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: March 2011.

THE AMERICAS 

Wynn Resorts has hired Marilyn Winn as President of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, replacing Andrew Pascal. She previously ran Bally's, Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood resorts for Caesars Entertainment, formerly known as Harrah's Entertainment.  

Red Lion Hotels has made Jon Eliassen its permanent President and Chief Executive Officer. Since January 2010, he had been serving as interim President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Anupam Narayan. Eliassen has been a Red Lion board member since 2003 and is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Avista Corp.

Javier Rosenberg has joined Carlson Hotels Worldwide as Vice President Owned and Managed Operations – Americas. He was most recently with Knightsbridge Partners in Argentina as Partner and Managing Director – Hospitality. He also was a Regional Director of Operations – Caribbean, for InterContinental, following a stint as General manager of Raffles Singapore.

Jonathan Crook is back in New York as General Manager of the Peninsula New York, taking over from Robert Rechtermann. For the past two years, Crook had been at the Peninsula Manila as General Manager. He had previously served as Hotel Manager at the Peninsula Tokyo and Resident Manager at the Peninsula Beijing.

Rob Hagelberg has transferred as General Manager to the Four Seasons Austin. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. Prior to that, he was the Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Scottsdale.

Replacing Rob Hagelberg as General Manager of the Four Seasons Westlake Village is Michael Newcombe, who comes from the Four Seasons Las Colinas in Dallas. Prior to that, he was the pre-opening General Manager of the Four Seasons Hampshire.

Taking over from Michael Newcombe as General Manager of the Four Seasons Dallas is Four Seasons veteran Luis Argote, who spent the past eight years as General Manager of the Four Seasons Costa Rica. Prior to that, he was the General Manager of the Four Seasons Mexico City.

Myra deGersdorff takes over as General Manager of the Enchantment Resort. She is the former General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City and the Ritz-Carlton Kansas City. Prior to joining Ritz-Carlton in 1989, she spent several years with InterContinental Hotels.

Ron Olstad has joined the InterContinental Tampa as General Manager. He is the former Senior Vice President and Managing Director at sister property Suncadia Resort.

John Beazley has returned to Trigild in San Diego to take the position of Managing Director, Hospitality. He had previously worked for the company for six years in the early nineties, as Vice President of Operations. For the past sixteen years, Beazley was the Executive Vice President of the Pacifica Hotel Company.
 
The Michelangelo in New York has promoted Glenda Simmons to General Manager. She has been with the hotel for the past fourteen years, most recently as Hotel Manager. Michael Blackman was the General Manager of the Michelangelo for several years.

Harold Rapoza has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. He had previously served as General Manager of the Hilton Anaheim.

The Fairmont San Jose has promoted Carlo Nardi to General Manager. He was most recently serving as the hotel's Director of Operations.

James Garcia has been promoted to General Manager, joining the Embassy Suites Irvine – Orange County Airport. He was previously the Assistant General Manager of the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport.

Pradeep Bobba has been named General Manager of Le Méridien San Francisco. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sheraton Crystal City.  

The Fullerton Marriott at California State University has named Brian Murphy General Manager. He was previously the General Manager of the Embassy Suites Valencia.

The Delafield Hotel in Wisconsin has named Philip Lane General Manager. He had previously served in catering and convention roles with the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, the Abbey Resort & Spa and the Big Foot Country Club.

Michael Lindenbaum has been named Vice President of Operations for Hampshire Hotels and Resorts and Managing Director for the Dream Downtown, set to open in New York late spring. He has opened hotels for Gotham Hospitality, HK Hotels, and the Gansevoort Hotel Group and held a creative executive role with Warner Brothers Studios.

Lee Chipman will serve as Managing Director of the Hilton Panama and the Panamera scheduled to open in late 2011. Chipman is the former General Manager at the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort.

Tina Harlow has recently been appointed Chief Executive Officer for the Resort at Paws Up in Montana. She was most recently at the Ventana Inn & Spa in Big Sur as General Manager. Harlow is also a former General Manager of the Mansion on Forsyth Park and the Lodge at Koele (now a Four Seasons property) on the Island of Lanai.

Akis Neocleous has joined Tesoro Resorts in San Diego as Vice President of Operations. He was most recently serving as Resort Manager at Las Ventanas al Paraíso. He is the former General Manager of the Misión La Serena Resort and El Careyes Beach Resort near Puerto Vallarta.

Taking over from Neocleous as Resort Manager at Las Ventanas al Paraíso is Daniel Scott, an internal Rosewood transfer, who was previously the General Manager of the Rosewood Sand Hill in California.
 
Maryann White has been appointed General Manager at the Heldrich. She was most recently serving as General Manager of the Westin Times Square and is a past Vice President of the Atlantic City Hotel, Casino and Lodging Association.

Sebastien Pfeiffer has been promoted to General Manager and moved to Chicago to take over the Sofitel Water Tower. For the past six years, he had been with the Sofitel Los Angeles, most recently as Director of Operations, after joining in 2004 as Executive Chef.

The Embassy Suites Philadelphia – City Center has named David Fabian General Manager. He was previously Vice President of Revenue Management for HEI, before becoming the Hotel Manager of the Embassy Suites Orlando Downtown.

Julie Cashin has joined the Sheraton Crystal City as General Manager. A Cornell graduate, she was most recently the General Manager of the Embassy Suites Tysons Corner.

Ryan McCarthy has been promoted to General Manager at the Embassy Suites Tysons Corner, taking over from Cashin. He joined the property in 2009 as Assistant General Manager.

Lionel Houliat is the General Manager of the Hotel Le Germain in Calgary. He was most recently with Sofitel in China and was also at the Hotel Mulia in Jakarta.

The Westin Philadelphia has named Bob Krol General Manager. He is the former General Manager of the Embassy Suites Philadelphia and the Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport. 

Susan Ward-Freeman has been appointed General Manager of Philippe Starck-designed The House in Dallas, partially owned by Starwood Capital. She was previously the General Manager of the Alden in Houston, after serving as Director of Sales and Marketing at the St. Regis Houston, the Waldorf-Astoria and the Four Seasons Houston.

The Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa has promoted Gary Brielmayer to General Manager. He has been with the resort since 1998, most recently as Manager of Hotel Operations.

Patrick Pollak has been appointed Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Dallas. Previously the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Mexico City, he is also a former Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Punta Mita and a former Assistant Food and Beverage Director at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago.

Yvette Thomas-Henry, formerly the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons New York, has been promoted to Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Washington, D.C. She takes over from Thomas Legner who has left Four Seasons and is now the Hotel Manager at the InterContinental Vienna.

Dwight Sanford has been promoted to Hotel Manager and joined the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, slated to open in May. He was most recently Director of Rooms at Rosewood sister property the Mansion on Peachtree in Atlanta.

Greg Nomura is now in Carlsbad as Hotel Manager for the Park Hyatt Aviara (the former Four Seasons Aviara). He is the former Hotel Manager at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale and the Park Hyatt Chicago.

Rebecca Kirisits has been promoted to Director of Operations at the Sofitel Los Angeles, taking over from Sebastien Pfeiffer. She was most recently serving the hotel as Director of Housekeeping.

Nicholas Gold has been appointed Director of Operations at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson. He was most recently the General Manager of the Enchantment Resort.

Heinrich von Puschendorf is the new Director of Operations at Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont. He was most recently in the same role at the Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center.

Alberto Pirozzini has returned to Ritz-Carlton and St. Thomas as Director of Operations for the Ritz-Carlton Destination Club. He had previously served the resort as Hotel Manager before heading to Florence to oversee the Salvatore Ferragamo Lungarno Hotel and, most recently, the Hotel Savoy.

Sunstone Hotel Investors has appointed John Arabia Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy, taking over from Ken Cruse who has been promoted to President. Arabia, a Cornell graduate, was most recently the Managing Director of Green Street Advisors.

Joel Bloom is the new Director of Finance at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas. He comes from the Canyons Resort in Park City and was previously the pre-opening Vice President Finance for the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. At the Mandarin Oriental, he succeeds David Quinn.

David Quinn, the former Director of Finance at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, has returned to Miami where he holds a similar position for the W South Beach. Prior to joining the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas in January 2008, Quinn had been the Director of Finance at the Setai in Miami for three years.

Choice Hotels has promoted Patrick Pacious to Executive Vice President, Global Strategy, Distribution and Technology. He joined the company in 2005 and was most recently serving as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Information Technology.

Stéphane Colling has joined San Ysidro Ranch as Director of Food and Beverage. He had briefly joined Bar Boulud in New York as General Manager and was previously with L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in the Four Seasons New York as General Manager and Wine Director.

Fabio Petrone has joined the Cuisinart Resort and Spa on Anguilla as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently assisting with food and beverage at Mardan Palace in Portugal. Petrone had previously served in food and beverage roles at the Four Seasons Istanbul and the Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh.

The Fairmont Dallas has appointed Valerie Cooper Director of Food and Beverage. She was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage for the Wyndham Peachtree Conference Centre in Atlanta.

Steven Stefaniuk has been named Director of Food and Beverage for the Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Fairmont Banff Springs.

The Woodstock Inn & Resort has appointed Kevin Dott Director of Food and Beverage. Most recently, he served as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage for the Gaylord National Resort. He had previously held various food and beverage management posts at the Greenbrier and the Sagamore.

The Hyatt Carmel Highlands has named Carmel local Jacques Melac Outlets Manager. He was most recently running Rancho Cellars, his fine wine retail store in Carmel. He formerly ran Melac's Restaurant in Pacific Grove.

Prism Hotels and Resorts has appointed Jeffrey Farina Senior Vice President of Business Development, based in New York. Previous posts include Vice President of Development for the Windsor Capital Group, Vice President Development for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Chief Development Officer for Benchmark Hospitality.

Michael Weaver has been named Senior Vice President of Marketing Strategy for Wynn Resorts.  He is the former Vice President of Marketing for Caesars Entertainment.

Alex Alt has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Development and Strategy at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. He has been with the company for over four years, most recently as Vice President of Development and Strategy.  

Ralph Aruzza moves up to the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. He has been with Rosewood for five years, most recently as Vice President of Sales.  He is the former Corporate Director of Marketing for Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts.

John Egelhoff is now in Telluride overseeing sales and marketing for the Hotel Madeline and the Inn at Lost Creek. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Viceroy Snowmass. Egelhoff is a former Director of Sales and Marketing for Twin Farms in Vermont and the Little Nell in Aspen.

Thomas Clearwater has been named Senior Vice President Sales for Richfield Hospitality. He was most recently the Vice President of Sales and Special Events for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.  Previously, he was Vice President of Hospitality Finance for GE Capital–Franchise Finance.  

HVM in South Carolina has named Mark Mahoney Vice President of Sales. He was most recently Vice President, Managing Director and General Manager of Red Lion Hotels.

Karen Englund has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for Grande Lakes Orlando. She was most recently serving as pre- and post-opening Director of Sales and Marketing at L.A. LIVE encompassing both the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels.

Jack Schmidt has been named Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at the Carolina Inn in North Carolina. He was most recently the Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Destination Hotels & Resorts and a former Chief Marketing Officer for Benchmark Hospitality.

Kempinski Hotels has named Kristen Albert Global Director of Leisure Sales. She was most recently the Director of Luxury Sales for the St. Regis New York.

Barbara St. Germain has joined the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa as Director of National Group Accounts. She was most recently the Director of Sales at the Rosewood Mayakoba.

Gabriela Rosenfeld has been named Director of National Accounts at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. She was most recently with the Viceroy Hotel Group as Director of Sales and Marketing for their Avalon and Maison 140 properties. She had previously held sales positions for the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey and the former Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and Spa.

The Naples Grande Beach Resort has appointed Rudy Gonnella National Account Manager, Southeast. He had previously spent two years as the Naples Grande Director of Catering and Conference Services.

Windstar Cruises has named Cecilia Blevins Director - Charter and Incentive Sales. Most recently, she held the position of
Corporate Sales Manager - Charter, Meeting and Incentive Sales for Norwegian Cruise Line.

The Hyatt Regency Tamaya has named Mary Dean Smith Associate Director of Sales. She was most recently with the Hotel Albuquerque as a Sales Manager.

Don Ehehalt has returned for the fourth time to the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills to serve as Catering Event Specialist. He had previously held various catering roles with the hotel before taking on sales and catering positions at the Four Seasons Las Vegas, the Venetian Las Vegas and the former Four Seasons Aviara.

The Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort has promoted Lynne Johnson to Director of Catering and Convention Services. She had joined the resort in 2009 as Director of Banquet Sales.

Lamberto Valdez has joined the W Vieques as Executive Chef. He was most recently Executive Sous Chef for the W Doha. He is the former Executive Chef at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa, Jupiter and the Sofitel Miami.

Charles Wilson has been promoted to Executive Chef at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. He joined the hotel in 2007 as Assistant Executive Chef. He had previously served as Assistant Executive Chef for the Paris Hotel & Casino and Bally's Hotel & Casino.

Sean O'Connell is now in Palm Springs at Rancho Las Palmas as Executive Chef. He was briefly at the Sandals Great Exuma Resort (the former Four Seasons Great Exuma) as Executive Chef. He is the former Corporate Executive Chef for Fontainebleau Resorts and Executive Chef at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.

Andrew Kirschner is opening his own restaurant, Tar & Roses, in Santa Monica. He was most recently the Executive Chef for Wilshire.

The Downtown Standard Los Angeles has named Micah Fields Executive Chef. He was previously overseeing Hash inside the Hotel Erwin on Venice Beach.

Aaron Burns has been appointed Executive Chef at the Riviera Palm Springs, following a stint as Executive Chef at the Parker Palm Springs. He is an alumnus of Auberge du Soleil under Richard Reddington and Domaine Chandon under Robert Curry.

Top Chef alum Amanda Baumgarten has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Water Grill. She moves up from her position of Sous Chef to take over from David LeFevre who served as Executive Chef for six years.

Chad Minton has joined the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa as Executive Chef, taking over from Jamie West who is back at San Ysidro Ranch. Minton was most recently at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey. He had held various culinary positions for the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, and the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco.

Victor LaPlaca is now overseeing the kitchen at Fifty-Five in New York. He had previously been with the Todd English empire, where he had been the Executive Chef at Olives in the W Hotel Union Square, then at Ça Va.

Dagan Lynn has been named Executive Chef of the Westin Houston Memorial City. He was most recently the Executive Chef of the W Retreat & Spa Vieques, and had previously overseen the kitchens for the Westin Minneapolis.

The Fairmont Chateau Laurier has named Alain Gobeil Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi.

At the St. Regis Punta Mita, the Executive Chef position left vacant by Yann Giacomoni when he left for Jumby Bay has been filled by Sébastien Fontes. He transfers from sister property the W Santiago.

The Bishop Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa has appointed Christopher McLean Executive Chef. He had previously overseen the kitchens for the Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder.

The Lakeway Resort and Spa has named Jeff Axline Executive Chef.  He is the former Executive Sous Chef at the Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa.

Jason Waterlow is now at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently with L'Auberge de Sedona as Restaurant General Manager. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage at Rancho Valencia.

Matthew Hoffman has been promoted to the position of Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills from that of Assistant Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons San Francisco. A Cornell graduate, he has so far worked in five different Four Seasons properties.

EUROPE

The Ritz Paris has named Christian Boyens General Manager. He was most recently at the Peninsula Beverly Hills as Executive Assistant Manager. A Cornell graduate, Boyens also worked at the Kempinski Hotel Atlantic in Hamburg and at Casa del Mar in Santa Monica. At the Ritz, he replaces Omer Acar, who has left the company.

Oscar del Campo has been named General Manager of Le Méridien Piccadilly, London. He was most recently in Vienna, overseeing both the Hotel Imperial and the Hotel Bristol. He had previously served as General Manager of the Arabella Sheraton Golf Hotel Son Vida in Mallorca and the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel & Towers.

Alexander Schreiter has been appointed General Manager of the InterContinental Prague, taking over from Kees Kramer who joined the property last August. Schreiter has spent the last fifteen years with IHG, most recently managing the Crowne Plaza Heidelberg and the Crowne Plaza Hamburg.

Jean François Rémy has been named General Manager of the Radisson Blu Thalasso in Cannes. He was previously the General Manager of the Radisson Blu Dakar in Senegal, following a career with Concorde Hotels.

Mariano Pérez Claver takes over for President and CEO Gabriele Burgio at NH Hoteles in Madrid. Pérez Claver was President of SOS Food Corp.

Eric De Neef has been named Senior Vice President of Park Inn by Radisson based in Brussels. He was most recently serving as Managing Director for Accor's All Seasons, Mercure and MGallery Hotel brands.

Gaston Gellens has moved as General Manager to the Radisson Blu Royal Brussels. Since 2007 he had been serving as Managing Director of the Radisson Blu SAS Berlin.

The Radisson Blue SAS Berlin has named Ralph Goetzmann General Manager, taking over from Gellens. For the past two years, he had been the General Manager of the Radisson SAS Liverpool.

Henry Gray and his wife Char have been named co-General Managers of Aman Sveti Stefan in Montenegro. He was most recently serving as General Manager of the Aman New Delhi. He is a former Area Director – Thailand for Six Senses Resorts and Spas. They both managed Amandari in Bali for over eight years.

Peter Alatsas has been appointed Complex General Manager for the Westin Costa Navarino and the Romanos, Costa Navarino. He is a former General Manager for the Westin Shanghai and the Westin Miyako Kyoto.

The Hotel Indigo in Liverpool has named David Hughes General Manager. He had spent the past five years as General Manager of the Premier Inn Albert Dock in Liverpool.

The Elms Hotel & Spa in Worcestershire has named Martin Newbould General Manager. He was most recently at the Hoxton Hotel in London as Operations Manager and had previously been at the May Fair Hotel as Hotel Manager.

Tom Rowntree has moved back to the InterContinental Hotels Group head office in the UK, taking the position of Vice President Brand Management for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He was most recently in Dubai as Vice President Marketing for the Middle East and Africa.

Zoe Tindall has joined restaurant chain Pho in London as Financial Director. She is the former Finance Director with YO! Sushi and Be At One. She joins recently appointed Operations Director Tim Mills who was formerly overseeing operations for pâtisserie chain Paul.

Thomas Legner is now the Hotel Manager at the InterContinental Vienna, following a nine-year stint with Four Seasons that culminated in the position of Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Washington, D.C.

Jacco van Teeffelen is now in London with the Savoy as Director of Food and Beverage. He briefly served as Resort Manager for the Six Senses Resort and Spa Soneva Gili after spending two years at Jumby Bay as Executive Assistant Manager.

Jerôme Gendron has moved to the Mandarin Oriental Paris as Assistant Director of Engineering. He was most recently in the same position for the Hôtel Ritz Paris.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Marco Seiler has joined the Radisson Blu Plaza Hyderabad in India as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager at the Park Plaza Sukhumvit Bangkok. He had previously served as General Manager at the Amari Nova Suites & Nova Platinum Hotel Pattaya and as Resident Manager at the Amari Boulevard Hotel Bangkok.

Brett Wilson has been named General Manager of the new Anantara Bangkok Sathorn. He had previously served as General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Beijing, the Crowne Plaza Queenstown and the Holiday Inn Male.

Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur has appointed Harvey Thompson General Manager. He was previously the General Manager at Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu.

The InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort has promoted Laurence Levy to General Manager. She was most recently serving as Assistant Manager after joining the resort in 2001 as Front Office Manager.

Tash Tobias has been appointed General Manager at the InterContinental Singapore. She was most recently the Hotel Manager of the InterContinental Asiana Saigon.
 
Mark Hehir has been appointed General Manager for One&Only Reethi Rah, Maldives. He was previously the General Manager at the Anantara Phuket Villas and the Anantara Si Kao Resort & Spa.

Martin Fabiano has been named General Manager at the Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 . This former Banquet Manager at the Four Seasons Milano was most recently serving as Resident Manager at the Dream Hotel Bangkok.

The Park Plaza Sukhumvit in Bangkok has named Véronique Sirault General Manager. She had previously overseen rooms division at the Sofitel Suzhou, the Sofitel Westlake Hangzhou and the Novotel Bauhinia.

Markus Schneider has joined Claridges New Delhi as General Manager. He was most recently in the same position at the Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh, Red Sea.

Daniel Grau has moved to the Four Seasons Beijing as Director of Residences. For the past three years, he had been with the Four Seasons Shanghai as Director of Rooms. He is a former Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and the Four Seasons Las Vegas.

Andreas Acker has been named Resident Manager at the PuLi Hotel and Spa in Shanghai. He is the former Resident Manager at the Aleenta Resort & Spa in Phuket.

Langham Hospitality Group has appointed Lo Young to the newly-created role of Regional Vice President, China. He is the former Vice President – Operations for New World Hotel Management, and Regional Vice President Operations - South China for IHG.

Centara Hotels and Resorts has promoted Michel Horn to Vice President of Operations. He was most recently the General Manager of the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.

Gede Sujana is now the Director of Food and Beverage at the W Bali Seminyak Retreat and Spa. He was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta.

Raffles Hotels & Resorts has named Diana Banks Vice President, Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Europe, Middle East and Africa at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong has appointed Sherona Lau Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the opening Director of Sales and Marketing for the Ritz-Carlton Sanya.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort has named M. Leo Hart Director of Sales. He was previously with the Brae Group as President and Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Forschner Group.

Aqua Hotels & Resorts has named June Nozoe Director of Sales and Marketing–Asia. Most recently, Nozoe was a Senior Sales Manager at the Fairmont Kea Lani for ten years.

The Kahala Hotel & Resort has promoted James Kareka to Director of Sales. He was most recently serving the resort as Director of Travel Industry Sales. He is a former Vice President of Global Sales for Casto and had also served as Business Development Manager for Classic Vacations.

Janice Ishihara has been named Director of Sales for the Kaua‘i Beach Resort. She had previously served in sales positions for the Hyatt Regency Maui, the Princeville Resort and the Turtle Bay Resort.

Sylvie Abarnou joins InterContinental Resorts French Polynesia as Regional Groups and Incentives Manager for French Polynesia. She had previously worked for Rêve Tahitian Travel for six years before joining Tahiti Nui Travel.

Starwood Hotels Hawaii has named Marsha Wienert Regional Director of Public Relations. She was most recently serving as tourism liaison for former Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle. She is a former Executive Director of the Maui Visitors Bureau.

The Royal Kona Resort has named Jason Ito Executive Chef. He had previously served in culinary positions with the Halekulani and the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

James Wierzelewski has been named Executive Chef for the Swissôtel The Stamford and the Fairmont Singapore. He was most recently overseeing the kitchen for Harrods in London. He is the former Executive Chef for Foxwoods Resort Casino and the MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

Jack Yoss has been named Chef de Cuisine for Starfish Bloo in the W Retreat & Spa Bali-Seminyak. He had previously served in various culinary positions at the W Los Angeles and Ten-01 Restaurant in Portland.

Petr Feher is now in Malaysia as Executive Sous Chef at the Datai Langkawi Resort. He was previously in similar positions with the Four Seasons Las Vegas and the former Four Seasons Aviara.

The W Retreat & Spa Bali-Seminyak has named Ian Lovie Director of Cuisine. He is the former Executive Chef for the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers.

Bali's Ayana Resort has named John Nash Chef de Cuisine for Dava. He was previously in Qatar as Chef de Cuisine at La Mer in the Ritz-Carlton Doha.

The Four Seasons Resorts Lana‘i has appointed Rabii Saber Executive Pastry Chef. Saber was most recently at the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, and had previously served as Pastry Chef at the Greenbrier Hotel and Resort in West Virginia. 

Steffen Optiz is now the Food and Beverage Manager at the St. Regis Hotel & Residences Bangkok. He was most recently in the same role for the Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Allan Federer has transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Dubai as General Manager. For the past two years, he had been at the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain in Tucson as General Manager. He is the former General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt in Ireland and the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore.

Livio Ranza has moved as Hotel Manager to Amanjena in Marrakech. He was most recently the General Manager for the Aman Sveti Stefan in Montenegro. He had originally joined Amanresorts as Executive Assistant Manager of the Hotel Bora Bora in 2004.

The Dusit Princess City Centre, Dubai has named Nick Bauer General Manager. He was previously the Group General Manager overseeing the Melati Beach Resort & Spa, and the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort & Spa.

Arbind Shrestha has joined the Shangri-La Hotel and Traders Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri in Abu Dhabi as General Manager. He was most recently in the same role for the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat.

Alain Khalife has been named Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Regency Casablanca. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Shangri-La Manila and the Shangri-La Surabaya.

Karin Sheppard takes over for Tom Rowntree at IHG in Dubai as Vice President Commercial for Middle East and Africa. She was most recently in the UK as Vice President Brand Development and Delivery for EMEA with IHG.

The Grand Hyatt Doha has appointed Sameh Shawkat Executive Assistant Manager - Sales and Marketing. He was most recently a Regional Director of Sales in the Middle East for Hyatt.

The Taj Palace Dubai has appointed Mohamed Hussein as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently overseeing sales and marketing at the Holiday Inn Al Barsha.

Marwa Mustafa has been named Director of Sales for the Taj Palace Dubai. She is a former Reservations Supervisor for the Radisson SAS Dubai Creek.

Walter Lanfranchi has been appointed Executive Chef of Beau Rivage on Mauritius. He was most recently the Executive Chef for the Shangri-La Chengdu.

Eddy Tannous moves into the role of Director of Rooms at the Fairmont Dubai. He was most recently the hotel's Director of Sales and Marketing.

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
susana@boutiquesearchfirm.com
benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com
lisa@boutiquesearchfirm.com

www.boutiquesearchfirm.com

HEADS above the Rest® is a copyrighted publication; redistribution is prohibited. Reprinted with permission.