Heads above the Rest – by Benoit Gateau-Cumin
News of The Boutique Search Firm, a worldwide retained recruiting firm specializing in hospitality management.
THE AMERICAS
Scott Rohm has been appointed by Starwood Capital as President of SH Group, its hotel brand management company. Rohm takes the post previously held by Neil Jacobs (now with Six Senses). Rohm was most recently the President of the Turnberry Hotel Group, following many years with Ritz-Carlton and its spin off the Capella Hotel Group, where he was the Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations.
Gamal Aziz has left MGM Hospitality to become the President and Chief Operating Officer of Wynn Resorts Development. Aziz spent fifteen years with MGM Mirage and had been the President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM Mirage Hospitality since 2007.
Taking over for Christian Tavelli as General Manager at the Mansion on Turtle Creek is Andrea Gates, a Rosewood veteran, who was the Director of Rooms at the Mansion prior to becoming the Hotel Manager at the Carlyle. Since November 2008, Gates had been the General Manager at Rosewood’s Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe.
Philip Dailey is now in Chicago as General Manager of Ian Schrager’s Public, replacing Peter Walterspiel. Dailey was most recently overseeing the Andaz West Hollywood. He is the former General Manager of the SLS at Beverly Hills and the Shangri-La Chiang Mai.
Patrick Birchall has been promoted from General Manager of the Atlanta InterContinental to General Manager and Regional Director of the Willard Intercontinental in Washington, D.C. Birchall is starting his 23rd year with InterContinental.
Kirk Rose has been named President of Marcus Hotels & Resorts in Milwaukee. He most recently was a partner in private equity group Salt Creek Hospitality.
Ralph Scatena has been appointed General Manager at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa. He was the Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Marriott Hotels & Resorts. He is the former General Manager at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa.
John Conway has been appointed General Manager at the One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island. He is the former Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cove Atlantis and the Royal Towers at Atlantis. All three properties are part of Kerzner International’s Paradise Island Resort.
Cristian Sariego takes over from Conway as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Cove Atlantis and the Reef Atlantis Resorts. Most recently, Sariego was the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Santiago.
The Wyndham Orlando Resort has named Rich Larkin General Manager. He was most recently serving as General Manager of the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort.
Caroline Dyal has moved up the coast to take over as General Manager of Santa Barbara’s Canary Hotel. She was most recently overseeing the Hotel La Jolla. She is the former Hotel Manager of the Hotel Palomar and Director of Hotel Operations at the Viceroy Santa Monica. At the Canary, she takes over from Laura McIver, now General Manager of the soon-to-reopen El Encanto.
Matthias Kammerer has moved to the Biltmore in Coral Gables as Managing Director. For the past six years, he had been serving in the same role at Canyon Ranch Miami Beach. He is the former General Manager of the Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne and the Sonesta Beach Resort Anguilla.
Eric Ashton has been named General Manager at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Florida. He is the former Hotel Manager at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.
In the Hilton family, Rick Hayduk has left his post of Managing Director at South Seas Plantation to step into the shoes of Steven Ast at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. As we know, Ast has moved on to the Boulders in Carefree.
Ashley Gochnauer has moved to the Wilshire Hotel as General Manager. She was most recently serving as Hotel Manager at the Hotel Palomar.
Andrea Powers has been named General Manager at LeGrand Center in Shelby, North Carolina. She was most recently overseeing the Richmond Hill City Center in Georgia.
Seabourn has promoted Christopher Prelog to Vice President Hotel Operations and Fleet Purchasing. He has been with the company since 1998, most recently as Director of Hotel Operations, a position he had held since 2008.
Struan Robertson has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Host Hotels & Resorts. He was most recently overseeing global real estate investment banking at Morgan Stanley.
Peter Grills has been promoted General Manager at the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge in Charlotte. He had joined the property as Director of Food and Beverage before moving into his most recent role as Hotel Manager.
Richard Robbins has been appointed General Manager at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North Hotel. Most recently, he was the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront Resort & Spa in Florida.
The Hotel Burnham in Chicago has named Tonya Scott General Manager. She was most recently in Denver, serving as Assistant General Manager at the Hotel Monaco.
Mark Lyttleton-Frances has been named General Manager of the Radisson Aruba. He most recently was General Manager of the BodyHoliday Le Sport in St. Lucia.
The Loews Vanderbilt Hotel has promoted Tony Phillips to General Manager. Phillips most recently was the hotel’s Director of Operations.
Stefan Schmid has been promoted to General Manager at the Sonnenalp in Vail. For the past four years, he had served the resort as Hotel Manager. He had previously served in food and beverage posts with the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, the Four Seasons Carmelo and the Lodge at Vail.
The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino has named Tom Calame General Manager. He was most recently with the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel as General Manager.
Russell Urban has been appointed Executive Vice President of Business Development and Acquisitions at Destination Hotels & Resorts. Most recently, the Cornell graduate had served as Principal and Senior Vice President of Acquisition and Development for HEI Hotels and Resorts.
David Collas will be joining the Mandarin Oriental New York as Hotel Manager. A move up from his current position of Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. He had previously served in food and beverage posts with the Ritz London, the Hotel Martinez in Cannes and the Hotel Lancaster in Paris.
Jen Gilbert has been named Director of Finance for the Hotel Canary in Santa Barbara. She was most recently the Assistant Director of Finance for the Hotel Palomar. She is the former Controller at the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa.
Nick Fielding has been appointed Corporate Director of Restaurants for Noble House Hotels & Resorts. He had previously served with Noble House as Director of Food and Beverage for Little Palm Island Resort & Spa before taking on his most recent role as General Manager for Wilshire Restaurant in Santa Monica.
Anthony Olheiser has been named as Director of Food and Beverage for the Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles and the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE. He was most recently the Director of Entertainment and Development at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. He is the former Assistant General Manager for Tao at the Venetian Resort and Casino.
Michael Manoocheri has joined the Luxe City Center as Director of Food and Beverage. The CIA graduate was most recently in a similar role with the Los Angeles Country Club.
The Hyatt Regency Atlanta has appointed Majed Dawood-Farah Food and Beverage Director. Since 2010, he had served as Food and Beverage Director at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.
Adam Cohen has moved to the Sofitel Los Angeles as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same post at the London West Hollywood. He had previously served in food and beverage posts at the Little Nell and the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.
Dan Fehr has joined the Hotel Jerome in Aspen as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently overseeing food and beverage for the Aspen Skiing Company. He had previously served in food and beverage posts with the Little Nell, the former Four Seasons Aviara, Four Seasons Las Vegas, and Four Seasons New York.
Stephen Calland has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage for the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage at the Sonesta Great Bay Resort & Casino.
Christian Schmidt has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage and Culinary Operations at Terranea. He joined the resort at pre-opening stage in 2008 as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef at Ginn Reunion Resorts and the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C.
Jared Heber is now working for Justin Willett as General Manager for Tyler Winery in Santa Barbara. Heber is the former Beverage Manager at BLT and served as General Manager/Sommelier for Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood.
The Omni Amelia Island Plantation has appointed Alan Barker Director of Security. He was most recently in the same post at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
Elizabeth Fajardo has joined El Encanto as Director of Human Resources. She was most recently in the same role for Carmel Valley Ranch. She is a former Director of Human Resources at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa.
Jesse Herrera has joined Silverado Resort and Spa as Director of Human Resources. Herrera was most recently with Sage Hospitality as Area Director of Human Resources. He is the former Complex Director of Human Resources for Starwood Hotels & Resorts – Waikiki and Assistant Director of Human Resources for the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort.
Sonesta International has named Todd Steinberg Global Account Director. He was most recently in as similar role with Dolce Hotels & Resorts.
Loews Hotels & Resorts has appointed Tracey Gamble Vice President, Acquisitions and Development. The Cornell graduate is a former Vice President with Lubert-Adler Partners and served in the Hospitality & Leisure practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers in both New York and Boston.
Public Relations guru Rachel Harrison, who spent the past three years launching the Andaz brand for Hyatt, has joined Island Outpost as Chief Marketing Officer. She is an alumna of Susan Magrino and Dan Klores.
Palace Resorts has named Frank Corzo Vice President of U.S. Field Sales. He most recently held the title of Vice President of Sales for GOGO Worldwide Vacations/Flight Centre USA.
Kim Wijmer has been appointed Regional Vice President of Sales for Hyatt Hotels. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hyatt Islandia, the Hyatt West Hollywood and, most recently, the Hyatt Regency Long Beach.
Christine Gaudenzi has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for Coppola Resorts. She was most recently overseeing marketing for Woodside Hotels. She had previously served as Vice President of Marketing for Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants in San Francisco. Gaudenzi had previously overseen marketing for Cavallo Point and the Carneros Inn.
Kristi Kavanaugh has joined the Aspen Skiing Company as Director of Sales. For the past two years, she had been at the St. Regis Aspen as Director of Sales and Marketing (her third tour of duty at the property, where she had also served as Sales Manager and returned as Director of Sales from 2002 to 2008, prior to returning in 2010.)
Justin Todd takes over from Kavanaugh as Director of Sales and Marketing at the St. Regis Aspen. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Little Nell, Residences at The Little Nell and the Limelight Hotel. He is the former Director of Sales at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole.
The Westin La Paloma in Tucson has hired James Gelfand as Director of Sales and Marketing. Gelfand is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for Turnberry Isle Miami and the Westin Copley Place.
The Warwick New York Hotel has appointed Kelly Leftheris Director of Sales and Marketing. Leftheris previously was Director of Sales and Marketing at the Crowne Plaza in Clark, New Jersey.
Michelle Shulman has been named Marketing Director for the Bonaventure Resort & Spa. She is the former Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa.
Michele Frank has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Westin Cape Coral Resort. She is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Resort & Casino Aruba and the Westin Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa.
Chris Bracken has returned to the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa as Director of Sales and Marketing. He had held the same post from 1994 to 2007. Bracken oversaw sales and marketing for Doral Resort & Spa and the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club in Redondo Beach.
Cherylanne Thomas has been named Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa and the Westin Las Vegas. She had previously overseen sales and marketing for the Longwood Towers Brookline and the Langham Boston.
Beth Stone has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites MSP Airport – Mall of America. She had previously served in similar roles with the Hotel Ivy, the Common’s Hotel and the Hilton Bloomington.
Kris Kareti has been named Director of Sales and Catering for the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque. He is a former Corporate Director, International Sales Operations for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts.
Karen Whitaker has taken on the role of Senior Sales Manager, Americas, for the Four Seasons Safari Lodge, Serengeti, based in the Midwest. She had previously served in sales positions at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole and the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa.
Jennifer Jones has been named Account Director, Corporate and Travel Industry Sales with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, based in the Chicago Worldwide Sales Office. She was most recently in a similar role with Four Seasons in their New York Worldwide Sales Office. She had previously served in sales positions at the Four Seasons Chicago.
Elizabeth Grillos has left the Standard Downtown LA where she had been the Director of Sales ad Marketing since December 2010, to join Noble House as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining the Standard, Grillos was with Joie de Vivre.
Monica Derchi has been named Director of Sales for the London New York City and the London West Hollywood. She is the former Corporate Director of Sales with Amsterdam Hospitality.
Nathan Carlson has been appointed Senior Sales Manager at the Heathman in Portland. He was previously in similar roles at Portland’s Benson Hotel and the Red Lion on the River.
Jaclyn Payne has been appointed Senior Sales Manager at the Westin Westminster. She was most recently a Sales Manager at Denver’s Hotel Teatro. She had previously served in sales positions for the Sheraton Denver Downtown and the Omni Interlocken Resort and Spa.
Char Miller has been named Marketing Manager for the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. For the past twelve years, she had served as Director of Public Relations for the Ritz-Carlton Hotels of New Orleans.
Corey Conrad has been named Director of Catering for the London West Hollywood. Conrad was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Harry Morton Holdings.
Mario Alcocer has joined the Four Seasons Costa Rica as Executive Chef. He has been with the company for 22 years, starting as a line cook at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Most recently, he was the Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Westlake Village.
Alex Stratta, who made his name at Mary Elaine’s at the Phoenician and Renoir at the Mirage, prior to heading his namesake restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas, where he garnered Two Michelin Stars, is now in Beverly Hills. He has joined Scott Conant’s Scarpetta as Chef de Cuisine.
Tony Esnault has moved to Church & State in Los Angeles and will oversee the kitchen at Spring Restaurant slated to open late this year. He was most recently heading up the kitchen at Patina after serving as Alain Ducasse’s Executive Chef at Adour in the St. Regis New York and ADNY in the Essex House.
Patrick Ponsaty has joined the Ranch at Bandy Canyon in Escondido as Executive Chef for Restaurant Bellamy. He is the former Chef de Cuisine at Mistral for the Loews Coronado.
Willis Loughhead is the new Executive Chef at the Union League Club in Manhattan succeeding Jacques Thiebault who is retiring. For the past three years, Loughhead had served as Executive Chef of the Fairmont Plaza Hotel.
The Commons Hotel Minneapolis has named Roly Cruz-Taura Executive Chef for Beacon Public House. He was most recently running his own restaurant, FIFTY Restaurant & Lounge in Miami.
Andrew Chadwick has been promoted to Executive Sous Chef at the Chatham Bars Inn. The former Chef de Cuisine takes over from Jonathan Haffmans who is teaming with the Inn’s Executive Pastry Chef, Stephen Jones, to open a restaurant and Patisserie in Chatham.
The Broadmoor has named David Patterson Executive Sous Chef of Restaurants. He was most recently in New York at Alain Ducasse’s Adour at the St. Regis New York.
Kurtis Baguley has been named Executive Pastry Chef for the Sea Island Company. He is the former opening Executive Pastry Chef for the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and the Hilton Orlando at Bonnet Creek. He had previously served as Executive Pastry Chef at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City and Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa.
David Collier is returning to Dallas to head up the sweet side of the kitchen at John Tesar’s Spoon. Collier had previously served with Tesar at the Mansion on Turtle Creek where he held the role of Executive Pastry Chef. He was most recently overseeing pastry for the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City.
Clint Clausen has taken over from Nick Fielding as Director of Operations at Wilshire. He was most recently with Pink Taco as Vice President of Operations. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage for the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Jared Hooper has moved to the Raymond Restaurant in Pasadena as General Manager and Sommelier. He was most recently the Sommelier for the now-shuttered Royce in the Langham Huntington Hotel. Hooper had previously overseen the wine programs for the Chateau Marmont and Noir Food & Wine.
Fresh off its opening last month, Alpana Singh’s the Boarding House in Chicago is adding sommelier Dan Pilkey to its team. Pilkey previously worked at the now shuttered RIA as Wine Director and Manager.
The Waldorf Astoria Chicago has promoted Kerri Stokes to Spa Director of the Elysian Spa & Health Club. She had previously served as Assistant Spa Director at the Peninsula Chicago.
EUROPE
Richard Moore has been promoted to Area Vice President UK & Ireland for Carlson Rezidor in Brussels. He joined the company in 2011 as Area Vice President, Park Inn by Radisson, in the UK.
Jochem-Jan Sleiffer has been promoted to Area Vice President Northern and Central Europe at Hilton Worldwide. He has spent more than 20 years with Hilton, most recently as Country General Manager for France.
Christian Tavelli is now in Madrid as General Manager at the Ritz for Orient Express. For the past nine years, he had been with Rosewood Hotels and Resorts most recently at the Mansion on Turtle Creek as General Manager. He is the former Managing Director at the Rosewood San Miguel de Allende.
Pascal Billard is now in Barcelona as General Manager for the Hotel Majestic. For the past four years, he had served as Resident Manager at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée. Billard’s dance card also included seven years with China Grill Management in London, New York and Miami.
Wilhelm Luxem has been appointed Managing Director at the Baur au Lac in Zurich, taking over from Michel Rey who is ending his 30-year tenure as Managing Director with his elevation to the hotel’s board. Rey had followed in the footsteps of his father, Georges Rey, who had served as Managing Director of the Baur au Lac for the previous 30 years. Luxem comes from Cologne where he had been managing sister property, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst, since 2004.
Bruno Chiaruttini has joined L’Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe (formerly the Hilton Paris Arc de Triomphe) as General Manager. He was most recently serving as Area Managing Director, Continental Europe, for Preferred Hotels, based in Paris. Chiaruttini is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for the Majestic Hotel Group in Barcelona. He is the former Director of Sales France for Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts.
Frédéric Picard is now in France as General Manager for L’Apogée in Courchevel, set to open in December. He was most recently the General Manager for Oetker Collection sister property, the Palais Namaskar in Marrakech. Picard is the former General Manager of the Mazagan Beach Resort.
Jean Baptiste Pigeon has been appointed General Manager of the InterContinental Kiev. He has been with InterContinental since 1983, most recently as General Manager for the Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort & Spa. He is the former General Manager of the InterContinental Beirut, the InterContinental Regency Bahrain and the InterContinental Yokohama Grand Japan.
Stephan Reiter has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Sofia in Bulgaria, taking over from Jacques Brune, who is now overseeing the Ankara Hilton. For the past five years, Reiter had managed the Hilton Vienna Danube.
Blanche van Berckel has been appointed General Manager at the Steigenberger Grandhotel (the former Conrad Brussels). She was most recently the General Manager for the Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo in Brussels.
The Hoxton in Shoreditch has promoted Timothy Griffin to General Manager. He was most recently serving the hotel as Director of Operations. He is the former Executive House Manager at the Lancaster London.
Xavier Montembault has been promoted to General Manager at the Wyndham Grand London Chelsea Harbour, taking over for Jay Witzel. Montembault had joined the hotel in 2010 as Head of Operations.
Jean Michel Orieux has returned to Paul UK in London to take on the position of Chief Executive Officer. He had previously served as Managing Director for the company from 2003 – 2006 before moving over to his most recent role as Managing Director for Ping Pong Dim Sum. Orieux is the former Operations Director for the Conran Restaurant Group.
Philip Mahoney has been named Vice President, Food and Beverage at Carlson Rezidor in Brussels. He was previously Area Vice President for Hotel Missoni and Radisson Blu in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Emmanuelle Greth has been appointed Chief Human Resources Officer at Louvre Hotels Group, replacing Vincent Coubard who is leaving the company. Greth had served in similar roles with Canal+ and Hewlett-Packard.
Ralph Aruzza has been named Chief Marketing Officer for Orient Express, based in London. He was most recently with Rosewood Hotels as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining Rosewood, Aruzza spent four years at McKinsey & Company.
Scott Hermiston has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London. He is the former Director of Sales for Apex Hotels.
Anne Jensen has been appointed Director of Sales for Western Europe for the Jumeirah Group, based in London. For the past ten years, she had been working for Millennium & Copthorne, most recently as Sales and Marketing Director for the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels at Chelsea Football Club.
Velimir Burazor has been appointed Business Development Manager – Corporate for the InterContinental Park Lane London. He was most recently with the Crowne Plaza Zurich as Assistant Director of Sales.
Ray Kearney has been promoted to Sales and Marketing Director for the Lodge at Doonbeg in County Clare, Ireland. He joined the hotel in 2009 as Marketing Manager.
Kathrin Wildeshaus has been appointed Director of Global Sales, Corporate, UK and Ireland, & Scandinavia for the Jumeirah Group based in London. Most recently, she was Corporate Account Director of the Global Sales Office for Park Plaza Hotels Europe.
Elodie Lacroix has been appointed Director of Global Sales for France & Benelux at Jumeirah Group. Most recently, she was overseeing sales and marketing for the Arora London, the Arora Manchester as well as the Sofitel London Heathrow.
Keith McNally is opening a London Balthazar and has installed Robert Reid as Executive Chef. Reid was most recently overseeing the kitchens at Marco Pierre White’s Oak Room. Also joining with Reid is Regis Beauregard, former Ritz Head Pastry Chef, who will head up the bakery next door to the restaurant and former Savoy Grill Maître d’ Byron Lang as General Manager.
The Four Seasons Budapest Gresham Palace has named Leonardo di Clemente Executive Chef. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef at the former Four Seasons Tokyo at Chinzan-So.
Emil Minev will be opening the Shangri-La London as Executive Chef. He transfers from a similar position at the Shangri-La Tokyo. Prior to joining Shangri-La, Minev was the Executive Sous Chef at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower. He honed his skills at the Ritz London.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Neil Jacobs has joined Six Senses Resorts and Spas as Chief Executive Officer. He was most recently with Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group as President, Global Hotel Operations. Jacobs had previously spent fourteen years with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts most recently in the position of Senior Vice President Asia Pacific.
GHM Singapore has appointed Hansjörg Meier Senior Vice President. Meier previously was General Manager of the Setai South Beach, a former GHM property. Meier had also served GHM as General Manager of the Legian Bali.
Guy Hutchinson has been appointed Vice President, Operations – India for Hilton Worldwide. He was most recently serving the company in the role of Regional General Manager for North China.
After five years at the helm of the W Seoul Walker Hill, Nick Heath is opening the W Bangkok. Heath lived in Bangkok prior to moving to Seoul, when he was a Regional General Manager for InterContinental.
Kapil Chopra has been promoted to President at the Oberoi Group. Most recently, he was serving as Executive Vice President.
InterContinental has named Keith Barr Chief Commercial Officer. Barr was most recently serving IHG as Chief Executive, Greater China.
IHG has named Kenneth MacPherson Chief Executive, Greater China taking over from Barr. MacPherson was most recently General Manager and board director of Diageo’s Sichuan Shuijingfang Co.
Tim Weiland is now in Beijing as General Manager for the Aman at Summer Palace. For the past two years, the Lausanne graduate had served as Hotel Manager at Amanbagh. He had previously served in food and beverage roles for Amanjena and the Banyan Tree Maldives.
Sonia Lefevre has been appointed General Manager at the Langham Sydney. She was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Langham Hong Kong.
John Halpin has joined the Oberoi Bali as General Manager, taking over from Kamal Kaul. Halpin is the former General Manager of the Oberoi Lombok and had previously overseen Uma by COMO Paro in Bhutan, Uma by COMO Shambhala Estate and Uma by COMO Ubud, both in Bali.
Vietnam’s La Résidence Hotel has named Phan Trong Minh General Manager. He joined the hotel in 2007 as Front Office Manager.
Alex Willats has been appointed General Manager at the Dusit Thani Manila. He was most recently in the same role for the Dusit Thani Bangkok.
James Wilson takes over from Willats as General Manager at the Dusit Thani Bangkok. Wilson was most recently overseeing the Dusit Thani Dubai.
Christopher Clark has been appointed General Manager at the soon-to-open Ritz-Carlton Chengdu. He was most recently the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Seoul. Clark also served as Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo.
Bennet Chang has been appointed General Manager of the Wedgewood Residences by Swiss-Belhotel in Kuala Lumpur. He had previously served as Executive Assistant Manager Sales and Marketing for the Mövenpick Saigon and the Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur.
Herry Firmansyah has been appointed General Manager of the Swiss-Belhotel Tarakan. He is the former Executive Assistant Manager for the Hotel Santika Premiere Jakarta.
Six Senses Resorts and Spas has named George Tanzman Chief Financial Officer. He is the former Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Sydney and had previously spent ten years as Area Director of Finance with Four Seasons. Most recently, he was at the Four Seasons Lanai as Resort Manager.
Gianni Costa has been promoted to Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Hong Kong, taking over from Francois-Régis Simon, now at the Four Seasons Shenzhen as Hotel Manager. Costa joined the hotel in 2010 as Assistant Food and Beverage Director. He is the former Assistant Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Damascus and the Four Seasons Nevis.
Franck Chantoiseau has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Bora Bora. He was most recently serving as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Riyadh.
Jasjit Assi has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai. He joined the hotel in 2011 as Director of Restaurants and Bars.
The Paresa Phuket has appointed Donna Toon Food and Beverage Director. She is the former General Manager for Per Aquum Resorts in the Maldives.
Meg Galletti is the new Vice President Human Resources at Six Senses Resorts and Spas. She is the former Vice President of Human Resources for Sea Island Company, Rosewood Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons.
Debby Thio has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the Regent Bali, slated to open in June. Thio was most recently the Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts.
Federica Brugnara has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Park Hyatt Saigon. She had previously served in sales and marketing roles for the Park Hyatt Beijing and the Park Hyatt Dubai.
Vineet Mahajan has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the AYANA Resort and Spa Bali. He is the former Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Gurgaon and the Westin Sohna Resort and Spa.
Langham has appointed Vivienne Gan to the newly-created position of Vice President of Public Relations. Most recently, she headed the global public relations division at Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Prior to that, she was with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company as Regional Director of Public Relations, Middle East and Africa.
The Four Seasons Bangkok has promoted Khun Shaisang to Director of Rooms. She had previously served the hotel as Director of Housekeeping, and most recently, Assistant Director of Rooms.
Anna Bjurstam has joined Six Senses Resorts and Spas as Vice President Spa. She is the owner of Raison d’Etre.
Jan-Peer Lehfeldt has joined the Four Seasons Bali at Jimbaran Bay as General Manager of Sundara Restaurant. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Mumbai as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Laurent Branover has joined the Palais Namaskar in Marrakech as General Manager, taking over from Frédéric Picard. Branover was previously with Raffles Singapore as Hotel Manager. He is the former Assistant General Manager for the Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo and Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Shangri-La Singapore.
Prateek Kumar has been appointed General Manager at the Dusit Thani Dubai, taking over from James Wilson. Kumar was most recently overseeing the Dusit Thani Manila.
Veteran Hilton General Manager Jean-Pierre Mainardi is back in Cairo as General Manager of the Conrad. He had been the General Manager of the old Nile Hilton from 2002 to 2007, prior to opening the Conrad Shanghai and the Hilton Sanya.
Martin Cramer has been appointed General Manager of the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort, taking over from Thomas van Opstal. Cramer previously was the General Manager of the Sheraton Muscat Hotel.
Frank Eikeland has been appointed General Manager at the Radisson Blu El Quesier. Since 2010, he had served as General Manager for the Park Inn by Radisson, Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.
Garry Friend has been appointed General Manager at the Grand Hyatt Muscat. Since 2007, he had served as General Manager for the Grand Hyatt Doha.
Michael Nugent has been named General Manager at the Mövenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai. He is the former General Manager at the Mövenpick Hotel and Apartments Bur Dubai and the Mövenpick Hotel Deira.
Mahmoud El Keiy has rejoined the Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza to take on the post of Hotel Manager. He had previously served the hotel as Director of Sales and Marketing and was most recently the Hotel Manager for the Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano.
The One&Only Royal Mirage, Dubai has named Nicolas Messian Hotel Manager. The Lausanne graduate was most recently at Soneva Fushi by Six Senses as Resort Manager.
Stefan van der Kruyf was named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi. Most recently, he was the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Banyan Tree Al Wadi, Ras Al Khaimah.
Amin Al Huneidi has been appointed Director of Sales at the St. Regis Doha. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at Al Sondos Suites and Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Méridien in Dubai.
Sebastiano Spriveri has been named Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus. He is the former Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Canary Wharf and had served in culinary roles for the Four Seasons Milano and the Four Seasons Cairo.
Le Méridien Abu Dhabi has named Patrick van Velzen Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef for the Sheraton Rhodes.
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