Global update of who is moving where and from where - keep track of old colleagues and friends or find lost ones, brought to you by The Boutique Search Firm.
Featuring: February 2009 movements.
THE AMERICASScott Geraghty, who had been the Managing Director of New York's St. Regis since May 2004, has moved over to the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South as Area Vice President and General Manager.
James Treadway, founder/CEO of MTM Luxury Lodging, becomes the Managing Director of Boston's Liberty Hotel. A Cornell graduate, Treadway started MTM in Seattle in 1995 and was awarded the management contract for the Liberty in 2003. He was previously the President of Westin Hotels.
John Russell has been appointed Senior Vice President Operations at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida, as well as Regional Vice President for Intrawest Hospitality Management. Prior to joining Intrawest, Russell was a partner in Horst Schulze's West Paces Hotel Group, while also serving as Vice President and Managing Director at the Daufuskie Island Resort in South Carolina. He had previously held the position of Vice President and General Manager at the Hotel at Auburn University.
Tropicana Las Vegas has named Ron Thacker President. He was most recently the Vice President of Casino Operations at Fontainebleau Resorts.
Frank Fredericks has been promoted to Managing Director for Destination's Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston. For the past five years, he had served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the resort. Previously, Fredericks worked as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Monarch Hotel in Washington D.C. before it was sold to Fairmont.
Marylouise Fitzgibbon, who had been the General Manager of the W Atanta at Perimeter Center, is now the General Manager of the W Buckhead, also in Atlanta.
Fernando Garcia moves from the Las Palomas Beach and Golf Resort in Puerto Penasco to the soon-to-open Riviera Maya Grand Velas resort.
Grant Friedman is the opening General Manager of the Gansevoort Turks and Caicos. His career started at the Pierre and took him to the St. Regis New York, the Muse Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South.
Lausanne graduate Simon Rusconi has been named General Manager of the St. Regis Atlanta, slated to open in March. A twelve-year Starwood veteran, he was most recently the General Manager of the (former) Sheraton Tahiti and Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa.
Jim Beley has joined the Umstead Hotel and Spa as General Manager. He most recently served as General Manager of the Inn at Palmetto Bluff for Auberge Resorts. Previously, he spent ten years as Director of Lodging Operations for the Kohler Company, following twelve years with Ritz-Carlton, ending his tenure with the company as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia.
Duncan Clements has been named General Manager of Kimpton's Hotel Burnham. He was previously the Assistant General Manager for the Hotel Monaco Chicago, before taking on his most recent position for Kimpton as General Manager of the Hotel Lumen in Dallas. He had previously been with the InterContinental Budapest as Executive Assistant Manager.
Tim Thuell has been appointed General Manager of the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda. He was most recently the General Manager at the Chanler in Newport. He had previously served as General Manager for Meadowood, the Point and Nisbet Plantation. Christine Sullivan takes over for Thuell at the Chanler as Hotel Manager.
The Hotel Duval in Tallahassee has appointed Marc Bauer General Manager. Most recently, he was overseeing the pre-opening of the Grand Bohemian Asheville. He had previously served as General Manager of the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine and Managing Director of the Brasstown Valley Resort in Georgia.
Mark Jeffrey has been named General Manager of the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. A 28-year Marriott veteran, he was, for the past seven years, the General Manager of the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa. Jeffrey had held previous posts as General Manager of the Omaha Marriott, and Director of Operations at Marriott's Tan-Tar-A Resort & Golf Club.
Cornell graduate Ilan Segal is the new Managing Director of the Gansevoort South Hotel Spa and Residences in Miami. He had previously overseen such Miami hotels as the Hotel Victor and the Tides. At the Gansevoort, he takes over from Robert Van Eerde, who opened the property.
Scott Stuckey has been appointed General Manager of the Omni Bedford Springs Resort. Stuckey has been with Omni since 2005 and previously served as General Manager of the Omni Jacksonville.
Kimpton has appointed Marco Eduar Scherer General Manager of their recently acquired property, the Vero Beach Hotel & Spa. For the past three years, Scherer had served as General Manager of the Hotel Madera in Washington D.C. He had previously served as General Manager of the Royal St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans and as Assistant General Manager of the Hotel Monaco Chicago.
Donald Anderson has been appointed General Manager of the Lorien Hotel & Spa, due to open this month in Old Town Alexandria. He was most recently the General Manager of Kimpton's Hotel Rouge in Washington D.C.
Erik Dahlerbruch has joined the Pacific Edge Oceanfront Resort in Laguna Beach as General Manager. For the past year, he had been with the Westmont Hospitality Group – Miami as Corporate Sales and Marketing Director. Previously, he had been with the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau as Vice President, Hotel Sales and held sales positions for Hilton, Renaissance and Sheraton.
Danni Williams has been appointed General Manager at the Renaissance Atlanta Downtown. Since 2004, she had been the General Manager of the Renaissance Charleston. Williams had previously served as General Manager at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort & Convention Center and Director of Operations at the Atlanta Marriott Century Center.
Diane Mombourquette has been promoted to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia. She was most recently the opening General Manager of the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort.
Peter Webster has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Short Hills. He most recently served as General Manager of the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau. He had previously served as General Manager of the Hilton Curacao, and Hotel Manager of the Drake in Chicago.
Edwin Frizzell has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Toronto. He was most recently the General Manager of the W Chicago City Center.
Christian Tavelli has transferred within Rosewood Hotels to the soon-to-open Sand Hill as Hotel Manager until this summer when he will join Rosewood's new property in San Miguel de Allende as pre-opening Managing Director. For the past three years, he had been at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, most recently as Resort Manager.
Rachel Moniz has joined the Liberty Hotel in Boston as Hotel Manager. She was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Ivy Hotel in San Diego. She had previously held management positions for the Sheraton Boston, the St. Regis Aspen, and the W San Diego.
Jimmy Palmer has been named Hotel Manager of the Fairmont San Francisco. Most recently, he served as Corporate Director of Rooms for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in the Middle East, based in Dubai. He was previously the Director of Housekeeping and Director of Rooms for the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. In addition, he spent ten years with Four Seasons in the United States and internationally.
Vanessa Williams returns to Raffles L'Ermitage Beverly Hills in the dual role of Hotel Manager and Director of Sales and Marketing. She had originally joined the hotel in 1999 and served as its Director of Sales and Marketing for five years. She then relocated to Hong Kong, first as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong for four years, before moving into her most recent position as Director of Marketing for the InterContinental Hong Kong.
Sergio Bocci has joined the Beverly Hilton as Director of Operations. He was most recently in the same position at La Quinta in Palm Springs. He had previously been with the (former) Four Seasons Newport Beach as Executive Housekeeper.
Caroline Dyal has joined the Chamberlain West Hollywood as Operations Manager. She was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at the Avalon Beverly Hills and Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Viceroy Santa Monica.
Edwin van Rooijen has transferred to the InterContinental Buckhead as Rooms Division Director. For the past two years, he had been with the InterContinental New Orleans as Director of Rooms. He had previously held various rooms management positions at the InterContinental San Juan, the InterContinental The Barclay and the InterContinental Miami.
Daniel Neumann has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with The Leading Hotels of the World. He has been with the company since 1998 and was appointed Senior Vice President of Finance in 2002. Prior to that, he served as Corporate Controller for the Lowell Hotel in New York and L'Ermitage, Beverly Hills.
David Quinn has moved to Las Vegas as Director of Finance for the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas Hotel and Residences. He was most recently the Director of Finance at the Setai Miami. He had previously held top financial posts in Florida with the Fisher Island Club, the Roney Palace Resort and the Shore Club.
Jon Sakshaug has joined the Garrett Hotel Group in Vermont as Chief Financial Officer. His past hotel experience includes serving as Director of Finance in San Antonio for La Mansion del Rio and the Watermark Hotel and Spa. In addition, was the Controller for the Hotel Teatro in Denver, and the Swissôtel Atlanta. For the past two years, he had been the Vice President Finance for the Everlands Life Conservancy and Sporting Society.
Keith Poehlman has been named Controller for the Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach. He was most recently the Controller for Tao in Las Vegas. Prior to that, he served as Regional Controller for HEI Hotels and later Starwood Hotels.
Shawn Jervis has joined Terranea as Director of Food and Beverage. He was previously in the same position at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. He had also served in food and beverage management positions with the Grand Wailea Resort, and the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn.
The Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans has named Hector Rubio Director of Food and Beverage. For the past two years, Rubio was at the W Los Angeles as Director of Catering and Convention Services.
Anton Barich has been appointed Director of Operations, Food and Beverage, at the JW Marriott Cherry Creek in Denver. He had held previous food and beverage positions with Hard Rock restaurants in Las Vegas and La Jolla. Most recently he ran Mercat a la Planxa at the Blackstone Hotel Chicago.
Jeffrey Palmer has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Accor North America. He joined the company in 2007 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Claudia Kozma Kaplan has been appointed Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications with The Leading Hotels of the World. She joined the company in 2003 as Vice President of Corporate Communications. Prior to that, she was the Director of Public Relations and Special Events for the Société des Bains de Mer in Monte Carlo.
Lesli Reynolds has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President of Global Distribution & Revenue Strategy for Omni Hotels. She has been with the company for twenty years, most recently as Vice President of Operations. She had previously served as General Manager for the Omni Austin Southpark, the Omni Austin Downtown and the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh.
The New York Palace has hired Dianna Balabon as Director of Sales and Marketing, taking over from David Taylor. Balabon was most recently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Trump International based at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York. She had previously served as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Peninsula Hotels, Director of Marketing at the Peninsula New York and Director of Sales for The Leading Hotels of the World.
Thatcher Brown has been promoted to Vice President, Brand Strategy and Management, for the Jumeirah Group. A graduate of Cornell University, he had been the Director of Sales and Marketing at Jumeirah's Essex House since May 2006. Brown previously served as Executive Director, Brand Marketing and Communications for Fairmont Hotels.
Taking over from Thatcher Brown as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Jumeirah Essex House is Simon Barnett. He was most recently based in London, overseeing sales and marketing for both the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and its sister property, the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel. He had previously held sales and marketing positions for the Trafalgar Hilton, the London Hilton on Park Lane and the (former) Langham Hilton.
Carolyn Harber is now with the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club as Director of Sales and Marketing. She was previously overseeing sales and marketing with Palisades Development. She also held sales and marketing positions at the Viceroy Santa Monica, the Mondrian Hollywood, and the Miramar Sheraton Hotel & Bungalows.
Michael Mustafa is now with the St. Regis Monarch Beach as Director of Sales and Marketing. He had previously served in sales and marketing positions with the Westin South Coast Plaza, the Sheraton Gateway and Interstate Hotels.
Tyler Orwig has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables. He was previously part of the opening sales team at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio.
Patrick Blangy has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Taj Boston. He had previously overseen sales and marketing for the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa on Maui and Orient Express' Windsor Court in New Orleans.
Hal Barth has been named Director of Sales for the Crowne Plaza Cromwell in Connecticut. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Biltmore in Providence, Rhode Island and previously the Director of Sales for the Crowne Plaza Hartford Downtown.
Alicia Junca joins Kimpton as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel Palomar Atlanta. Previously, Junca was responsible for sales and marketing at Twelve Hotels & Residences.
Garry Perotin has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the Regent Palms Turks and Caicos. Perotin joins the resort from Entrée Destination, based in Vancouver and was previously the Senior Director of Sales at GOGO Worldwide Vacations.
Robert Wentworth has been promoted with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts to Director of Sales Asia Pacific, based in Los Angeles. For the past three years, he had served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Previously, he held the title of Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach.
Adi Sidhwa has joined the Andaz Wall Street as Director of Sales and Marketing. Sidhwa was most recently the Associate Director of Sales at the Grand Hyatt New York. He had previously served in sales and marketing positions for the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel, the Radisson Lexington Hotel, and Taj Hotels.
Jeremy Brook has transferred to the Peninsula New York as Director of Marketing. For the past two years, he had served in the same position at the Peninsula Beijing. Brook had previously held various sales and marketing positions with the China World Beijing, Starwood in Sydney, and Sandals Resorts.
Christopher Hamaway has transferred with Ritz-Carlton to run the New York Sales Office as Senior Corporate Director. For the past year, he had been involved in the pre-opening team of the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage as Director of Sales and Marketing. He had previously overseen sales and marketing for the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.
The Westin New York at Times Square has appointed Mary Beth O'Connor Director of Sales and Marketing. For the past two decades, she had been at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers with the last four years in the role of Director of Sales.
Cindy Lew has moved to Florida to take over as Director of Marketing at the Loews Don Cesar. For the past three years, she had held the same role at the Loews Denver. She had previously served in various sales and marketing positions at the Loews Santa Monica, the Viceroy Santa Monica, and the Loews New York.
Rob Cameron has joined the Procaccianti Group in San Diego as Western Regional Director of Sales. This is a return to sales and marketing for Cameron after spending the past year as General Manager of the Hotel Solamar. Previously, he held various sales and marketing positions with Hyatt at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, the Park Hyatt Los Angeles and the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.
Martha Palacios has joined the New York Palace as Director of Sales from her most recent position at the Regency as Director of Group Sales.
Maryellen VanRoyen, most recently the Director of Transient Sales at the New York Palace, has moved over to the Regency as Director of Sales.
And… Joe Gaeta, previously the Director of Sales at the New York Palace has moved over to the Regency as Director of Sales and Marketing.
Gary Kohler has been named Director of Sales for the Westin San Francisco. He moves from his most recent position as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel Whitcomb San Francisco.
The Lorien Hotel & Spa has named Joy Whiddon Director of Sales. She was most recently the Director of Business and Travel Industry Sales at the Fairmont Washington D.C. Previously, Whiddon was the Director of Business Travel Sales for the Capital Hilton and the Hilton Washington.
Carey Rushatz, who had been the Director of Sales at On the Ave Hotel, is now Director of Business Travel Sales for its owner, Highgate Hotels. Rushatz had previously held the position of Director of Business Transient Sales at the Hilton Newark Penn Station and the Doubletree Hotel Newark Airport.
Frank Dee has been named Director of Sales at the Crowne Plaza Times Square. He was most recently with the London NYC Hotel as Senior Sales Manager. Anne Stingle takes over for Dee as Senior Sales Manager at the London.
Jim Mooney has been named Director of Sales for the Westin New York at Times Square. He was most recently in the same position at the Millennium Broadway.
Robert Susswein has been named National Sales Manager for the Riviera Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. He was most recently with the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage as Senior Sales Manager. He had previously served in sales and marketing positions for the Le Merigot Santa Monica, the New York Palace, and the Peninsula New York.
Harry Lunt has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera. He had previously served in various sales and marketing roles for the Waldorf=Astoria, and the Westin Long Beach.
The Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey has appointed James Sheets Director of Business and Leisure Travel Sales. He has been with Ritz-Carlton for eleven years, most recently in sales for the Ritz-Carlton Hotels of Atlanta.
April Murena has joined the Peninsula New York as Director of West Coast Sales. She was most recently the Director of Business and Entertainment Sales at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
Charles Fitzer has joined the Montage Beverly Hills as Director of Sales. He was most recently the Director of Sales for the Hotel Bel-Air after serving as the hotel's Director of Guest Relations.
Peter d'Elia has moved to Taj Hotels at the Pierre as Senior Corporate Sales Manager. For the past ten years, he had been with the (former) Rhiga Royal New York, staying through the transition to the London New York in his most recent position as Sales Manager.
Jeffrey Martin has been appointed Director of Revenue Optimization for Terranea Resort. He was most recently the Director of Revenue Management at the Grand Del Mar. He had previously served as Revenue Management Analyst for the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego.
Alain Ducasse has brought in Pierre Schaedelin as Executive Chef and a partner at Benoit New York. Current chef, Sébastien Rondier, who opened the restaurant, will now be the Chef de Cuisine. Schaedelin had been the Executive Chef at Le Cirque, and, for the past two years, had been Martha Stewart's personal chef.
Maria Manso is the new Executive Chef at Miami Beach's Delano Hotel and its Blue Door restaurant. Manso, a veteran of kitchens with Norman van Aken and China Grill Management, most recently ran her own restaurant in Marin County, Maria Manso World Cuisine.
Gilt at the New York Palace has promoted Justin Bogle to Executive Chef. Since 2006, he had served as Executive Sous Chef under former Executive Chef Christopher Lee, until Lee's departure to Aureole. Bogle had previously served in the kitchens at Striped Bass and Alma de Cuba, both in Philadelphia.
Jeffrey Lunak has joined La Quinta in Palm Springs as Executive Chef. For the past two years, he had been in the same position at the Parker Palm Springs.
Nathan Coulon has been promoted to Executive Chef of the Ivy Hotel San Diego. He moved up from his position as Sous Chef at the hotel's Quarter Kitchen to take over from Damon Gordon, who is now the Executive Chef at the Jefferson in Washington D.C.
Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa in Florida has named David Scalise Executive Chef. Scalise comes from the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa in Dana Point.
Brian Redzikowski is the new Executive Chef at BondSt in the Thompson Beverly Hills, replacing Hiroshi Nakahara. Redzikowski had previously held various culinary positions at Matsuhisa Aspen and Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
Jason Rogers has been appointed Executive Chef at the JW Marriott Cherry Creek in Denver. Most recently, he was the Executive Chef at the St. Julian Hotel and Spa in Boulder. He had previously served as Executive Chef at the St. Regis Aspen and the Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City.
Jean-George Vongerichten has chosen David Foot as Executive Chef at Market in the Shangri-La Vancouver. He had previously held culinary positions at the Shangri-La Marina in Cairns and, most recently, at the Pudong Shangri-La in Shanghai.
Billy Boyle has joined what is now called the Sé Hotel in San Diego as Executive Chef for Suite and Tender. He was most recently at David Burke at the Venetian Las Vegas as Chef de Cuisine. He had previously served in culinary positions for Jer-Né at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, and Small Point Resort in Maine.
Mark Pollard has returned to Hotels AB to join the Standard Hollywood as Executive Chef. He was previously the Executive Chef with Hotels AB for the Standard Hotels in New York and Los Angeles. Previously, he served as Executive Sous Chef at N9NE Steak in Palm Springs.
Brix, formerly 25° Brix, in Napa Valley, has named Anne Gingrass Paik Executive Chef. Gingrass Paik had opened Postrio with Wolfgang Puck before going on to open the (former) Hawthorne Lane with former husband David Gingrass.
Brix in Napa Valley has added new Pastry Chef Danielle Broucious. She previously worked at Boulevard in San Francisco.
T. J. Pierri has joined RockResorts at the Arrabelle at Vail Square as Director of Rooms. He was most recently the Director of Rooms for the Fairmont Turnberry Isle.
Jenny Farrand has been appointed Spa Director at the Capella Telluride. She was most recently the Spa Director for the Linden Spa at the Inn at Perry Cabin, an Orient-Express Hotel.
EUROPEFranck Farneti has joined the soon-to-open Cap d'Antibes Beach Hotel as General Manager. For the past two years, he had been the General Manager at the Mas de Pierre in St Paul de Vence. Farneti had previously served as General Manager of the Hotel Juana in Juan Les Pins and in sales and marketing roles for the Groupe Boscolo and the Carlton InterContinental, both in Cannes.
Grégory de Clerck has moved to Athens to the position of Complex General Manager of the Astir Beach complex overseeing the Westin Athens, Arion Resort and Spa and the W Athens for Starwood. He was most recently in Tenerife as General Manager of the Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa.
Jens Wycisk is the new Director of the Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona, replacing Jean-Jacques Baur. Wycisk had previously held management positions for the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa Interlaken.
Marten Schoenrock is the new General Manager of the InterContinental Bucharest. Schoenrock is replacing Jonathan Soper at the helm of the hotel. He has been with Intercontinental for seventeen years. Before taking office in Bucharest, Schoenrock was the General Manager of the InterContinental Berlin for the past two years.
At the Langham London, Managing Director Katie Benson takes over from Duncan Palmer, who takes over from Benson at the Langham Hong Kong.
Gaetano Petruzzella has been appointed Operations Manager at the Boscolo New York Palace, Budapest . He was previously the Director of Food and Beverage for the hotel.
Loic Launay is moving to Paris to join the Hôtel de Crillon as Food and Beverage Manager, back with his old General Manager from Monaco, Jean Claude Messant. Launay worked with Messant when he served as General Manager of Restaurant Joël Robuchon in the Hôtel Métropole. He was most recently at Joël Robuchon at the Mansion in the MGM Grand Las Vegas as General Manager. He had previously overseen Maxim's Monte-Carlo and the restaurant of La Réserve de Beaulieu.
Gonzalo Güelman Ros has joined the Ritz-Carlton Santiago as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously been with the Conrad Punta del Este as Executive Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.
Florian Wolf has joined the Radisson SAS Hotel Berlin as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Sales at Schloss Velden in Austria. He previously held Sales Manager positions for Kempinski in Berlin and Hamburg as well as serving as Director of Sales at the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg.
Gaëlle Grelat has been named Major Accounts Manager for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. She was most recently the Sales and Marketing Manager at the Hôtel du Louvre.
Jeannine Perie has moved over as Director of Sales for the W Barcelona, slated for an October 2009 opening. For the past seven years, she had been the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Méridien Barcelona. She had previously overseen sales and marketing for the Westin La Quinta Hotel and Golf Resort and the Hotel Alfonso XVIII.
Olivier Daurat has been promoted to Global Sales Manager for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. He had previously held sales and operations positions for Concorde including at the Hotel Concorde La Fayette.
Peter Zampaglione has been named Executive Chef for the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona scheduled to open this year. He was previously the Sous Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay before moving with Ritz-Carlton to Portugal as Executive Chef of the Penha Longha Hotel and Golf Resort.
Fabien Fayolle has transferred with the Luxury Collection to the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens as Pastry Chef. He was most recently in the same position at the Luxury Collection Colombo's Resort in Portugal. He was previously the Pastry Chef at Le Méridien Bora Bora and the Hyde Park London.
Pascal Nibaudeau has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux. He was previously the Chef de Cuisine at the hotel's restaurant, Le Pressoir d'Argent. As Executive Chef, he takes over from Laurent Coste, who has left the group.
ASIA AND THE PACIFICMarkland Blaiklock has been appointed Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, for Sofitel, replacing Thomas Van Vliet. He most recently was the Chief Executive Officer of Bangkok-based Grande Asset. Blaiklock previously served as Executive Director of Hotel Operations for Wynn Macau, following a stint as Managing Director for Raffles Hotels and Resorts.
Michael Paul Edwards has been appointed General Manager of the Shanghai Marriott Hongqiao. He was most recently the Resident Manager of the Waikiki Beach Marriott.
The Eastin Hotels & Eastin Residences Group has named Mark Heather Group General Manager, based at the Eastin Hotel Makkasan in Bangkok. He was most recently the General Manager of the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort.
Jan Svoboda has joined KEE Club International Limited in Hong Kong as Managing Director/Partner. Svoboda was most recently the Hotel Manager for the Peninsula Hong Kong, a company he spent nine years with, following seven years with Mandarin Oriental.
At the Langham Hong Kong, Duncan Palmer takes over from Managing Director Katie Benson, who takes over from Palmer at the Langham London. Palmer takes on some additional responsibilities at the Langham Corporate Office. Palmer, who spent thirteen years with Mandarin Oriental, had not been back on the Asian hotel scene since 1995, save for a brief stint as General Manager of the Sukhothai.
The InterContinental Shanghai Pudong has named James Koratzopoulos General Manager. His most recent post was as General Manager of the Holiday Inn Vista Shanghai.
Bruno Cristol has transferred to the Golden Sands Shangri-La in Penang as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Shangri-La Marina in Australia. He previously served as Resident Manager of the Shangri-La Sydney and Director of Food and Beverage at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hong Kong.
Rob Weeden steps in for Bruno Cristol as General Manager of the Shangri-La Marina. He was most recently the Resident Manager of the Shangri-La Sydney after joining the property in 2005 as Director of Marketing. He had previously held the Director of Marketing role for the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and for Shangri-La's Regional Sales Office in Sydney.
Gilles Hervieux, until recently the General Manager of the InterContinental Toronto, becomes the opening General Manager of the Shanghai InterContinental Puxi. Hervieux originally joined InterContinental in 1996 as Resident Manager of the InterContinental Chicago.
Ian Alexandre has been appointed General Manager of the Sofitel Wanda Beijing. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Shanghai. He previously served as Hotel Manager for the Regent Kuala Lumpur and Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Washington D.C.
Steven Phillips has been named pre-opening General Manager of the Constance Halaveli Resort in the Maldives, taking over from Andrew Spearman.
The Pullman Beijing West Wanda has appointed Joseph Mak General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sofitel Zhengzhou.
Robert Fabiano has taken the helm of the JW Marriott Beijing. He previously opened the JW Marriott Miami as well as the Marriott Caesar Park Hotel Panama and the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Palm Springs.
Maged Louis has been appointed General Manager of Le Méridien She Shan Shanghai. He had previously served as General Manager of the Sheraton Urumqi and Director of Rooms for the Cairo Sheraton.
The Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort & Spa has appointed Peter Wise General Manager. Wise has worked for Accor since 1991 and was most recently the General Manager of the Novotel Nathan Road Hong Kong.
David Cumming has been named General Manager of the Amari Orchid Pattaya. He was most recently the Resident Manager at the Amari Watergate Bangkok.
John Primmer has been appointed General Manager of the Hard Rock Hotel Penang, scheduled to open in mid-2009. He was previously the General Manager of James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor in New Zealand.
With Méridien, Yves Mudry, who had opened the Méridien Angkor as General Manager after serving as Resident Manager at the Méridien Baan Taling Ngam, is the opening General Manager of the Méridien Chiang Mai.
Also with Méridien, Anne Scott has been appointed General Manager of Le Méridien Chiang Rai. She was previously the Hotel Manager at London's Sheraton Park Tower. Scott is also a former Regional Vice President of Human Resources with Marriott International.
David Trudnak has been appointed General Manager of the Shanghai JC Mandarin. He was most recently the General Manager of the Millennium Knightsbridge Hotel, in London. Trudnak had previously served as Hotel Manager at the InterContinental Singapore and General Manager of the Sands Resort at Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos and at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Missouri.
John Yu-Jean Wang has returned to Shanghai with the pre-opening team of the InterContinental World Expo as Resident Manager. For the past year, he had been with the Ritz-Carlton Beijing as Executive Assistant Manager, after serving seven years as Executive Assistant Manager for the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai.
Andrés Lopez-Dafonte has been named Executive Assistant Manager at the Manava Suite Resort Tahiti. For the past three years, he had been with the Hotel Bora Bora as Rooms Division Manager. He had previously served in a similar role for the Manihi Pearl Beach Resort & Spa.
Corinne Janssen has joined the Venetian Macau as Vice President of Sales. She was most recently the Marketing General Manager of Sales for Starwood Hotels in Macau.
Michael Donahue has been appointed Executive Director of Marketing for the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Most recently, he had been the Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for La Quinta Resort & Club. He previously served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Resort Properties Division for the Irvine Company. Donahue also served as Vice President of Marketing for KSL Resorts for three years.
Michael Janssen has transferred as Director Sales and Marketing to the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong. He was most recently the Director Sales and Marketing at the InterContinental Hanoi Westlake.
The Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai has appointed Raymond Tang as its new Director of Marketing. Prior to this position, he was the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Marco Polo Xiamen.
The Shangri-La Suzhou has appointed Carol Wang Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Director of Sales at the Shangri-La Dalian.
The M Hotel Singapore has appointed Alice Ee Executive Assistant Manager Sales and Marketing. For the past five years, she was the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Orchard Hotel Singapore.
Christian Jacoby has been named Director of Sales for the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa. He was previously in the same position at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. He has also served as Director of Sales for the Hyatt Regency Rosemont.
Sun Bee has been named Director, Online Distribution and Marketing, for Outrigger Enterprises Group. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Outrigger-managed Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk.
Laurent Ajas has joined Le Méridien Bora Bora as Executive Chef, replacing Frédéric Kulczak. He was most recently with the Reefs Hotel in Bermuda as Executive Chef. Ajas had previously served in the kitchens at Les Pavillons Hotel Mauritius, the Oriental Bangkok, and the Hôtel Martinez in Cannes.
Jeffrey Vigilla has joined the Hilton Hawaiian Village as Executive Chef. He replaces Daniel Lagarde who is now the Director of Food and Beverage at the Arizona Biltmore. For the past four years Vigilla had been the Area Executive Chef at the Registry in Naples, Florida. He previously served as Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, and the Ritz-Carlton Cancun.
Jane Therese Mulry has joined Hamilton Island's exclusive Qualia resort as Executive Chef. A protégée of Marco Pierre White, she comes from the Cradle Mountain Lodge, also in Australia.
Justin Baziuk has been appointed Executive Chef-Western of the Landison Plaza Hotel and the new Landison Longjing Resort, both in Hangzhou, China. He had previously held various culinary assignments with Park Hyatt, the Four Seasons Sydney, and, most recently, the Westin Chaoyang in Beijing.
Karen Cosgrove has been appointed Spa Director for the Hualalai Spa and Hualalai Sports Club. She had previously been involved with spa operations for the Miraval Resort Tucson, the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa and Rosewood's Little Dix Bay.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICAMarko Hytonen has been promoted with the Rezidor Hotel Group as Area Vice President for the Middle East and Egypt. He replaces Jean-Marc Busato, who has been appointed President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, for Carlson Hotels Worldwide. Hytonen was most recently in the corporate offices in Brussels as Corporate Food and Beverage. He was previously the General Manager of the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in St. Petersburg and Area Vice President for Russia, Baltics and Turkey.
Omer Kaddouri has been promoted to Senior Vice President - UAE Operations, for Rotana. He has been with Rotana for over ten years, most recently as Area Vice President for Dubai and Northern Emirates, while holding the position of General Manager of the Al Bustan Rotana.
Christophe Plantier has transferred within Constance Hotels to the Prince Maurice on Mauritius as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager for the company at the Belle Mare Plage Resort on Mauritius for the past ten years. He had previously held management positions in Mauritius for the Sugar Beach Resort and Le Touessrok.
Gert Puchtler takes over for Plantier as General Manager at the Belle Mare Plage Resort. He was most recently running the Maritim as General Manager.
J. Thomas C. van Opstal has been named Area Manager Abu Dhabi and General Manager of the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort. He was most recently the General Manager at the Sheraton Dubai Creek and previously served as General Manager for the Sheraton Karachi.
The Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers has appointed Heinz Grub General Manager and Area Manager of Dubai for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. For the past two years, he had served as Chief Operating Officer and Area Manager of Arabella South Africa Holdings and General Manager of the Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays. The Cornell graduate had previously overseen Le Royal Méridien Cairo and Nile Tower and Le Royal Mansour Méridien.
Philippe Guitton will now oversee both the Lemuria Resort and the Constance Ephelia on the Seychelles as General Manager. He had previously served as General Manager for the Radisson Tahiti for three years after running the Sheraton Moorea, for two years.
Didier Tourneboeuf has been named General Manager of the new Anantara Qasr Al Sarab Resort & Spa in Abu Dhabi. He was most recently the General Manager of Le Royal Méridien, also in Abu Dhabi.
Ayman Sallam has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano after joining the property in 2007 as Director of Sales. Sallam had previously served as worldwide Sales Manager for the InterContinental Hotels Group, and as Director of Sales for the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Hotels in Kuwait.
Roger Saad has been named Sales Manager, Middle East and the Embassies, for Concorde Hotels & Resorts. He had previously served as Sales Executive of Corporate and Leisure segments for Concorde, Deputy Sales Manager at the Hyatt Regency Dubai & Galleria and as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Diplomatic Club in Qatar.
The Radisson SAS Hotel Dubai Media City has appointed Julia Alvaro Director Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Director of Sales at Accor's Novotel & Ibis properties located at the World Trade Centre Dubai.
Lea Cordon has joined the Shangri-La Dubai as Spa Director. For the past year, Cordon had been the Spa Director at Las Ventanas al Paraiso.
Warren Pearson has been appointed Executive Chef for the Jeddah Hilton and Jeddah Waldorf Astoria Qasr Al Sharq. He most recently worked as one of the Corporate Chefs at Norwegian Cruise Line, following a stint as Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza.
Do you have news for us? Please do not hesitate to send us an e-mail at benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.comEdited by Susana Parks, Benoit Gateau-Cumin & Lisa LeroyThe Boutique Search Firmsusana@boutiquesearchfirm.combenoit@boutiquesearchfirm.comlisa@boutiquesearchfirm.com www.boutiquesearchfirm.com 
