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 2008 movements.
THE AMERICASKeith Clampet, Executive Vice President, Hotel Operations, for Interstate Hotels and Resorts, will be joining Hilton as Senior Vice President of Operations, reporting to Hilton President, Americas, Joe Berger. Clampet had been with Interstate for thirteen years.
Marriott International has appointed Tina Edmundson to the newly created role of Senior Vice President, Lifestyle Brands and Renaissance Operations. She most recently served as Senior Vice President of Brand Operations for Starwood's luxury group. Earlier in her career, Edmundson served as General Manager of the Westin Philadelphia.
Arthur Keith has been named President of the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. For the past four years, he had been the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville. This is return to Las Vegas for the Cornell graduate who previously ran Hotel Operations at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino for four years and the Venetian for two years.
The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center has promoted Peter Weien to General Manager. Weien joined the property last year as Vice President and Manager after coming to the company in 2004, managing vacation rental properties around the country for their ResortQuest unit. He previously worked at Harrah's for sixteen years prior to joining Gaylord.
Rick Evanich will be joining the Irvine Company as Managing Director of the Island Hotel in Newport Beach, taking over from Ray Jacobi. Evanich was most recently the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park. Previously, he served as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common and the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park.
David Friederich has been appointed Managing Director for both Rancho Valencia and La Valencia, now operated by Auberge Resorts. For the past five years, he had been with the Cloister Hotel at Sea Island, most recently as General Manager. Previously, Friederich spent eleven years with Four Seasons, holding positions in Dallas, Houston, Newport Beach and Seattle.
Sandy Murphy has been named General Manager of the Beverly Hilton. She was most recently the Regional Vice President, Southern California, for Hilton. Her prior roles in the company included those of Area Vice President for Embassy Suites, Northern California, and Senior Director of Field Sales for the chain. At the Beverly Hilton, she replaces Denny Fitzpatrick.
Olivier Bottois has moved to Montreal as Managing Director of the Hotel St. James. He previously served as opening Managing Director for the Whiteface Lodge Hotel, Spa & Residences, Oheka Castle Hotel and Estate and the Lake Placid Lodge.
Vincent Piro has been named Regional Vice President and General Manager for the Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles. He previously served as Area General Manager for the Kor Hotel Group and was also instrumental in the launch of New York's Soho Grand.
Marty Wall has joined Auberge Resorts as General Manager of the Inn at Palmetto Bluff, taking over from Jim Beley who has left the company. Wall had spent the past eleven years at the Woodlands Resort & Inn in South Carolina and held various management positions at the Four Seasons Houston and the Four Seasons Philadelphia.
Jamie Holmes has joined Nisbet Plantation on Nevis as General Manager. He was previously the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Boston-Natick. His past posts include General Manager for the Resort at Paws Up, the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas and the Biras Creek Resort.
Maryann White has been named General Manager of the Westin New York at Times Square. She was most recently the General Manager of the Sheraton Atlantic City.
Woodside Hotels has named Patrick Lane General Manager and Vice President of the Stanford Park Hotel in San Francisco. He was most recently the General Manager of the Renaissance Parc 55, also in San Francisco.
Robert Kallmeyer has been appointed General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs.
Jordan Cooper has been appointed General Manager of the Millennium Hotel Cincinnati. For the past six years, he held the position of General Manager at the Hilton Philadelphia. He previously served as Managing Director of Philadelphia's Warwick Hotel & Towers.
The Algodon Mansion, slated to open in December in Buenos Aires, has appointed Pablo Veloso General Manager. He was formerly the General Manager of Punta del Este's Mantra Resort.
Benchmark Hospitality has promoted Greg Parsons to Vice President to oversee properties in the Midwest, South and Eastern United States. He most recently served as Vice President and General Manager of the Eaglewood Resort & Spa, Benchmark's property located in Itasca, Illinois. He had previously served as opening General Manager for the Stonewall Resort and as General Manager at the Northland Inn.
Charles Reece takes over from Parsons as General Manager of the Eaglewood Resort & Spa. He was previously Vice President of Hotel Operations at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.
Alan Paris has been promoted to Hotel Manager and Vice President of Residence Club Operations at Tucker's Point Club in Bermuda. Prior to taking on the dual roles, he served as Tucker's Point Club's General Manager and Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer for three years. He has previously held the title of General Manager for several Bermuda hotels including Ariel Sands and Horizons & Cottages.
Robert Villalta has been named Director of Operations at the Naples Bay Resort. He was previously the General Manager of the Glen Cove Mansion, Corporate Director of Operations for the Amsterdam Hospitality Group, and General Manager of the Dream Hotel in New York.
Benchmark Hospitality has appointed Brent Haste Director of Corporate Accounting. He was most recently the Controller for Benchmark's Founders Inn & Spa. He previously served in various roles for the Wyndham Burlington and the Carmel Valley Ranch.
Angelo Rios has been promoted to Controller at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. For the past four years, he served as Assistant Controller at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle.
Doug Zeif has been promoted to Vice President Food and Beverage - the Americas, with Hilton Hotels, based out of the corporate offices in Beverly Hills. Zeif was most recently the Senior Vice President, Food and Beverage with LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels, also under the Blackstone umbrella. He also was one of the founding senior executives of the Cheesecake Factory, where he spent twelve years, growing the company from two to twenty one restaurants, and helping to take it public in 1992.
Kevin Phenegar has joined the Sagamore as Food and Beverage Director. For the past eight years, he had been with Pinehurst, most recently as Assistant Director of Resort Food and Beverage and Director of Dining Facilities.
Winfred Van Workum has moved to Sandy Lane on Barbados as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently overseeing Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas. Van Workum previously served in various food and beverage management positions at the Breakers and the St. Regis Monarch Beach.
Isabel Porzecanski has been promoted to Director of Human Resources for the Four Seasons Miami. For the past two years, she had been with the Four Seasons Canary Wharf in London as Assistant Director of Human Resources. She had previously served in various human resources management roles for the company at the Beverly Wilshire, the Four Seasons Palm Beach and the Four Seasons New York.
The Sagamore has promoted Ted Bearor to Director of Training and Development. Bearor has been with the resort for nine years, most recently as Director of Food and Beverage.
Long-standing business partners, Tim Poster and Tom Breitling, have joined Wynn Resorts as Senior Vice Presidents of Strategy and Development. As partners, they previously created and operated the online travel site, Travelscape, before selling to Expedia. After the sale, they set their sights orchestrating the acquisition of the Golden Nugget on the old Las Vegas Strip.
Hilton Hotels has named Mark Komine Senior Vice President of Sales and Commercial Development for the Americas. He had been the Executive Vice President of LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels for the past four years.
Jon Makhmaltchi has been promoted with Small Luxury Hotels of the World to Vice President of Worldwide Sales. He had previously held the titles of Director of Global Sales and Director of Sales - the Americas. Prior to joining Small Luxury Hotels, he served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Carneros Inn and the Huntington Hotel and Nob Hill Spa.
Hilton Hotels has promoted Rob Scypinski to Vice President of Sales – Americas, taking over from Steve Armitage who has retired after serving over thirty years with the company. Scypinski joined Hilton as a Convention Sales Manager at the Hilton Atlanta in 1984 and, since 2004, had served as Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing-West.
Elysian Hotels & Resorts has appointed Joe Aguilera Vice President of Sales. Aguilera, a long-time Four Seasons employee, was most recently the Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Chicago after joining the hotel in 1994 as Director of Sales. He started with the company as a Sales Manager for the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas and was soon promoted to Director of Sales at the Four Seasons Philadelphia.
Matthew Vesely has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Resort at Singer Island in Florida. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Ritz-Carlton Westchester. Previously, Vesely spent ten years in London, where he was the Director of Sales at the London Marriott Park Lane and in various sales positions for the Churchill InterContinental, the Grosvenor House and the Langham Hilton.
Mark Wilson has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Roosevelt New Orleans that will reopen as a Waldorf=Astoria Collection hotel in the Spring of 2009. He was most recently the Director of Marketing at the Royal Sonesta. Wilson previously held various management positions for the New Orleans Hilton Riverside and Adam's Mark Hotels.
Larry Luteran has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Group Sales and Industry Relations with Hilton Hotels. He previously served as Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hilton's Southeast and South Central regions.
The Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas has named Jay Best Director of Sales and Marketing. He previously spent five years at the Anatole when it was a Wyndham property. Most recently, Best served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and Country Club.
Adam Kerth has been appointed Director of Sales and Catering for the Hyatt Regency Cleveland at The Arcade. He was most recently the Associate Director of Sales at Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
Kristi Miller-Hahne has been named Regional Director of Sales for Prestige Resorts & Destinations. She was previously Vice President of Sales and Services for the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Coastal Hotel Group in Seattle has appointed Meredith Mara National Director of Sales. She was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Coast Bellevue Hotel.
René Bajeux has been appointed Executive Chef at Cap Juluca on Anguilla. He was most recently at the helm of La Provence in Lacombe, Louisiana. Previously, he had overseen the kitchens for the Four Seasons Maui, the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, the Windsor Court, and the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel.
Philippe Piel has been appointed Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Punta Mita . He had been with Sofitel for the past fourteen years, most recently as Executive Chef at the Sofitel Washington D.C. Lafayette Square. He has also served as Executive Chef for the Sofitel Santa Clara in Columbia, the Novotel Benoa Bali and the Sofitel Cambodiana.
Olivier Zardoni is moving to Las Vegas to join Wynn Encore as Restaurant Director, where he will be responsible for the hotel's in-house fine-dining restaurant, Switch, with Chef Marc Poidevin. For the past three years, Zardoni had been the General Manager at Aquavit in New York. He had previously served as Assistant General Manager at Le Bernardin for two years. He also was the Sommelier for Aqua at the St Regis Monarch Beach and Laurent Tourondel's Cello in New York.
Karen Watson has been named Spa Director at the Sagamore. She was most recently the Spa Manager of theTurning Stone Resort and Casino. Previously, she served as Assistant Spa Manager for Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires.
EUROPEJean-Claude Messant has been appointed General Manager of Barry Sternlicht's Hôtel de Crillon. Since 2001, he has served as General Manager at the Hôtel Métropole in Monte-Carlo, where he orchestrated a ground-up renovation that brought about a Michelin-starred restaurant by Joel Robuchon, a luxury spa and décor by Jacques Garcia. Prior to joining the Métropole, Messant had spent five years with the Groupe Barrière, first as General Manager of the Royal Deauville, then as General Manager of the Fouquet's Barrière in Paris. At the Crillon, Messant replaces Sylvain Ercoli who is now the General Manager of the Royal Monceau.
Wyndham Hotel Group International has appointed Andrew Dufty Vice President of International Marketing, based in London. He was most recently the General Manager, Marketing, for British Midland Airways. He has previously worked in a variety of roles with Barclays Bank and British Airways.
Robert Bates has been appointed Executive Chef for the Ellington in Leeds, England set to open in September. Bates returns to his homeland from Monte-Carlo's Hôtel Métropole, where the restaurant is supervised by Joel Robuchon.
ASIA AND THE PACIFICFormer InterContinental Hotels Group Chief Executive for the Asia Pacific Region, Patrick Imbardelli, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hotel Plaza Group. He is replacing Gwee Lian Kheng who is now serving the company as Group Chief Executive. Imbardelli had resigned from InterContinental in June 2007.
Debi Bishop has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Waikoloa Village, filling the position left vacant when Dieter Seeger retired several months ago. Bishop spent most of her career with what is now Interstate Hotels and Resorts, where she was, for the past five years, the General Manager then the Managing Director of the Sawgrass Marriott Resort and Spa.
After thirty six years of continuous service with Amari Hotels & Resorts, Kurt Rufli is retiring as its Managing Director. His successor as President and Chief Executive Officer will be Peter Henley, who has served companies such as Holiday Inn Worldwide Asia-Pacific, Raffles Holdings and Morgan Stanley Properties.
Manfred Pieper has been named General Manager of the Conrad Bangkok, replacing Greg Meadows, who now oversees the Sukhothai Bangkok. Pieper has been with Hilton Hotels in Asia Pacific over twenty years, most recently as General Manager of the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa and the Hilton Tokyo.
Stefan Heintze has been appointed General Manager of the Langham Yangtze Boutique in Shanghai scheduled to open at the end of this year. A graduate of Lausanne, Heintze was previously the Director of Brand –Langham Hotels and Resorts. He has previously held management roles with the Kempinski Beijing Lufthansa Centre, Dusit Group properties and was the pre-opening General Manager of Palmerston Suites inTianjin.
Kai Speth has been named General Manager of the Hotel Metropole Hanoi. Speth had been with Hyatt for over twelve years, most recently as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Incheion in Korea. He was previously the General Manager of the former Park Hyatt Century City and has served in various positions with the company in Colorado, Bali, and Seoul.
Jean-Francois Debon has been appointed pre-opening General Manager at Six Senses Latitude Laamu, scheduled to open in mid 2009. Prior to joining Six Senses, he was the General Manager of Iririki Island Resort & Spa in Vanuatu.
Fergus Stewart has been appointed General Manager of the ANA InterContinental Tokyo. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort and Spa. Stewart previously served as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Sharm El Sheikh and the Hyatt Regency La Manga in Spain.
Eric Weinmann has been named General Manager of the Strings by InterContinental in Tokyo. He most recently worked at the InterContinental Jeddah, first as Director of Sales and Marketing and Executive Assistant Manager, and subsequently as Resident Manager.
Kent Breeze is the new General Manager of the ANA Crowne Plaza Narita. He was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager of the Holiday Inn Atrium in Singapore. Previously, he served as Executive Assistant Manager of the Holiday Inn Potts Point in Sydney, and Front Office Manager at the Crowne Plaza Auckland.
Luc Bollen has been named General Manager of the Hilton Petaling Jaya, taking over from outgoing General Manager Michael Nagel who heads to the Hilton Beijing. Bollen joined Hilton in 1993, serving as Executive Chef at the Hilton Antwerp before being promoted to Director of Operations at the Hilton Shanghai. His most recent posting was as General Manager of the Hilton Hefei in China.
The Gayana Eco Resort in Borneo has named Scot Toon General Manager. He was most recently with Per Aquum as General Manager, Spa Collection. He had been with Per Aquum since 2003 and, over his tenure, had launched both the Dhoni Mighili, in the Maldives and the Fortress, in Sri Lanka, as General Manager.
Philip Smith has transferred as General Manager to the Fairmont Yangcheng Lake Hotel in Kunshan. He was most recently the General Manager of the Fairmont Algonquin in Canada.
David Schneider has been named General Manager of ResortQuest at Papakea Resort in Lahaina, Maui. He was most recently the General Manager at the Aston Maui Lu.
Fairmont Raffles Hotels International has promoted Michael Ong to Vice President of Development for China. He was most recently Executive Director of Development for Asia for the company.
Stephen Blyth has been promoted to Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Asia Pacific, with Fairmont Raffles Hotels International. Blyth has been with the company for more than thirty years, most recently as Executive Director, Travel and Leisure Sales, based in Vancouver.
The Langham Place Mongkok in Hong Kong has appointed Katie Malone Director of Communications. She was most recently overseeing communications for the Langham Auckland. Previously, she had worked in communications with Singapore Airlines, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, and public relations agency Allan Boyle Associates.
The Fairmont Kea Lani has appointed Cindy Gagle Regional Director of Sales and Marketing. Gagle returns to Maui after four years as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Elbow Beach Hotel in Bermuda. She began her career in 1982 as a Sales Manager at what was then the Stouffer Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort, before moving on to various sales and marketing positions with the SunBurst Resort in Scottsdale, and the Lodge at Sonoma.
Geoff Pearson has joined Halekulani as Director of Sales. He was most recently at the Mauna Lani Hotel and Bungalows as Director of Sales.
Jasper Schneider will be joining the Hualalai Resort as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef of the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas. He previously served as Executive Chef for the Palms on Turks and Caicos and as Chef de Cuisine for Azur by Le Bernardin at La Quinta Resort & Club.
Vikram Garg has joined Halekulani as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef for IndeBleu in Washington D.C.
Frank Ziegler has joined Wynn Macau as Executive Sous Chef. For the past two years, he had been with the Peninsula Chicago as Executive Sous Chef. Previously, he had served in the kitchen at the Delano in Miami, the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, and the Mandarin Oriental Miami.
Karl Budnik has been promoted to Rooms Executive for the Ritz-Carlton Osaka. He was most recently the Assistant Rooms Executive at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes, a property he joined in 2003 as the Director of Housekeeping.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICAHilton Hotels has promoted Mahmoud Mokhtar to Country Manager, Operations, for Hilton in Egypt. He joined Hilton in 1996, as Executive Assistant Manager at the Hilton Fayrouz Resort in Sharm El Sheikh and had previously served as General Manager of the Hilton Nuweiba, the Hilton Al Aina and, most recently, the Ramses Hilton in Cairo.
Rafi Fuard has transferred as Residences Manager to the Four Seasons Seychelles, due to open in January 2009. He was most recently in the same position with the Four Seasons Great Exuma.
Franck Hesse has been appointed Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the InterContinental Abu Dhabi and InterContinental Al Ain. He was previously the Director of Sales for Crowne Plaza London-The City.
Executive Chef Fabrice Lasnon has transferred to Marrakech to do the re-opening of La Mamounia , slated for re-opening January 2009. He was most recently at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin as Executive Chef. Previously, he had served as Executive Chef at the Çiragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul.
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Edited by Susana Parks, Benoit Gateau-Cumin & Lisa Leroy.
The Boutique Search Firm
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