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: September 2020

THE AMERICAS

Bill Hornbuckle has been confirmed at MGM as Chief Executive Officer and President after serving as acting since March. Previously, he had served the company as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Philip Barnes has been named Regional Vice President, Southern California, for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and General Manager of the Fairmont Century Plaza. He was most recently the Managing Director and Regional Vice President, The Savoy in London.

Janis Clapoff has joined the Belmond El Encanto as General Manager, taking over from Colleen Huther who left the resort in June. Clapoff was most recently the Managing Director of the Lake Austin Spa Resort. She is the former Managing Director of the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa and General Manager of Halekulani.

The Pendry San Diego appointed Victorio Gonzalez General Manager, taking over from Michael O’Donohue. Gonzalez was most recently the Resort Manager of the Montage Los Cabos.

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has appointed Melonie Johnson President and Chief Operating Officer. Johnson is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of the MGM National Harbor in Maryland, and the Gold Strike Casino Resort in Mississippi.

Ian Williams has been named General Manager of the San Ysidro Ranch. He was most recently the Director of Rooms of the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas after joining the resort in 2014 as Assistant Director of Rooms.

Tijs Klerx has joined the West Hollywood EDITION as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Raleigh Miami Beach. Klerx is the former General Manager of the Viceroy Chicago.

Jonathan Brashier has been named General Manager of the Hotel Hartness in South Carolina, opening early 2022. He is the former General Manager of the Aloft Hotel Greenville.

Carlos Cerda is the opening General Manager of Hotel Melby in Florida. Cerda is the former General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront, the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place, and the DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne Beach.

The Kimpton Sylvan Hotel, set to open in early 2021 in Buckhead, has appointed Tristan Haas General Manager. Haas is the former General Manager of the Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.

Ed Gunderson has joined Aimbridge Hospitality as Vice President of Operations – Resorts & Full-Service Hotels. He is the former General Manager of the Grand Naniloa Resort and the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs.

Jan McCormick has been named Regional Vice President of Operations at Vision Hospitality Group. He was most recently the Regional Vice President of Operations for Benchmark Hospitality.

Kristine Thompson has joined the Cabot Saint Lucia as Chief Executive Officer. She is the former Chief Executive Officer for Sunshine Snacks and Canboulay Energy Capital.

David Sher has joined the Fairmont Pittsburgh as General Manager. He was most recently the Director of Operations of the Fairmont Dallas. Sher is the former Director of Food and Beverage of the Fairmont Chicago and the Fairmont Ottawa.

Anne Marie Johns has joined the Fairmont Mont Tremblant. She was previously with the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal as Hotel Manager after serving 10 years as the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing.

Xavier Etcheberrigaray is now in Savannah as General Manager of the Kimpton Brice. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.

The AC Hotel Greenville, opening early 2021, has appointed John Deck General Manager. He is the former Corporate Director of Food and Beverage at Auro Hotels.

Caribe Royale Orlando has appointed Amaury Piedra Managing Director. Most recently, Piedra was General Manager of the Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina in Fort Lauderdale.

Xavier Moulin takes over for Shadi Omeish as General Manager of 1 South Beach. Moulin was most recently overseeing 1 Hotel and Homes Cabo.

Felix Schaller takes over from Xavier Moulin as General Manager of the 1 Hotel and Homes Cabo. Schaller was most recently overseeing the One West Hollywood.

Shadi Omeish has moved to the 1 West Hollywood as General Manager, taking over from Felix Schaller. Omeish was most recently the General Manager of the 1 Hotel South Beach. He is the former Hotel Manager of the St. Regis Bal Harbour and Vice President of Hotel Operations of the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Rick Evanich has joined Milestone Retirement Communities as Senior Executive Director. He is the former Area Managing Director for Noble House Hotels & Resorts and General Manager of the Waldorf Astoria Chicago.

Todd Kinney has been appointed General Manager of the Hyatt House Tampa Avion Park, slated to open at the end of this year. He was most recently serving as a Regional Vice President of Operations for parent company McKibbon.

Kimberly O’Fallon has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at InnVentures. She was most recently the Director of Operations after serving the company for over 24 years as Senior Regional Director.

Michael Williams has been hired as Senior Vice President, Operations, The Summit at One Vanderbilt, in Manhattan. Most recently, Williams served as President of the NFL Experience. He previously served as President of Pypestream, as Chief Marketing Officer for Grand Prix Formula 1, and in various leadership positions for NHL and NFL sports teams.

Gerald Feurer has been hired as Director of Hospitality at SL Green. He previously served 13 years with Peninsula Hotels as Director of Global Sales. Feurer is a Lausanne graduate.

Gaman Guadagni has been named Vice President Operations for KSL Resorts at the Camelback Resort. He was most recently with Aramark as Vice President of Operations for Yosemite Hospitality.

Hotel Equities has promoted Bryan DeCort to Chief Operating Officer. In 2017, DeCort joined the firm as Senior Vice President of Operations, and most recently served as Executive Vice President.

The Garden of the Gods Resort and Club has named Christopher Walling Resort Manager. Most recently Walling served as Resort Manager for Gurney’s Resorts including the Gurney’s Montauk and the Gurney’s Star Island.

Gregory Viaud is the new Resort Manager of the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort. He has been with the company for 16 years, most recently as Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Philadelphia at Comcast Center.

Jay Wetzel has returned to Rosewood Hotels and Resorts as Vice President Food and Beverage – Americas. He had previously served the company as Senior Corporate Director of Food and Beverage, before taking on his most recent role as Vice President Food and Beverage for Virgin Hotels.

Megan Humphreys has been named Vice President Food and Beverage Strategy at MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas. She was most recently with the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino as Vice President of Food and Beverage.

Christian Maeder is the new Director of Food and Beverage at the Maybourne Beverly Hills (formerly the Montage Beverly Hills). He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage of the Four Seasons Santa Barbara. Maeder is the former Director of Food and Beverage of The Setai, Miami Beach.

Antonio Bombini has been named Director of Operations for the Monaco Restaurant Group. He was most recently with the Mandarin Oriental Pudongxin as Director of Food and Beverage. Bombini is the former Assistant Director of Food and Beverage of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei City.

Brian McFarland has been named General Manager of Restaurants, Bars & Events for the Sylvan Hotel in Atlanta. He was most recently in a similar post in Seattle for the Hotel Monaco & Outlier.

Dania Gonzalez has moved to the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles as Director of Human Resources. She was most recently in the same position at the W Los Angeles. Gonzalez is the former Director of Human Resource Operations of the Westin St. Francis San Francisco.

Red Roof has promoted Matthew Hostetler to Chief Development Officer. Since 2014 he had served as Senior Vice President Franchise Development.

Salar Alemi is now the Director of Marketing of the Four Seasons Chicago. He was most recently in the same position at the Four Seasons Toronto. Alemi is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of the Fairmont Edmonton.

One&Only Palmilla has appointed Kelly Teo Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Teo was Director of Sales and Marketing at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills.

Dina Fenili Niekamp has joined Miraval as Director of Brand and Marketing. She is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of the Kimpton Gray Hotel and Virgin Hotels Chicago.

The Kimpton Gray Hotel has promoted Joel Contor to Director of Sales and Marketing, taking over from Dina Fenili Niekamp. He joined the hotel in 2019 as Associate Director of Sales and Marketing.

Jon Chocklett has rejoined the Watergate Hotel as Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development. He had previously served the hotel as Vice President, Sales & Business Development in 2016. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner and had previously served as Director of Marketing of the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore and the Beverly Wilshire.

Concord Hospitality Enterprises has named Melinda Griffith Senior Vice President of Business Development. She is the former Senior Vice President of Development and Acquisitions at Interstate Hotels & Resorts (now Aimbridge Hospitality).

Sonesta International Hotels has appointed Steve “Marty” Grant Area Director, Sales, Marketing & Revenue, overseeing the Clift Royal Sonesta San Francisco and the Sonesta Silicon Valley. He is the former Complex Director of Sales for the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the Park 55.

The Hotel Revival in Baltimore has named Ilemona Salifu Area Director of Sales, Events and Marketing. Salifu will keep his current position as Director of Sales, Events and Marketing at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of the Hyatt Regency Morristown and Associate Director of Sales of the Grand Hyatt Atlanta Buckhead.

Marshall Hilliard has joined the Renaissance Asheville as Director of Sales and Marketing. Hilliard was most recently in the same position at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of the Westin Charlotte.

JC Hospitality has named Chad Brown Vice President of Marketing. Brown was most recently Vice President of Marketing Operations for MGM Resorts International.

Else Miller has been named Director of Sales of the AC Hotel Greenville. Miller has more than 18 years of experience in Greenville, where she led sales efforts at SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, Hyatt Regency and Hilton hotels.

The Viceroy Los Cabos has appointed Lorrianne Mesina as Director of Leisure Sales. She was previously serving as Regional Director of Sales & Business Development for Inspirato.

Laura Orfield has been named Director of Revenue Management at The Lodge at Sonoma. The Cornell graduate is the former Director of Revenue Management of the Montage Los Cabos, Regional Revenue Manager for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Director of Revenue Management for the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay.

The Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa has appointed Pietro Consorti Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef of the Andaz Wall Street.

Rebecca Tillman is the new Executive Chef at Lon’s at the Hermosa in Arizona. Since 2017, Tillman has been Executive Sous Chef at The Phoenician. Prior to that, she was Executive Chef at Biltmore House in Asheville, and Executive Sous Chef at Destination Kohler – The American Club.

Amber Lancaster has been named Executive Chef for The MC Hotel in Montclair, New Jersey. Lancaster was most recently Executive Chef of the Soho House Chicago.

Nicole Heaney is now the Executive Sous Chef at the Carneros Resort and Spa. She joined the resort in 2018 as Sous Chef. Heaney is the former Executive Chef of the River Terrace Inn and Sous Chef of the Carmel Valley Ranch.

The Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown has named Ashish Thalakkat Executive Pastry Chef. Thalakkat was most recently in the same role at the Fairmont Claremont Club & Spa in Berkeley. He is the former Executive Pastry Chef of the Fairmont Empress.

Tania McCorkle has joined the Garden of the Gods Resort and Club as Director of Spa and Fitness. She was most recently the Spa Director at Canyon Ranch in Arizona.

EUROPE

The Langham London has named Doris Greif Managing Director and Regional Vice President Operations, Europe and Middle East, for Langham Hospitality Group. Greif was most recently with Jumeirah as Senior Vice President Operations, MEASA, based in Dubai.

Franck Arnold is now in London as Managing Director of The Savoy, taking over from Philip Barnes. Arnold was most recently overseeing the Ritz-Carlton Toronto. He is the former General Manager of the Balmoral in Edinburgh, the Jefferson in Washington, D.C., and Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Chicago.

Thomas Maechler is the new General Manager of La Réserve Eden au Lac in Zurich. A Zurich native, Maechler spent 16 years as General Manager at the Beau-Rivage Hotel. He also held positions at the Peninsula Hong Kong, the Pierre New York and the Drake (Swissôtel) New York.

Franck Seguin has moved to the Mövenpick Geneva as General Manager, taking over from Nicolas Meylan who had held the position for 10 years. Seguin was most recently overseeing the Mövenpick Lausanne.

Thomas Greenall has been promoted at Bespoke Hotels to Chief Executive Officer. He had previously served the company as Financial Operations Manager and, most recently, Commercial Director. Greenall is the former General Manager of the Grosvenor Hotel in Shaftesbury and Resident Manager of the Costwold House Hotel and The Noel Arms.

Jürgen Ammerstorfer has joined the Ritz-Carlton Vienna as General Manager, taking over from Christian Zandonella. Ammerstorfer is the former General Manager of the EDITION London and Hotel Manager of the Shangri-La London.

Gianluca Priori has joined the Jumeirah Port Soller Mallorca as General Manager. He is the former General Manager and Director of Operations of the Hyatt Paris Madeleine and Director of Food and Beverage at the Capri Palace Hotel & Spa.

Jean Philippe Moser has moved to the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona as General Manager. He is the former General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Marrakech and Hotel Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.

Ilio Rodoni has joined the Hilton Hague as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice.

Antonello De Medici takes over from Ilio Rodoni as General Manager of the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice. He is the former Area Managing Director Venice for Marriott International.

Solomon Khaddour has been named General Manager of the Capital Hotel & Apartments in London’s Knightsbridge. For the past eight years, he had been overseeing 11 Cadogan Gardens.

Raoul Hoelzle is now in Bonn as General Manager of the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersburg. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof.

Michael Kain has returned to the Steigenberger Bad Homburg as General Manager. He had previously held the same position before joining the Steigenberger Parkhotel Düsseldorf in 2010.

Andrea Ludy has joined the Hotel am Steinplatz Berlin as General Manager. Ludy has previously served as Area Director of Sales and Distribution for Marriott International overseeing Central Europe, Czech Republic, and Thailand.

Stefan Willensdorfer is the opening General Manager of the IntercityHotel Graz. He was most recently the General Manager of the Roomz Graz.

Anne Ludmann has been named General Manager of the Sapphire House in Antwerp. She is the former General Manager of the Mercure Antwerp City Centre (former Leopold Hotel) and Hotel Manager of the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Brussels.

Annabelle Gamelin has been named General Manager of the Hôtel Alpaga in Megève. She was most recently at the Hotel Crillon le Brave as General Manager. Gamelin is the former Director of Sales and Marketing of La Réserve Paris.

Esther Oh Kostecky has been promoted to Hotel Manager with her move to the Four Seasons London. She was most recently with the Four Seasons Seoul in the same capacity.

Ulrich Johannwille will become the new Chief Financial Officer and Director of Human Resources of Steigenberger Hotels AG, taking over from Matthias Heck. Previously, Johannwille held a number of senior membership roles at German charter airline Condor Flugdienst GmbH. He spent more than 10 years as Chief Financial Officer and also acted as the airline’s Head of Controlling from 2006 to 2009.

Marie-Christine Bittencourt has been named Director of Sales of the Hôtel de Crillon. She was most recently at the Lvtétia in Paris as Associate Director of Sales.

Philippe Bossert has been named Executive Chef at the Bam Boo Asian restaurant & Bar in Algarve. He was most recently with the Hilton Cairo Heliopolis as Cluster Executive Chef

Frédéric Calmels has been named Chef de Cuisine at Les Sources de Cheverny. He was most recently at La Réserve Paris – Hotel and Spa as Executive Sous Chef.

ASIA AND THE PACFIC

The Rosewood Hotel Group has appointed Hoss Vetry Regional Vice President and Managing Director of the Rosewood Hong Kong. He had previously been with Ritz-Carlton for 25 years, most recently as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong and the Ritz-Carlton Doha.

Billy Sun has been named General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Hefei in China. In 2019, Sun became Cluster General Manager for six Marriott hotels in China’s Shandong region. He is the former General Manager of the Four Points by Sheraton Tai’an, the Sheraton Yantai Golden Beach Resort, and the Sheraton Zibo Hotel.

Juergen Doerr and Ulf Bremer switch locations as General Managers. Doerr was most recently overseeing the Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong and will now serve as General Manager of the Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong. Bremer has moved from the Island Shangri-La to the Kowloon Shangri-La as General Manager.

Christian Wiendieck is the General Manager of Kempinski Hotel Jinan. He was most recently the General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Fuzhou.

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has appointed Carla Puverel General Manager. She most recently served as General Manager of the Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort in Sri Lanka.

The soon-to-open Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort has appointed Daryn Hudson General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Stones Hotel – Legian Bali.

Christian Lueke has been appointed Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing of the Melia Hotels in Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. He was most recently the Regional Director of Sales Southeast Asia for Minor International.

Nathalie Debonnet has been named Director of Sales and Marketing of the Conrad Bora Bora Nui. She was most recently with the St. Regis Bora Bora as Director of Sales and Marketing. Prior to that, Debonnet spent 7 years as Regional Director of Sales for The Leading Hotels of The World.

Christian Lueke has been named Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing for Meliá Hotels International properties launched in Thailand; the Meliá Koh Samui, and the Meliá Chiang Mai, slated to open early next year. Leuke has worked in Thailand for 14 years, including most recently as Minor Hotels & Resorts’ Regional Director of Sales for Southeast Asia.

The Azerai Can Tho in Vietnam has appointed Ricardo Luja´n Executive Chef. Luja´n was most recently in the same role at Villa La Estancia Los Cabos.

Etienne Truter has joined the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef of the Park Hyatt Busan. Truter had previously served as Executive Chef of the Hyatt Regency Kyoto.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

The Tswalu Kalahari in South Africa has appointed Nigel Pace Head of Hospitality. Pace is the former General Manager of the Cape Grace Hotel and General Manager of Operations for The Collection by Liz McGrath.

Mohammed AbuKaraki has been named General Manager of the Radisson Residences Avrupa TEM Istanbul. He was most recently with the Radisson Blu Hotel Vadistanbul as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Mohamed Taher has been named Director of Strategic Sales of the Palazzo Versace Dubai. He was previously with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts as Director Global Sales Office in Dubai.

Cedric De Lima has been named Executive Pastry Chef of the Maxx Royal Resort Kemer in Turkey. He is the former Executive Pastry Chef at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong and Pastry Chef of the Shangri-La Boracay.

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

Twitter: @boutiquesrchfrm
Facebook: www.facebook.com/boutiquesearchfirm

www.boutiquesearchfirm.com