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: April 2010.

THE AMERICAS

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has promoted Vasant Prabhu to Vice Chairman. He will keep his current title and duties as Chief Financial Officer for the company. Prabhu joined Starwood in 2003 after serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Safeway. He also worked as President of Information and Media Group for the McGraw Hill Companies and Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Pepsi Cola International.

Pinnacle Entertainment has named Anthony Sanfilippo President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John Giovenco. Since 2008, Sanfilippo had served as President, Chief Executive and Board Member of Multimedia Games and had previously served in executive roles at Harrah's Entertainment.

Montage Hotels & Resorts has promoted Ali Kasikci to the position of Vice President of Strategic Planning & Development. He was most recently overseeing the successful launch of the Montage Beverly Hills as Managing Director. Previously, he spent sixteen years as Managing Director of the Peninsula Beverly Hills. Kasikci also spent five years with Four Seasons at their former Newport Beach location.

Hilton Hotels has named Conrad Wangeman Area Vice President, Operations – Northeast. A second-generation Hilton man, he most recently served as General Manager of the Hilton New York.

Starwood Capital Group Global has named Steven Hankin Managing Director, Portfolio Operations, based in Greenwich, Connecticut. For the past six years, Hankin had been the Chief Executive Officer of Sentient Jet and previously served as Chief Marketing Officer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Laurie Smith Wooden has been appointed Vice President, Luxury Brands Management, for Hilton Hotels. She was most recently serving as Vice President, New Business Development and Strategy for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Olivier Chavy has been named Regional Head, Luxury and Lifestyle Brands for Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Hilton Hotels. He had previously served as General Manager of the Hilton Mauritius Resort and Spa and the Hilton Arc de Triomphe Paris. Since September 2006, Chavy was the Senior Vice President Operations for Hilton Grand Vacations.

Rick McCue takes on the new role with Hilton Hotels as Regional Head, Luxury and Lifestyle Brands for the Americas. He was most recently serving as Vice President, Brand Performance & Support for the company.

Randy Kwasniewski who was the President of Morgans Hotel Group Las Vegas and Chief Operating Officer of the Hard Rock Las Vegas, apparently killed himself last month.  He had joined Morgans in 2006 and was a former Senior Vice President of Starwood Capital.

Christian Langlade has joined the Hotel Christopher St. Barts as Co-General Manager with wife, Sandrine Langlade. He was most recently the Operations Manager at Sandy Lane, following two years as Executive Assistant Manager of the Kempinski Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. Sandrine is a former Director of Rooms at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort for Orient-Express.

The Hilton Stamford Hotel & Executive Meeting Center has named Mark Anderson General Manager. He had previously served as General Manager for the Sheraton Boston, the Westin Providence and the Sheraton Hyannis Resort.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has named Thomas Mathes General Manager for Eventi in New York's North Chelsea neighborhood, slated to open this spring. He was most recently the General Manager of the company's Muse Hotel, located in the city's theater district.

The Village at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe has promoted Christy Beck to General Manager. For the past eight years, Beck had been overseeing the property's sales and marketing department and had most recently been serving as interim General Manager. She previously held various sales and marketing positions at the Resort at Squaw Creek.

Peter Island Resort & Spa in the British Virgin Islands has promoted Wilbert Mason to General Manager from his former position of Rooms Division Manager, a post he held at the resort for more than a year. He had previously served in various rooms positions for the Regent Palms Hotel & Spa, Turks and Caicos; Sandy Lane Hotel & Spa, Barbados; and Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada.  

The Carmel Valley Ranch has hired Anna Olson as General Manager. Olson was most recently at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa where she spent seventeen years, some of which as General Manager.

Brett Blass, formerly the General Manager of Donovan House for Thompson Hotels, is now the group's Regional Vice President for New York and the General Manager of LES Thompson.

Antoine Berberi, who had left Thompson Hotels in 2009 to become the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Englewood, is back with the group, this time as General Manager of the Thompson Beverly Hills. From 2006 to 2009, he was in charge of the company's Gild Hall, downtown Manhattan.

Albert Smith has joined Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants as General Manager for the Hotel Palomar Los Angeles-Westwood. For the past five years, he had been with the with Kor Group in various positions at the Avalon Beverly Hills, and Maison 140. He was most recently at the Chamberlain West Hollywood as General Manager.

Shawn and Beverly Matthews are co-General Managers of Amangiri near Lake Powell, Utah. They most recently set up and managed private getaways for high-net-worth individuals, following two stints as General Managers of Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island. The Matthews were also the co-General Managers of Twin Farms.

Judson Hawk has been named General Manager of the Aspen Meadows Resort. He had previously served as General Manager for Snowmass Village, the Hotel Jerome, the Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands and the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera.

Steven Jauffrineau has joined Sunset Beach on Shelter Island as General Manager. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage for the Setai Fifth Avenue, originally scheduled to open later this year. He had previously overseen La Goulue and Orsay restaurants, both in Manhattan.

Heather Strauss has joined the Embassy Suites Birmingham as General Manager. She had previously served as General Manager at the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights, Elk Mountain Resort and the Portland Harbor Hotel.

Edoardo Rossi has joined the Dunton Hot Springs Resort and Spa in Colorado as General Manager, taking over from Chris Bush. Rossi was most recently the Hotel Manager for Scrub Island in Tortola. Past posts include Villa Director for the Peter Island Resort and Director of Food and Beverage for Bovey Castle in Devon, England.

Dan Scott has been appointed General Manager for the Shore Lodge and Whitetail Club in Idaho, taking over from Judith Redd, who moves into her new role as Consultant. Scott is the Owner and CEO of McCall Aviation and had previously served as Vice President of Asia Pacific operations for Viewlocity, and Director of International Strategic Planning and Business Development for Starbucks.

Elite Island Resorts has appointed Chris Ghita its now General Manager for Palm Island in the Grenadines. He was formerly in charge of operations and the rooms division at the Mount Cinnamon Beach Resort in Grenada.

Cédric Henry has been appointed Property Manager at the Galley Bay Resort & Spa on Antigua. He was most recently the Resort Manager of the Verandah Resort & Spa. Marsha Moss takes over from him the role of Resort Manager at Verandah.

Romana Heeg is now the General Manager of the Tiamo Resort in the Bahamas with husband Troy Smith who is the Executive Chef. Heeg was previously the General Manager for the Capella Ixtapa Resort and Spa, the Colony Club Hotel on Barbados and the Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa on Bermuda.

The Paramount Hotel has named Geoffrey Allan Mills Managing Director. He had previously served as Managing Director for the Hotel Tudor and the Melrose Hotel, both in New York. Mills is also a former General Manager of the Embassy Suites New York and the Algonquin.

Hans Schmidt is moving to the Alden Houston as General Manager, taking over from Susan Wad-Freeman. He was most recently in the same position at Houston's Hotel Derek.

Michael Broadhurst takes over for Schmidt as General Manager at the Hotel Derek. He had previously served as Director of Operations for the Westin Princeton and as Complex Hotel Manager for the Westin Reston Heights and Sheraton Reston Hotels.
 
The Westin Jersey City Newport has named Colleen Senters as General Manager. She was most recently the Hotel Manager for the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel and had previously served as General Manager for the Downtown Sheraton Hotel in New York.

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort has promoted Chris Plummer to General Manager. Plummer most recently served as Assistant General Manager after joining the property in 2006. Prior to taking up the post, he held positions with Caesar's Entertainment, Olympia Gaming and Booth Creek Ski Holdings.  

At the Viceroy Hotel Group, Hugh Templeman has been promoted from Hotel Manager at the Viceroy Santa Monica to General Manager at Avalon Beverly Hills . He takes over from Scott Mills who was transferred to sister property the Chamberlain West Hollywood as General Manager.

Christopher Holbrook has transferred as Hotel Manager for the InterContinental Boston. He was most recently in the same position for the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco.

Nelum Gunewardane takes over for Holbrook as Hotel Manager at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco. She had previously served as Front Office Manager at the Barclay New York and opening Director of Front Office Operations for the InterContinental Boston.

Caroline Dyal is now the Hotel Manager at the Hotel Palomar Los Angeles-Westwood. She was most recently the Director of Hotel Operations at the Viceroy Santa Monica.

The Reefs Hotel & Club named Nagma Walker to the new position of Resort Manager. Walker joined the property in April 2009 as General Manager of the Reefs Club. Previously, she served as General Manager of Michael Douglas' Ariel Sands Hotel and Beach Club, also on Bermuda.

John Greene has been named Director of Residences (and Rooms) at the Four Seasons Denver. He has been with the company for seventeen years, starting out at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago where he served in various positions in food and beverage, front office and housekeeping. He previously served as Director of Housekeeping at the Four Seasons Aviara before taking on his most recent role as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole.

Crestline Hotels & Resorts has appointed Keith Hansen Corporate Vice President of Hotel Accounting and Finance. He was most recently with JC Resorts in La Jolla as Corporate Director of Finance.

Jeff Bacarus has been named Controller at the new W Vieques replacing Mike Merrill who is opening his own CPA firm. Bacarus was most recently the Controller at the Westin Hilton Head.

Jacqueline Humes has been named Controller for the Marenas Resort in Miami. She was most recently the Controller for the real estate division of Gulf Bay Group of Companies.

William Hacking has joined the Seaport Hotel and World Financial Center in Boston as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously served as Assistant Regional Director for China Grill Management, following seven years in food and beverage management at the Four Seasons Philadelphia.

Greg Waldron has returned to Las Vegas as Vice President Food and Beverage for the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino. He previously spent eleven years at Caesar's Palace as Executive Chef and Vice President Food and Beverage before taking on his most recent role of Regional Director of Operations for China Grill based in Miami.

Wolfgang Von Wieser has joined the Grace Bay Resorts in Turks and Caicos as Group Food and Beverage Director. He was most recently a partner in Tobias Masttedt's Beyond Hospitality, following six years as Executive Chef at Las Vegas' Bellagio.

William Becker has moved with Harrah's Hotels and Casinos to Caesar's Palace as Vice President Food and Beverage. For the past four years, he was in the same position for the company at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

Sven Norrenberg has joined the Hollywood Roosevelt as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously held food and beverage positions at the Hotel Casa del Mar, InterContinental Miami and the InterContinental Mark Hopkins.

Thomas Krooswijk has been named Director of Food and Beverage for the Thompson Toronto, slated to open this spring. He was most recently the Acting Director of Food and Beverage for the Hollywood Roosevelt. He had previously held food and beverage posts at the Four Seasons Dublin, the Pierre and the InterContinental Dubai.

Tabish Siddiquie has been promoted to Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota. He joined the resort in 2005 as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously held food and beverage positions for the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach and the Goa Marriott Resort.

Marc Fialip has joined La Samanna on St. Martin as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously held food and beverage management positions for Discovery at Marigot Bay on St. Lucia and at Spoon with Group Alain Ducasse.

The Shore Lodge and Whitetail Club has named Craig Davis Director of Food and Beverage. Most recently Davis worked as Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage at the Zermatt Resort Utah. Previous posts include Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage for the Hotel Park City, and the Wort Hotel in Jackson Hole.

The Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina has appointed Gilbert Santana Director of Food and Beverage. Santana was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Regency Long Island and previously the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.

Etienne Jaulin has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Honey Creek Resort State Park in Iowa. He had previously held various culinary positions at the Cabanas Restaurant in Washington, D.C., the Copper Grill, Lobster & Steak House in Richmond, his own Etienne's Townhouse Restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mathieu Rivière has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Sofitel Minneapolis. He was most recently a Food and Beverage Manager at the Hilton Singapore.

The Chanler in Rhode Island has named Yves Calvert Food and Beverage Director. He was most recently the Director of Restaurants at Callaway Gardens Resort in Georgia.

Misty Shellner has joined the Four Seasons St. Louis with a promotion to Director of Human Resources. She was most recently the Assistant Director of Human Resources at the Beverly Wilshire.

After fourteen years at André Balazs' Mercer Hotel as Director of Sales and Marketing and General Manager, Serena Lightner has joined Francis Ford Coppola Presents as Vice President of Resorts. The properties are located in Belize and Guatemala.

Brian Honan has moved as Director of Marketing to the New York Palace. He left one week shy of his 14^th anniversary as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Four Seasons New York. He had previously overseen sales and marketing at the Ritz-Carlton New York, the former Nikko Essex House, the United Nations Plaza Hotel and the Hotel Parker Méridien.

Benchmark Hospitality has named Ted Davis Vice President Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Noble House Hotels & Resorts. Previously, he had served as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Wyndham Hotels and had held senior sales positions with Hilton Hotels.  

InterContinental Hotel Group has appointed Gerardo Murray Regional Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mexico, based in Mexico City. He was most recently with Casa Grande Hotels Group as Chief Executive Officer and General Director.

Bruce Himelstein has been appointed Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer for Kerzner International based in Plantation, Florida. He was previously with Marriott for twenty years serving as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for both Marriott and sister company, Ritz-Carlton.

Rosewood has appointed Alan Love Director of Sales and Marketing for the Rosewood San Miguel De Allende scheduled to open in late 2010. He was most recently the opening Director of Marketing for the Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya. He had spent the majority of his career with Hyatt International Hotels and Resorts, serving in Sales and Marketing roles in Brazil, Chile, Spain, and Mexico.

Dan Dolan moves to the Fairmont Chicago as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hotel Sax also in Chicago.

Manya Duhoffmann has joined the LES Thompson Hotel in New York as Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently overseeing sales and marketing in the city for the Nomad Hotel. She had previously held sales and marketing positions at the Hollywood Roosevelt, the Standard Downtown LA, Avalon and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills.

Shannon Spillett has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for Eventi in New York. Spillett was previously the Regional Director of Group Sales for Morgans Hotel Group in New York.

Suya Davenport has been named Director of Sales for the Naples Bay Resort. She had previously served as Corporate Director of Global Strategic Partnerships for LXR Luxury Resorts, and Director of Leisure Sales for Boca Resorts.

The Paramount Hotel has named Melissa Brown Director of Sales and Marketing. She had previously served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Trump Hotel Collection.

Anthony Amendola has joined the Hilton Stamford Hotel & Executive Meeting Center as Director of Sales and Marketing. He formerly headed up sales and marketing for the Paramount and Millennium UN Plaza hotels in Manhattan. He was also Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Stamford.

Terry Dembowski has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose. She was previously the General Manager of the Larkspur Landing Home Suite Hotel in Sunnyvale and served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sainte Claire in San Jose.

Richard Brooks has joined the Westin Tucson as Director of Marketing; He was most recently overseeing sales and marketing for the Omni Bedford Springs Resort. He had previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Umstead Hotel & Spa and the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

Brandie Feuer has been named Director of Marketing for the Tropicana Las Vegas. Feuer had held various marketing and social media positions with Planet Hollywood, the Luxor and Cirque du Soleil.

Beatrice Mercado has moved as Senior Director, Travel Industry and National Accounts, to the Viceroy Hotel Group. She was most recently the Director of Global Accounts, Travel Industry, for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company based in New York.

Joni Peru has been named Vice President of Sales for the Tropicana Las Vegas. Peru has been in Las Vegas for over thirty four years, serving as Director of Sales and National Sales Manager for the Mirage Casino Hotel and Assistant Director of Sales at New York-New York.

The Tropicana Las Vegas has appointed Donna Marcou-Stafford Vice President of Leisure Sales. She was most recently the Vice President of Leisure Sales for Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Joel Cutler has joined the Casino Morongo as Sales Manager. For the past five years, he had been with La Quinta Resort & Club, overseeing group sales.

Christina Rossi has joined the Dunton Hot Springs Resort & Spa as Director of Sales, Marketing and Public Relations. She had previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Peter Island Resort.

The Cheyenne Mountain Resort has appointed Rowland Cheeks Senior Sales Manager. He was most recently at Littleton, Colorado-based Kinsley & Associates as Director of Sales and New Business Development. Previously, he was the Associate Director of Sales for Disney Resort Destinations.

W Hotels Worldwide has appointed Amanda Ross to the newly created position of Global Fashion Director. She currently runs her own international style consulting firm for film, television and retail interiors. She began her fashion career at Condé Nast under the guidance of renowned Art Director Alexander Liberman before taking on the role of Market Director for Harper's Bazaar magazine.

John Cardona has taken on the role of Sales and Marketing Manager Conventions, North America, for the New York base of the Berlin Convention Office . He had previously been with Island Global Yachting as Regional Marketing Director for the Middle East and Europe. He was formerly the Vice President of Hotel Sales for Regent Hotels and had overseen sales and marketing for Peninsula and Rosewood.
 
Phillip Pena makes a big move to join Citigroup as Senior Vice President Global Hotel Program, based in New York.  He had been with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts based in the New York regional sales office for the past seven years.

The JW Marriott Marquis Miami has named Vanessa Selva Director of Social Event Sales. She was most recently a Senior Catering Sales Manager at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

Anthony Zamora has been appointed Executive Chef for the Four Seasons New York. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef for the Breakers in Palm Beach.

Patrick Callarec has returned to the fold as Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco. For the past ten years, he had been on Maui as Chef/Owner of Chez Paul French Restaurant. He previously spent eleven years with Ritz, serving as Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey and as Executive Sous Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.

Fabian Ludwig has been named Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common. He was most recently overseeing the kitchens for at the Gramercy Park Hotel.

Thomas Bellec has returned yet again to the Four Seasons Toronto. He joins the hotel as Executive Chef, having previously served at the hotel as Chef for Truffles before moving to the Four Seasons Carmelo as Executive Chef. He then made his way back to the Toronto flagship to serve as Executive Sous Chef before leaving to join the Four Seasons Lana'i for three years before taking on his most recent role of Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Boston.

Willis Loughhead has moved to The Plaza in Manhattan as Executive Chef. For the past two years, he had been at the Cooper Square Hotel as Food and Beverage Director/Executive Chef.  He had previously served as Executive Chef for Country Restaurant in New York, Hotels AB and as Chef de Cuisine of the Modern's Bar Room in MOMA.

Claude Segal has teamed back up with Victor Drai as Executive Chef for the newly opened Drai's Hollywood in the W Hollywood. He had previously served as Executive Chef at the original Drai's restaurant in 1993. He went on to hold the Executive Chef role at Pagani's, the Sunset Room and the Falls, all in the Hollywood area.

Brendan Collins has moved over to the soon to open Waterloo and City restaurant in Culver City as Executive Chef. For the past two years, he had been at the Hall at Pali House in West Hollywood as Executive Chef, following a stint as Chef de Cuisine for the opening of Alain Giraud's Anisette in Santa Monica.

Oscar Peralta has been named Executive Chef and Food Coordinator of Mexico's Hacienda de San Antonio and Cuixmala. He had previously served as Executive Chef at the Hotel Marquis Reforma in Mexico City, Las Ventanas al Paraíso, the Fiesta Americana Grand Los Cabos and the Westin Regina Golf & Beach Resort Los Cabos.

Marcel Vigneron has joined the Beverly Hilton as Chef de Cuisine of  Bar 210 in the former location of Trader Vic's. The former Top Chef contestant was most recently at Jose Andres' Bazaar at the SLS Hotel.

The Bellagio Las Vegas adds a fourth Master Sommelier to its team with the appointment of Darius Allyn to the position of Sommelier for Osteria del Circo and Sensi restaurants. He had previously been in Sydney as Wine Director for the Rockpool Bar and Grill.

Raphaël Piveteau has moved to the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay as Director of Restaurants. For the past three years, he had been at the Ritz-Carlton Osaka and had previously served in food and beverage positions for the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco and the Hotel Nikko San Francisco.

We very sadly report that Michael Billiel passed away last month from a heart attack. He was well known in the industry as fair and efficient manager in both housekeeping and human resources. He previously spent sixteen years with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, ten of which were spent at the Four Seasons Los Angeles as Director of Housekeeping, then Assistant Director of Human Resources before his promotion to Director of Human Resources. He then took on for six years the role of Corporate Director of Human Resources for Four Seasons Vacation Ownership, based in San Diego. He oversaw human resources for Lucky Strike Entertainment and ran his own consulting company, Embee Consulting Group.

EUROPE

Benoit Juillet has been named Assistant Director of Relais & Chateaux. For the past twelve years, he was the Chief Financial Officer for Parfums Hermés, a company he originally joined in 1993. He originally started his career with Coopers & Lybrand.

Mauro Governato has been promoted to General Manager from his previous position of Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche, taking over for René Beauchamp. Governato had previously served as General Manager for the One&Only Resort Mauritius and One&Only Resort Maldives.

Erich Kaiserseder has moved to the Shangri-La Vienna as General Manager. He was most recently overseeing the Shangri-La Doha. He had previously held senior positions for the Shangri-La Jakarta, the Shangri-La Dubai and the Shangri-La Manila.

Mathieu Greppo has moved from the UK to take over as General Manager for the Hyatt Regency Yekaterinburg in Russia. He had previously served as General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Dushanbe and Director of Operations at the Marriott Grand Hotel Moscow.

Francois Richli is the General Manager of Trasierra, a 16^th century palacio located near Seville. Richli previously opened Le Bel-Air in Laos, following eleven years with Amanresorts.

Jason Parry has been named General Manager for the Salcombe Harbour Hotel, previously known as the Marine Hotel. He had previously held various positions with the Grand Hotel, the Imperial Hotel and the Grosvenor Hotel in Torquay.

Frank Fiskers has joined Azure Properties in Luxembourg as Partner. For the past three years he had been the President and CEO of Scandic Hotels and had previously held senior executive positions with Rezidor and Hilton.

The Plaza on the River Club and Residences in London has named Pascale Fioretti Hotel Manager. He had previously held senior level positions at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, and the Park Inn Heathrow.

Eric Viévard has returned to Paris to join the Hôtel Royal Monceau as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently based in Mexico as Director of Food and Beverage for the St. Regis Punta Mita. He had previously served as Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Biltmore, and the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche, and held the post of Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons George V.

Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx has joined the Mandarin Oriental Paris scheduled to open in 2011. Currently appearing in the French television series Top Chef where he is part of a panel of professional chefs, for the past ten years he had been at the Château Cordeillan Bages, a Relais & Châteaux in Gironde, where he had held two Michelin Stars since 1999.

Kevin Chambenoit has joined the Shangri-La Paris as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. For the past two years, he had been with the Shangri-La Singapore, most recently as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts has named Rajiv Kaul President. He joined the Leela Group in March 2006 as Senior Vice President. He had previously held senior positions with Taj Hotels including Vice President of the Taj Mumbai and General Manager of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower.  

Only one month after being appointed Chief Operating Officer of Meritus Hotels & Resorts, Michael Sengol takes the helm as Chief Executive Officer for the Singapore based company. He was previously based in the United Kingdom in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels.

Nigel Badminton has joined the Oberoi Amarvilas in India as General Manager. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the New York Palace. He was previously the Deputy General Manager of sister property the Dorchester in London, a position he had held since 1996.

Giovanni Viterale has moved to Singapore to take over as General Manager at the Fullerton. He had previously served as Resident Manager and Director of Food and Beverage for the Conrad Hong Kong.

Robert Hauck has joined the Grand Hotel d'Angkor in Cambodia as General Manager. He was most recently the Resident Manager at Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei. He had previously served as Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong.

Jean-Philippe Jacopin has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Chongqing and Hilton Chongqing Nanshan Resort & Spa. Since 2007, he had been the General Manager of the Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort.

Chad Wood has joined the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta as Director of Operations. He had previously been with Fairmont for twelve years serving as Director of Rooms at the Fairmont Dubai, the Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica and overseeing front office for the Fairmont San Francisco.
 
Henk Meyknecht has been appointed Managing Director of the Langham, Yangtze Boutique, Shanghai. He was most recently an Area General Manager for Marco Polo Hotels China, based in Beijing.

Gerhard Hecker has moved to the Shangri-La Jakarta as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager for the Futian Shangri-La Shenzhen. He had previously served as General Manager for the Shanghai JC Mandarin Hotel and the InterContinental Grand Stanford in Hong Kong.

TJ Oesterling has been named General Manager of the Kapalua Villas. He was most recently the Regional Vice President of Operations, Pacific Region, for Wyndham Vacation Ownership. He also held various positions with Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Shell Hospitality Management, and RCI.

Terry Dowsett has been named General Manager of the Ilikai Hotel & Suites in Waikiki. Dowsett had previously served as General Manager of the Hotel Renew, the Park Shore Waikiki and the Outrigger Prince Kuhio.

Craig Douglas has returned to Vietnam as General Manager of La Residence Hotel and Spa. He had previously worked in the area for Hue and Dalat before taking on his most recent position with SALA Samui Resort and Spa as General Manager.

Outrigger on the Lagoon Fiji has named Peter Hopgood General Manager taking over for Darren Shaw now in Phuket. Hopgood previously served as General Manager of the Hamilton Island Resort in Australia.

Alexander Wassermann has been appointed General Manager of the InterContinental Qingdao. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong.

Sammy Ng has been appointed General Manager of the Renaissance Shanghai Putuo Hotel, which is scheduled to open in May. He was most recently the General Manager of the Renaissance Suzhou Hotel.

Emil Leung has been appointed General Manager of the Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen. Most recently, he worked at the Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel. Previously, he held senior management positions at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and at the Grand Hyatt in both Taipei and Macau.

Soneva Kiri by Six Senses has promoted Chutima Ruangritrawee to General Manager. She initially joined the pre-opening team in June 2007 as Resort Manager. She had previously held various positions with the Four Seasons Bangkok, the Rayavadee Resort and Spa and the AKA Resort Hua Hin.

The InterContinental Shanghai Puxi has appointed Arno Moretto General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the InterContinental & Olympic City in Qingdao.

Regal Hotels International has appointed Robert Gerber General Manager of the Regal Riverside Hotel in Hong Kong. He will also take on the corporate role of Group Director of Projects. Gerber was most recently the General Manager for the pre-opening of the New World Hotel Dalian in China.

Barun Jolly has been named General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Crowne Plaza Today Gurgaon.

The St. Regis Bali has appointed Yvonne Wan Hotel Manager. She had previously served as Director of Business Development for the Sheraton Perdana Langkawi and Executive Assistant Manager, Sales and Marketing at the Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa.

Minor International has appointed Peter Carmichael Senior Vice President, Anantara. He was most recently with InterContinental Hotel Group where he held the corporate role of Vice President Operations South East Asia & Maldives. 

Gil Santos has joined the Pan Pacific Bangkok as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Manager of Restaurants for the MGM Grand Macau.

Dida Hernandez has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage for the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu. She has been with the resort for twelve years, serving in various positions, most recently as Director of Conference Services.

Patrick de Staercke has joined the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in Singapore as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same role for the Mövenpick Resort and Spa Phuket. He had previously held food and beverage roles for the Meeri Island Resort and the Brown Palace in Denver.

Roy Buitenkamp has joined the InterContinental Nanjing as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently with the St. Regis New York as Director of Food and Beverage after joining the hotel in 2007 as General Manager for Alain Ducasse's Adour. He had previously served in food and beverage roles at the Waldorf=Astoria New York and Le Méridien Sharm El Sheikh.

Mario Habicher has joined the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund as Director of Food and Beverage. For the past three years, he had been overseeing food and beverage for the Ritz-Carlton Beijing.

Christoph Travniczek has moved to the Hyatt Camberra as Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Park Hyatt Saigon.

Victoria Osenton has moved to Asia to take over as Director of Human Resources for the Fairmont Beijing. For the past two years she had been in the same position at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle. Osenton is a former Human Resources Manager from London's Savoy.

Marriott International has promoted John Limper to Area Director of Sales and Marketing for North Asia, Hawaii and South Pacific, succeeding Connie Flattery. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

Hyatt has appointed Marc Handl Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Korea and Micronesia. Handl will also keep his current position as Executive Assistant Manager - Marketing at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. His previous positions include Director of Food and Beverage at the Park Hyatt Chicago and Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Beijing. A graduate of both Cornell and Lausanne, Handl also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Dina McCallion has joined Outrigger as Director of Sales, Maui. She had previously held the positions of Sales Manager and Director of Sales for the Kapalua Villas and most recently was the Director of Sales for the Kapalua Resort.

The Makena Beach & Golf Resort on Maui has named Michael Lee as Director of Sales and Marketing. Previously, he served as Assistant General Manager and Director of Sales at the Hampton Inn Tropicana in Las Vegas. He had held the title of Director of Sales for Marriott Kauai Coconut Beach Resort.

The Nam Hai in Vietnam has hired Albert Lafuente as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Business Development at Shangri-La's regional sales office in Singapore.

Rosanna Hao has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of the Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen. Hao was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Shangri-La Fuzhou, a position that she assumed in 2006.

The Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel has named Rod Lau Director of Sales. He had previously served as Director of Sales at the Orchid at Mauna Lani, the Princeville Resort, the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club and the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows.

Adam Cheng has been appointed Director of Marketing of the Renaissance Shanghai Putuo. He had previously served as opening Director of Sales for the Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong.

The Honua Kai Resort & Spa on Kaanapali North Beach has named Barrett De Santos Director of Sales. He was most recently the General Manager of the Outrigger Aina Nalu Resort on Maui.

The Sheraton Hanoi Hotel has promoted Bui Xuan Dang to Director of Sales. He joined the property in 2009 as Assistant Director of Sales.

The Pan Pacific Singapore has appointed Jérôme Carrouée Executive Chef. He had previously served as Executive Chef in Kuala Lumpur for the Sunway Lagoon Resort, the Prince Hotel & Residences and the Sheraton Imperial.

Frank Ziegler has joined the Lebua Hotel Bangkok as Executive Chef. For the past two years, he had been at the Wynn Macau as Executive Sous Chef. He had previously served as Executive Sous Chef for the Peninsula Chicago and as Senior Sous Chef at the Delano in Miami.

The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has named Denis Groison Chef de Cuisine for Le Beaulieu. He had previously served in culinary positions at Raffles Singapore, Le Dôme du Marais in Paris and Restaurant Guy Lassausaie in Lyon.

Anthony Hannan has joined the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef for the Mandarin Oriental Beijing and previously for the Ritz-Carlton Dubai.

Celian Skandrani has joined Raffles Singapore as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently with the Ritz-Carlton Santiago as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.

Cheng Weay has joined the Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake with a promotion to Director of Rooms. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Langkawi as Assistant Director of Rooms. He had previously served in various rooms and human resources posts for the Four Seasons Singapore, the Regent Singapore, the Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi and the Four Seasons Great Exuma.

Mélanie Baum has been promoted to Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Bora Bora. She joined the resort in 2008 as opening Front Office Manager before her most recent promotion to Assistant Director of Rooms. She had previously served in front office positions for the Four Seasons Georges V and the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche.

Thomas Combescot-Lepère has joined Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong at the Landmark Hotel as Restaurant Manager for Amber. He was most recently in New York with the St. Regis as General Manager for Adour by Alain Ducasse.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Niklaus Leuenberger has joined Resorts Development Company in Doha as Chief Operating Officer. He was most recently the Managing Director for the New York Palace. Before joining the Palace he had a twenty-five-year career with Peninsula that included twelve years as General Manager of the Peninsula New York.

Pep Lozano has taken over as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Doha. He had previously served as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, the former Abama hotel. Previously, he spent many years at Ritz-Carlton's Hotel Arts Barcelona as Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage and Director of Catering and Conference Services. Lozano also served at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.

Murray Aitken has joined the Fancourt Hotel and Country Club Estate in South Africa as General Manager. He had previously held various senior management positions for Raffles The Plaza Singapore, Swissôtel The Stamford, Little Dix Bay Resort and the Martineau Bay Resort in Puerto Rico.

Hyatt Hotels and Resorts has named Benno Geruschkat Area Director for Egypt and Jordan. He will continue in his current position as General Manager of Grand Hyatt Amman. He has been with Hyatt since 1988 and has had the opportunity to work at various Hyatt properties around the world, including Montreux, Casablanca, Macau, Paris and Mainz.

Sun International has appointed Joanne Selby General Manager of The Falls Resort in Zambia which includes the Royal Livingstone hotel and the Zambezi Sun. She was most recently with the Royal Livingstone as Hotel Manager before moving into her latest position of General Manager, Operations.

Doris Greif has returned to the Jumeirah Group as General Manager of the Jumeirah Etihad Towers, which will open in Abu Dhabi in 2011. She had previously served with the group for almost ten years before taking on her most recent 18-month position as Chief Operating Officer – City Operations for Dubai International Financial Centre.

Edouard Grosmangin has moved to the Seychelles with the Maia Luxury Resort and Spa as Resort Manager. He was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager - Food and Beverage, for the The Palace - The Old Town in Dubai. He had previously overseen food and beverage for the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain and the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo.

Luciano Scelza has been named Executive Assistant Manager - Food and Beverage with Ritz-Carlton at Sharq Village & Spa in Doha. For the past two years, he had been working as Director of Food and Beverage for the Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino.

Pierre Fares has joined the InterContinental Abu Soma in Egypt as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously served in food and beverage positions for the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, the Rosewood Corniche and the Sukhothai in Bangkok.

The Renaissance Dubai has promoted Andreas Kurfürst to Director Food and Beverage. For the past seven years, he had been the Executive Chef for the hotel and has been in Dubai since 1990, starting out as Pastry Chef for the Ramada Dubai.

Bernhard Kern has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Kempinski Hotel Ajman. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Millennium Hotel Chengdu.

Amr Fawzy has been named Director of Human Resources at the Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano. He was most recently in the same position for the Maritim Jolie Ville Resort & Casino in Sharm El Sheikh.

The Bonnington Hotel in Jumeirah Lakes Towers has appointed Purnima Sunil Director of Sales. Sunil was most recently at the Novotel & Ibis World Trade Centre as Director of Sales.

The Ritz-Carlton Dubai has appointed Els Ramadhinta Director of Public Relations. For the past four years, she had helmed the public relations departments for the Ritz-Carlton, Jakarta and the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place.

Holger Lang has been appointed Executive Chef of the Mövenpick Bahrain. Lang was most recently the Executive Chef for the Kempinski High Tatras in Slovakia.

Robert Walker has been named Head Chef at the Singita Lebombo Lodge bordering Mozambique. He was most recently managing the kitchen at Blues Restaurant in Cape Town.

Stéphane Buchholzer has been named Executive Chef at the Westin Dubai Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina. He had previously worked with chef Jean-Yves Schillinger at his restaurants in New York, Destinée and L'Actuel.

The Renaissance Dubai has promoted Amgad Zaki Executive Chef. He had been serving as Executive Sous Chef at the hotel for the past three years.

The Westin Dubai and Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina have appointed Stefano Viola Chef de Cuisine for their restaurant Bussola. He was most recently running his own establishment in Siena and had previously served as Chef at the Floriana Restaurant in London's Knightsbridge and Berkeley Square's Mayfair Club.

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

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