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THE AMERICASPhilippe Bourguignon has officially become the Chief Executive Officer of Miraval. He also remains the Vice Chairman of the Board. He takes over the position from former CEO, John Vanderslice. Bourguignon, prior to joining Steve Case's Revolution Resorts in January 2006, had a thirteen-year career with Accor, prior to being recruited by the Walt Disney Company as Chairman and CEO of Euro Disney. In 1997, he became the Chairman and CEO of Club Méditerranée.
Philip Baxter and Michael Hardisty have started Hardisty, Baxter & Associates, with Hardisty as Chief Executive Officer and Baxter taking on the title of Chief Operating Officer. Baxter, a Cornell graduate, was previously in various development positions with Palmer Hospitality, ILX Resorts and spent fourteen years with Tishman Hotels. Hardisty is a former Managing Director of San Diego's Hotel Del Coronado.
Christian Mari has been named Vice President of Operations for the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. He had previously served as General Manager of the Renaissance Mayflower, the Philadelphia Marriott and the Renaissance Stanford Court. Mari, a Cornell graduate, is also a former Senior Vice President of the Trump Organization in Atlantic City.
Joe Terzi has been selected as President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. The former Chairman for the bureau was until recently a Vice President of Operations for Starwood.
Russell Miller has transferred as General Manager to the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. A Cornell graduate, he was most recently the opening General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Molasses Reef in Turks & Caicos, before economic conditions forced delays with the project. He had previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Harborside Resort Atlantis and as General Manager of the One&Only Ocean Club. In New Orleans, he takes over from Myra Degersdorff who recently left Ritz-Carlton after nearly twenty years.
Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants has appointed Fred de Stefano Senior Vice President of Operations. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of the Southern California Region for Joie de Vivre Hospitality. Prior to his move to Southern California, he was Joie de Vivre's Chief Operating officer.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort has named Paul Scott General Manager. He was most recently the North American Vice-President of Food and Beverage for Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Bruce Howard has been named Senior Vice President and General Manager of Ameristar Casino Hotel Vicksburg succeeding Adrian Caldwell who has left the company. Howard was most recently the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the new M Resort Casino Hotel in Las Vegas.
Mathew Pargament is the new General Manager of the Raleigh in Miami's South Beach, taking over for Albert Mertz. Pargament's latest role was as General Manager of the Palms Place Hotel Condo Spa in Las Vegas. He also spent four years at the Morgans Hotel Group in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. Pargament started his career by spending seven years at the Pierre in New York.
Stuart Meyerson has moved as General Manager of the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers. He was most recently the General Manager of the Liberty Hotel, Boston.
The Kahler Grand Hotel in Minnesota has appointed Scott Youngblood General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Doubletree Guest Suites in Minneapolis.
Overseeing the new Nantucket Island White Elephant Hotel Residences as Director is Tania Jones. For the past ten years, she had been with Nantucket Island Resorts, most recently as General Manager of the White Elephant. At the hotel, she had previously held the positions of Executive Housekeeper, Front Office Manager, Innkeeper and Assistant General Manager. Jones had also served as General Manager of the White Elephant's sister property, the Cottages at the Boat Basin.
Taking over for Jones as General Manager at the White Elephant is Bettina Landt. She was formerly the General Manager of sister property the Wauwinet for the past seven years. Eric Landt, husband of Bettina, moves in to take over as General Manager of the Wauwinet. He was most recently serving as Director of Hospitality for Nantucket Island Resorts.
Regula Wipf has been named General Manager at the Nita Lake Lodge. A Cornell graduate, she had previously served as General Manager at the former Lodge at Rancho Mirage, and the King Pacific Lodge.
Gunnard Cunningham has been appointed Director of Club Operations for the Landings Club in Savannah. He was most recently with the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center as Vice President of Food and Beverage. He had also previously served as Director of Food and Beverage for the Greenbrier Resort and the Big Cedar Lodge.
Ed Rudzinski is named Area General Manager of the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. He was most recently the General Manager of the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.
Emmanuel Gardinier has been appointed Managing Director for the Planters Inn in Charleston. He had previously served as General Manager for Little Palm Island and Boyer les Crayeres in Reims, France.
The Westin Hilton Head has appointed Andrew Czarnecki General Manager. He most recently served as Complex General Manager for the Four Points by Sheraton Tucson University Plaza and the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites.
Diego Heredia has been promoted to the position of General Manager for the Viceroy Palm Springs. He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Viceroy Santa Monica. Heredia had previously served as Hotel Manager at the Avalon Beverly Hills, and as Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Pasadena.
Frank Holtslag has joined the Plaza Hotel Curacao as President and Partner. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sagamore in Miami Beach. Holtslag had previously served as General Manager at Circa39 and as Executive Assistant Manager for the Tides.
The Reefs Club, Bermuda, scheduled to open in July, has appointed Nagma Walker General Manager. She had been at Michael Douglas' Ariel Sands, as General Manager, since 2005.
Pablo Torres has been promoted with Hilton to General Manager for the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau. For the past two years, he had been the Director of Operations at the Caribe Hilton. His previous food and beverage background includes stints at the Westin Los Cabos, the Westin Rio Mar and the Mayan Palace Nuevo Vallarta.
Donna Rios has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Bellevue. She was most recently the General Manager of the Embassy Suites Tukwila, also in Washington.
The Hotel Indigo San Diego has appointed Chris Jones General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Holiday Inn Santa Monica.
The W South Beach has appointed Albert Mertz Hotel Manager. He was most recently the Regional Director and General Manager of the Raleigh Miami Beach. He had previously served as Hotel Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Miami.
Stephen Miano has been promoted with Rosewood Hotels and Resorts to Vice President, Finance. He was most recently the Regional Controller at Rosewood's the Mansion on Peachtree after a brief stint as Controller for Sea Island. He had previously served in various finance roles for seven years with Rosewood at the Mansion on Turtle Creek and for ten years with Four Seasons.
The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa has appointed Ted Seaman Chief Financial Officer. He was most recently the Controller at Auberge du Soleil and prior to that, the Director of Accounting for Auberge Resorts.
Philippe Vonier has left the Rosewood Mayakoba and his post of Regional Director of Finance to become the opening Director of Finance at the Capella Pedregal. A Lausanne graduate, he also spent seven years with Four Seasons in various locations, prior to joining Rosewood in 2003.
Eric Vievard has joined the St. Regis Punta Mita as Director of Food and Beverage. For the past sixteen years, Vievard had been with Four Seasons, most recently as Director of Food and Beverage for the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara. His previous food and beverage positions were at the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche, the Four Seasons George Cinq, and the Four Seasons Los Angeles.
Francis Métais has been named Director of Food and Beverage for the new Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, scheduled to open in October. He was most recently serving as Director of Hotel and Food Operations for Apollo Ships Chandler. Métais previously spent several years as Corporate Executive Chef for Cuisine des Chefs at Epcot Center.
Shawn German has joined Loews Universal Orlando as Regional Director of Human Resources. He most recently held the position of Director at Human Resources at the Sea Island Company and previously worked for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide as an Area Director of Human Resources.
Karen Meno has joined the Portofino Yacht Club in Los Angeles as Director of Human Resources. For the past three years, she had been in the same position for the Canyon Ranch Miami. She had previously served in human resource roles for Le Méridien Sunny Isles Beach, the Mandarin Oriental Miami, and the Four Seasons Palm Beach.
InterContinental Hotels Group has appointed Robert Radomski to the newly created role of Vice President, Global Brand Management, Extended-Stay Brands. He was most recently serving as Vice President, Brand Management for Extended-Stay Brands and has been with the InterContinental Group for eighteen years.
InterContinental Hotels Group has appointed Janis Cannon to the newly created position of Vice President, Global Brand Management for Hotel Indigo. She was most recently the Vice President, Brand Management, for the company, overseeing the Americas region. Cannon had previously held several positions with Swissôtel at the corporate level, including Senior Vice President of Global Sales and at the hotel level, as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Swissôtel Atlanta Buckhead.
Carlson Hotels Worldwide has promoted Ed Holliday to Vice President of Development. Holliday was formerly the Director of Development for two of the company's brands, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and Park Inn.
Andy Wirth has returned to Steamboat in Colorado to take over the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He previously spent 23 years in various senior marketing leadership positions at Steamboat before moving into the position of Chief Marketing Officer, based in Vancouver, for Intrawest.
Rob Perlman has moved to Winter Park as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. For the past year, he had been serving in the same position at Steamboat. Prior to joining Steamboat last year, he served as Chief Executive Officer for Colorado Ski Country USA.
Gina Worobel has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hilton Singer Island. She joined the resort in 2007 as a Sales Manager.
Stephen Nass has joined the Renaissance Providence Hotel as Director of Sales and Marketing. He had previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Boston Waterfront and the Caribe Hilton in San Juan.
Jeffrey Thomas has been promoted with Kempinski Hotels and Resorts to Global Director of Sales - East Coast. He was most recently on property for the Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay as Director of International MICE.
Rob Henderson has joined the Viceroy Snowmass in Colorado as Director of Sales and Marketing. He had recently stepped in for Destination Hotels and Resorts to oversee sales and marketing for their recent acquisition, the Sheraton Universal City. Henderson has a long standing relationship with Colorado, having previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the St. Regis Aspen and the Garden of the Gods Club, also in Aspen.
The Teton Springs Lodge & Spa in Idaho has named Dana Sordahl Director of Sales and Marketing. She was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Cane Creek Country Club.
David Siguaw was named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Eden Roc, Miami Beach. He was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Marriott Marina del Rey and Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The Hotel Indigo San Diego has appointed Pat McTigue Director of Sales and Marketing. He previously held positions in sales and marketing at three Staybridge Suites properties in San Diego.
The Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach has appointed Gary Kohler Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel Whitcomb San Francisco.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort has named James Gelfand Director of Sales. He was most recently the Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Revenue Development at the PGA National Resort & Spa. He had previously held sales and catering roles for the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, the Doral Golf Resort & Spa and the Hilton at Walt Disney World.
Leanne Mack has joined Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants as Regional Director of Sales. For the past two years, she had been at the Greenbrier as Director of Sales, after serving in the same capacity for the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay.
Christine Schaefer has been named Senior Sales Manager at the Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Massachusetts. She was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Orchards.
Laurent Hammond has transferred as National Sales Manager to the Loews Atlanta, slated to open April 2010. He had previously served in the same position for the Loews Miami Beach.
Lauren Cason has been named Director of Public Relations for the Trump SoHo New York, opening fall 2009. She was most recently at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas, as Director of Public Relations.
Mariam Karim has joined the soon-to-open W Washington, DC as Director of Catering. She was most recently with the Four Seasons Washington, DC as Senior Catering Manager.
Timothy Hollingsworth is the new Chef de Cuisine at the French Laundry in Yountville, taking over from Corey Lee (who will be leaving to open his own restaurant in the San Francisco area). Hollingsworth has been with the restaurant for the past eight years and was also part of the opening crew of Per Se.
Tim Graham has been promoted to Executive Chef at Tru in Chicago. He was most recently the Chef de Cuisine for the restaurant. Anthony Martin steps in to take over for Graham as Chef de Cuisine.
Jason McLeod has joined the Elysian Hotel & Private Residences in Chicago as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Grand Del Mar. He was previously with Four Seasons for seven years, serving as Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Great Exuma and the Four Seasons Whistler.
Alan Ashkinaze has joined the Warwick New York as Executive Chef. He was most recently serving as Chef for B.R. Guest in New York. He had previously served as Chef de Cuisine for the Waldorf=Astoria and Executive Chef for Aqua at the St. Regis Monarch Beach.
The Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa has promoted Clifford Lyness to Executive Chef. He joined the restaurant in 2006 as Executive Sous Chef. He had previously served in various culinary roles at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth and at Toronto's Westin Harbour Castle.
Richard Tonks has joined the Landings St. Lucia as Executive Chef. Tonks joins from the Soneva Fushi Resort & Spa in the Maldives where he was the Executive Chef.
The Ellis Hotel on Peachtree has named Joël Young Executive Chef. Young most recently served as Executive Chef at Sono Bakery in Connecticut.
Philippe Trosch has joined the Lumière Place Casino in St. Louis as Executive Chef. He was most recently a part of the opening culinary team of the Fontainebleau, Miami Beach. Trosch had previously served as Chef de Cuisine at the Loews Ventana Resort and at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel and Casino.
Jean-Francois Pelaez has returned to Mexico City, this time as Executive Chef for the St. Regis Mexico City. He had previously served in the same position at the Four Seasons Mexico City. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Shangri-la Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei, after overseeing the kitchens for the Imperial Hotel and the Oberoi, both in New Delhi.
Jonathan Jerusalmy has joined the St. Regis Atlanta as opening Executive Chef. For the past two years, he had been with the St. Regis Resort Monarch Beach as Executive Sous Chef. Previously, he was with the Loews Miami Beach as Executive Banquet Chef/Executive Sous Chef.
Traci des Jardins will oversee the yet unnamed restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe, slated to open this fall. She is the Chef-Owner of Jardinière in San Francisco, Mijita Cocina Mexicana in the San Francisco Ferry Building and serves as Managing Chef for the Acme Chophouse.
Jan Pfeiffer has been appointed Executive Chef for the Wyndham Rio Mar in Puerto Rico. He was most recently the Executive Chef for La Quinta Resort and Club and the Club at PGA West. He had previously served as Executive Sous Chef with the Hilton Anaheim & Towers.
The Westin Casuarina Grand Cayman Beach Resort and Spa has named Jason Koppinger Executive Chef. Previously, Koppinger was an Executive Chef for Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Pierre Gornes has been named Sous Chef at RH at the recently renamed Andaz West Hollywood, the former Hyatt Sunset Strip. Prior to joining RH, he was the Sous Chef at the Hotel Bel-Air and Chef at the Bel-Air Bay Club.
Chad Blunston has transferred as Executive Sous Chef to the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary. He comes from the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea where he held the same position for the past two years.
The Elysian Hotel & Private Residences in Chicago has appointed Mindy Segal Pastry Chef. Segal founded HotChocolate in 2005, and was previously the Pastry Chef at mk.
Morand Dare has joined the New York Hilton as Executive Pastry Chef. He was most recently overseeing pastry production for the Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod. He is also a former Executive Pastry Chef at B.R. Guest and the New York Marriott.
The new Pastry Chef at the Chatham Bars Inn is Stephen Jones. Until recently, he was the Assistant Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara, following a two-year stint as opening Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Palo Alto.
Thomas Narozonick has joined the Santa Barbara Club as General Manager. He was most recently the Director of Hotel Operations for Airship Ventures. He had previously been at Los Angeles' Jonathan Club as Manager-Town Club and the General Manager for the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club.
The Landings St. Lucia has appointed Ivan Grondona Food and Beverage Manager. He was previously the Beverage Manager at the Renaissance Chancery Court in London.
The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam has named Denise Cibert Food and Beverage Manager. Cibert was previously the hotel's Executive Housekeeper.
Todd Hewitt has been named Regional Director of Spas for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, adding to his current position as Spa Director at the Four Seasons Costa Rica. He had previously served as Assistant Corporate Spa Director for Sandals Resorts.
The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa has named Gloria Williams-Ah Sam Spa Director. She was most recently in the same position for the SpaHalekulani in Hawaii.
EUROPEMichel Stalport has been appointed Regional Vice President, Southern Europe and Africa, for Rezidor. He originally joined Rezidor in 1993 and was until now Regional Director for Russia, the Baltic States, Turkey and China. Tom Flanagan replaces him in that position.
Robert Petrovic has returned to Germany as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Berlin. He originally joined Ritz-Carlton in 2003 as Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg, before moving on to the Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street, as Hotel Manager and, most recently, Hotel Manager for the Ritz-Carlton Sanya.
Ian Pollock has been named General Manager of Crewe Hall in Cheshire. He was formerly with the former Belfry House Hotel in Manchester, which became a Hallmark hotel earlier this year.
Philip Mahoney has been named General Manager of the Regent Esplanade Zagreb in Croatia. He was previously General Manager of De Vere Cameron House, Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Renaud Grégoire has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Dorchester. He joins the hotel from the Fairmont Towers, Heliopolis in Cairo, where he had spent the past fifteen months as Resident Manager. He had previously served in various food and beverage positions at Claridge's for seven years.
Marriott International has promoted Amy McPherson to the position of President and Managing Director of European lodging. She joined Marriott in 1986 and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing.
Arnaud Boivent has joined WorldHotels based in London to oversee sales for the UK and Ireland. He was most recently based in Paris as Director of Field Sales for Accor.
Rosanna Crawley has moved as Director of Communications to the Dorchester. Since 2005, she had served as Director of Communications for the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.
The Dorchester has appointed Brian Hughson Head Chef of the Grill. He was most recently the opening Head Chef at Rhodes W1, Gary Rhodes' London restaurant.
Emmanuel Lehrer, formerly of Le Méridien Beach Plaza in Monte Carlo, will be the new Chef at the Mas de Pierre in Saint Paul de Vence, taking over from Frédéric Garnier (who will be joining Chef Olivier Brulard at La Réserve de Beaulieu). Before becoming the Chef de Cuisine at Le Méridien Monte Carlo, Lehrer worked at Guanahani and the Chateau de Floure.
Laurent André has been named Executive Chef at the Royal Monceau in Paris, currently undergoing a top-to-bottom restoration before reopening as a Raffles Hotel. Like many others, André is a former protégé of Alain Ducasse.
The Dorchester has appointed Ann Costelloe Spa Manager of the new Dorchester Spa, set to launch this month. She has been with the hotel in various positions since 2005. She had previously held management positions at the Berkeley Health Club and Spa, and the Spa and Country Club at Cliveden.
ASIA AND THE PACIFICMichel Molliet has been appointed Vice President of Sofitel Greater China . Prior to joining Sofitel, he served as Vice President of Hotel Operations at the Venetian Resort Macau.
Duncan Palmer has transferred as Managing Director to the Langham, Hong Kong and will take on the additional role of Vice President, Design, for Langham Hotels. He was most recently the Managing Director of the Langham, London. Palmer had previously served as General Manager of the Savoy, London and the Connaught, London and spent twelve years with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
Charles de Foucault has been named General Manager of the Ayana Resort and Spa Bali . The property is the former Ritz-Carlton Bali, now operated by Horst Schulze's West Paces Hotel Group. For the past two years, de Foucault had served as General Manager of the Leela Palace Kempinski in Bangalore. He was previously with Ritz-Carlton for nineteen years in various positions with the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, the Ritz-Carlton Seoul and the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey.
David Wilson, who had been the General Manager of the (former) Ritz-Carlton Bali for the past several years, will be the opening General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Pudong in Shanghai.
David O'Hanlon has been named General Manager for the Swiss-Belhotel Borneo Samarinda. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Royal Wing and Spa, Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Thailand.
Kevin Qin has been named General Manager of the Sofitel Zhongshan Golf Resort Nanjing. He was most recently the General Manager of the Panorama Shanghai.
Noel Cameron has been appointed General Manager of the Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives. He was most recently at the Singita Grumeti Reserve in Tanzania as Senior General Manager.
Damon Page has been appointed General Manager of the Westin Bund Center Shanghai. He had previously served as opening General Manager of the W Retreat & Spa in the Maldives, as well as the W Hong Kong.
Aditya Mata has been appointed General Manager of the Zuri Kumarakom Kerala Resort and Spa , previously the Radisson Plaza Resort and Spa Kumarakom. Mata had previously served as Director - Development for Splendid Hospitality Bangalore.
Marcel Holman has transferred as General Manager to the Shangri-La Wuhan from the same position at the Shangri-La Beijing. He had previously served in various positions with the Shangri-La Chengdu and the InterContinental Beijing.
Starwood has transferred General Manager David Katemopoulos from the St. Regis Macau to perform the opening in the same role, of Le Méridien Xiamen.
Mark Stebbings has been named General Manager of the Hotel Hana-Maui. He was most recently the General Manager of the Point in the Adirondacks.
Andrew Steele returns to the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru resort as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Shangri-La New Delhi, after serving as Resident Manager in Kota Kinabalu.
The Paresa in Phuket, scheduled to open this summer, has appointed Scot Toon General Manager. He was most recently at the Gayana Eco Resort in Borneo as General Manager. He was previously with Per Aquum as General Manager, Spa Collection.
Adrian Brown has been appointed General Manager of the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya, due to open in June. He had previously served as General Manager for the JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur, and the Eastern and Oriental Penang.
Scott Pauli was named General Manager of the Aston Maui Lu. Aston Hotels and Resorts hired Pauli in 2007 as Corporate Director of Housekeeping. He had previously served in rooms positions for the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, the Four Seasons Hualalai and the Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani (now the Fairmont Orchid).
GHM has promoted Jamie Case to Senior Vice President Operations. Case was formerly the General Manager of the Datai, Langkawi and has been with the company for fifteen years.
The Marina Bay Sands has appointed Tony Cousens Vice President of Hotel Operations, based in Singapore. He takes over from Nigel Roberts who was recently promoted to President. Cousens was formerly a Senior Vice President with Dubai-based Jumeirah. He also served three years as General Manager of the Marina Mandarin Singapore, following a nineteen-year career with Méridien.
The Sheraton Shenzhen Futian has appointed Claudio Nardini General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sheraton Sanya Resort and the Managing Director of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Hainan.
Christian Wasfy has been appointed General Manager of the JW Marriott Chongqing. He was most recently the General Manager of the Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park Hotel.
Adam Chang has been appointed General Manager of the Xiamen Seaview Resort, which is due to open this month. Chang was most recently the Deputy General Manager for the Xiamen Mandarin Hotel.
Klaus Gottschalk has been named General Manager of the Pullman Shanghai Skyway. He has been with Accor since 1994, most recently as General Manager of the Novotel Rotorua Lakeside and the Hotel Ibis Rotorua as Area General Manager.
Tobias Ernst has been appointed Hotel Manager of the Sheraton Shanghai Hotel & Residences, Pudong and Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Pudong. He had previously served as Executive Assistant Manager - Food and Beverage, for Le Royal Méridien Shanghai and as Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Tokyo.
Matthias Vogt has transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Sanya as Hotel Manager. He comes from the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg to take over from Robert Petrović who is now overseeing the Ritz-Carlton Berlin.
Ugur Lee Kanbur joins the Westin Mumbai Garden City as Hotel Manager. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Kuala Lumpur and the Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen.
Clyde Min will be joining Pacifica Partners as Vice President, Asset Management, based in Singapore. He is currently the Vice President, Asset Management, Asia Pacific for Kingdom Hotel Investments. Pacifica Partners is actually a subsidiary of Host Marriott, for whom Min was Vice President of Asset Management prior to joining Kingdom two years ago.
Mark Foxwell has been promoted at the Park Hyatt Tokyo to the position of Executive Assistant Manager. He joined the property in 2006 as Director of Rooms. He had previously served in various rooms management positions for the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove and the Hyatt Regency Adelaide.
Bernard Chong has rejoined Meritus as Senior Vice President, Development. His most recent position with the company was as Vice President, Operations, before moving in 2008 to the Ascott Group as Country General Manager, overseeing all of Ascott's properties in Singapore.
Marriott International has appointed Jacqueline Kennedy Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing for the four properties in Jakarta. She replaces Theo Ocks who has recently been promoted to Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Marriott International in Western Europe. Kennedy had previously held senior sales and marketing positions for the JW Marriott Seoul and the JW Marriott Shanghai & Marriott Executive Apartments.
Alvin Wong has joined Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hawaii as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Kauai Resort and the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas. He was most recently the Director of Marketing for the Hilton Grand Vacations Club. He previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki for six years and was also the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hawaii Prince Hotel and the Maui Prince Hotel.
The St. Regis Beijing has appointed Holger Jakobs Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Six Senses Resorts & Spas.
Mohammed Al Maidama was recently appointed Director of Sales at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore overseeing the GCC countries. He was most recently the Director of Sales - Business Travel and Groups at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai.
Gavin Weightman has moved to the Shangri-La Hotel Cairns as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently in the same position at the Shangri-La Fijian Resort and Spa. Replacing Weighman in Fiji as Director of Sales and Marketing is Agnes Pacis.
The Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa has promoted Christi Lewis to Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Director of Group Sales for the resort. She was formerly the Regional Director of Group Sales for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hawaii.
John Dominguez has returned to the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa as Director of Group Sales. He was previously a member of the opening sales team for the resort in 2004, before serving as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sheraton Kauai Resort and the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas.
Roger Lienhard has been appointed Vice President Food and Beverage for Resort World on Singapore's Sentosa Island. He comes from the Grand Hyatt Tokyo where he was the General Manager. Lienhard also served as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency New Delhi.
Matthew Siegel is the Director of Food and Beverage at the Marco Polo Shenzen. Recent stints in his career include General Manager of Classified, a cheese shop in Hong Kong, Director of Food and Beverage at Singapore's Tanglin Club and Director of Food and Beverage at the Kowloon Hotel.
Gray Kunz is returning to Hong Kong, where he worked in the eighties, to open Café Gray Deluxe in September in the Upper House Hotel. He recently ran Grayz and Café Gray after serving as Executive Chef at Lespinasse in the St. Regis New York.
Matthew Zubrod has joined the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel as Executive Chef. He was most recently at DishAspen as Executive Chef. He previously served as Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Club Aspen.
The Club at the Saujana has named Executive Chef Nancy Kinchela. Kinchela previously worked in the kitchens at the Heritage House in Mendocino, the Leela Goa and the Emirates Towers Dubai.
Robert McCormick has been appointed Executive Chef at the Hotel Hana-Maui. He had previously served as Chef de Cuisine for the Willcox in South Carolina.
Raffles Hotel Singapore has named Yoann Bernard Executive Sous Chef. He had previously served as Executive Sous Chef at the Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, Las Dunas Beach & Spa Hotel in Marbella and the now shuttered L'Orangerie in Los Angeles. Also joining the Raffles Singapore are Gael Etrillard as Executive Pastry Chef and Denis Groison as Chef de Cuisine of the Raffles Grill.
The Indigo Pearl, Phuket has named Julien Thevenot Executive Pastry Chef. He had previously served as Pastry Chef at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok, before moving to the Maldives where he was appointed Pastry Chef at the Conrad Maldives Resort & Spa.
Charlotte Caster was named Assistant General Manager at the Aston Maui Hill. She was most recently the interim General Manager at the Whaler on Kaanapali Beach and the Aston Maui Lu. She had previously served as Reservations Manager, Front Office Manager and Rooms Division Manager at various properties such as the Maui Park Hotel, Honolulu Prince and Coconut Plaza Hotel.
The Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong has appointed Nicolas Pierron Head Sommelier. Pierron was most recently the Wine Buyer of Home House in London, after joining as Head Sommelier in 2006.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICAGeneral Manager Stefan Simkovics will be opening the Four Seasons Beirut, temporarily abandoning the long-delayed Four Seasons Beijing. Simkovics had originally joined Four Seasons in 1981 as Executive Assistant Manager at the Pierre in New York.
Hashem Melhem has moved to open the Four Seasons Beirut this summer as Hotel Manager. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Cairo at The First Residence. He had previously served in management positions with the Four Seasons Toronto, the Four Seasons Houston and the Four Seasons Nevis.
Didier Jardin steps in for Melhem to take over as Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Cairo at The First Residence. Jardin was most recently at the Four Seasons Bora Bora as Resort Manager. He had previously held positions at the Four Seasons New York, the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, the Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara and nine years in Hawaii between the Four Seasons Wailea and the Four Seasons Hualalai.
Jacques Charles steps in to take over for Philippe Guitton at the Lemuria Resort in the Seychelles as General Manager. For the past four years, he had been the Managing Director for Latitudes Hotels. Previously, he had been at Le Méridien Nice as Deputy General Manager in charge of Food and Beverage before being promoted to General Manager.
Guzman Muela has moved as General Manager for the InterContinental Resort Aqaba. Muela's most recent role was as Interim General Manager at the InterContinental Lusaka and Crowne Plaza Amman. He has been with the group for almost sixteen years.
Karim Nahas has been appointed General Manager at the Grand Rotana Resort and Spa Sharm El Sheikh. He was previously the General Manager of the Hilton Alexandria Green Plaza and the Hilton Hurghada Long Beach Resort.
Bryan Bourgeois has joined the Yas Hotel Marina in Abu Dhabi as Resident Manager. He was most recently in Dubai at the Essque Palm Jumeirah as pre-opening Hotel Manager. He was previously with Four Seasons in various rooms positions at the Four Seasons Resorts Lana'i, the Four Seasons New York, and the Four Seasons Maui.
The Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates has appointed Nasser Fawzi Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently with the Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay as Director of Sales and Marketing.
The Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Ersin Manaz Regional Sales Manager. He had previously joined Radisson SAS in 2005, most recently serving as Group Sales Manager for the Radisson SAS Dubai Deira Creek.
The Four Seasons Riyadh at Kingdom Centre has appointed Ahmad Sleiman Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Doha. He joined the company in 1991 at the former Four Seasons Newport Beach before moving to the position of Chef de Cuisine for Pahu i`a at the Four Seasons Hualalai.
The Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort has appointed Massimo Pettinau as Italian Chef for La Mamma. He was most recently the Italian Chef at the Paparazzi Restaurant at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Manila.
Gareth Carberry has been named Chef de Cuisine for Rosewood's Hotel Al Khozama in Riyadh. He had previously served as Sous Chef at the Manhattan Grill in the Grand Hyatt Dubai and served on the pre-opening culinary team for the Tiara Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.
Bernard Nigond has been appointed Executive Sous Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Doha. For the past eight years, Nigond was in culinary positions with the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner.
Antony Fernandez has moved to Bahrain as Regional Executive Pastry Chef to be based at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain. Since 2004, he had been overseeing the pastry operation for the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation. He had previously overseen the pastry shop for the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg, and the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall.
Steven Drewery has moved to the Ritz-Carlton Dubai as Restaurant and Lounge Director. For the past two years, he had been at the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo as Restaurant Manager for Restaurant Forty Five. He had previously worked for Gordon Ramsay, overseeing his restaurants in the Conrad Tokyo and Gordon Ramsay in London.
Do you have news for us? Please do not hesitate to send us an e-mail at benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.comEdited by Susana Parks, Benoit Gateau-Cumin & Lisa LeroyThe Boutique Search Firmsusana@boutiquesearchfirm.combenoit@boutiquesearchfirm.comlisa@boutiquesearchfirm.com www.boutiquesearchfirm.com HEADS above the Rest® is a copyrighted publication; redistribution without permission is prohibited