About Us
Founded in 2017, CHIC was created to build a modern, institutional-quality hospitality platform in the Democratic Republic of Congo—developing and owning internationally branded hotels in the country’s most important commercial cities.
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Backed by leading DRC-based business groups with deep operating roots across real estate, construction and core industries, CHIC combines local execution capability with disciplined asset management to deliver hotels that perform—not just at opening, but across their full lifecycle.
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From Kinshasa to Lubumbashi and Kolwezi, CHIC is helping professionalize the market by bringing global brands, strong governance, and high service standards to under-supplied locations—while creating local jobs, skills transfer, and long-term economic impact.
Meet the Team
Suhail Ashok Bhatia
Director Asset Management
Suhail leads the asset management & operations at CHIC, with responsibility for the financial, strategic, and performance oversight of the group’s hospitality portfolio. His role focuses on budgets, capital allocation, asset performance, development oversight, and long-term value protection across operating and development-stage hotels.
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His background includes senior commercial and leadership roles within international hotel groups, as well as experience running an independent consulting business prior to joining CHIC. This combination informs a practical, owner-side approach to asset strategy, grounded in performance discipline, capital efficiency, and alignment with CHIC’s investment objectives.
manish gupta
Chief Financial Officer
Manish leads finance at CHIC, with responsibility for financial governance, capital efficiency, and performance oversight across the group’s hospitality portfolio. His role spans budgeting, financial controls, capital allocation, and stakeholder reporting, with a focus on maintaining discipline and supporting sustainable growth.
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With a background in managing multi-location portfolios across hospitality, real estate, and services, Manish brings a business-first perspective to decision-making. He works closely with ownership and operating teams on financial structure, cost management, and performance improvement initiatives.
Khalil El-Koreh
Technical director, Hospitality
Khalil (KK) oversees technical planning, monitoring, and execution of CHIC’s hotel projects, from development through completion. His responsibilities cover end-to-end delivery on a turnkey basis, ensuring projects are executed in line with scope, quality, timelines, and cost expectations.
With extensive experience in civil construction, Khalil has worked on a range of hospitality and mixed-use developments, including hotels, residential projects, and large-scale infrastructure.
At CHIC, he provides technical oversight across operating assets and new developments, supporting disciplined execution and long-term asset quality.
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