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: August 2019

THE AMERICAS

John James has been named President and Chief Executive Officer at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket. He was most recently the Chief Operating Officer for Morongo Casino Resort & Spa located in Cabazon.

Philippe Cassis has been appointed Regional Vice President for The Americas at Meliá Hotels. He is the former Chief Operating Officer of Belmond.

Paige Lund has been appointed General Manager of the legendary JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. Lund was most recently the General Manager of the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel.

Pedro Dias has been named Area General Manager for 
YOTEL in New York. He is the former General Manager
of the W Chicago Lakeshore and The Surrey in Manhattan.




Katy Powers has returned to The Wigwam to take on the roles of Managing Director and General Manager. She had previously served the resort as Director of Food and Beverage and Resort Manager. She left in 2017 to take on the role of General Manager first at the Doubletree Salt Lake City Airport, then of Hilton Garden Inn Seattle Downtown.

Patrick Cappa has been appointed General Manager of the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto. Most recently, Cappa was the Vice President, Resort Operations for Casino Rama Resort.

Mary Giuliano has been named Managing Director at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, soon to be rebranded as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. She was most recently the General Manager of the Vdara Hotel & Spa.

Stuart Barwise has joined the Tides Inn as General Manager. He is the former General Manager/Vice President of Lodging at Sugarloaf USA and Director of Hotel Operations/Regional General Manager at US Hotels and Grace Hotels.

The Central Station, a Curio Collection by Hilton in Memphis has appointed Jeremy Sadler General Manager. He was most recently the opening General Manager for the Tulsa Club, a Curio Collection by Hilton.

Veronika Kecskes has been named General Manager of the new KASA Hotel Riviera Maya, slated to open in October. Kecskes was previously the Operations Manager of the KASA Hotel Parota Tulum.

The Abbey Inn & Spa, has named Gilbert Baeriswil General Manager. For the past two years, he had served as General Manager at the nearby Mahopac Golf & Beach Club.

The Hotel Revival in Baltimore has appointed Donte Johnson as General Manager. He was most recently overseeing the Riggs Hotel Washington, D.C.

Hotel Indigo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has appointed Tracey Rucks General Manager. He had most recently overseen the Fairfield Inn & Suites Manhattan Central Park and the Holiday Inn Times Square. Rucks had previously served as Manager of the Inn on 5th Avenue and the Hilton Garden Inn in Edison, New Jersey.

Vasco Baselli has been appointed General Manager at the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hilton Lima Miraflores in Peru.

Sascha Hemmann has been appointed Managing Director at the Rosewood Bermuda Tucker’s Point. Most recently, Hemmann served as the General Manager of Nanuku Auberge Resort in Viti Levu, Fiji.

The Sorrel River Ranch Resort & Spa has named Keith Hill General Manager. Hill was most recently the General Manager of the Timber Cove Inn.

Andres Ducoudray has been appointed General Manager of The Glasshouse in New York. He is the former Director of Operations of the Rainbow Room.

Henri Birmele has joined the Carté Hotel San Diego Downtown, Curio Collection by Hilton as General Manager. Birmele was most recently the General Manager for the Landing Resort & Spa in Lake Tahoe.

Eric Foley has joined The James New York Nomad as General Manager. He was most recently in the same role at the Refinery Hotel. 



The Craddock Terry Hotel at Bluffwalk Center has appointed Becky Jo Aleman Hotel Director. She was previously with Hotel Equities as Regional Director of Operations and General Manager of the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Lynchburg.

Hugh Templeman has joined the Grand Bohemian Hotel Charlotte as pre-opening General Manager. He is the former General Manager
 of the Westin Nashville and the Viceroy Snowmass.

Joseph Fisher has been appointed Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami. He was most recently opening General Manager of the Embassy Suites by Hilton, South Jordan & Palm Beach Gardens in Utah.

Kerem Kendigelen is in Canada as Hotel Manager of the St. Regis Toronto. He was most recently the General Manager of the Playa Largo Resort & Spa. Kendigelen is the former Director of Food and Beverage of the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel & Casino and the St. Regis Washington, D.C.

Jim Koutsky has been named Director of Finance for the Grand Plaza Hotel and the Beachcomer, both in St. Pete Beach. He was most recently in the same role at the Stonewall Resort.

William Friedrichs has joined The Harpeth as Director of Food and Beverage. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage of the Noelle Nashville and the Dewberry Hotel in Charleston.

Orlando Ramos has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Ridge in Basking Ridge. He was previously with the David Burke Group as General Manager, based out of the David Burke Tavern.

Hani Kirollos has been named Director of Food and Beverage of Cavallo Point Lodge. Kirollos was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage of the Hotel Nia.

Craig Tooker has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Gabriel Miami. For the past six years he had served as Executive Chef/Director of Food and Beverage at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa.

Chans Rock has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage of Carté Hotel San Diego Downtown. He was most recently General Manager of the Hotel Erwin.

The YOTEL Boston has named Michael Letterman Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in charge of the Fairmont Copley Plaza’s Oak Long Bar + Kitchen.

The St. Anthony Hotel has named Michael McClellan Director of Food and Beverage. Most recently, McClellan was overseeing food and beverage operations at the La Cantera Resort & Spa.

Alexandre Mazoire has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole. He was most recently serving as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.

Judy Velez has been promoted at the Ace Hotel Chicago to Director of Food and Beverage. She was most recently the General Manager of Atelier Ace.

Andrew Arthurs has joined Interstate Hotels & Resorts as Chief Information Officer. He was most recently in the same role at Two Roads Hospitality.

Simon De Swaan has joined Goodwin Recruiting in Colorado as a Recruiter – Hospitality Division. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage of the Four Seasons Vail and Gurney’s Inn in Montauk.

John Donaldson has been appointed Vice President of Business Development & Strategy for Hilton. He was most recently with Pandora Media as Senior Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development.

Jeff Guillory has been named Director of Sales and Marketing of Riverhouse on the Deschutes in Bend, Oregon. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of the Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown and the Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth.

Hilary Meisel has been named Director of Global Accounts, Northeast for Auberge Resorts Collection. She was most recently serving as Senior Account Executive, Luxury Account Sales, for Marriott International.

Helen Nelson has joined the Central Station, a Curio Collection by Hilton as Director of Sales and Marketing. Nelson was most recently overseeing sales and marketing at Hu. Hotel Memphis.

Paul Sposare has started a new position as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Fairmont Century Plaza. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of the Montage Beverly Hills, and Area Director of Sales and Marketing at the sbe Group.

Danyelle Montgomery has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of the Thompson Zihuatanejo. She was most recently Area Director of National Accounts at Ritz-Carlton Hotels for the Caribbean and Mexico.

MarQuies Willis has joined Carté Hotel San Diego Downtown as Director of Sales and Marketing. Willis was most recently Associate Director of Sales for Kimpton Solamar Hotel.

The Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles has named Fred DeSota Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently with Interstate Hotels & Resorts as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

The Abbey Inn has named Olivia Calcagnini Director of Sales and Marketing. Calcagnini is the former Account Manager at Convene and Director of Sales and Marketing of the Holiday Inn Mt. Kisco.

Ryan Ocker as Director of Sales and Marketing. Ocker was most recently the Managing Director at SMART Hotel Consulting and Director of Sales at Hilton Brooklyn New York.

Jed Arrogante has joined the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point as Account Director, Business Development. He was most recently a Sales Manager at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

The Harpeth has appointed Kimberly Elder Director of Sales. She was most recently the Director of Sales of the Hyatt Place Nashville/Franklin.

The Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan has named Louis Lanfranchi Director of Sales. He was most recently at the Parker New York, starting as a Group Sales Manager and moving up to Director of Group Sales, and in 2010, to Director of Sales.

David Corke has been named National Sales Manager at the Sorrel River Ranch Resort & Spa. Corke was most recently the Director of Travel Industry Sales at JG Blackbook.

Eugene, Oregon’s Obie Hospitality has named David Parker Director of Revenue. Parker has spent the last 18 years as Director of Revenue at the Sheraton Grand Seattle.

Nancy Johns has been appointed Vice President Digital Strategy of Crescent Hotels & Resorts. Johns was most recently the Corporate Director of Ecommerce for the Pyramid Hotel Group.

Marco Fossati has joined the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef of the Four Seasons The Biltmore Santa Barbara and the Four Seasons Palo Alto.

Aaron Martinez has been appointed Executive Chef of Cinder House at the Four Seasons St. Louis. He is the former Chef de Cuisine at Commis and Quince.

Sandro Falbo is now in Mexico as Executive Chef 
of the 
One&Only Resort Cabo. Falbo is the former Executive Chef
 of the Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm, the Fullerton Hotel and the Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore.

L’Auberge Del Mar has appointed Christopher Carriker Executive Chef. Most recently, Carriker served as Executive Chef at International Smoke in San Diego for Chef Michael Mina’s first venture in San Diego.

The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort has appointed Javier Arango as Executive Chef. Most recently, Arango served as Executive Sous Chef at the JW Marriott Absheron in Baku, Azerbaijan. He is the former Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, as well as the Ritz-Carlton Budapest.

Franco Diaz has joined the Ritz-Carlton Chicago as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Sous Chef 
and Executive Chef of the Peninsula Manila.

The Trump National Doral Miami has named James Rogers Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the JW Marriott Marquis.

Paul Gregory has joined the Palomar Los Angeles as Executive Chef of Double Take. He is the former Executive Chef at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel and Director of Food and Beverage Director of the Westin Los Angeles Airport.

John Paidas has been named Executive Chef at The Abbey Inn. The CIA graduate is the former Executive Chef of the Sagamore Pendry.

Nash Tennant has been named General Manager of the h Club Los Angeles. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage of Hollywood’s NeueHouse and Director of Operations at Spring Place Beverly Hills.

EUROPE

Accor Luxe has appointed Marc Dardenne Chief Operating Officer in Europe. He was most recently in the same post at Amaala. Dardenne is the former Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts in Dubai.

Kurt Macher has been named General Manager of London’s Shangri-La at The Shard. He was most recently in the same role at the Temple House Chengdu.

Max Musto has been appointed General Manager at the Four Seasons Firenze. He has been with the company since 1998 serving most recently as General Manager of the Four Seasons Moscow and the Four Seasons Chiang Mai.

Paul Skinner has joined Dukes London as General Manager, taking over from Debrah Dhugga. Skinner was most recently Director of Operations of the Jumeirah Carlton Tower.

Laurence Dubey has been appointed General Manager at the Nobu Hotel Barcelona, slated to open September. She was most recently the General Manager at the Nobu Eden Roc Resort in Miami.

Maximilian von Reden has been appointed General Manager of the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern & The Spa. The Lausanne graduate is the former General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Prague.

Guntram Weipert has been named General Manager of the Hotel Handelshof. Weipert replaces Hans Kauschke, who celebrated his retirement after almost 40 years with Steigenberger. Weipert has been with Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts for almost eleven years, serving as General Manager of the Steigenberger Alpenhotel & SPA Gstaad and, most recently, the Steigenberger Bellerive au Lac in Zurich.

Alexander Skibbe will assume overall management at the Steigenberger Hotel Bremen, taking over from Marc Wachal who is leaving the company for family reasons. Skibbe is currently the Director of Operations at the Steigenberger Hotel Hamburg.

Florence Alloing has been promoted to General Manager at the Georgian House in London. She joined the hotel in 2018 as Revenue Manager.

Ronan Barrett has joined the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian as Commercial Director. He was most recently at Pineapple as Marketing Director.

Michael Pracht has been named Chief Financial Officer of Kempinski Hotels in Geneva, replacing Colin Lubbe. Pracht is the former General Manager of Hotel Management Services.

Adam Byatt has been appointed Chef Director of Food and Beverage at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, taking over from Heinz Beck. Byatt is the Chef Proprietor of Michelin-starred Trinity, Bistro Union and Upstairs.

Julie’s in London’s Holland Park has appointed Shay Cooper as Chef-Patron. For the past five years he had served as Executive Chef of the Goring.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Peter Finamore is now the Senior Vice President of Hospitality for the Grand Lisboa Palace in Macau. He is a former Regional Vice President for Fairmont and the Chief Operating Officer of MGM China.

Marcel Damen has been promoted to General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Chengdu. He joined the hotel in 2018 as Hotel Manager after serving as Executive Assistant Manager – Rooms & Residences of the Ritz-Carlton Guangzhou.

The Outrigger Hospitality Group has named Henry Schwartz Vice President and Chief Information Officer. With more than 20 years at KSL Resorts, Schwartz was most recently Vice President of IT.

Kai Speth has moved into the new role of Vice President Operations & Business Performance for WMC. He was most recently overseeing the Réverie Saigon. Speth is the former General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Taipei and the Sofitel Métropole in Hanoi.

Douglas Glen has joined the Carlton City Hotel Singapore as General Manager. He is the former General Manager and Hotel Manager of The Landmark Bangkok.

René Balmer has been appointed Group General Manager at Chatrium Hotels and Residences in Bangkok. He was most recently with Absolute Hotel Services as Senior Vice President Technical Services Pre-Opening.

The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort have named Todd Oldham Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Kahala Hotel and Resort and the Fairmont Kea Lani.

Cédric Simon has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Sukhothai Shanghai. The Lausanne graduate was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage for Sofitel Bangkok.

Nicholas Chapple has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Perth. He was most recently the Food and Beverage Manager at the Sofitel Gold Coast.

Balwin Yeung has been appointed Group Director Global Sales at Wharf Hotels in Hong Kong. He was most recently Director of Sales and Marketing, Hong Kong and South China at Royal Caribbean International.

Nicolas Piatti has been appointed Executive Chef of the Conrad Koh Samui. He was previously Executive Chef of the Hilton Bogotá Cundinamarca.

The Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River has named Jitlada Kulvanish as Director of Rooms. She was previously in the same position at the Siam Kempinski Hotel.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Nathalie Cockayne is the new General Manager of the Mélia Desert Palm Dubai. She previously opened the Mandarin Oriental Doha as Hotel Manager.

Tony Coveney has been appointed General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Astana. He is the former Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Riyadh at Kingdom Center.

Kai Winkler has been appointed General Manager of the Fairmont The Palm in Dubai. He was most recently the General Manager of the Fairmont Quasar.

Aurelio Giraudo has been named General Manager of the Banyan Tree Doha. Since 2018, he had been Cluster General Manager of the Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi and the Olare Mara Kempinski Masai Mara.

Mark Timbrell has been named General Manager of the Kempinski Summerland Hotel & Resort in Beirut. He was most recently the General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Amman.

Peter Tempelhoff has been appointed Culinary Director at Ellerman House in Cape Town. He was most recently overseeing Fyn Restaurant and the former Executive Chef at Greenhouse Restaurant in Cape Town.

Julia Gajcak has joined Amalaa in Ryiadh as Chief Marketing Officer. She was most recently with Six Senses as Vice President Marketing and Communications. Prior to her six years with Six Senses, she also served 6 years with Ritz-Carlton.

Anja van Zyl has joined the Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi as Executive Chef. She is the former chef of the Mount Nelson and the Relais & Château Asara Estate & Hotel, both in Namibia.

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

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

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