Kirstie Yates, a former Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) brand developer, has joined De Vere Hotels and Resorts as head of marketing. Yates spent four years in brand development at (M&B), where she worked as a senior marketing manager of O’Neill’s, the Irish pub chain. She joins Deborah Kemp, the chief operating office of the hotel group, who joined from Punch Taverns last year.