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.

THE AMERICAS

 It took 60 candidates and Spencer Stuart did it, but here it is: Starwood has hired 46-year-old Frits van Paasschen as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective September 24. Harvard MBA van Paaschen is a former Chief Executive Officer of the Coors Brewing Company. He succeeds Bruce Duncan, who has served as interim CEO since April and will continue as Starwood's Chairman. Prior to joining Coors in 2005, van Paasschen spent seven years at Nike. Before joining Nike in 1997, he spent two years as Vice President, Finance and Planning, at Disney Consumer Products and earlier in his career was a management consultant for eight years at McKinsey & Company and the Boston Consulting Group. Dutch born van Paasschen describes his management style as engaging, listening and pragmatic.

Leona Helmsley, who became an instant celebrity in the early eighties as the Queen of the Palace (now owned by the Royal family of Brunei) has died at age 87, leaving her multi-billion dollar fortune to charity - and her Maltese, Trouble.

Exclusive Resorts has appointed Jeff Potter to its management team as Chief Executive Officer taking over for Donn Davis who assumes the position of Executive Chairman. Potter joins the company from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Airlines, a position he held for the past five years.

Boyd Gaming Corporation has appointed Keith E. Smith Chief Executive Officer to succeed William S. Boyd who will assume the newly created position of Executive Chairman in January 2008. Boyd Gaming Chief Financial Officer Paul J. Chakmak will succeed Smith as Chief Operating Officer.

MGM Mirage has promoted Jim Murren to the role of President and Chief Operating Officer. Murren previously had served as the company's President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

Dan d'Arrigo has been promoted at MGM Mirage to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He originally joined MGM Grand in 1995 and has served as Senior Vice President of Finance since 2005.

Bobby Baldwin has been named Chief Design and Construction Officer for MGM Mirage. He will also continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company's $7.4 billion CityCenter development. Baldwin is also a former President of Bellagio.

Ali Kasikci has been appointed Managing Director of Montage Beverly Hills, scheduled to open in fall 2008. For the past 16 years, he has run the Peninsula Beverly Hills. Kasikci, a Lausanne graduate, also spent five years with Four Seasons at their former Newport Beach location. He is an honorary member of the Cornell Hotel Society.

Ellis O'Connor moved back to the West Coast to take over as General Manager at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica. For the past year, he was the General Manager of Ian Schrager's Gramercy Park Hotel. Previously, he spent ten years with Peninsula, mostly in Beverly Hills, partly in New York, as Resident Manager.

Christian Clerc moves to Chicago as Regional Vice President and General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Chicago (a Four Seasons Hotel). He comes from the Four Seasons Punta Mita where he was the General Manager and Regional Vice President as well. A Lausanne graduate, Clerc originally joined Four Seasons in 2000 as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Washington DC.

Cormac O'Modhrain has joined Los Angeles-based CIM Group as President of its Hospitality Division. CIM owns a number of hotel assets, including the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC, the Renaissance Hollywood and Las Vegas' Lady Luck Casino. O'Modhrain was previously the Vice President Hospitality for the Robert Mayer Company in Huntington Beach, following ten years with Hyatt.

Wyndham has appointed David Martin Senior Vice President of Operations. He was most recently the Vice President, Hotel Operations, for Kimpton.

General Manager Susanne Hatje, who successfully opened Hong Kong's Landmark Mandarin Oriental, will now be launching the Mandarin Oriental Boston. Hatje originally joined the group via their acquisition of the Rafael Hotel Group.

Gary Thulander transfers with RockResorts to the Landings Resort on St. Lucia as General Manager. For the past six years, he was the General Manager at the Equinox Resort and Spa in Vermont.

Clifford Atkinson has been promoted to General Manager of the Gramercy Parker Hotel, a property he had joined as Hotel Manager ten months ago. He takes over from Ellis O'Connor. Atkinson also spent seven years with Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco and New York, where he was the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of rooms.

Wende Blumberg has been promoted to General Manager at the Hilton Atlanta Airport. She was most recently the General Manager of the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville, a position she held since 1999.

Luis Rodríguez has been named General Manager of the Casa Velas Boutique Hotel. He was most recently the Resident Manager of the Grand Velas All Suites and Spa Resort in Nuevo Vallarta.

Zach Curry is the new Hotel Manager for the Ritz-Carlton Hotels of New Orleans. He previously worked as Director of Marketing at the Loews New Orleans Hotel.

Carl Meyer has been promoted to General Manager at the Salish Lodge in Washington State. He joined the hotel in 2005 as Director of Rooms and was promoted in 2006 to Resident Manager. He previously served as Director of Operations at the Statler Hotel at Cornell University, Director of Rooms at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa and Rooms Division Manager at the Lodge at Pebble Beach.

Robert J. Lowe, Jr. has been made President and Chief Operating Officer of Lowe Hospitality Group. Lowe joined Lowe Enterprises in 1992 and was named President of Lowe Destination Development in 2003.

Alper Oztok transfers as General Manager to the Four Seasons Punta Mita, taking over from Christian Clerc. Oztok was most recently the Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Nevis and was previously the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Philadelphia.

Keith Butz has been appointed General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Calgary, taking over from Steve McNally who moves as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Butz started his career with Hyatt in 1993 and most recently served as General Manager of the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

The Hyatt Regency Bethesda has named Tom Wolf General Manager. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and the General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. He joined the company in 1980 and has served in a variety of positions in Chicago, Washington, Lake Tahoe and Aruba.

Ingrid Summerfield has joined Richard Cohen's Capital Properties in San Francisco as Executive Vice President Corporate Housing and Hospitality, West Coast. Summerfield, a Lausanne graduate, was with Joie de Vivre Hospitality as Senior Vice President of New Hotel Operations, after joining the company in 1994 as General Manager of the Commodore Hotel.

 The Kor Hotel Group has rebranded Villa del Sol on the Mexican Riviera, into the Tides Zihuatanejo and appointed Carlos Blanco as General Manager. He was most recently the Managing Director at Jumby Bay in Antigua and previously served as Resident Manager at Caneeel Bay on St. John. Both are Rosewood properties.

Taking over for Blanco as Managing Director at Jumby Bay is Carlos Salazar. He was most recently at New York's Carlyle (also a Rosewood hotel) as Food and Beverage Director. Previously, he was the Director of Food and Beverage at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental and held similar positions at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and the Hilton Guam.

Tim Estes has been appointed Vice President of Beaver Creek/Aspen Hospitality for Vail Resorts. He has previously worked for the Grand Teton Lodge Company, the Cheeca Lodge and Kimpton Hotels.

Leo Chandler has been appointed Area General Manager at the St. Louis Airport Marriott. He joined Marriott in 1987 and was most recently the General Manager at the Toronto Airport Marriott.

Serge Couturiaux has joined the Veranda Resort in Turks and Caicos as General Manager. He was most recently on the island with the Palms as Executive Assistant Manager.

Don Fraser has been named Corporate Director of Operations for Denihan Hospitality. He most recently held the position of General Manager at the Hilton Newark Penn Station.

Michael Pace is the new General Manager of the W San Francisco, replacing Toni Knorr who has taken over the General Manager duties at the St. Regis San Francisco. Since 1998, Pace had been with Kimpton, where he was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel Serrano in San Francisco.

Linda Cerra has been promoted to General Manager of the Montauk Yacht Club. She was most recently the Director of Human Resources at the property.  

Cavallo Point - the Lodge at the Golden Gate, in Sausalito, has appointed Pierre Zreik General Manager. He was most recently the Partner/Manager for Lucy's Table restaurant in Portland. He was previously the Managing Director for the Avalon Hotel and Spa in Portland.

Christopher Garcia has joined the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida as Director of Lodging. He was most recently at the Windsor Court in New Orleans as Director of Rooms. Previously, he oversaw the front office for Halekulani and spent four years in various positions with Mandarin Oriental in Hawaii and in Miami.
  
Robert Mercure is the new General Manager at the Fairmont Château Frontenac. Since 2006, he served as Hotel Manager for the Fairmont Monte Carlo. He has been with the company since 1999, holding various posts at the Fairmont Royal York and Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. 

Albert Smith joins the Chamberlain in West Hollywood as General Manager. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Viceroy Santa Monica. He previously served in various roles at the Avalon in Beverly Hills and the Millennium Biltmore.

Lausanne graduate Pierre Berthier is the new General Manager of the hotel chain Las Americas in Peru. He was previously the General Manager of the Libertador Chain of Hotels also in Peru.

Jorg Wesche has been promoted to Hotel Manager at the Hotel at Auburn University, run by the West Paces Hotel Group. He joined the property recently as Rooms Executive. He was previously at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn for four years, most recently as Rooms Executive.

Jeffrey Durham has been appointed Hotel Manager at the Roosevelt in New York. He previously served as General Manager of the Doubletree Hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey and General Manager of the Sheraton Suites Hotel also in New Jersey.

Mark Vanderwielen has been named Hotel Manager at the Water Club at Borgata in Atlantic City. For the past three years, he has been with Kimpton Hotels, most recently at Hotel Manager of the Hotel Monaco in San Francisco. He also spent eleven years with InterContinental.

Aaron Black will be the opening Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons St. Louis. He comes from the Four Seasons Silicon Valley, a property he also opened, following five years at the Four Seasons Wailea Maui.

Cindy Racco will be the Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara. She comes from the Four Seasons Palm Beach where she directed the Rooms Division.

Pierre Louis Renou transfers as Operations Manager to the Sofitel Los Angeles. He was most recently in the same position at the Sofitel St. James in London.

Bob Selwood, Senior Vice President, Accounting for MGM Mirage has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer.

Senior Vice President of Treasury Cathy Santoro has been promoted to serve as MGM Mirage Treasurer.

eSuites Hotels has appointed Ian Rogers Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He was most recently the Chief Financial Officer at Tauck World Discovery. Previously, he served as Financial Controller at the Radisson Slavjanskaya in Moscow and Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has appointed Valerie Thompson Vice President of Finance, the Americas, to be based in San Francisco. She was previously the Vice President, Operations Accounting, for Fairmont.  

Cornell grad Joel Letofsky has been promoted to Vice President – Finance at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland. For the past six years, he served as Controller and Director of Finance at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando.

John Jacob has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Columbia Sussex Corporation, Tropicana Casinos and Resorts/Tropicana Entertainment. He was most recently the Chief Financial Officer of Acorn Products in Columbus, Ohio. He has previously worked as Vice President of Finance for Sun Apparel/Polo Jeans, Maidenform Worldwide, and Kayser-Roth Corporation.

Joseph Piantedosi has joined the New York Helmsley as Director of Finance. Previously, he served as Director of Finance at the Core Club, the Waldorf=Astoria and the Millennium Broadway. He also served as Hotel Manager and Group Financial Controller at the New York Palace.

Rob Hilow has been named Director of Engineering at the Four Seasons San Francisco. Most recently semi-retired in Hilton Head, he spent most of his years with Starwood. In San Francisco, he takes over from Jim Borowski.

Alberto Lausell has returned to his position of Director of Engineering at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas. He had joined the property in 2005 and left in 2006 to assume the position of Director of Property Operations at the Cancun Hilton. Lausell previously served in the same position at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain.

Steven Landon has joined the Loews Santa Monica as Director of Engineering. He has previously held various positions with the Beverly Wilshire and he Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey.

Simon Fricker has joined the Gramercy Park Hotel as Executive Assistant Manager, taking over from Clifford Atkinson who was promoted to General Manager upon the departure of Ellis O'Connor. Fricker was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Peninsula New York. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Baur au Lac in Zurich and as Food and Beverage Manager at the St. Regis New York.

Hotel Manager Felix Murillo moves from the Four Seasons Mexico City to the Four Seasons Buenos Aires. He also served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Miami, the Four Seasons Chicago and the Four Seasons London Canary Wharf.

Paul Reggio is the new Executive Assistant Manager for Rooms for the Ritz-Carlton Hotels of New Orleans. He previously served as Director of Guest Services at the Hotel 71 in Chicago.

Greg Waldron has moved to Miami to join China Grill Management as Regional Director of Operations, Miami and Mexico, replacing Pascal Billard. Waldron was most recently the Vice President of Food and Beverage at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas after joining the property in 1996 as Executive Chef.

Toby Reivant has been promoted with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to Manager of Food and Beverage Operations for Celebrity Cruises. He joined the company last year as Director of Alternative Dining. Previously, he held various food and beverage posts at Bistro Moderne in Houston, L'Auberge du Soleil and the former St. Regis Los Angeles.

The Patina Restaurant Group has named Tim O'Shea Chief Operating Officer. He was most recently the President and Chief Executive of Fresh Choice Restaurants. Prior to that, he held executive posts at other foodservice companies, including W.R. Grace, Culinary Brands and Saga.

Wyndham has named Fernando Salazar Vice President of Food and Beverage. Most recently, he was the Vice President, Food and Beverage, for Omni Hotels, a position he accepted after serving as Director of Operations for the Omni San Antonio and Omni Houston Westside.

Richard Mignault has been promoted to Corporate Vice President of Human Resources and Administration for Hilton Hotels, based at the company's world headquarters in Beverly Hills. He was most recently based in New York as Vice President - Human Resources, Eastern Region.

The Westin Seattle has appointed Theresa Segal Director of Human Resources. Segal, a Cornell graduate, was most recently with Holland America Cruise Line, where she served as Senior Human Resources Manager. Her previous human resources experience includes the MGM Grand Hotel and Caesar's Palace.

Madison Toms joins DPS Development Private Clubs in Charleston as Director of Business Development. For the past twelve years, he was with Orient-Express Hotels, most recently as Corporate Director of Marketing, North America.

Helen Barry moves from Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Great Exuma to the same title at the Four Seasons Costa Rica, where she replaces Andy Chang, who is moving to the Four Seasons Macau. Barry has also worked at the Four Seasons London and the Four Seasons Prague.

Tom Lefkovits moves as Director of Rooms to the Four Seasons Los Angeles. He joined the company at the Four Seasons Boston where he held the position of Director of Rooms since October 2004. Previously, he played various management roles at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler over a period of eight years.

Michael Soriano has been named Director of Guest Services at the Marriott LAX.  He was formerly the Director of Housekeeping at the Millennium Biltmore in Downtown LA.

Rebecca Huetter has joined André Balazs Properties in Los Angeles as Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing. She most recently ran her own marketing company, Momentum Hospitality. Huetter was also previously the Director of Sales and Marketing for Rosewood's Las Ventanas al Paraiso, and was a Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Ian Schrager Hotels, based at the San Francisco Clift.

Rich Ramirez has accepted the position of Director of Sales, Pacific Northwest, for Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, based in San Francisco. He was most recently the Director of Sales at Joie de Vivre Hospitality. Previously, he has held various sales and marketing positions with the Beverly Wilshire, Las Brisas in Acapulco and Palmilla in Los Cabos, as well as the Sofitel Los Angeles.

Greg Leeper has been named Regional Director of Sales for the French Lick Resort Casino, based in Chicago. He was most recently the Director of Sales for hinton+grusich in Chicago. Previously he has worked with the sales teams for Loews, Starwood and Ritz-Carlton.  

Jesse Suglia has joined Kimpton as Director of Hotel Sales. He joins from Omni where his most recent position was Global Director of Business Travel Sales for the New York Global Sales Office.

David Ryan has joined Sofitel North America as Corporate Director of Sales, Marketing and Revenue Management. For the past year, he was the Director of Marketing for the Loews Lake Las Vegas. Previously, Ryan served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch and the Little Nell.

Maria Gabriella Sosa Gonzalez has been appointed Director of Sales for La Casa de Sierra Nevada and Sales Representative for the Maroma Resort and Spa, both Orient-Express properties. She was most recently at the Mision del Sol Resort and Spa as Director of Sales and Marketing. She previously held various sales and marketing positions with Fiesta Americana, Presidente Intercontinental, and the Hotel Casa Vieja.

Virgil Napier is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Viceroy Anguilla. He was most recently the Director of Sales for the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, after serving for five years as the Associate Director of Sales at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas.

The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort has appointed Opal Gibson Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Gibson held the position of Director of Business Development for the British Colonial Hilton Nassau.

The Hotel Cass Mag Mile Chicago has appointed Beth Truax Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Manager of Marketing and Specialized Services for Hilton HHonors Worldwide in its Chicago office. Prior to that role, she was the Manager of Business Travel Sales for Hiltons of Chicago.

David Wahba has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of the Westin Aruba. Prior to his new position, Wahba served as the Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Yankee Trader and Sheraton Yankee Clipper in Fort Lauderdale. Previously, he held various sales and marketing positions at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, the Ritz-Carlton-Grande Lakes Orlando and the JW Marriott in Orlando.

 Catherine Gill has been appointed Vice President of Sales and Revenue for AMD Hospitality (Oceana Hotel Group). She was most recently at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego as Associate Director of Sales. She previously served in various sales positions with Westin, Embassy Suites, the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey and Pebble Beach Resorts.
 
The Palm Springs Riviera Resort and Spa, has appointed Jim Lopez Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Wyndham Palm Springs. Previously, he held similar positions with Marriott in Palm Desert, Maui, and Rancho Mirage.

The Fairmont Washington, DC, has promoted Shannon Byrne Schneider to Director of Sales and Marketing. She joined the property in 2005 as Director of Group Sales.

The Greenbrier has appointed Leanne Mack Executive Director of Sales. She was most recently the Director of Sales for the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. Previously, she held various sales and marketing positions with Hyatt in San Antonio, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Santa Rosa and Half Moon Bay.

The Stoneleigh in Dallas has named Kate Neu Marketing Manager. Previously, she was the Marketing Manager at the Driskill in Austin.

Las Ventanas al Paraíso has promoted Carolynn Hemmerich to Associate Director of Sales. She joined the hotel in 2002 as Sales Manager. Karen Achio moves up from her position at the hotel as Sales Coordinator to replace Hemmerich as Sales Manager.  

Don Ehehalt rejoins Four Seasons at the Four Seasons Las Vegas as Sales Manager. He was most recently a National Sales Manager at the Red Rock Resort and Spa. He was previously at the Venetian and spent seven years with Four Seasons in Los Angeles, Carlsbad, Santa Barbara and Palm Beach.

The Custom LA has hired Tammi Jones as Director of Events. She was most recently at the Sofitel Los Angeles and previously served as Director of Catering and Events at the Standard Downtown LA.

The Waldorf=Astoria has appointed Alan Shukovsky Director of Social Catering. Most recently, Shukovsky served as Director of Catering for Starr Restaurant Organization's Buddakan and Morimoto.

Don Yamauchi is the new opening Executive Chef overseeing two Michael Mina restaurants, Bourbon Steak Detroit and Saltwater, opening in October in the MGM Grand Detroit. He comes from the Michigan restaurant Tribute and has prior experience at Le Francais and Carlos in Chicago. Yamauchi is a former Food and Wine Magazine "America's Best New Chefs" and a James Beard award nominee.

Curtis Smithen has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Great Exuma. He joined the Four Seasons Nevis in 1991 as a Cook and was promoted up to his most recent position at the resort as Executive Sous Chef in 2004. He takes over as Executive Chef from Cyrille Pannier, now the Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Hampshire.

Franck Brunacci will be the opening Executive Chef at Chicago's Trump International Hotel and Tower, expected to open by the end of the year. Brunacci had joined Ritz-Carlton in 1997, following a career in freestanding restaurants in Australia. Upon leaving Ritz-Carlton in 2003, he became the Executive Chef at L'Auberge de Sedona, then operated by Horst Schulze's West Paces Hotel Group.

Wesley Holton joins Wynn Las Vegas as Executive Chef of Daniel Boulud Brasserie, taking over from Philippe Rispoli. He was previously at the Oakland Hills Country Club.

Paul Arias has joined the soon-to-open Custom LA as Executive Chef. Formerly at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, he was most recently overseeing Pesce Blue in New Hampshire and the Patio American Grill on Cape Cod.

San Francisco's Grand Café has a new chef in Mauro Pando. He got his start at the Lark Creek Inn and Lulu's and most recently spent eight years at Portland's Red Star Tavern.

John Riccardo has been named General Manager of Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak Miami, opening in December at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle. He previously spent nine years with Norman Van Aken, most recently as his Director of Operations.

George Slover returns from his time with Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong to the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey as General Manager of Restaurants. He was previously with the company at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach as Maitre d'Hotel.

Mitch Rosen moves over to the newly opened Earl of Sandwich at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas as General Manager. He was most recently a Food and Beverage Manager at Caesar's Palace. He previously held various food and beverage positions at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, the Lodge at Pebble Beach and the Peninsula Beverly Hills.

Shana Ominsky has been appointed Director of the Spa and Wellness at Barton Creek in Austin. She was most recently the Director of Spa Operations of the Claremont. Previously, she oversaw spa operations at the Turtle Bay Resort and the Peninsula New York.

EUROPE

Luca Allegri moves to Monte Carlo and to the Hotel de Paris. He has left Four Seasons where he held the position of General Manager at the Four Seasons Sharm el Sheik after serving as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza. Previously, he spent five years at the Plaza-Athénée Paris, first as Director of Food and Beverage, then as Executive Assistant Manager. He had also taken part in the pre-opening of the Four Seasons Georges Cinq in Paris as Director of Food and Beverage.

Jose Soriano transfers as General Manager to the Four Seasons Dublin, succeeding John Brennan. He joined the company in 1995 as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Singapore before moving in 2000 to the Regent Singapore as Hotel Manager. Subsequently, he served at the Four Seasons Toronto, the Four Seasons Geneva and, most recently as General Manager of the Four Seasons Canary Wharf in London.

Michael Purtill moves into London to succeed Jose Soriano as General Manager of the Four Seasons Canary Wharf. For the past four years, he has served as General Manager of the Four Seasons Hampshire. Previously, he held the post of General Manager at the Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club in Sussex. 

Pep Lozano has been promoted to General Manager of the now Ritz-Carlton-run Abama in Tenerife. He has been with the company since 1993, most recently as Executive Assistant Manager at the Hotel Arts Barcelona. Rivero Delgado joins him as Hotel Manager. Delgado also comes from the Hotel Arts where he was the Director of Sales and Marketing since 2006.

Martin Ykema takes over as Regional Manager for the Lindner Hotels AG group, based in Düsseldorf. He has worked nearly 17 years for Accor, most recently as Regional Manager for Orbis/Accor Hotels. Previously he served as General Manager for Accor in Maastricht, the Hague, New York and Prague.

Philippe de Meyer will be the opening General Manger of the Kempinski Hotel Charles Cinq in Bruges. He is a former Area Director of Operations for Pestana in Madeira, and also served as General Manager of the Montfleury in Cannes.

Hans Doelderer has been appointed General Manager of the EuroHotel Exelsior Ludwigshafem. He was previously the General Manager of Family Resort Hotels World of Tui in Austria and served in various positions for Westin and at the Ritz-Carlton Boston.

Khaled Al Jamal has been appointed General Manager of the Prague Marriott, Renaissance Prague and Marriott Executive Apartments. He was most recently the General Manager of the Beirut Marriott Hotel. He has been with Marriott International for 15 years.

Marcos Bekhit moves across town to the Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus as General Manager and Regional Vice President. He was most recently at the Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet as General Manager and Regional Vice President.

Tarek Mourad takes over for Bekhit as General Manager at the Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet. He moves over from his position as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Damascus. He has previously served as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Cairo at First Residence and Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Riyadh.

Marc Raffray moves up to Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons George Cinq, where he had been the Director of Food and Beverage since April 2005. He takes over from Jean-Claude Wietzel, now the General Manager of the Four Seasons Sharm El Sheik. Raffray had been the General Manager of several small luxury properties in France, Morocco and Mauritius prior to joining Four Seasons.

Mauro Governato has been appointed Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche. He joins from One & Only Resorts where he was most recently the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the One & Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas. At Terre Blanche, he takes over from Sébastien Carre, now the General Manager of the soon-to-open Four Seasons Bora Bora.

Livio Faverio becomes the Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Istanbul the Bosphorus. Since 2004, he had been the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Doha. Prior to that, he was the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Canary Wharf in London.

Nicolas Pezout has been appointed Food and Beverage Manager at the Mövenpick Hotel and Casino Geneva, taking over from Olivier Phocas. Most recently, Pezout oversaw the banquet and food and beverage operation at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris. In addition, he has held similar positions at the Paris Hilton, Hilton Charles de Gaulle and the Martinez in Cannes.

Francois-Régis Simon will be Marc Raffray's successor as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons George Cinq. He moves up from the position of Assistant Food and Beverage Director. Prior to joining the hotel in 2002, he was with Hyatt in Paris.

Devi Chima has been appointed Senior Business Development Manager at Sofitel Hotel and Resorts. She was most recently the Acting Director of Sales and Marketing at Brown's, Rocco Forte Hotels.

Emmanuel Comble has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for both the Concorde Lafayette and the Concorde Montparnasse in Paris. He was until recently responsible solely for the Concorde Montparnasse.

Devrim Kahramanoglu has been appointed Front of House Manager for the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel. He joined the hotel (then known as the Cumberland) in pre-opening in 2004 as Assistant Front of House Manager before being promoted to Front Office Manager in 2006.

Jean-Denis Rieubland, (Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2007) will be taking over from Bruno Turbot as Chef of the Chantecler at Nice's Hotel Négresco. Rieubland comes from the Four Seasons Provence, where he worked under Executive Chef Philippe Jourdin. His resume also includes stints at La Tour d'Argent, Eden Roc, the Byblos, and Le Mas Candille

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Martin Rinck has been named President and Managing Director of Carlson Hotels Worldwide Asia Pacific, headquartered in Singapore. He spent the past four years as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Rezidor, based in Brussels.

Armando Kraenzlin, General Manager of the Four Seasons Mumbai, has also been given responsibilities as Regional Vice President. He originally joined Four Seasons in 1999 as Executive Assistant Manager at the Regent Jakarta, coming then from Movenpick and Mandarin Oriental.

Todd Cilano has been promoted to General Manager of the Four Seasons Chiang Mai and the Tented Camp in Chiang Rai, Thailand. He has previously served as Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Nevis and, most recently, at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara. 

Karim Tayach has been appointed General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place. He was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta since the opening of the hotel in 2005.

Stefan Simkovics transfers to the Four Seasons Beijing as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago (a Four Seasons Hotel). He had previously held positions at the Pierre and the former Four Seasons Berlin.

Tom Donovan has been appointed General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, slated for re-opening in January 2008. He was most recently in the same position at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. He has been with the company for 17 years in various positions in Phoenix, Jamaica and Philadelphia. At Kapalua, Donovan takes over from Javier Cano.

In Hong Kong, Anthony Costa moves a few blocks from the Mandarin Oriental to the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, where he takes over as General Manager from Susanne Hatje, now in charge of the Mandarin Oriental Boston. Costa had joined Mandarin Oriental earlier this year as Resident Manager, from his former position of Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Dublin.

Arthur Ho joins the pre-opening team of the Four Seasons Macau as Hotel Manager. He was the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Hong Kong after serving in the same position at the Four Seasons Shanghai. He has previously held posts at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong and the Millennium Hotel London Knightsbridge.

Beat Wiesmann is the new General Manager for the Shenyang Lexington Hotel. He was most recently at the Swiss-Belhotel Lotus Lake in China as General Manager.

Roger Guy has joined Swiss-Belhotel Borneo as General Manager. He was previously the General Manger of the Pat-Mase Bali and has worked with international hotels and resorts in France, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Marco Battistotti is the new General Manager at the G Hotel in Penang. He was most recently overseeing the Le Méridien Singapore. He has previously held senior managerial positions with the St. James's Club in London, Movenpick, Sheraton and Westin.

David Sosner will be joining Ritz-Carlton as General Manager of the Seoul Country Club. For the past four years, he has served as General Manager/Chief Operating Officer at the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Kailua. Prior to this, he held the position of Vice President at the Kapalua Club and Villas for three years.

Godfrey Vas is the new General Manager at the Evason Hideaway and Six Senses Spa at Ana Mandara. He was most recently the Resort Manager of the Evason Hideaway at Hua Hin in Thailand. Vas is also a former General Manager of Parrot Cay.

Thomas Hoeborn moves to Bangkok to lead the Millennium Hilton Bangkok. He was most recently at the Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, which he managed for two years.

Mark Deere has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Hanoi Opera. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hilton Dubai Creek.

Brice Péan leaves the Hilton Adelaide to join the Hilton-run Fiji Beach Resort and Spa as General Manager. He was previously at the Hilton Ramses Cairo as Director of Operations and at the Hilton Vienna in various positions since 1999.

Sean Brennan has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Hua Hin Resort and Spa. He has previously held various positions with Hilton properties in Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and was most recently the Director of Operations at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur.

Lausanne graduate Frédéric Lucron has joined the Tokyo Bay Hilton as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Millennium Hilton in Bangkok. Previously, he served as General Manager of the Hilton Odawara Resort and the Hilton International Bangkok at Nai Lert Park.

Brendan Ryan is the new Director of Safety and Security at the Kahala Hotel and Resort Honolulu. He has previously held various positions with Four Seasons and InterContinental.

The JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa has appointed Richard Taffs Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the JW Marriott Bangkok. He was previously the Executive Chef at the InterContinental Pudong Shanghai and has held various Executive Chef positions for InterContinental in China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

The Four Seasons Macau has appointed Andy Chang Director of Rooms. He began his career with Four Seasons as Night Manager at the Four Seasons Newport Beach in 1993 and was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Costa Rica.

The InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong has named Simon Sung Director of Human Resources. He previously served at the hotel as Personnel Manager from 1995 to 2001 when he left to join the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He was most recently the Human Resources Manager at the Eaton Hotel.

Jimmy Chan has joined the Four Seasons Macau as Director of Human Resources. He comes from Macau's StarWorld Hotel and Casino, where he held the same title. Prior to that, he was the Director of Human Resources at the Grand Stanford InterContinental Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Cecilia Chia returns for her second turn as Director of Human Resources of the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore. She rejoins the hotel from her previous post as Director of Human Resources for the Fullerton Hotel Singapore and Regional Human Resources Director for Fullerton Hotels and Resorts. She originally joined the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore as Director of Catering from the Stamford Raffles Club in 1999 where she was Director of Food and Beverage and Clubhouse Manager at the Singapore Polo Club.

At Shangri-La, Cornell grad Barbara Pang has been promoted to Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, reporting directly to Chief Operating Officer Symon Bridle. Pang moves up from the position of Vice President Marketing she held since 2003. Prior to that, she held key sales and marketing positions with Hyatt International, including that of opening Director of Marketing at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai.

Marriott International has appointed Anthony Armas Thailand Director of Marketing. Since 2005, he has served as Cluster Director of Marketing for Minor International. He joined Marriott in 1995 and has held various roles for the company in San Juan, Santo Domingo, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Marc Handl has joined the Grand Hyatt Seoul as Executive Assistant Manager-Marketing. His previous positions include Director of Food and Beverage at the Park Hyatt Chicago, Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Beijing. In addition, he has held various positions with Hyatt in Tokyo, Paris, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong.

Franco Ray has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Bali Rani Hotel and the Rani Hotel and Spa. He has previously worked at the Legian Bali and the Ramada Resort Benoa.

Theo Ocks has been named Director of Marketing of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place, an expansion of his current role as Director of Marketing for the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta.

Walid Birak has been promoted as Director of Sales, Jakarta Hotels, taking care of both the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta and the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place. He joined the company in 2002 as Associate Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Sharm El Sheikh.

Irgo Bachtiar has been named Director of Sales for residences in which he will oversee the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place and the recently opened Mayflower - Marriott Executive Apartments. He previously served as the Director of Sales and Marketing at the JW Marriott Surabaya.

Calvin Poon moves, as Director of Finance, from the Hilton Adelaide to the Four Seasons Macau. He spent ten years with Hilton International in Kuala Lumpur, Dalian, Chongqing and Shanghai.

At the soon-to-open Ritz-Carlton Sanya on Hainan Island, Robert Petrovic has been appointed Hotel Manager. He comes from the Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street where he was the Hotel Manager.  Petrovic originally joined Ritz-Carlton in 2003 as Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg.

Also at the Ritz-Carlton Sanya, Chris Clark is on board as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Rooms. He held the same position at the Ritz-Carlton Bali.

Director of Human Resources Lenny Lio transfers from the Ritz-Carlton Bali to the Ritz-Carlton Sanya, to perform the opening.

Jacek Glesmann has been appointed Director of Catering and Conference Services at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place. He had previous overseen the catering and conference teams at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, the Salt Lake City Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton Huntington and, most recently, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua.

Els Ramadhinta has been promoted as Director of Public Relations for both Ritz-Carlton properties in Jakarta, adding to her current position as Director of Public Relations of the existing the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta. She has previously worked with such companies as Accor and the Pan Pacific Jakarta.

Erick Herlangga has been named Director of Rooms for the Ramada Plaza Zhengzhou. He has previously worked in Asia and Europe for Mandarin-Oriental, Golden Tulip, Banyan Tree and Accor.

Paolo Zambrano is the new Executive Chef at the InterContinental Hanoi scheduled to open this November. He was previously the Executive Chef for two years at the Marina Mandarin Singapore and Chef de Cuisine for the Raffles Plaza Hotel Singapore.

Stevie Jones has joined the Oberoi Lombok as Executive Chef. He has previously worked at Udaivilas, Mahakua in Mexico and Amankila in Bali.

Manfred Knoepfle has moved to be the Executive Chef for the opening of the Kempinski Hotel Xian. He was previously the Executive Chef at the Crowne Plaza Chengdu and the Crowne Plaza Shenzhen.

Paul Millist is the new Executive Chef at the JW Marriott Phuket. Previously, he was at the Bali Resort Villas as the pre-opening Executive Chef.

The InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong has appointed Claudio Dieli Chef de Cuisine of the Mistral Italian restaurant. He joins from Four Seasons where he held positions as Chef de Cuisine in Cairo and Amman. Prior to that, he held the Sous Chef position at the Segreto in Dubai and was the pre-opening Head Chef at Iniga in London.

The JW Marriott Phuket has named two new Executive Sous Chefs: Harry Robert Callinan comes from his position as Executive Sous Chef at the Singapore Marriott and Anut Koonmart was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Hua Hin Marriott.  

The Four Seasons Macau has named Rolf Schmitz Executive Chef. He joins the hotel from the Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh where he has been since July 2004 in the same capacity. He joined the Four Seasons Bali as Executive Sous Chef in 1992 and has since served as Executive Chef in Toronto and Bangkok.

Sean MacDougall has been appointed as Executive Chef of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Pacific Place. He was most recently the Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Sharm El Sheik.

Damien Marchenay is the new Restaurant Manager at Raffles Singapore. He has previously served as the Chief Steward and Assistant Manager of Restaurants at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Marc Dardenne has been named Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Hotels and Resorts. Dardenne, a Lausanne graduate, is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Emaar Hospitality Group. Previously, he has served as Vice President and Area General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the Middle East in addition to working with Hyatt, spending 11 years in Asia in various properties in Bali, Jakarta and Manila.

Thomas Lind, General Manager of the Four Seasons Riyadh, has additionally been named Regional Vice President. He joined Four Seasons seven years ago as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Mexico City.

Jean-Claude Wietzel has been promoted to General Manager at the Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh. He moves to Egypt from the Four Seasons George V Paris where he was the Hotel Manager since October 2003. Previously, he served as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons New York and his professional experience includes ten years with Le Méridien.

Andrew Harrison has been appointed General Manager of the new Four Seasons Mauritius, scheduled to open in 2008. Since 2004, he has held the post of General Manager of the Four Seasons Chiang Mai. He joined the company in 1995 at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay as Rooms Division Manager and has since held various operational positions for the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur, the Four Seasons Palm Beach and the Four Seasons Aviara.

Thomas Norberg is the opening General Manager for the Fairmont Zanzibar. He was previously in charge of Fairmont's property in Nairobi. Norberg had spent five years with Fairmont at New York's Plaza prior to a two-and-a-half-year hiatus as Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.

Willy Ribbe has been named General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Doha. Since 2003, he has served as Cluster General Manager, Prague Marriott Hotels.

Stephan Schupbach has been promoted to Hotel Manager of Jumeirah's Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai. He was most recently the Resident Manager of the hotel, having joined Jumeirah in 2006 from the One&Only Reethi Rah Maldives. He previously served in various positions with the Regent Hong Kong, One& Only Royal Mirage Dubai and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Wolfsburg, Puerto Rico and Bachelor Gulch.

Mark McCarthy has joined the Towers Rotana Hotel Dubai as General Manager. He previously spent fifteen years with InterContinental in several Middle East/Africa locations in Resident Manager and General Manager positions.

The Palm Island Dubai has named Mark Patten Vice President, Culinary Operations. He was most recently the Area Executive Chef for the Shangri-La Singapore.

Steven Webster has been appointed Operations Director of the Fairmont Palm in Dubai. He was previously the Rooms Division Manager at the Fairmont Dubai.

Christian Haneke joins the Grand Hyatt Dubai and Grand Hyatt Residence as Director of Finance. He has previously served as Financial Controller for Le Méridien Jakarta, Assistant Financial Controller for the InterContinental Abu Dhabi and Resident Controller at the Park Hyatt Hamburg.

Stephan Reichelt has been appointed Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Damascus. He was most recently with Corp Executive Hotels in Dubai as General Manager. He has previously served in various positions with Hyatt and InterContinental. He also worked at the Millennium Knightsbridge Hotel in London.

Edouard Feghali has been named Food and Beverage Director at the InterContinental Muscat. He was most recently at the Safir Hotel Beirut in the same position.

Raki Phillips has been appointed Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the Fairmont Dubai. He was previously the Director of Sales for the Ritz-Carlton Doha.

Morné Van Antwerp has recently joined the Ritz-Carlton Sharm El Sheikh as Executive Chef. He previously served in the same capacity at the Full Moon Maldives and at Cotton House.

Michiel Lugt moves to the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same position at Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands.

Stephanie O'Mary has joined Pali House in West Hollywood as Executive Chef. She comes from her position of Executive Chef at Dakota Steakhouse at the Hollywood Roosevelt.Sean O'Toole joins the Mina Group as Group Operations Chef.  He was most recently at Mix Las Vegas, where he worked with chef Bruno Davaillon.

Do you have news for us? Please do not hesitate to send us an e-mail at enoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com. Edited by Benoit Gateau-Cumin, Lisa Leroy & Susana Parks

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