's natural settings. The exhibition, set in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as a pre-opening programme for Wadi AlFann, offering a pivotal glimpse into AlUla's plans to create a permanent land art 'Valley of the Arts.'
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will engage with art that deeply converses with AlUla's unique landscapes and rich heritage. These compelling commissions highlight AlUla's dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. This exhibition is part of our broader revitalisation of AlUla as a culturally rich destination to live, work and visit and integral to positioning AlUla in the global dialogue of contemporary art and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann."
Participating artist/artworks are:
- Sara Abdu, A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance
- Mohammad Alfaraj, What was the Question Again?
- Mohammed AlSaleem, The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla (courtesy of Royal Commission for Riyadh City)
- Tarek Atoui, The Water Song
- Bahraini-Danish, Bloom
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Imole Red
- Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid
- Ibrahim El-Salahi, Haraza Tree
- Basmah Felemban, Murmur of Pebbles
- Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
- Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar
For further information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com
Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of all 11 artists and their artworks can be found here.
About AlUla and Arts AlUla
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes was developed from at least the 12th century and has been revitalised as the vibrant hub for visitors and residents.
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance and shaping a future inspired by artists built be artists. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Wadi AlFann, meaning 'Valley of the Arts,' will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiling from 2028 onwards, where era-defining works by artists from around the world will be permanently sited in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-west Saudi Arabia.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Desert X AlUla 2026: monumental land art exhibition opens in the ancient oasis of AlUla
