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: November 2009.

THE AMERICAS

Ron Burkle's Yucaipa has invested $75 million in the Morgans Hotel Group and promoted Marc Gordon to President. He was most recently serving as Chief Investment Officer for Morgans.

Hervé Houdré has been appointed Regional Director of Operations for the InterContinental Barclay New York, also in charge of the InterContinental Times Square, currently under construction. He joins from the Willard InterContinental where he was the General Manager since 2004. Houdré's past career includes four years as Chief Operating Officer for Kempinski Hotels and Managing Director of Paris' Hotel Plaza Athénée.

InterContinental has named Michael Herrmann General Manager at the InterContinental San Juan Resort and Casino and Regional Director of Operations for the Latin America-Caribbean Division. He was most recently the Director of Operations for IHG Southwest Asia Division. In Puerto Rico, he succeeds Sharon Kilmartin.

Sharon Kilmartin has been promoted to Regional Director of Operations for the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin and the InterContinental Houston Hotels. She was most recently overseeing the InterContinental San Juan Resort and Casino. She originally joined InterContinental in London in 1993.

Stefan Huemer has been named General Manager for the InterContinental Los Angeles. He was most recently the General Manager and Island Chief of the Kuredu Island Resort and Spa, in the Maldives. He succeeds Jean-Francois Gatti, Raymond Vermolen (now the General Manager of the InterContinental Houston) and Ed Andrews (now the General Manager of the InterContinental Chicago.)

Jonathan Heath has been appointed General Manager of the W Vieques Resort, due to open in the Spring. An Australian, Heath was the opening General Manager of the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs. He also spent three years with the Kor Group as General Manager of the Viceroy Palm Springs, following three years as Director of Development for London-based Soho House.

Steve Janicek has joined the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera as General Manager. He had previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Vail Cascade Resort and Spa and the Lodge at Rancho Mirage.

Frédéric Luvisutto has moved to the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as Vice President Hotel Operations. For the past four years, he had been the General Manager of Signature, The Residences at the MGM Grand. He had previously served in operational positions for the Loews Don Cesar Resort in St. Petersburg and the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

David Mcintyre takes over for Luvisutto at the Signature at the MGM Grand Las Vegas as Vice President General Manager. He was most recently the Vice President of Food and Beverage for the MGM Grand Las Vegas. He had previously overseen food and beverage for the former Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena and the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.

George Kalogridis has been named President of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, replacing Ed Grier, who is retiring from the company. Kalogridis, a 38-year Disney veteran, was most recently the Chief Operating Officer for Disneyland Resort Paris.

Crestline has announced the promotion of James Carroll to the position of Chief Operating Officer. He was previously the Chief Financial Officer for Barcelo Crestline, joining in 2004 from Dell.

The Hyatt Regency Curacao has appointed Diego Concha General Manager. He has been with Hyatt for more than two decades, most recently serving as Hotel Manager at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad.

Todd George has been named Vice President and General Manager of the River City Casino in South St. Louis county, which is scheduled to open in spring 2010. He was most recently the Vice President and General Manager at Lumiere Place in downtown St. Louis.

Kim Townsend has been named Vice President and General Manager of Lumiere Place, which includes the Lumiere Place Casino, the Four Seasons St. Louis and HoteLumiere. She was most recently the head of Pinnacle Atlantic City, which remains on indefinite hold.

Jeff Babinski has been promoted to General Manager of Boomtown Reno. He was most recently the Senior Director of Casino Operations at Lumiere Place.

George Jordan has been appointed Area General Manager for the Hotel Felix and the Hotel Cass, both in Chicago. He was most recently the General Manager of the Raffaello in Chicago and previously worked with Hilton Worldwide for fourteen years, most recently as General Manager for Chicago's Drake Hotel. 

Peter Faraone has been named Vice President and General Manager of the Homestead in Virginia. He was most recently serving as Managing Director of the Lansdowne Resort.  Previously, he had spent more than ten years with Ritz-Carlton, including his role as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner. 

Ryan Cimei has been appointed General Manager of the Eldon Luxury Suites Hotel in Washington, DC. He had previously served as Rooms Division Manager for the Naples Bay Resort.

The Waterford Hotel Group has promoted Michael Heaton to Vice President, Operations. Heaton joined the group in 1997, serving as General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Cromwell, Resident Manager of the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa and, most recently, as Regional Hotel Director for the group.

Ronald Paynter has been appointed General Manager for the Marriott Plaza San Antonio. He has been with Crestline Hotels & Resorts for several years, serving as interim General Manager for the Crowne Plaza Englewood, the Hotel Derek in Houston and the Hilton Parsippany.

Rolando Miravete has been named Managing Director of the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit. He was most recently managing the Grand Bay Hotel in Manzanillo.

Pierre-Yves Bonin Floret has been appointed General Manager of the Casa Velas Hotel in Puerto Vallarta. He was most recently managing the Dreams Villa Magna in Riviera Nayarit.

Geoffrey Mills has moved as Managing Director to the Paramount in New York. For the past three years, he had served in the same position for the Embassy Suites New York, after serving as Managing Director for the Crowne Plaza at the United Nations (the former Tudor Hotel).

George Cozonis has been named General Manager of the W South Beach. He served as General Manager of the Atlantic Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale following a stint as General Manager of the Sonesta Coconut Grove. He is also a 20-year veteran of Omni Hotels.

Greg Cook has been appointed General Manager of the Eden Roc Renaissance in Miami Beach. Cook was most recently the Vice President of Hotels for Key International.

Keith Halfmann has joined Marcus Hotels and Resorts in Milwaukee as Corporate Director of Restaurants and Hotel Operations Support. Last year, he had returned to Marcus Hotels and Resorts as Assistant to the President, after serving most recently as Vice President of Food and Beverage for Sage Hospitality Resources.

Hernan Vanegas, currently the Vice President of Asset Management for Barcelo Crestline Corporation, takes on the added role of General Manager for the new Barcelo Los Cabos Palace Deluxe Resort. A Lausanne graduate, he had previously served as Managing Director of the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort in Mexico's Riviera Maya.

Eduardo Cruz Del Rio has joined the Aqua Resort in Cancun as General Manager. He had most recently served in the same position at the Hyatt Regency Cancun. Cruz also spent eight years with Grupo Posadas in Mexico and Argentina.

Carl Meyer has been named Residence Manager for the Private Residence Club at Calistoga Ranch, an Auberge Resort.  He had previously been the General Manager at Salish Lodge & Spa and, most recently, Director of Operations at Calistoga Ranch.

Harrah's Entertainment has named Peter Murphy to the newly created position of President-Strategy and Development. He had previously been with the Walt Disney Company, filling a variety of executive roles, including serving as Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Strategic Officer from 1998 to 2005.

Julian Smaldoni has been named General Manager of the Capella Ixtapa. He was most recently the General Manager of the Tides Riviera Maya and previously the General Manager of the Quinta Real Huatulco.

Kimpton's Hotel Monaco Chicago has named Jonathan Bartlett General Manager. Most recently, Bartlett served as General Manager of Kimpton's Hotel Vintage Park in downtown Seattle.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has appointed Deborah McCluskey General Manager for Ink48, formerly the VU Hotel. She was most recently the General Manager at the Empire Hotel in New York and previously the Hotel Manager at the Sheraton Russell (now closed).

Kashmie Ali has been appointed General Manager of the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa. Ali was most recently the Director of Operations at the Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet boutique resorts in St. Lucia.

Isabel Goldsmith's Las Alamandas has named Willard Lazzarini General Manager, taking over from Miguel Andres Hernandez who is returning to Puerto Vallarta. Lazzarini was previously at the InterContinental Puebla as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Amanda Hyndman has moved from the Excelsior Hong Kong to take over as General Manager of sister property the Mandarin Oriental Washington, DC. Hyndman previously served as General Manager of the Waldorf in London.

Mary Paz Canseco has been promoted to General Manager of the Embassy Suites Mexico City-Reforma. She had previously served at the hotel in the position of Director of Human Resources and Training.

Wolfgang Wehen was promoted to Acting General Manager at the W New York – the Court & the Tuscany, moving from the W New York Union Square where he was the Director of Operations for over two years. He also served as Director of Food and Beverage at the W New York, Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Diplomat and at Turnberry Isle.

Chris Forbes has moved as Director of Hotel Operations to the Almond Casuarina Beach Resort in Barbados. He was most recently serving at sister property the Almond Beach Village, where he was Director of Operations.

The Ian Schrager Company has named Russell Flicker Chief Investment Officer. Previous positions include Operating Partner of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors as well as Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization.

Wyndham has named Jennifer Marchetti Vice President Marketing and Innovation. She was most recently Senior Director of Strategy for Wyndham.

Alberto Lausell has moved to Sandy Lane on Barbados as Director of Engineering. He was most recently the Director of Engineering at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach and had previously served in similar posts at the Cancun Hilton and the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain. 

Choice Hotels has promoted Todd Davis to Chief Technology Officer. He was most recently serving as Vice President of Property Systems Development and Administration for the company.

Marie Maher has moved to the Renaissance Las Vegas as Director of Food and Beverage. For the past three years, she had overseen food and beverage at the Wynn Las Vegas. Previously, she had served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Bellagio.

Francois Grand is leaving SLS at Beverly Hills where he was the Director of Food and Beverage, to take a similar position at Los Angeles' prestigious Jonathan Club. Prior to joining SLS a year ago, he had been with China Grill Management, the Peninsula Beverly Hills and Four Seasons (in Houston and New York).

Markus Krebs has moved to the Raffles L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills as Director of Food and Beverage. For the past two years, he had been in the same position for the InterContinental Los Angeles (formerly the Park Hyatt Century City). He had previously overseen food and beverage for Shutters on the Beach.

The Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa has appointed David Powell Food and Beverage Director. Powell has been with Hyatt for eleven years, serving in various positions at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, the Hyatt Rosemont, the Hyatt Regency Dallas and the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach.

John Washko has joined Dean And Deluca's Oakville Grocery in Napa Valley as General Manager. He was most recently serving as President of Hotel Operations for the Venn Company. Previously, he spent twenty-one years with Four Seasons, most recently in the Toronto corporate office, as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage. Washko had held many senior positions for Four Seasons in various hotels such as the Four Seasons Los Angeles, the Four Seasons San Francisco and the Ritz-Carlton Chicago.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has named Ted Jacobs Vice President, Brand Design. He is the former Principal and Regional Design Leader at Gensler.

The Oberoi Group has appointed Alistair Ballantine Senior Vice President – Sales and Marketing, the Americas, based in New York. He was most recently serving as Director of Sales and Marketing for Orient-Express Hotels Trains and Cruises.

The Morgans Hotel Group has named Brian Jones Senior Vice President of Sales. Jones had previously served as Vice President of Global Sales for Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts.

The Waterford Hotel Group has appointed Karen Bachofner as Vice President of Sales, Select Service. She has been with the group since 1987, most recently serving as Regional Director of Sales and Corporate Director of Revenue Management.

Daniel Guerrero has joined the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau as Director of Communications and Public Relations. He was most recently with Fleishman-Hillard, following three years as Director of Public Relations for the Kor Hotel Group.

Sharon Adam has been appointed Director, Sales and Marketing at the Hotel Wales in New York City. She previously worked for Oberoi Hotels & Resorts as Sales Manager.

SeaDream Yacht Club has promoted Gretchen Bell to Vice President-Sales, the Americas, based in Miami. She has been with the company since 2001, most recently as Director of Business Development and National Accounts. She had previously held sales positions with Cunard and Royal Caribbean.

Rick Oberdahlhoff has joined the Curtis Hotel in Denver as Director of Sales and Marketing. For the past two years, he served as Midwest Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Kansas City Sport Complex and Coco-Key Water Resort. Previous positions include Director of Sales and Marketing for the Doubletree Convention Hotel Kansas City and Senior Sales Manager at the InterContinental Houston.

Michael Solis has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the Silversmith Hotel & Suites in Chicago. He was most recently with the Fairfield Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown as Director of Sales. He had previously held various positions at the Amalfi Hotel Chicago, the Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor, and the Radisson Hotel Lincolnwood.

Peter Regan has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center in Richmond. Regan was most recently directed sales and marketing at the Tides Inn.

Domingo Velasco returns to Rosewood as Director of Marketing for Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda, based in New York. He had previously served as Associate Director of Sales at the Carlyle, before taking on sales and marketing roles for the Kor Group and Orient Express at La Samanna.

Rosewood Hotels & Resort has promoted Gerard Sclafani to Corporate Director of Travel Industry Sales. Sclafani has been with Rosewood for fourteen years, most recently as Director of Marketing for Little Dix Bay.

Barceló Hotels and Resorts has appointed Ana Diaz-Coreas Director of Sales - West Coast, based in Los Angeles. She had previously served as Director of Sales for North America at both the Barceló Karmina Palace Deluxe in Manzanillo and the Barceló La Jolla de Mismaloya in Puerto Vallarta.

Douglas Varsano has taken on the role of Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hilton Parsippany and the adjacent Hampton Inn Parsippany. A Cornell graduate, Varsano had previously served as Director of Sales at the Sheraton Seattle and at the W Atlanta-Midtown.

Christine Cooper has moved to Carlsbad to join La Costa as Director of Sales. For the past thirteen years, she had been with Fairmont, most recently as Director of Group Sales at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. She had previously spent eleven years at the Fairmont San Jose, eventually serving as Director of Group Sales.

George Allen has joined La Quinta Resort and Club as Director of Sales, replacing Frank Menchen who was transferred to the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Allen was most recently in the same position at La Costa Resort and Club. He had previously served in sales positions for the Four Seasons Aviara, the Pierre, and the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles has named Lawrence McCue Director of Group Sales. He most recently served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Keystone Resort & Conference Center.

The Curtis Hotel has appointed Bruce Mangual Director of Catering. Since 2005, he had been with the JW Marriott at Cherry Creek (a sister property within Sage Hospitality) as Director of Catering. Previous assignments include opening the Hotel Monaco in Denver as Director of Special Events and Catering Director at the Alexis Hotel in Seattle.

The Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa has appointed Andrea Honan Director of Catering. She was previously working for Hyatt in Chicago at the Hyatt Rosemont and the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

Sandy Lane has named Conny Andersson Executive Chef. Andersson, previously a long time Four Seasons Executive Chef, most recently had opened his own short-lived restaurant in Venice, California, Restaurant AK. He had formerly served as Executive Chef at the Beverly Wilshire, the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, the Four Seasons Bali and the Four Seasons Nevis. At Sandy Lane, he replaces Grant McPherson, who has returned to Las Vegas

At the Bazaar by José Andrés in Beverly Hills, Joshua Wigham has replaced Michael Voltaggio (now at the Dining Room at Pasadena's Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa) as the new Chef de Cuisine. Wigham had helmed the stoves at several other José Andrés Washington D.C. restaurants, including Café Atlantico and Zaytinya.

Tony DiSalvo has joined the Viceroy Santa Monica as Executive Chef of Whist. He had previously served in the kitchens at La Goulue, Gramercy Tavern, Jean Georges and later opened Jack's La Jolla as Executive Chef.

Christian Rassinoux has moved to Las Vegas to take over as Executive Chef at the MGM Grand. He had been with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company since 1985, for the most part as Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, before moving to Shanghai two years ago to oversee the kitchens at the Ritz-Carlton Portman. At the MGM Grand, he replaces Steven Peterson, who left several months ago.

Andrew Helliwell has been appointed Executive Chef at the Glen Cove Mansion in New York. Previously, he had spent nearly a decade as Executive Chef for the Port Jefferson Country Club and was most recently with Thatched Cottage Caterers in Centerport, New York.

Peter Timmins has joined the Gasparilla Inn & Club in Boca Raton as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Greenbrier.

Eric Branger has returned to California as Executive Chef for the developing Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. He has been with Ritz-Carlton for over fourteen years, most recently stepping in as Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Dubai. Previously, he had been working on the pre-opening team for the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, which was delayed until further notice. Branger also served as Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton New York at Central Park South, the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans and the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta.

The Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit has named Régis Lacombe Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage. Lacombe was previously the Executive Chef fat the Four Seasons Mexico City. Claudio Hotter joins Lacombe as Sous Chef.

The Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach Resort and Spa has appointed Brad Gillespie Executive Chef. Gillespie is approaching his tenth year with Hyatt, serving in culinary positions for the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago and the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.

The Viceroy Anguilla Resort and Residences has named Michael Rauter Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Renaissance Yangtze Hotel in Shanghai. Previously, he had served in the kitchens at the Palazzo Hotel Montecasino in Johannesburg, Little Dix Bay and the Metropolitan Palace Hotel in Dubai.
 
Patrick Dang has been appointed Chef de Cuisine at the Viceroy Anguilla Resort and Residences, slated to open this month. He was most recently at sister property the Tides South Beach, where he spent the better part of 2008 at La Marea Restaurant.
 
Christopher Vacca has joined the Hotel Luca in Yountville as Chef de Cuisine in their Cantinetta Piero restaurant. Since 2001, Vacca had been running Trevi, his own Italian restaurant on Long Island.

The Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort has appointed Devin Johnson Executive Chef. He had previously held food and beverage positions at the Westin and Sheraton at Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort on Grand Bahama Island and at the Westin Buckhead.

Claire Clark has joined Sandy Lane as Executive Pastry Chef after a brief stint this year back in London as Executive Pastry Chef at the Langham. She had previously overseen pastry operations at London's Wolseley before joining Thomas Keller's French Laundry.

Jean-Marie Auboine has moved to Las Vegas to join the Bellagio as Executive Pastry Chef. For the past year, he had been with the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach in the same capacity. He had previously served as Pastry Chef at the Presidente Intercontinental in Mexico City, the Hotel Beau Rivage in Geneva as well as the landmark La Pyramide restaurant in Vienne, France.

Bernard Claeys has moved to Las Vegas to take over as General Manager of Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand. He had previously overseen the Signature restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo. At Robuchon, he replaces Loic Launay, who left a few months ago to become the Food and Beverage Director at Paris' Hotel de Crillon.

Il Cielo in Beverly Hills has named Jeffery Stivers General Manager and Sommelier. He had previously overseen Celadon, Yi Cuisine, Moomba and Cicada.

Cantinetta Piero restaurant in the Hotel Luca in Napa Valley has named Michael Galyen General Manager. He had previously served as General Manager of Bistro Don Giovanni and most recently as Assistant Manager at Bottega.

At Hyatt's Andaz West Hollywood, Daniel Dulor has been brought in as Manager of RH (Riot House) the hotel's restaurant. He comes from the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme.

Myra Hughes has been promoted to Director of Rooms at the Stonewall Resort in West Virginia. She joined the resort at opening in 2002 as Front Desk Supervisor and was most recently serving as Rooms Division Manager.

Vinh Nguyen has been promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Eldon Luxury Suites Hotel in Washington, DC. He joined the property in pre-opening as Accountant.

The Hotel Luca in Napa Valley has appointed Trudy Stubblefield Spa Director and Assistant General Manager. Most recently, she was the Spa Director at Sano Spa at the Casa Munras Hotel and Spa on the Monterey Peninsula.

Roy Winegardner, a former CEO and Chairman of Holiday Inns, passed away on September 30.

Donald Stanczak, former Senior Vice President Food and Beverage for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, has died. A graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Management, Stanczak joined Interstate in 1981 as Vice President of Food and Beverage and spent more than twenty-five years of his professional career with the company.

EUROPE

Claude Rath has been appointed General Manager of the Hotel Concorde Saint-Lazare. He was most recently the General Manager of the Mövenpick Resort in Sousse, Tunisia, following a stint as General Manager of Le Méridien Singapore. He had previously served as Director of Operations of the Méridien Montparnasse in Paris and as General Manager of the Beachcomber Group's Mauricia in Mauritius.

Alessandro Cresta has been appointed General Manager of Concorde's Hotel du Louvre in Paris. He moved up from the position of Assistant General Manager at sister property the Martinez in Cannes. Prior to that, he was the General Manager of the Hotel Boscolo Carlo IV in Prague.

The SeaDream Yacht Club has named Erling Frydenberg Vice President-Hotel Operations, based at the company's headquarters in Oslo. A Lausanne graduate, he had previously been with Crystal Cruises as Senior Vice President-Hotel Operations, Disney Cruise Line as Vice President-Hotel Operations and at Silversea Cruises as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer. For the past two years, Frydenberg had been the President of the one-man Cruise Division for Orlando-based Executive Search International.

Matthew Dixon has been named General Manager of the Corinthia Hotel London, which is scheduled to open late 2010. He had previously served as General Manager for the Grove Country Estate, Brown's Hotel London and the Hotel de Russie in Rome.

Stefan Athmann returns to the Regent Berlin as General Manager after previously serving as the hotel's Director of Sales and Marketing from 2005 to 2007. He was most recently the General Manager at the Radisson Blu Belfast.

Gitte Harder-Pecqueux has been promoted at the Hotel Martinez in Cannes to Hotel Manager. She had held various positions with Concorde Hotels and Resorts throughout the south of France since 2003.

Martin Elsner has been appointed Operations Director for the Rocco Forte Collection based in London. Elsner has been with the Rocco Forte Collection for more than six years, most recently serving as General Manager, Operations and New Openings, as well as interim General Manager at the Hotel de Russie in Rome.

Vanessa Buchli has taken on the role of Areas of Sales, Marketing, Distribution and Service Standards for LVMH Hotel Management in Paris. The Lausanne graduate was previously at the Mark in New York, serving as Director of Revenue Management before moving to a similar position to open the Mandarin Oriental New York.

The Oberoi Group has named Justin Purves Director of Sales, Leisure, for Europe. Previously, he had spent five years with Mandarin Oriental as Regional Director of Sales for the emerging markets of Continental Europe and five years with Rocco Forte Hotels.

Oberoi Hotels & Resorts has named Mark Allvey Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He was most recently the Global Director of Sales and Marketing for the Rocco Forte Collection.

Marie-Christine Buenaobra has been named Director of Sales and Marketing of the Hotel Martinez in Cannes. She had previously held instrumental roles for sister hotel the Palais de La Méditerranée in Nice and at the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche.

Sherryn Bates has been promoted to Senior Director of Marketing, directly overseeing the Four Seasons Gresham Palace and Four Seasons Prague. She had previously served as Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Jakarta.

Stéphanie d'Aboville has beeen appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz in Paris. She comes from Four Seasons, where shed held the position of Associate Regional Director of Sales, based in Paris.

Jérôme Ponchelle has become Head Chef at London's Capital Restaurant. He had previously overseen the kitchens at Wiltons in Mayfair and cooked alongside Michel Bourdin at the Connaught for many years.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

 
The Pan Pacific Hotels Group has appointed Dennis Wright Vice President, Operations. He was most recently serving as Vice President, Operations, with Jin Jiang International Hotel Management Company.

Antoine Chahwan has been promoted to Regional Vice President and General Manager for the Four Seasons Singapore, taking over from Ignacio Gomez Tobar. Chahwan was most recently the opening General Manager of the Four Seasons Macau. He had previously served as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Tokyo at Chinzan-so and the Four Seasons Sydney, before his promotion to General Manager of the (now closed) Four Seasons Great Exuma.

Sanjiv Hulugalle has been promoted to General Manager at the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa, taking over from Alastair McAlpine. He will be moving from the Four Seasons Damascus, where he had held the position of Hotel Manager for the past two years.

Michael Ziemer moves to the Hong Kong Excelsior as General Manager, taking over from Amanda Hyndman. Ziemer had previously served as General Manager for the Mandarin Oriental Macau and the Mandarin Oriental Munich.

Javier Albar has been appointed General Manager of the Beijing Marriott Hotel City Wall. He had previously managed the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel and the Renaissance Kowloon Hotel.

David Katamopoulos has been appointed General Manager of Le Méridien Xiamen Hotel. He was most recently the General Manager of the St. Regis Macau. He had previously served as Hotel Manager for the St. Regis Shanghai, before becoming the General Manager for the Sheraton Haikou Hotel.

Kenny Lin has been appointed General Manager of the San Want Hotel Shanghai. He had been with the Want-Want group since 2005 in the hotel investment department and previously worked at the Sheraton Taipei.

The InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa has appointed Guillaume Epinette General Manager. Epinette takes over the reins from Silvio Bion, who will soon begin a new position at a hotel project currently under construction on the island of Tetiaroa (the former Marlon Brando estate). Epinette was most recently at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort as Executive Assistant Manager.

Beat Wiesmann has been appointed General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Jinan in China. He had previously served as General Manager for the Shenyang Lexington Hotel and at the Swiss-Belhotel Lotus Lake.

Paul Hugentobler has been named General Manager at the InterContinental Shenzhen. The Lausanne graduate was most recently the General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Guangzhou.

Peter Nilsson has been appointed Regional General Manager of the Six Senses Hideaway and the Evason Hua Hin in Thailand. He was most recently with Anantara Resorts and Spas as Group General Manager for Thailand and Bali.

Yngvar Stray has transferred as General Manager to the St. Regis Beijing. He was most recently overseeing the St. Regis Singapore.

Cesar Castro has been named General Manager of the Swiss-Belhotel Wooshu in Vietnam. He was previously the General Manager of the International Hotel – Nirvana Spa and Resort, Vietnam.

Marc Brugger is now the Vice President, Integrated Casino Resort, for the Crown Macau Hotel & Casino. He was most recently the Vice President Hotel and Food and Beverage Operations for the resort. Previously, he had served as Director of Food and Beverage for the Four Seasons Dublin and the Park Hyatt Goa.

The Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake has named Carolyn Tan Director of Finance. She had previously served for five years as Assistant Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Singapore, before taking on her latest role as Accountant/Hotel Analyst at the Corporate Office Asia Pacific.

Pan Pacific Hotels has named David Wong Vice President, Technical Services. He was most recently the Director of Projects, Technical Services, with Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts in Hong Kong.

Nicolas Verdun has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Swissôtel Kunshan. He was most recently with the Sofitel Suzhou as Director of Food and Beverage.

Christoph Strahm has joined the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi as Director of Food and Beverage. The Lausanne graduate was most recently the Food and Beverage Manager at the Kempinski Giardino di Costanza in Sicily.

Kitty Huang has been named Vice President of Global Sales, Asia Pacific, for Wyndham, based in Hong Kong. She had spent more than a decade in senior corporate and property level sales and marketing roles with InterContinental, most recently as Area Director of Sales and Marketing.

Elaine Chin has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for Le Méridien Chongqing Nan'an. She has been with Starwood since 2003 and has held sales and marketing positions with the Sheraton Dongguan Hotel and the Westin Beijing Financial Street.

Charis Choi has been appointed Director of Marketing at the Grand Hyatt Beijing and Area Director of Sales and Marketing for North China. She has been with Hyatt since 1996, most recently as Director of Marketing at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.

The Grand Hyatt Shanghai has named Patrick Pahlke Director of Marketing. Pahlke, a graduate of Lausanne, was most recently the Director of Sales at the Grand Hyatt Beijing.

Le Méridien Xiamen Hotel has named Eugene Hendriks Director of Sales and Marketing. He had previously served in sales and marketing positions for the Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel, the Sheraton Dongguan and the Sheraton Penang.

Sarah Cairns is moving to Singapore to head up public relations for YTL Hotels. She was previously the Director of Public Relations at the former St. Regis Los Angeles, before taking on her most recent role overseeing public relations for the Four Seasons Los Angeles.

The M Hotel Singapore has named Nelson Quek Director of Catering. He was most recently the Senior Catering Sales Manager at the Fairmont Singapore.

Shoji Namatame has been named Executive Chef for the Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki Beach Walk slated to open this month. Namatame had worked extensively in Hawaii, including stints at the Kapalua Resort and the Sheraton Kauai Resort.

The Golden Sands Resort developed by Shangri-La in Penang, has named John Brock Executive Sous Chef. Most recently, the New Zealand native was Sous Chef at Shangri-La The Marina's Tides Restaurant in Cairns, Australia.

Yonatan Kachko has been promoted to Director of Rooms for the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru. Kachko joined the resort last October as Assistant Director of Rooms.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Emaar Hospitality Group has appointed Patrick Heuze Chief Operating Officer. He was most recently the Senior Director - Hospitality Asset Management & Development, for Emaar Properties. He had previously served with Sunland Hotels + Resorts, Maldives, as Vice President.

Alastair McAlpine has been appointed General Manager at the Four Seasons Seychelles, taking over from Markus Iseli who is leaving the company to return to Europe. McAlpine was most recently the General Manager at the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa and had previously served as Resort Manager for the Four Seasons Resorts of Lana'i.

Tony Romer-Lee has been appointed General Manager for the newly opened One&Only Cape Town, following the departure of opening Managing Director Gérard Sintès. For the past three years, Romer-Lee had served as Senior General Manager at Singita's Sabi Sand Game Reserve and previously spent five years as General Manager of Cape Grace in Cape Town.

Hagop Doghramadjian has been appointed General Manager of the Rocco Forte Collection's new hotel in Abu Dhabi, opening in 2010. Doghramadjian most recently held the position of General Manager of the Raffles Dubai.

Khamis Kazzaz has been named General Manager of the Radisson Blu Residence, Dubai Marina. He was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager at the Radisson Blu Tala Bay Resort in Aqaba. He had previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing and Executive Assistant Manager at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Muscat.

Jan Kaiser moves to the Ibn Battuta Dubai operated by Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager at the Mövenpick Bahrain.

Michel Sursock is the new General Manager of the Swiss-Belhotel Doha. He was formerly the General Manager of the Royal Tulip Mirbat Resort and Spa Salalah in Oman.

The One&Only Cape Town has named Auric Zander Resort Manager. He most recently held the position of General Manager at Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek.

The Ramses Hilton in Egypt has appointed Mark Allaf Director of Operations. He was most recently the General Manager for both the Hilton Garden Melville and the Hampton by Hilton, both in Detroit.

Anand Joslin is the new Director of Finance for Villa, Rimal and Rihab Rotana Dubai. He was most recently working as Financial Controller and Analyst at the Rotana corporate office.

Meg Evans has been appointed Country Director of Sales and Marketing for Jordan Marriott Hotels. She has been with Marriott since 1997, most recently as Regional Area Director Sales and Marketing for the Caribbean & South America.

The Steigenberger Al Dau Resort in Egypt has promoted Stefanie Glasser to Director of E-Commerce and Marketing Communications. She had joined the resort as part of the opening team in 2006 and had most recently held the position of Marketing and Public Relations Manager.

Patrick Duff has been appointed Executive Chef at the Fairmont Dubai. He was most recently the Executive Chef on the pre-opening team for the Fairmont Beijing, set to open in 2010. Duff had previously held the position of Executive Chef for the Sukhothai in Bangkok, following stints at the Phoenician, the InterContinental Hong Kong and the Ritz-Carlton Seoul.

Christophe Gavois has joined the Sheraton Abu Dhabi as Executive Sous Chef. He had previously held the Executive Sous Chef title with Four Seasons Hotels in Hampshire, Cairo and Dublin.

The Al Murooj Rotana Dubai has welcomed Andreas Wener as their new Executive Sous Chef. His most recent assignment was with the Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa in Malaysia.

Sylvain Chesnot has moved to One&Only Le St. Géran in Mauritius as Executive Pastry Chef. For the past year, he had been in the same position at Le Touessrok also in Mauritius. He had previously served in pastry positions at the Hôtel Métropole in Monaco and the Royal Riviera.

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

The Boutique Search Firm
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