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Global Update: Who's where and doing what ~ May 2008.
The Boutique Search Firm
Tuesday, 8th July 2008
 
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.

THE AMERICAS

Thomas Storey has been promoted to President of Fairmont, succeeding Chris Cahill, who moves into the role of Chief Operating Officer. Over the last seven years, Storey has held a number of leadership roles within the company, most recently as Executive Vice President, Development. A Cornell graduate, before joining Fairmont, he held senior management positions with a number of U.S. lodging companies including Marriott, Doubletree, Radisson and Promus.

Roger Swadish has left Hilton after twenty-five years to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer for JER Partners' Highland Hospitality in Virginia. He served Hilton in many roles, most recently as Area Vice President, overseeing the repositioning of La Quinta, PGA West and the Arizona Biltmore.

InterContinental Hotels Group has named David Tessier Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in the Americas region, taking over for the recently promoted Rick Kowaleski. Tessier was most recently the Chief Financial Officer for Kerzner International. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Ian Schrager Hotels in New York and Senior Vice President for Hilton. He also spent 17 years at Marriott International.

Michael Glennie has moved up to President, Real Estate & Development of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International. He joined the company in 2004 and was most recently the Executive Vice President, Real Estate. Prior to Fairmont, Glennie was President and Chief Executive Officer of Ripplewood Lodging and the Phoenix Resort companies. In addition, he has served in various roles for the Boca Raton Resort & Club, RockResorts and New York's Waldorf=Astoria.  

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has named Simon Turner President of Global Development. Turner, a Cornell graduate, most recently spent more than ten years as a Principal for Hotel Capital Advisers. In addition, he previously served as Director of Investment Banking at Salomon Brothers, based in both New York and London.

Julien Debarle has returned to Mexico City to take over from Carlo Bicaci as Director of Operations for the eleven hotels managed by Presidente InterContinental. He will be based at the InterContinental Mexico City where he formerly served as Executive Assistant Manager. Debarle previously held the General Manager position for the InterContinental Miami and the InterContinental Cleveland, before taking over his most recent role as General Manager of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand.

Ingrid Summerfield, who had left Joie de Vivre Hospitality after thirteen years to become the Executive Vice President of Housing and Hospitality for Capital Properties, is back at Chip Conley's company, this time as Chief Operating Officer.

Longtime Joie de Vivre Hospitality key player Fred de Stefano has been appointed Executive Vice President for Southern California, where most of the group's growth is taking place. He originally joined the company in 1999, following ten years with Guest Quarters Hotels, and had until now held the title of Chief Operating Officer.

Keith Halfmann has returned to Marcus Hotels & Resorts as Assistant to the President. Prior to his return, he served as Vice President of Food and Beverage for Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources. Halfmann initially joined Marcus in 1999 and served in numerous capacities with his final role as the General Manager of the Pfister Hotel.

Angela Landgraf has joined Sage Hospitality as Vice President of Management Services and New Business Development. She was most recently the North Americas Director for New Business Development with the InterContinental Global Development Group. Landgraf had previously served in various roles with Starwood, Concorde and Kimpton.

Carlson Hotels Worldwide has promoted Bill Sipple to Corporate Vice President of Development. A Cornell graduate, he has previously held various upper management positions with HVS Capital and Starwood.

Carlson Hotels Worldwide has appointed John Sturgess Corporate Vice President of Franchise Development. This is an expanded role from his most recent position with the company as Corporate Vice President of Development. He previously served as Vice President of Development for Park Hospitality and Vice President of Franchise Sales Development for Prime Hospitality.

James Myers has joined the Starr Restaurant Organization in Philadelphia as Vice President Hotel Division. He was most recently with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas as Vice President Food and Beverage. He previously oversaw the food and beverage operations for Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the Westin Diplomat.
 
Jeff Summers has been named Vice President of Investment & Analysis for Carlson Hotels Real Estate Company. A graduate of Cornell, Summers has more than ten years experience working with Carlson.  Prior to joining Carlson, he led the hospitality consulting practice for Arthur Andersen in Chicago.

Ralph Vick has joined La Quinta Resort and Club as General Manager. For the past year, he had been the President of Liberty Harbor in Brunswick, Georgia. Vick previously served as Vice President and Managing Director for the Sea Island Company following twelve years with Ritz-Carlton, culminating with a stint as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island.

Destination Hotels & Resorts has promoted Michael Slosser to Vice President and Managing Director of Operations. For the past four years, Slosser has been the General Manager at L'Auberge Del Mar. He previously served as General Manager of the Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs and as General Manager of the Loews Santa Monica. In addition, he served as Vice President of Resort Operations for the Lodge at Koele and the Manele Bay Hotel.

Philip Dailey has returned to the United States after seven years in Asia with Shangri-La to take on the post of opening General Manager for Sam Nazarian's SLS Beverly Hills. Dailey was most recently the General Manager of the Shangri-La Chiang Mai, a property he opened. He previously served in executive roles with Ian Schrager Hotels for six years in Santa Barbara, Miami and New York.

Robert Todak has returned to Florida as Vice President and Managing Director for Jules Trump's Acqualina Resort and Spa, where he replaces Florent Gateau. For the past two years, Todak had held the title of General Manager at the Hard Rock San Diego. He previously served as General Manager of the Royal Palms in Miami and at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. He is known in the industry for his five-year tenure at the helm of Miami's Delano.

Paul Ohm has been promoted to General Manager for the Fairmont Newport Beach. He joined Fairmont in 2001 as Director of Food and Beverage at the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui before moving on to his most recent position as Director of Operations at the Fairmont Washington, D.C. Previously, Ohm served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Kapalua Bay Hotel and spent 13 years with Hyatt.

El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa in Taos has appointed Thomas Cherniavsky General Manager. He was most recently at sister property Casa Monica in Florida following 22 years as the Vice President and General Manager of the Hawk's Cay Resort. At El Monte Sagrado, Cherniavsky takes over from Richard Brezinski.

Stephen D'Agostino has been promoted to General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City. He has been with Hyatt since 1983, most recently as Resident Manager at the Grand Hyatt New York.

The Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa has appointed Fred Hoffmann General Manager. Hoffman has worked with Hyatt for over eighteen years, most recently as Director of Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.

Tom Sparks has taken over as General Manager of the Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort. Sparks has a seventeen-year history with the property, having served most recently as its Vice President of Association Operations.

Jeffrey Oliasami has signed on as General Manager of the Renaissance Oklahoma City Hotel & Convention Center. For the past fourteen years, he had been the Hotel Manager at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa in Florida.

Angella Reid has transferred as General Manager to the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City from the same position at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove. She had previously served as Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.

The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch has appointed John Garth General Manager. He had previously served as Vice President and General Manager of the Denver Marriott South and as Director of Marketing for the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort.

Gordon Luster has moved to San Diego as General Manager of the Hilton Mission Valley. For the past four years, he had been the General Manager at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills. Previously, he served as Corporate Director of Hotel Operations with Starwood and spent fifteen years with Interstate.

Daniel Williams has been appointed General Manager for the Crowne Plaza Englewood in New Jersey. He was most recently with Grand Heritage Hotels International where he was the Regional Director in Portland, Oregon. Prior to that, he was the General Manager of the Providence Biltmore.

David Yamada has joined the Westin St. John Resort and Villas as General Manager. For the past eight years, he had served as General Manager for the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort, St. Thomas.

The Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa has appointed Gino Caliendo General Manager. He has been with Hyatt since 1980 and was previously overseeing the Hyatt Regency Miami.

David Sullivan has been appointed General Manager of the Pan Pacific Seattle. Most recently, Sullivan was the Vice President of Operations for Intrawest Resort Club Group in Vancouver. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of Human Resources for Abercrombie & Kent Destinations. Previously, he spent sixteen years with Four Seasons in Las Vegas, Dallas, Nevis, Vancouver and nearly two years at the Regent Hotel, London.

Scott Blalock has taken over the post of General Manager for the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel. He most recently served as a Regional Vice President for White Lodging.

Weylan Rhame has been appointed General Manager of Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans. He was most recently the General Manager of the Brookhollow Crowne Plaza in Houston.

The 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville has named London-born Clare Evans General Manager. She was previously the General Manager at the Dunton Hot Springs Resort and Spa in Colorado.

Stefan Huber is named General Manager of the Inn and Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe. He was most recently the Director of Hotel Operations at the Fairmont Dallas.

Brian Gehlich has been named General Manager of the Affinia 50 in New York City. He was previously the General Manager at the Affinia Gardens.

Alex Spektor has been appointed General Manager of the Affinia Gardens in New York City. He was previously the Assistant General Manager of the Affinia Manhattan.

The Impulsive Group has named Jeffrey Stegman General Manager of the Sanctuary in New York City. He was previously the General Manager at the Duane Street Hotel.

The Hyatt Regency Sarasota has appointed Mark Becker General Manager. He was most recently the Rooms Executive for the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

The Renaissance ClubSport Aliso Viejo has named Derek Ellis General Manager. A seventeen-year veteran of Marriott, he previously served as Resident Manager at the Marriott Starr Pass Country Club & Spa.

Tom Cupo has returned as General Manager at the Chattanoogan. He previously served as Director of Operations for the resort before being named the General Manager for the Virginia Crossings Resort, his most recent post.

Gregory Stafford has been tapped to manage the Hotel Providence in Rhode Island. For the past ten years, he has served as General Manager of the Holiday Inn on the Hill in Washington, D.C. He previously held various leadership positions with the Hamilton Crowne Plaza in Washington, D.C., the Hilton Suites Hotel in Oakbrook Terrace, and was the opening General Manager of the Embassy Suites in Chicago and in Washington, D.C.

Jim Franklin has been named General Manager at the newly opened Point Orlando Resort. He was most recently with Magna Hospitality as a Task Force General Manager. He was also Regional Vice President of Magna's Boutique Division.

Duncan Clements has been promoted to General Manager for the Hotel Lumen in Dallas. He was most recently the Assistant General Manager for the Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Chicago. He had previously been with the InterContinental Budapest as Executive Assistant Manager.

The Bohemian Hotel at Biltmore Village, slated to open December 2008, has appointed Marc Bauer General Manager. Bauer was most recently the General Manager of the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.

Jeff Hentze has been appointed Hotel Manager of the Affinia Manhattan. He was previously the Assistant General Manager of the Benjamin in New York City.

Troy Pade has left the Palm Casino Resort to take over as General Manager of the soon to re-open Shangri-La Santa Monica. He previously held various sales positions with the Oceana Hotel Group, the Hollywood Roosevelt and the Mondrian.

Bertrand Newson has been appointed General Manager of the Nob Hill Hotel and the Fitzgerald Hotel in San Francisco. He was most recently engaged as a consultant for Summit Hospitality and previously served as General Manager in Northern California for the Hilton Garden Inn, the York Hotel & Plush Room Lounge and the Marriott City Center.

At the soon-to-reopen Mark in New York, Francois-Olivier Luiggi is coming on board as Hotel Manager. He spent the past six months across the street, at Rosewood's Carlyle, in the position of Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage. At the Mark, he rejoins Director of Human Resources Jackie Nixon, a long-time former colleague from the Four Seasons New York. Nixon recently joined the Mark from the Alfus Group, where she was a Search Consultant since 2006. As for Luiggi, a Cornell-IHMI graduate, he had spent nine years with Four Seasons, the last two of which as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage Training and Standards.

Arcenia Olson has been appointed Assistant General Manager of the Benjamin in New York City. She was previously the Assistant General Manager at sister property, the Affinia Dumont.

Jennifer Baldwin has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Affinia Dumont in New York City. She was most recently the Director of Front Office at the property.

Concord Hospitality Enterprises has named Grant Sabroff Senior Vice President of Business Development. He previously served in the same capacity at Boykin Management.

Homewood Suites by Hilton has promoted Roy Johnson to Senior Director of Product Development and Services. He was previously Director of Product and Service Development for the company.

Wolfgang Jonas has joined the Fairmont Miramar as Director of Operations. Most recently, he was briefly at the Beverly Wilshire as Director of Rooms. Jonas previously served as General Manager of the Hotel Kura Hulanda Spa and Casino in Curaçao. In addition, he has served in various rooms management positions at the Four Seasons Atlanta, the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Arts in Barcelona.

James Wroblewski has recently rejoined Starwood as Director of Operations at the W Chicago City Center. Most recently, he was the Director of Operations at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago and the Palms Casino Resort. Previously, he was in Southern California with Starwood and Westin in various management roles.

Chauncey Copeland has rejoined Regent as Director of Operations at the Regent Bal Harbour. He recently served as General Manager for the Beach House in Miami. He had previously served as General Manager of the (former) Regent South Beach and as Hotel Director at Fisher Island.

Alex Chaharmahalian has joined the New York Palace as Director of Finance. He previously served as Director of Finance at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel and Financial Controller at the New York Hemsley.

Jonathan Brown has been promoted to Vice President Finance with the Seaport Companies in Boston after joining them last year as Director of Finance. He had previously served as Director of Finance for the Chatham Bars Inn, the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. and the Mark Mandarin Oriental in New York.

Anthony Dombrowik has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Red Lion, taking over for Anupam Narayan who recently became President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Dombrowik was most recently serving as the company's Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller.
 
The Four Seasons San Francisco has promoted Jennifer Lande to Director of Food and Beverage. She joined the hotel in 2004 and most recently held the position of Director of Restaurants and Bars. She previously served in food and beverage management positions at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago and the Four Seasons Houston.

Michael McGreevy has joined the Northland Inn in Minneapolis as Director of Food and Beverage. He was previously with Disney Resorts as Area Manager of Food and Beverage at the Yacht and Beach Resort, MGM Studios and Epcot Center. Prior to that, he spent over a decade with Radisson in various food and beverage management positions.

The Cloister on Sea Island has named Burgess Newsom Director of Food and Beverage. He previously served as Director of Catering and Conference Services at the Brown Palace in Denver.

Bill Perez has returned to the Island Hotel Newport Beach in the capacity of Director of Food and Beverage. He used to be the property's Banquet Director when it was known as the Four Seasons Newport Beach. Perez has logged twenty years with Four Seasons, serving the past ten years at the Four Seasons Aviara, most recently as Director of Banquets.

Marco Rongen has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Renaissance ClubSport Aliso Viejo. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Torrance Marriott.

Russell Jones has been appointed Vice President of Operations for the Light Group's restaurant division. He was most recently the Vice President of Operations for Lucky Strike Entertainment.

Steven Landon has joined the Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena as Director of Engineering. For the past year, he served in the same position at the Loews Santa Monica and previously held similar roles at the Beverly Wilshire and the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey.

Chris Burkhardt has been named Director of Human Resources at the New York Palace, replacing the recently departed Anne Power. He has previously held various positions at the Waldorf=Astoria, and Hilton hotels in East Brunswick and Miami.

Also at the New York Palace, David Taylor has been appointed Executive Director of Marketing, taking over the position left vacant by Doerte Lau in January. Taylor comes straight from five years in a similar capacity at the St. Regis New York. He had joined the St. Regis from the former Le Méridien Boston, now the Langham Boston.

Grace Duncan has transferred to the Setai Club New York as Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Director of Sales at the Setai San Diego. Duncan previously served in various sales and marketing positions for the Shore Club/Morgans Hotel Group, Omni Berkshire Place and Swissôtel The Drake.

Tesoro Resorts has appointed Enrique Aguirre Director of Sales. He has previously served in various positions at the Club Maeva Manzanillo and the Club Maeva Tampico.

The Renaissance Oklahoma City Hotel & Convention Center has hired Tracy Noller-Swibold. She has previously held various sales and catering positions with the Embassy Suites Des Moines on the River, the Embassy Suites Las Vegas and the Embassy Suites Houston Galleria. 

Nathan Boyd has returned as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. He was previously the Director of Leisure Sales for the hotel, before leaving briefly last year to serve as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hotel Jerome. Boyd has held prior sales and marketing positions at the St. Regis Aspen and the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa.

Lori Rippstein has been promoted Senior Corporate Director, Sales Operations, for Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Most recently, she served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch after joining the property in 2004 as Director of Group Sales.

Samantha Spurgeon has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing The Americas, with Starwood Hotels and Resorts of French Polynesia. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the St. Regis Anguilla based in Miami. Previously, she has overseen sales and marketing for Méridien French Polynesia, Le Méridien Caribbean Resorts and Orient-Express.

Orient-Express has appointed Lamar Rutherford Director of Sales and Marketing, Residential Projects. Rutherford was most recently the Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at Onsite PM.

The Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club has named Judy Kilkenny Director of Catering and Conference Services. She was most recently at the Hilton McLean Tyson's Corner where she served as Senior Catering Sales Manager.

The Salish Lodge and Spa has hired Sarah Kiepe as Director of Sales. Kiepe was most recently the Director of Sales for the Bell Harbor International Conference Center and World Trade Center in Seattle.

The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess has named Christopher Kerr Director of Sales and Marketing. He most recently served as Director of Marketing at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

The French Lick Resort Casino has named Steve Houser Director of Sales and Marketing. He previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Adam's Mark in Dallas.

The InterContinental Boston has named Kenneth Ng Director of Sales and Marketing. He was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel @ MIT.

Richard Flores has been appointed Vice President of Marketing for Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants. Most recently, Flores served as Director of Marketing for Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts.

Scott Blakeslee has been named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences in Las Vegas. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach. He previously served in various sales and marketing positions for the Carmel Valley Ranch, the Venetian, the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa and the Hilton Santa Fe.

Russell Jenkins has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the Doubletree Coconut Grove. He previously served as Senior Sales Manager for the Conrad Miami.

Simeon Ebedes was named Director of Sales and Marketing for L'Auberge de Sedona. He was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Heritage Hotel.

The Renaissance ClubSport Aliso Viejo has appointed Christie Gammon Director of Sales and Marketing. She had previously overseen sales and marketing for the Santa Clara Marriott and the Crowne Plaza Fullerton.

Ty Brassie was named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Yankee Clipper and Sheraton Yankee Trader Hotels in Fort Lauderdale. He previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin and Sheraton Grand Bahama Island our Lucaya resorts. Brassie is a former Ritz-Carton man, who was the Director of Sales at the Ritz-Carlton Naples and Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach.

Shelby Howe has been promoted to Director of Group Sales at the Sheraton Seattle. She was most recently an Account Director for the hotel.

Cavallo Point, the Lodge at the Golden Gate has named Laura Caponigro Sales Manager. She was formerly a Senior Sales Manager at the Chaminade Resort and Conference Center.

Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort in St. Lucia has promoted Bill Munn to Culinary Director. He was previously the resort's Assistant Culinary Director.

Mark Richardson has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Four Seasons San Francisco from the position of Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Boston. He originally joined the company in 2001 and has held various culinary positions at the Four Seasons Scottsdale and the Four Seasons Chicago.

Florian Hugo has been named opening Executive Chef for Brasserie Cognac in New York City. He was most recently the Chef de Cuisine at the Four Seasons New York. He has previously worked with Alain Ducasse in Paris and at the former restaurant in the Essex House.

Bobby Varua has been named Executive Chef of 701 in Washington, D.C. Most recently he was the Corporate Chef of Tavistock Restaurant Group in Emeryville.

The Chateau on the Lake Resort has welcomed back Doug Knopp as Executive Chef. Knopp previously held the position from 1999 to 2000. He previously spent eleven years with Four Seasons in Toronto, Houston, Vancouver, and Nevis. In addition, he has served as Executive Chef at the Boar's Head Inn and the Westin St. Louis.

Gerdy Rodriguez has joined the Regent Bal Harbour as Executive Chef. He previously oversaw Café Sambal at the Mandarin Oriental Miami. He also previously held various culinary positions under Chef Angel Palacios and Chef/Restaurateur Norman Van Aken.

Jeffrey Armstrong has opened the Hotel Monaco in Alexandria as Executive Chef. He previously served as Executive Chef for Keswick Hall in Charlottesville and the Domaine Restaurant Group in Newport Beach.

Mitchell Kaldrovich has been appointed Executive Chef at the Inn by the Sea in Maine. Most recently, Kaldrovich was the Executive Chef of the Plump Jack Café in Squaw Valley. He has previously held various culinary positions with L'Orangerie in Los Angeles and the Duck Club in Monterey, California.

The Montauk Yacht Club Resort Hotel & Marina has named Jared Potter Executive Chef. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef at the Virginia Crossings Resort. 

The Beaver Creek Lodge has appointed Greg Barnhill Executive Chef of its restaurant, Rocks Modern Grill. Barnhill previously served as Chef with Three Tomatoes Catering in Denver and opened the California Café in the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale and the California Café in Denver. 

Tony Maalouf has joined the Carmel Valley Ranch as Director of Restaurants. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood. He had previously overseen food and beverage operations for the Beverly Hilton and the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Darren Lutz has returned to Bastide in Los Angeles as Sommelier, taking over for Chantelle Pabros who is now the Head Sommelier at L20 Chicago. Lutz had worked at Bastide prior to becoming part of the opening team at Restaurant Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

Shadi Omeish has transferred as Director of Rooms to the Beverly Wilshire. Since early 2007 he played a similar role at the Four Seasons Riyadh. Previously, he opened the Four Seasons Amman as Director of Sales, before being promoted to Director of Marketing for the property.

Marsha Twiss has been promoted at the Lansdowne Resort in Virginia to Director of Rooms. Since 1999, she had served as Director of Catering and Conference Services for the resort. Previously, she has held various positions with the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner and the Washington Hilton.

Scott Marble has been promoted at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort to Director of Rooms. He was most recently serving as Director of Individual Travel after joining the property in 1998 as Front Office Manager.

Felipe Cervantes has moved up to Director of Rooms at the Gran Melia Puerto Rico. He was most recently the Front Office Director at the Peabody Orlando and previously spent two years with Sea Island Resorts, serving as the Front of the House Manager for the Cloister before moving in the same position to the Lodge. In addition, he spent eight years with Ritz-Carlton in Colorado, St. Thomas, Dearborn, Puerto Rico and Cancun.

April Kim has transferred to the Four Seasons Los Angeles as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. Since 2005 she had been with the Four Seasons Toronto, most recently as Director of Restaurant and Lounges. Kim previously served in various food and beverage management positions at the Four Seasons New York, the Swissôtel The Drake, the InterContinental Central Park South and the Westin Central Park South.     

Kleber Topiol has been appointed Chief Concierge at the Regent Bal Harbour. Topiol has been a Chief Concierge in Miami for nine years with his most recent position as Chief Concierge at the Mandarin Oriental Miami. He previously served as Concierge at the Loews Miami Beach, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach and the Trump Sonesta Beach Resort.

EUROPE

Duncan O'Rourke has taken over as Chief Operating Officer of the Kempinski Hotel Group based in Geneva. He replaces Michel Novatin, who takes on the Chief Executive Officer position for Shaza Hotels later this year. O'Rourke previously held various positions with Rosewood, Marco Polo and Mövenpick. Novatin replaces Chris Hartley, who will now be Chief Executive Officer of Global Hotel Alliance, of which both Kempinski and Shaza are members.

Philippe Gas is the new President of Euro Disney, replacing Karl Holz. Since 2006, Gas had been the Vice President Human Resources for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As for Holz, he has been promoted to President of new projects and operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Regis Lecendreux has returned to Paris to join the Warwick Westminster as General Manager. He previously served as General Manager for the Hotel de Castille in Paris before his most recent position in Monte Carlo as Regional Director for the Stein Group. In addition, Lecendreux is a former General Manager for both the Lancaster and the Montalembert in Paris.

David Cayuela has joined the Gran Hotel El Cortesin in Marbella, as General Manager. He was most recently with the Fairmont Pierre Marques Hotel in Acapulco in the same position.

Cyrus Heydarian has been named General Manager of the luxe Breidenbacher Hof in Düsseldorf. Previously, he served simultaneously as the General Manager of Villa Rothschild and the Kempinski Hotel Falkenstein.

The Schloss Velden in Austria has appointed Roland Paar General Manager. Most recently, he spent a year as Project Development Manager of Medox Hospitality Investments in Vienna. Previously, he served as General Manager for the Royal St. Lucian Resort & Spa in St. Lucia and held food and beverage management positions at the Nad Al Sheba Club in Dubai and the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore.

Patrick Brans has been promoted by Capella Hotels from Director of Operations at the Capella Castlemartyr to General Manager of the soon-to-open Capella Dunboy Castle. Both properties are located in Ireland. Prior to joining Capella in 2006, Brans had spent ten years with Ritz-Carlton in the United States.

Lars Bo Hansen has been named Director - Imocom Tourism for the Imocom Group in Portugal. He was most recently the Director of Operations for Pousadas de Portugal.

Shobith Pal has been named Food and Beverage Support Manager for Swissôtel in Zürich. He was previously the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Mina a Saalam Hotel in Dubai.

Major change in the award-wining kitchens of the Four Seasons George Cinq in Paris: Chef Philippe Legendre, who had earned the hotel its first, second and third Michelin stars (until Michelin demoted its restaurant, Le Cinq, to Two Stars) is moving on, leaving the hot seat to Eric Briffard. May sound familiar to the latter who, as a Two-Michelin-starred Chef at the Plaza-Athénée a few years ago, had been let go to make room for Alain Ducasse. Briffard joins Le Cinq from Les Elysées du Vernet, another Two-Michelin-starred venue.

Isabelle Alexandre has relocated to Portugal as the Chef de Cuisine for the Sofitel Lisbon. This is return to Lisbon for Alexandre, a Lausanne grad, after previously serving as Executive Sous Chef of Le Méridien Park-Atlantic. She has also overseen the kitchen at the Old Angler's Inn in Maryland and the defunct Citronelle in Santa Barbara.

Connor O'Leary has moved with Hyatt to the ANdAZ London as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He was formerly the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Ritz London.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Scott Swank has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Operations for Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts. He had been the General Manager of the Pan Pacific Singapore for the past five years, following a stint as independent restaurant owner with Spoon Bistro, also in Singapore.

Philippe Caretti has returned to Jakarta to rejoin the Mulia Hotel Group as Senior Vice President. A graduate of the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne, he was previously the General Manager for the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta before his most recent post with Wynn Las Vegas as Senior Vice President/General Manager of Resort Operations. In addition, he has held various key positions with Shangri-La for thirteen years, including that of Area Vice President and General Manager of the Shangri-La Makati in Manila.

Tony Cousens has joined Jumeirah International in Singapore as Senior Vice President Asia Pacific. For the past three years, he held the post of General Manager for the Marina Mandarin in Singapore. Previously, he was with Méridien Hotels for nineteen years, serving as General Manager of the Le Royal Méridien King Edward Hotel and overseeing sales and marketing for the corporate office in London and in Hong Kong.

Taking over for Cousens as General Manager at the Marina Mandarin Singapore is Richard Dusome. He was most recently with Sunland Resorts, Maldives as Group General Manager. He has previously served in various roles with Four Seasons, Hilton, Peninsula and Six Senses.

Gert Noordzy has been promoted to Director, Hotel Openings, with InterContinental Hotels Group. He was most recently overseeing property openings for Holiday Inn Express, Greater China. He previously served as General Manager for the Holiday Inn North Chongqing and the Anahata Villas & Spa Resort, Bali.

Rainer Stampfer has been promoted to Regional Vice President and General Manager at the Four Seasons Bangkok, replacing Patrick Ghielmetti, who moves to Chicago. Stampfer most recently opened the Four Seasons Resort on Koh Samui as General Manager. He previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Boston and as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Los Angeles.

Richard Hartman is the latest Chief Executive Officer at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels in Singapore. Since 1999, Hartman has held senior positions at InterContinental Hotels Group, most recently as Managing Director of InterContinental Hotels Group, Europe, Middle East, and Africa and prior to that as Managing Director of InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific. Before joining IHG he served as the President of ITT Sheraton North America and President of ITT Sheraton Asia Pacific.

Jason Friedman will be joining qualia on Hamilton Island in Australia as General Manager. For the past four years, he had been with Four Seasons, currently as Camp Manager at the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle. Previously, he had served as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai and Resident Manager at Amandari in Bali.

Replacing Jason Friedman at the Four Seasons Golden Triangle is Michel Volk. He was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Provence Terre Blanche.

Elaine Yue-Wibisana takes over from Philip Dailey as General Manager of the recently opened Shangri-la Chiang Mai. Dailey has joined as opening General Manager the SLS Beverly Hills.

Paul Van Frank has joined Ananda in the Himalayas as General Manager. For the past three years, he had served as Chief Operating Officer in Thailand for the Rayavadee Resort and Tamarind Village. He also previously served as General Manager of Begawan Giri Estate in Bali and the Kemer Golf and Country Club in Turkey.

Gilbert Bremi has been appointed General Manager of the Swiss-Belhotel Changchun, Jilin in China. He previously served as General Manager of the Kempinski Fulo Hotel in Chengdu.

Guy Hutchinson has been named General Manager of the Hilton Shanghai, taking over for the recently retired Volkmar Ruebel who had served as General Manager of the hotel since 1995. Hutchinson joined Hilton in 1997 and had been the General Manager of the Hilton Cairns since 2005.

Hafidh Al Busaidy has joined the Crowne Plaza Suzhou as General Manager. He has been with the company in the Middle East for over twenty years, most recently as General Manager of the InterContinental Al Jubail. Prior to Saudi Arabia, he was the Resident Manager at the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental.

Juan Carlos Diago has joined the Shangri-La Surabaya as General Manager. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Shangri-La Golden Sands Resort and previously the General Manager of the Traders Hotel Manila.

Michael Hendler has transferred to the Shangri-La Hotel Dalian in China as General Manager. For the past eleven years with Shangri-La, he had been the Resident Manager at the Shangri-La Bangkok, the Shangri-La Beijing and Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Taipei before his last position as General Manager at the Shangri-La Surabaya.

Denis Thouvard has joined the Bora Bora Nui Resort as General Manager. Recent postings included some as Manager at the Royal Phuket Yacht Club and the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. Thouvard is also a former Executive Assistant Manager of the Repulse Bay Hotel in Hong Kong.

Riaz Mahmood has taken on the role of General Manager for the Raffles Beijing. He was most recently the Area General Manager for Indo-China for Raffles Hotels & Resorts. He previously served as General Manager at the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor.

Desmond Hatton has transferred as General Manager to the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang in Penang. He was most recently the General Manager of the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah in Oman. He had previously served as General Manager of the Shangri-La Mactan Island, the Shangri-La Rasa Ria and the Shangri–La Fiji.        

Rod Munro has joined the Novotel Citygate Hong Kong as General Manager. Since 2005 he had held the position of General Manager at the Headland Hotel Hong Kong at Chek Lap Kok International Airport.

Kelye Woodgate has been named General Manager of the York by Swiss-Belhotel, Sydney. She previously served in various guest services, human resources and operational roles for the company in Hong Kong and Bali including the Swiss-Belhotel Thara Resort and Spa Phuket.

Achim Brueckner has joined the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou as General Manager. Previously, he served as General Manager for the re-opening of Le Méridien Khao Lak in Thailand. In addition, he held various posts at Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort and the Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel.

The Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao has named Thomas Mueller General Manager. He most recently served as General Manager of the Four Points by Sheraton Pudong and subsequently the Sheraton Shanghai Pudong Hotel and Residences.

William Chea has joined the Sheraton Changsha Hotel as General Manager. For the past two years he served as Executive Assistant Manager of the Sheraton Shenzhen Hotel.   

Boon Kwee Lim has transferred to the Shangri-La Ningbo as General Manager. He was most recently managing the Shangri-La Golden Flower, Xi'an. Before joining Shangri-La in 2006, Lim held senior management positions for Starwood, Sedona International and InterContinental.

Andrew Whitaker has joined the Golden Sands Resort Penang as General Manager. He previously served as the General Manager for the Aberdeen Marina Club. Both properties are operated by Shangri-La.

Jean-Pierre Mainardi has signed on as General Manager of the Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa. He joins the resort from the Nile Hilton in Egypt, which he managed for five years. Prior to this, he held management positions at Hilton Hotels worldwide in Brussels, London, New York, Bangkok, Lahore, Bahrain, Turkey, Strasbourg and Glasgow.

Ivan Lee has been named General Manager of the Pan Pacific Singapore and Vice President of Area Operations. He was most recently the Vice President and General Manager for the Millennium Biltmore in Los Angeles.

Rubal Chaudhry has joined Claridges, New Delhi as General Manager. He previously held various positions with InterContinental and Hyatt and served as General Manager of the Park Plaza Gurgaon.

Paul Cunningham has been appointed Hotel Manager for the Westin Beijing. He started his hotel career at Claridges in London in 1990 and has served in a variety of senior management positions with several hotel chains in the UK, China and South Korea including the St. Regis Beijing and the W Seoul Walkerhil.

The Empire Hotel & Country Club in Brunei has appointed Thomas Reupke Director of Operations. Reupke previously served as General Manager of the Long Beach Ancient Village Resort & Spa, in Vietnam and worked at the Kempinski Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm, Germany.

Geoffrey Howe has been named General Manager of the Meritus Mingde Shanghai. He was most recently the Vice President of Operations for the Argyle Hotel Management Group.

The Langham Place Mongkok in Hong Kong has appointed Scott Thomson Hotel Manager. He was most recently in the same position at the Langham Auckland.

Jens Corder has been promoted to Resident Manager at the Shangri-La Hong Kong. This is a return to Hong Kong for Corder who once served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Shangri-La Kowloon before moving into his most recent position as Executive Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage, at the Shangri-La Singapore.

Johnson Xi has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager of the Sofitel Plaza Xiamen after joining the hotel last year as Director of Sales and Marketing. Xi previously held various positions of the Sofitel Wanda Chengdu and the Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley.

Arne Heuwekemeijer has joined the Radisson Shanghai New World as Executive Assistant Manager. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Mercure Baolong Shanghai. He previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Sofitel Hyland and as Director of Sales for the Hotel Okura Hotel Shanghai.

Christian Wurm has become the Executive Assistant Manager Rooms Division at the Park Hyatt Sydney. He was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Burj al Arab. Wurm previously ran the rooms division for the Raffles Resort Canouan lsland, the Al Faisaliah Hotel, and the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa.

Bernhard Langer has been promoted to Executive Assistant Manager at the Westin Beijing. He joined the property in pre-opening and was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage for the hotel.

HPL Hotels & Resorts has named Patrick Ngian Vice President of Financial Services. He was most recently the Chief Financial Officer of AMVIG Holdings in Hong Kong.

Laurent Branover has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Shangri-La Singapore, taking over from Jens Corder. For the past two years, Branover had been in Sydney, as Director of Food and Beverage for the Sofitel Wentworth. He previously oversaw food and beverage operations for the Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental in Shanghai.

Laurent Le Deu has taken the position of Food and Beverage Director with the Peninsula Manila. He was most recently the Food and Beverage Manager for the Repulse Bay Hotel in Hong Kong, a sister property. He previously held various management positions at the Al Bustan Palace in Oman, the Excelsior in Hong Kong and the Ritz-Carlton Doha.

Patrick De Staercke has joined the Mövenpick Karon Beach Resort in Phuket as Food and Beverage Director. He was most recently in the same position at the Meeru Island Resort. Previously, he held food and beverage positions in Colorado at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, the Elk Mountain Resort in Telluride and the Hotel Jerome in Aspen.

Jane Jie Wu has been named Director of Human Resources at the Westin Beijing. Prior to this position, she was the Director of Human Resources at the Regent Hotel Beijing.

Dominic Sherry has returned to Asia as Marriott's Regional Vice President, Sales & Marketing based in Hong Kong. Most recently, Sherry served as Regional Vice President, Sales & Marketing – Caribbean & Latin America for Marriott.

Rose Zhao has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing at the Traders Fudu Hotel Changzhou. She joined the hotel in 2004 and was most recently serving as its Director of Sales.

Vanessa Finch has joined the Emporium Hotel in Australia as Director of Sales. She comes from Brisbane where she was most recently a Senior Sales Manager for the Constellation Hotel Group.

The Sheraton Guiyang has named Portia Zhou Director of Sales and Marketing. She has been with Starwood since 1992, most recently as Director of Sales for the Sheraton Guilin.

The Westin Beijing Chaoyang has appointed Sally Yang Director of Sales and Marketing. She has been with Starwood for fifteen years, most recently as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sheraton Guiyang.        

Scott Lian has joined the Grand Metropark Yuantong Beijing as Director of Sales and Marketing. He previously served in various positions at the Traders Hotel Beijing, the Crowne Plaza Beijing, the Plaza Royale Hotel Beijing and the Hyatt Regency Jing Jin City.

Trudy Moreno has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Fairmont Beijing. She was previously the Director of Marketing and Sales at the InterContinental Doha.

Andreas Krampl has joined the Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort and Spa as Executive Chef. He previously served as Executive Chef at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai.

Thomas Baehner is the new Executive Chef at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. He was most recently in the same position at the Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo.

The Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City has named Andreas Askling Executive Sous Chef. Most recently, Askling worked at the W Retreat And Spa in the Maldives.

Cedric Klein is the new Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. He was most recently the Food and Beverage Manager at the Hyatt Regency Paris - Charles de Gaulle.

Philip Kranz has been named Rooms Division Manager at the Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam. A Cornell graduate, he was most recently in Acapulco with Mayan Resorts and previously held various positions at the Hotel de Rome in Berlin and Amanbagh in India.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has appointed Steven Jones Vice President of Design and Construction for the Middle East and Africa. He was most recently Vice President of Middle East and Africa for InterContinental Hotels Group.

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has named Paul Nelson Regional Director of Brand Marketing for Europe, Africa and Middle East. Most recently, Nelson was Global Marketing Manager for Europe, Africa and Middle East at American Express.

Didier Picquot has joined La Mamounia after the completion of its lengthy multi-million dollar renovation. He takes the place of legendary General Manager Robert Bergé, who has retired. For the past three years, Picquot had been the Managing Director of the ultra-private Lyford Cay Club in the Bahamas. He previously served as General Manager of the Regent of Bangkok, the Pierre and the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong.

Olivier Masson has added the responsibilities of Regional Vice President in Cairo to his current duties as General Manager for the Four Seasons Nile Plaza. He joined the company in 1998 as General Manager of the Four Seasons Caracas. He has previously held various roles for the former Regent Hong Kong, the Four Seasons Jakarta and the Four Seasons Carmelo.

Markus Iseli has been appointed General Manager of the Four Seasons Seychelles due to open in the fourth quarter of this year. Most recently, he has served as the opening General Manager at the Four Seasons Damascus and the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Istanbul.

Filip Hofman has been named General Manager of the Excelsior Hotel Baku in Azerbaijan. He was previously the General Manager at El Senador in Cuba.

Lausanne grad Johnny Mathis has transferred as General Manager to the Mövenpick El Sokhna Resort in Al Ain. This former Shangri-La man previously served as General Manager for the Mövenpick Taba and, most recently, the Mövenpick Resort Al Bidaa in Kuwait.

Jürgen Baumhoff has been named General Manager of the InterContinental Semiramis Cairo. He was previously a Regional General Manager in the UK for the InterContinental Hotel Group.

Laurent Rigaud returns to the Middle East as General Manager for the Crowne Plaza Dubai. He was most recently serving as the General Manager for the InterContinental Libreville in Gabon. He has previously held the General Manager post at the Holiday Inn Downtown in Kuwait City and Resident Manager at the InterContinental Abu Dhabi.

Oktay Bulgurcuoglu has been named General Manager for the Swiss-Belhotel Doha in Qatar currently in its pre-opening phase.  He was most recently the Operations Manager at the Crowne Plaza Jeddah.

Max Huftier has been appointed General Manager of the Méridien Mauritius, taking over for Chris Newman, who has been promoted by Starwood to Area Director for Mauritius and opening General Manager for the Sheraton Cyber City.

Ahmer Naushad has been named Director Asset Management with Nakheel Hotels in Dubai. He was most recently with Kingdom Hotel Investments as Vice President Asset Management and previously with Trimont Real Estate Advisors as Asset Manager.

Yasser Galal replaces Shadi Omeish as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Riyadh. He transfers from the same position at the Four Seasons Cairo at First Residence.

Patrick Robineau has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh. He succeeds Patrice Aira who has transferred to the Four Seasons Mauritius. Robineau was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage in Cambodia with Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Siem Reap. He previously held various food and beverage positions at the Trans Asia Hotel in Colombo and the Millennium Hotel in London.

Nick Chatzipetros has joined the Millennium Towers Hotel Dubai as Director of Food and Beverage. He previously held various positions with the Ramada Dubai and the Doubletree in Ventura, California.

Chamlong "Chef Jimmy" Pewthaison has transferred to the Four Seasons Amman as Chef for their restaurant, Asia. He was most recently at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai as the Thai Master Chef.

Michael Stenekes has been appointed Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Amman. He was most recently at Discovery at Marigot Bay in St. Lucia as the Executive Sous Chef. Prior to this post, Stenekes served as Chef de Partie at England's The Fat Duck.

Do you have news for us? Please do not hesitate to send us an e-mail at benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com
Edited by Susana Parks, Benoit Gateau-Cumin & Lisa Leroy

The Boutique Search Firm
www.boutiquesearchfirm.com

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