Gerhard Hecker has been appointed General Manager of the Shanghai JC Mandarin. A German national, he is fluent in English, German and French, and is a veteran in the hospitality industry.

Hecker started his career with the Holiday Inn Group in 1978, and in the 12 years to 1990, he assumed senior management positions with Holiday Inn hotels in Cairo, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

From 1990 to early 2005, he was the General Manager of InterContinental Grand Stanford, Hong Kong. Prior to joining Meritus, he was the Special Projects Consultant for Stanford Hotels International, where he was responsible for hotel project development in Hong Kong, Macau and China for the group.