Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Marina Smirnova as partner and head of its new hospitality and tourism department in Russia.

Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Marina Smirnova as partner and head of its new hospitality and tourism department in Russia.

She will be joined by Marina Meshcheryakova, senior consultant and Irina Akutova, consultant.

The new Hospitality & Tourism Department will work alongside Richard Tibbott, chairman of Advisory, who has international experience with developing tourism and leisure destinations. The team will also work closely on hotel and resort investment projects with Irina Ushakova, partner in C&W's Capital Markets business.

Smirnova has more than 20 years of experience in the Russian hospitality sector. Until recently she was deputy CEO at JSC Krasnaya Polyana, part of the Sberbank Sochi Olympic development. Previously she worked for four years as senior vice president of Advisory and Valuation Services with Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.

Marina Meshcheryakova joins C&W after seven years in Ernst & Young’s hotel team.

Akutova is a former colleague of Marina Smirnova at JSC Krasnaya Polyana, where she worked as a financial analyst.