PBN Leaders & Achievers Awards 2026
FAROUK RAJAB
Rhode Island Hospitality Association CEO and president
Making people comfortable is in Farouk Rajab’s DNA. Rajab was raised in the Middle East, where one of his early jobs was hotel manager. His father was Jordanian; his Lebanese mother was also an American citizen.
“I grew up in a culture of hospitality in Jordan, where you invite people to come in and eat at your table. It’s the Bedouin culture,” he said.
Today, Rajab is the CEO and president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, which has represented the state’s more than 800 food service, hotel, vendor and hospitality members since 1963.
Rajab has been in the hospitality world for more than three decades, working his way up from restaurant host in 1992 to management positions with Marriott and Westin. As general manager of the Providence Marriott Downtown, he led the 354-room hotel through a $25 million renovation, then spent a couple of years as regional director of operations at Colwen Hotels before landing the top job at RIHA in 2024 – an organization he knew well, having served as board chairman from 2017 to 2023.
Rajab says the hospitality field, whose goal is to make guests feel comfortable and safe, speaks to him.
“You’re there for their funerals and bridal showers and graduations. We may see visitors from the beginning of college through their life’s journey,” he said.
But what he finds most rewarding is the opportunity to help employees develop from when they first come to work.
“I may see someone start as a bellman, then move on to food and beverage director and become general manager. I had one employee start at the front desk who moved up to regional manager. To see them happy and successful is rewarding,” Rajab said.
Equally important is the lesson he’s learned through decades of being a leader, which he passes on to others.
“Don’t be afraid or be sorry for something you try or do. You have to take chances,” he said. “You don’t know you can do something until you try. Sometimes I can see things in people that they don’t see in themselves.”
