Sarmad Zok: shaping the future of global hospitality
University of Surrey graduate Sarmad Zok - BSc Hotel Management, 1990, has been named Alumnus of the Year in the 2026 Vice-Chancellor’s Alumni Awards, recognising an exceptional career in global hospitality investment, development and leadership
A graduate in Hotel Management, Sarmad is one of the most prominent figures in international luxury hospitality. As Chief Executive Officer of Kingdom Hotel Investments (UK) Ltd, he has led major transactions across global hotel markets and held senior board roles with brands including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, AccorHotels, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. He is also a Director at The Savoy.
Choosing Surrey
Sarmad’s journey began with a clear sense that hospitality was an sector with global promise.
“I was attracted to hotel management because I saw hospitality as an industry with significant long-term potential and international opportunity,” he says. “When I began researching where to study, the University of Surrey stood out as the leading institution in the field.”
What distinguished Surrey was the combination of academic depth and practical relevance.
“The course combined a strong academic and managerial foundation with a practical understanding of hotel operations. That balance felt highly relevant to anyone considering a serious career in hospitality.”
Learning through experience
During his time at Surrey, Sarmad valued opportunities to connect academic study with real industry experience.
“Some of the most valuable experiences were the industrial placements and practical work we undertook during our vacation periods,” he says. “These gave us direct exposure to the industry and helped us connect what we were learning with the realities of the hospitality sector.”
One academic project proved especially relevant: his final-year dissertation on consolidation in the hospitality industry and its marketing implications.
“I have continued to return to that dissertation throughout my career,” he says. “The themes remain remarkably relevant today, particularly as consolidation continues to shape the global hospitality industry.”
From operations to strategy
Sarmad’s early career included roles at Hilton International and HVS International, where he developed the operational and analytical perspectives that would later underpin his work in hospitality investment.
“My operational experience at Hilton gave me an invaluable grounding in the realities of the hotel business,” he says. “At the same time, I was keen to broaden my perspective beyond operations. That led me to make the transition into hospitality consulting with HVS International.”
“The academic foundation I gained at Surrey was instrumental. Without the combination of operational, managerial and analytical disciplines the course provided, stepping from hotel operations into consulting would have been considerably more challenging.”
Building a global hospitality career
Sarmad joined Kingdom Holding Company and became a founding leader of Kingdom Hotel Investments in 2001. Since then, he has helped lead the company through major phases of growth, investment and value creation across luxury hospitality markets.
Joining Kingdom and working with Founder and Chairman His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed was one of the most significant milestones of his career, giving him exposure to hospitality investment on a truly global scale.
His long association with Four Seasons, now extending over more than 30 years, has also been foundational to his understanding of luxury hospitality.
Other major milestones include Kingdom’s investment in Mövenpick and the Fairmont Raffles transaction.
“Our investment in Mövenpick in the late 1990s was an important chapter,” he says. “Over the course of our investment, we helped the company grow approximately fourfold. Just as importantly, I developed strong relationships with its shareholders, many of whom have become lifelong friends.”
The Fairmont Raffles transaction, and its integration into Accor in 2016, was another landmark, allowing him to help create one of the world’s leading global hotel groups.
Leadership principles
Across Initial Public Offerings, mergers and multi-billion-dollar portfolio deals, Sarmad has developed clear principles for leadership.
“The first and most important leadership principle for me has always been intellectual honesty,” he says. “However attractive a transaction may appear, it ultimately has to make commercial sense.”
The second principle is surrounding yourself with the best possible team: complex transactions require expertise, judgement and trust. The third is to think beyond completion, ensuring a deal remains sound for many years.
The future of hospitality
Looking ahead, Sarmad sees artificial intelligence reshaping both travel planning and hotel operations.
“AI will give travellers far greater control over the planning of their journeys,” he says. “Consumers will increasingly use intelligent tools to identify destinations, hotels and experiences aligned with their individual preferences.”
But technology should support, rather than replace, hospitality’s human focus.
“Technology should not diminish the human element that defines our industry; rather, it should enable hotel companies to focus their people and resources more effectively on it.”
Alumnus of the Year
For Sarmad, being named Alumnus of the Year is meaningful recognition from the institution that helped shape the start of his career.
“I have always been extremely grateful for my academic years at Surrey,” he says. “The foundations established during my time at the University have remained relevant throughout my professional life, so being named Alumnus of the Year is a recognition that I genuinely appreciate and value.”
His advice to today’s students and recent graduates is to remain open, curious and committed.
“Skills can be acquired and developed, and attitude is shaped through life and experience, but passion is the fuel that ultimately determines success,” he says. “If your ambitions are high, you need to be genuinely passionate about the work you choose to do.”