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 2019

THE AMERICAS

Auberge Resorts Collection has named Chris Gabaldon Chief Operating Officer. Most recently, he served as Area Vice President of Luxury Brands, America West, at Marriott International.

Thom Geshay has been promoted to President at Davidson Hotels & Resorts. Geshay moves from his most recently role of Chief Operating Officer to succeed John Belden, who will retain the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer after serving as the company’s President and CEO for nearly 14 years.

John Staten has been named Chief Operating Officer of Orange Lake Resorts. Staten is the former Chief Operating Officer of Kaplan Higher Education and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations at DayJet Corporation.

Michael Pedder has been named General Manager of the Four Seasons Boston. He was most recently the General Manager of the Four Seasons Seattle. Pedder was the former Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Austin and the Four Seasons Chicago.

Edward Linsley has been named General Manager of the Mayflower Inn & Spa (replacing Monica Neumann) and Regional Vice President of Auberge Resorts. He had recently had a short stint as General Manager of Amanyara after serving as Senior General Manager overseeing both the Four Seasons Seychelles and the Four Seasons Seychelles at Desroches Island. From 2013 to 2017, Linsley was the Managing Director of Little Dix Bay for Rosewood.

Donelle Zunker has been appointed General Manager at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa. She was most recently overseeing the Renaissance Atlanta and the Marriott Atlanta Airport Gateway.

Joseph Violi is now in Barbados as Group General Manager for Unna Resorts. He was most recently the General Manager at the Renaissance Turtle Creek in Dallas. Violi is the former General Manager of the Hotel Granduca Austin, Casa Marina & The Ranch in Key West, and the Doubletree by Hilton Sonoma Wine Country.

Adam Effron has been named General Manager of the Waldorf Astoria Park City. He was previously the Hotel Manager of the Conrad New York.

Nicolas Pesty takes over from Richard Launay as General Manager of the Sofitel Cartagena. Pesty had previously been the General Manager of London’s Sofitel St. James and Chicago’s Sofitel Water Tower.

Marina Aslanidou has been appointed General Manager of the Whitney Hotel in Boston, slated to open this spring. She was most recently the Director of Sales for Grace Hotels North America and had previously served as General Manager of the Grace Vanderbilt Hotel.

Jason Delcamp has been promoted to General Manager of the Halcyon in Denver. He joined the hotel in 2016 as Director of Operations and had previously served as Director of Rooms of the Westin Westminster Denver.

Simon Antoine is now in Manhattan as General Manager of the Sofitel New York. He was most recently the opening General Manager of the InterContinental Washington D.C. – The Wharf. He rejoins Accor after 22 years with InterContinental. The position of General Manager at the Sofitel New York had been vacant since Rudy Tauscher joined the Four Seasons New York as General Manager in August 2018.

Sean Coghlan has been appointed General Manager at the Acme Hotel in Chicago. Most recently, he was the General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Hoffman Estates.

Pedro Tomás has transitioned to General Manager at the newly rebranded Hilton La Romana in Playa Bayahibe. He had joined the former Dreams La Romana in 2018 as General Manager after serving five years overseeing Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana.

Maggie Rosa has been named General Manager of the C. Baldwin, Curio Collection by Hilton, the former DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Downtown. Rosa was most recently serving as General Manager of the Hilton Houston Galleria Area.

Jessica Rincon has been named General Manager of the soon-to-open Wayfarer DTLA. Rincon was most recently with the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire as General Manager.

Gabor Vida has been appointed Managing Director of the Rosewood Washington, D.C. Most recently, Vida served as the Managing Director of the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe. Previously, he held the same role at the Rosewood Sand Hill.

Thomas Hoffmann has been named Dual General Manager of the Otis Hotel and the AC Hotel Austin. He was most recently the opening General Manager of the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook in Birmingham.

Marc Choplick has been appointed General Manager at BEI San Francisco. He is the former General Manager of the Westin Long Beach.

Paul Filla has been named General Manager of the Chase Park Plaza Royal Sonesta Hotel in St. Louis. He was most recently the Senior Vice President of Operations for Crescent Hotels and Resorts in St. Louis.

Talene Lanuza Staab has been appointed Global Head of Tru by Hilton. She has been with the company for over 25 years, most recently serving as Vice President-Owner Relations.

Arthur Holman has joined the Sunridge Hotel Group as Vice President of Operations. He was most recently the General Manager of the Residence Inn by Marriott Miami Beach – Surfside and Vice President Operations of the Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group.

Shawn Jervis is now in Washington, D.C. as General Manager of the Liaison Washington Capitol Hill. He was most recently the General Manager at the Barnsley Resort. Jervis is the former General Manager of the Miramonte Resort & Spa, the Embassy Row Hotel and Terranea.

Bethany Hopp has joined the Nautical Beachfront Resort as Controller. She was previously the Chief Financial Officer for Havasu Landing Resort and Casino and Director of Finance and Accounting for Durango Mountain Resort.

Jorge Castillo has joined the Four Seasons Los Cabos at Costa Palmas as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage of the Rosewood Puebla.

The Four Seasons Toronto has named Maxime Regad Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same position at the Four Seasons Hampshire.

Diego Ruiz De Porras has moved over to Casa del Mar in Santa Monica as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently with the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills as General Manager of Jean Georges. 


Lindsay Chapon has been named Director of Food and Beverage of the Hotel Revival. She was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage of the Renaissance Charlotte Suites.

Warren Richards has been named Executive Director Food and Beverage of the Encore Boston Harbor. He was previously the Director of Fine Dining of the Wynn and Encore Las Vegas.

Joe Garciaros has been appointed Director of People and Culture at Mr. C Beverly Hills. He is the former Director of Human Resources of the Hotel Bel-Air, the Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, and Le Méridien Delfina Santa Monica.

Ben Trodd has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Sales & Hotel Marketing at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. He was most recently serving the company as Senior Vice President, Global Sales. Trodd is the former Regional Vice President and General Manager of the Beverly Wilshire and had previously overseen the Four Seasons Seattle.

Kyra Rydlund is now in Huntington Beach as Director of Sales and Marketing of the Kimpton Shorebreak Resort. Most recently, Rydlund served as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Hotel Indigo Denver Downtown Union Station.

One Ocean Resort & Spa has named Darren Keener Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Associate Director of Sales of the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort.

Jana Yackel has joined the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver as Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at Executive Hotels & Resorts.

John Hess has moved to the Omni Homestead Resort as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently in the same role at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort.

Corinne Hart has moved to the Hotel Revival, Baltimore as Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, she was a Group Sales Manager at the Four Seasons Baltimore.

Rick Oberdahloff has joined the Fontaine in Kansas City as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently with Sonesta Hotels in Austin, as Director of Business Travel.

Nichole Cooper has returned to the Allison Inn & Spa as Director of Sales. She had previously served the resort as Group Sales and Catering Manager before moving into her most recent role as Director of Sales and Marketing of the Crowne Plaza Lake Oswego.

Alicia Miller has been appointed Director of Group Sales of both the Austin Marriott Downtown and JW Marriott Austin. She had previously been with the Marriott Marquis Houston as a Senior Sales Executive and Director of Group Sales.

Lai Pena has been named Associate Director of Sales for Virgin Limited Edition in Los Angeles. She was most recently the Director of Sales, Western Region USA and Canada with Aman Resorts.

Sarah Becker has been promoted to Associate Director of Sales at the Kimpton Solamar Hotel, in San Diego. Becker had joined the hotel in 2016 as a Group Sales Manager.

Ellis Chong has been named Executive Chef of the Four Seasons One Dalton Street, Boston. He is the former Executive Sous Chef of the Four Seasons Hualalai and the Four Seasons Palo Alto.

Patrice Martineau has joined Martha’s Vineyard’s Harbor View Hotel as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef of the Montage Beverly Hills, the Viceroy Palm Springs, and the Belmond El Encanto.

Andreas Schatzschneider has joined the St. Regis Bal Harbour as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef of the Ritz-Carlton Dubai, International Financial Center and the Ritz-Carlton Cancún.

Eric Cousin has been named Executive Chef at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. He is the former Executive Chef of the St. Regis Aspen and the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa.

Scott Hines has been appointed Executive Chef of the Hotel Revival. He was most recently the Executive Chef at Baltimore’s B&O American Brasserie, where he led the culinary team for the past three years.

Victor Martinez has been appointed Executive Chef at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center. For the past four years, he had served as Executive Chef of the Embassy Suites by Hilton Downtown Chicago Magnificent Mile.

Frank Tosti has been named Assistant Director of Food and Beverage of the Four Seasons Austin. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Palm Beach as Banquet Manager.

Jackie Flory has been named Spa Director of the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin. She was most recently Spa Director of the original Mokara Hotel & Spa in San Antonio.

Jason Paluch has moved to the Mandarin Oriental Boston as Director of Spa and Wellness. He was most recently in the same role at the Mandarin Oriental Atlanta and is the former Director of Spa and Wellness at the Mandarin Oriental New York.

EUROPE

Nicholas Northam has been promoted to Executive Vice President – International – with Interstate Hotels & Resorts. He has been with the company since 2016, most recently as Managing Director UK.

Mauro Governato is the new General Manager of the Peninsula Paris. He follows in the steps of Nicolas Béliard and Katja Henke. Governato was previously the General Manager of the Four Seasons Milano and Rome’s Hotel de Russie. He also served as Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons George Cinq.

Adam Reckert has joined the Hilton Manchester Deansgate as General Manager. He was most recently overseeing the Radisson Blu Liverpool.

Massimiliano Perversi has been appointed General Manager of the Aleph Rome Hotel. He is the former Chief Operations Officer of HLH Collection Hotels & Resorts and Managing Director of the Resort Baia Scarlino.

Emmy Stoel has joined the Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam, as General Manager. For the past six years, she had served as General Manager of the Hotel Okura Amsterdam.

Michiel Roelfsema takes over from Emmy Stoel with his promotion to General Manager at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam. Roelfsema has been with the hotel since 2008, most recently serving as Deputy General Manager.

Pedro Neto has been appointed Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Prague. He has been with the company since 2004, most recently as Director of Food and Beverage of the Four Seasons Maui.

Willemijn Geels has been promoted to Vice President of Development, Europe with InterContinental Hotels Group, based in Paris. She was most recently serving the company as Associate Vice President Development.

Joelle Edwards-Tonks has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications at Oetker Hotel Management, based in Paris. She has been with the company since 2010, most recently as Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Stefan Müller has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Shangri-La Hotel, at The Shard. He was most recently in the same role at the Baglioni Hotel London and the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.

Matteo Temperini has joined Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco as Executive Chef. Most recently, he served as Executive Chef of Le Sirenuse in Positano, leading the hotel’s La Sponda restaurant to earn its first Michelin star.

Sébastien Cassagnol has been named Executive Chef at the Hotel Royal Savoy in Lausanne. Most recently he was the Executive Chef at La Mamounia in Marrakesh. Cassagnol is the former Executive Chef of the Rotana Amman, the Nirwana Resort Bali, and the Anassa, in Cyprus.

Gary Head has been named Executive Chef at the Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club Bearsted. He is the former Executive Chef of the Weald of Kent Golf Conference and Business Centre.

Raul Garcia has been named Director of Rooms of the Four Seasons Madrid. He was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla.

Hanneke Stoop has been appointed Spa Director of the Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne. She is the former Spa Director of the Royal Mansour Marrakech and the Ultima Gstaad.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Guy Heywood has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. Most recently, he spent eight years in a comparable position at Alila Hotels and Resorts. Other roles include management positions at Amanresorts and Voyages Hotels and Resorts.

Christian Poda has been named General Manager of the Four Seasons Beijing. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Jakarta as General Manager. Poda is the former Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Pudong.

Yonatan Kachko has been named General Manager of the Four Seasons Jakarta. He was most recently serving as Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Hong Kong.

Samir Wildemann has been appointed Vice President of Operations at Fusion Resorts in Vietnam. His most recent role was as General Manager and Senior Vice President for Southeast Asia at Siam Kempinski Hotel.

The Six Senses Fiji Malolo Island has named Frans Westraadt General Manager. He joined Six Senses in 2014, most recently as Resort Manager of the Six Senses Yao Noi.

Simon Bellhas has been named General Manager of the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park. Since 2014, he had been overseeing the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel.

GP Yeow has been named General Manager of the W Hong Kong. For the past five years, he had been the General Manager of the JW Marriott Beijing.

Coetzer Deysel has been appointed General Manager of the Anantara Mauritius Resort, slated to open later this year. Coetzer joined Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas in February 2016 as Cluster General Manager in the Maldives for Anantara Dhigu, Anantara Veli and sister property Naladhu Private Island.

Jonas Illing has been appointed General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Chengdu. Since 2016, he has been the Hotel Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

Rupert Hallam has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Adelaide. Hallam was most recently the Vice President, Sales, Asia Pacific, based in Singapore, for Hilton International.

Joanne Sproule has been appointed General Manager of the Ovolo Central Hong Kong. She was most recently the Director of Sales of the QT Sydney and QT Bondi.

Tanya Ritter has been promoted to General Manager of the Ovolo 1888 Darling Harbour. She was most recently the Operations Manager of the Ovolo Woolloomooloo.

Farid Schoucair has been appointed General Manager of the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Singapore. He is the former General Manager of the New World Makati Hotel, the Hyatt Regency Manila, and the Hyatt Regency Jeju.

Rachael Harman has been named General Manager of the Le Méridien Singapore, Sentosa. She was most recently in the same position for the Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu. Harman is the former Hotel Manager and Director of Sales and Marketing of the Westin Kuala Lumpur.

Justin Phillips has been named General Manager of the Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens Melbourne. Previously, he was based in Singapore as Senior Director, Luxury and Lifestyle Brand Management and Support, with Hilton Worldwide.

Dan Mizrahi has returned to Hawaii to take over as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Lanai. He had previously served as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Hualalai before moving into the same role at the Four Seasons Palm Beach.

Julia Davidson has been named Vice President Brand Strategic Planning and Development of Outrigger Hospitality Group. She was most recently the Director of Marketing for IHG Army Hotels.

Jens Reichert has been appointed Chief Development Officer at BHMA Hotels & Resorts in Bangkok. He is the former Vice President Development – Asia Pacific at Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts and Vice President Asset Management for IFA Hotels & Resorts.

Even Cai has been promoted to Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Shanghai. Cai had joined the hotel in 2015 as Director of Sales.

Kamarl John has joined the Four Seasons Singapore as Restaurant Chef at One-Ninety. He is the former Sous Chef with the opening team of the Four Seasons London at Ten Trinity Square and Executive Sous Chef for Adrift at the Marina Bay Sands.

The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa has appointed Glen Roberts Executive Chef. He was most recently in the same position at the Emerald Palace Kempinski Dubai and had previously served as Executive Chef of the Shangri-La Surabaya.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Guenter Gebhard has been appointed General Manager of the Four Seasons Riyadh at Kingdom Centre. He is the former General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Bodrum.

Eleni Tsolakou has been appointed General Manager of the Address Dubai Marina. She is the former General Manager of the Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana and the Centro Barsha by Rotana.

Lotfi Masbahi has been appointed General Manager of the Anantara Tozeur Resort, Tunisia. He was most recently the General Manager of the Radisson Blu Sousse.

The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel by Anantara, and Avani Victoria Falls Resort have appointed Laurie Burr General Manager. Burr was most recently with Legacy Hotels & Resorts, South Africa and Zimbabwe, where, as Area General Manager looking after a portfolio of five hotels.

Paul Uglesic has been named General Manager of the Swiss-Belinn Muscat. He was most recently at the Park Inn by Radisson Dubai Motor City as opening General Manager.

Torsten Richter has been appointed General Manager of The Jaffa in Tel Aviv. He was most recently overseeing the SO Sofitel Bangkok.

Omar Souab has transitioned to General Manager with the rebranding of the Fairmont Fujairah Beach Resort to the Sofitel Dubai Wafi. He is the former Hotel Manager and Director of Operations of the Fairmont Dubai.

Jarrett Beaulieu has been named Corporate Vice President – Food and Beverage Operations – for Rotana Hotel Management. He was most recently with Hilton Worldwide as Director of Food and Beverage Development and Openings EMEA.

Riad Abi Haidar has joined the Address Dubai Mall as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of Manzil Downtown.

Slim Ben Chahla has been appointed Executive Chef of the Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri. He is the former Executive Chef of Ksar Char-Bagh and La Maison Arabe, both in Marrakech.

Nikolaos Tsimidakis has been named Executive Chef of the Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai. He was most recently Executive Sous Chef of the InterContinental Dubai – Festival City and Executive Chef at Nola Social House.

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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