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: February 2010.

THE AMERICAS

Robert La Forgia has launched Apertor Hospitality. He had previously served with Hilton Hotels for twenty-six years, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, playing an instrumental role in the $27 billion sale of Hilton to Blackstone in 2007.

Carlos Garcia has joined La Forgia at Apertor Hospitality as Principal. He was formerly the Senior Vice President - Hotel Financial Operations, for Hilton.

Former Hilton colleagues of La Forgia, Gregory Cross and K. Allen Anderson, join Apertor as Senior Advisors. Cross was formerly a Senior Vice President of Revenue Management for Hilton and Anderson previously served as Vice President and Senior Counsel for the company.

Also joining Apertor as Senior Advisors are William Sherlock, former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Foxwoods Resort & Casino; John Mazzoni, currently providing asset management consulting services for Sunstone Hotel Investors and Anthony Santo, previously Senior Vice President of Operations, Products and Services, for Harrah's Entertainment.

Michael Shindler, one of the most respected development specialists in the industry, has been named Executive Vice President by Hard Rock International Hotels and Casinos. A former Vice President of Development for Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental and Las Vegas Sands, Shindler had launched Four Corners Advisors in June 2007.

Richard Cotter has been named Executive Vice President, Asset Management, for Miami-based Brilla Group. Until recently the Principal of Cotter & Associates, he is also a former Senior Vice President of Wynn Resorts, a former Area Vice President for Starwood, a former Managing Director of New York's St. Regis and Managing Director of the New York Palace. Cotter is a Cornell graduate.

Jim Veil has been named Regional Director of Operations for InterContinental in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and General Manager of the Willard InterContinental. He replaces Hervé Houdré, who was recently named Regional Director of Operations and General Manager for the InterContinental New York Barclay. Veil was most recently the President of TWELVE Hotels & Residences in Atlanta. Prior to this, he served eighteen years with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.      

Peter Strebel has rejoined Omni Hotels & Resorts as Area Managing Director and will serve as General Manager of the Omni Berkshire Place. Strebel previously enjoyed a ten-year career with Omni Hotels & Resorts in Sales and Marketing, most recently serving as the brand's Vice President, Sales and Marketing. He left to serve in various positions with the Wyndham Hotel Group and Dolce Hotels International.

William Griffon has returned to Montana as opening General Manager of the Ranch at Rock Creek. He had previously overseen operations at the Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, before taking on his most recent position as General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Seven Falls Golf & River Club in North Carolina.

Thierry Kennel will be the opening General Manager of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Denver, slated to open in October 2010. A Frenchman, he was most recently the General Manager of the Four Seasons St. Louis, after serving as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Boston, Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Nevis and in various positions at the Four Seasons Toronto, the Four Seasons Houston, the Four Seasons Vancouver and the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Hura.

Scott Blalock has been appointed Vice President and General Manager of the new JW Marriott Indianapolis. He was most recently the General Manager of the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

Jeff Webb has been appointed General Manager of the Radisson at Cross Keys in Baltimore. He was most recently overseeing the Hilton Suites Lexington Green in Kentucky. 

The Doral Golf Resort & Spa has appointed Paige Koerbel General Manager. He has been with Marriott since 1980, most recently as Regional Vice President of Renaissance Hotels North America, a position he held since 2003.

Bob Nelson has been named General Manager at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center. He had previously served as Managing Director of the Pacific Palms Resort and Conference Center in California and as Vice President of Hospitality for the Woodlands in Houston.  

Andy Howard has been named General Manager of the Tamarind Cove Hotel in Barbados. A Cornell graduate, he was most recently the General Manager of the Grace Bay Club on Turks & Caicos. Previously, he had served as Director of Food and Beverage for the Carlisle Bay Resort in Antigua, Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands and Sandy Lane in Barbados.   

Trigild in San Diego has named Randy Hulce Managing Director for Hotels. He was most recently the Chief Executive Officer and Owner of Executive Guidance Inc. Hulce had previously served in various positions for Sunstone Hotel Investors, Sunstone Hotel Management and La Quinta Inn and Suites.
 
Dolce Hotels and Resorts has appointed Kate Ashton Vice President, Global Operations. Ashton previously served with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as Senior Director, Operations Support Team, North American Division Operations, and Senior Director, Sales Strategy and Operations.

Rudy Sharp has moved with Noble House to La Torretta Lake Resort outside of Houston as Vice President and Regional Managing Director. He was most recently in Seattle for the company at the Hotel Edgewater as Managing Director.

Dave Cocks has been named Managing Director of the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle, replacing Rudy Sharp. Cocks was most recently with Gemstone Hotels & Resorts in Park City as Vice President of Operations.

Kari Koskela has returned to Vancouver to take over as General Manager of the Metropolitan Hotel. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Vancouver before taking on the same role at the Four Seasons Las Vegas. Koskela was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.

Daniel Braun has been promoted to General Manager at the Castle Inn and Resort in Rhode Island. He joined the resort in 2008 as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously spent eight years with Four Seasons in various food and beverage positions for the Four Seasons Aviara and the Four Seasons Palm Beach. At the Castle Inn, he replaces Nathalie Ward.

Fernando Cuéllar has been named General Manager of the Hilton University of Houston Hotel and Conference Center and will oversee the Student Leadership Program at the Conrad N. Hilton College. He was most recently the General Manager of the Lancaster Hotel in downtown Houston. He had previously spent eleven years as General Manager of the Renaissance Houston Greenway Plaza Hotel.

Roger Corwin has been installed as the new General Manager of the SeaCrest Resort in Pismo Beach. He was most recently with Ocean Park Hotels as a multi-unit General Manager and Director of Quality and Compliance.

Noel Daniel has been tapped to run the Inn at Lost Creek in Telluride. Daniel was most recently the General Manager at the Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa. 

Craig Wood has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Accor Vacation Club. He had served as Chief Operating Officer for Accor Vacation Club for the past two years.
 
The Inn at Pocono Manor in Pennsylvania has named Robert Sighinolfi General Manager. He was most recently a Regional Vice President of GF Management in Philadelphia. Previously, he had served as Senior Vice President for the Waterford Hotel Group.

Debra Shinn has been appointed General Manager at the Amara Hotel, Restaurant and Spa in Sedona. She was most recently working on the expansion of Amara's sister property, L'Auberge de Sedona, which is scheduled for completion this spring. Shinn had previously served in rooms management positions at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, the Ivy San Diego and Wynn Las Vegas. 

Philip Cham has been appointed General Manager at the GEM Hotel Chelsea in New York City. He will continue in his current role of General Manager of the Wyndham Garden Hotel Chelsea. He had previously served as General Manager at the Hampton Inn While Plains/Tarrytown, and the Towneplace Suites by Marriott in Albany.        

Ed Netzhammer has been named General Manager for the Omni Hotel Dallas. He joined Omni in 2002 and supervised the opening of two other hotels adjacent to convention centers: the Omni Fort Worth, which opened a year ago, and the Omni San Diego.

Chicago's Hotel Palomar has named Nabil Moubayed General Manager. For the past five years, he had served as General Manager for the Hotel Monaco Chicago.

Isle of Capri Casinos has named Robert Wyre Vice President. Most recently, Wyre served as Director of Operations for Foxwoods Development Company.

Thomas Legner has been appointed Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Washington, D.C. He joined the company in 2002 serving as Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Nevis and Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Toronto.

Elizabeth Mao has been apppointed General Manager of New York's Smyth Hotel. She was previously in a similar capacity at New York's Thompson LES.

Michael Carsch is the General Manager of Chicago's Hotel Sax, recently taken over by Thompson Hotels. Carsch previously managed the Hollywood Roosevelt and the Thompson Beverly Hills for the same group.

Edward Roe has transferred to the Fairmont Empress in Victoria as Director of Operations. He was most recently in the same position at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa. He had previously served as Director of Rooms at the Fairmont Kea Lani and Rooms Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Phoenix.
Michiel Lugt has moved to Turks & Caicos for the Grace Bay Club as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain.

Niels Vuijsters has moved to the Mandarin Oriental Boston as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same position for the Langham Boston.

Olivier Dall'Oglio has joined La Amada Hotel in Cancún as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously served in food and beverage positions for the One&Only Palmilla, the Ritz-Carlton Cancún and the Carlyle in New York.

Nancy Paliani has joined La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa outside of Houston as Director of Food and Beverage. She was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage, at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. She had previously served in similar roles for the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas and La Costa Resort and Spa.

The Shores Resort & Spa has named Cindy Campbell Director of Food and Beverage. Most recently, she was the Director of Food and Beverage for Lane Hospitality at the Hilton Jackson Hotel.

The Westin Westminster in Colorado has promoted Executive Chef Kurt Zuger to also serve as Director of Food and Beverage. Before joining the hotel early last year, Zuger was the Executive Chef at the Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa. He had previously worked at The Buttes in Tempe, the Scottsdale Princess and the Arizona Biltmore.

Rainer Zinngrebe will be joining the Ritz-Carlton Toronto as Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage. For the past eight years, he had been with the Ritz-Carlton Cancún as Executive Chef.

Michael Jordan has been named President at the Beachcomber Restaurant Group, overseeing the Beachcomber Crystal Cove and the Beachcomber Malibu Pier. He was most recently the Global Manager of Wine Sales and Standards at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts and General Manager of Napa Rose at Disneyland in Anaheim.

Hiran Wirekoon will be joining SBE as Regional Controller. He was most recently at the InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles as Director of Finance.

Benchmark Hospitality has appointed Nikolaus Braun Director of Information Technology. He was most recently a Regional Director of Technology for Dolce Hotels & Resorts, a position he held since 2004.  Before this, he served as Director of Information Technology for the Four Seasons New York. 

Benchmark Hospitality has promoted Alex Cabañas to the position of Chief Development and Strategy Officer. He had served in his current position as Vice President of Development and Strategy for the company since 2008.

Sage Hospitality Resources in Denver has appointed Susan Lee Furbay Head of Acquisitions and Business Development. For the past five years, she had served as Director of North America Lending in GE Real Estate's Hospitality division. 

The CapStar Hotel Company has promoted Gary Klett to Vice President of Development. He was most recently serving as Senior Director of Finance for CapStar and previously held the position of Senior Financial Analyst with MeriStar Hospitality.  

Ellen Sinclair has been promoted with Benchmark Hospitality to the role of Senior Vice President. She has been with the company since 1995 most recently as Vice President. 

Alisha Mahon has been appointed Director of Public Relations for the Miraval Resort in Arizona. She was most recently serving as Account Director of Los Angeles based Hawkins International Public Relations.  

Bill Linehan has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer for Richfield Hospitality in addition to assuming the same role at Richfield's sister division, Sceptre Hospitality Resources. He was most recently with Hodges Ward Elliott as Managing Director of new business development. 

Hard Rock International has named John Galloway Vice President Chief Marketing Officer. He had previously held various marketing and brand management positions with PepsiCo, Gatorade and Mountain Dew.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has named Stephen Hahn Area Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the Caribbean & Mexico. He was most recently serving with Marriott International as Director of Western Region Market Sales.

Dee Doak has moved to the Millenium Biltmore in Downtown Los Angeles as Director of Sales and Marketing. For the past six years, she had been with Hilton Hotels most recently as Managing Director, Marketing, for the Beverly Hilton and the Waldorf=Astoria, Beverly Hills, still under development.

The Morgans Hotel Group has appointed Eric Gavin Regional Director of Sales and Marketing overseeing their Miami properties, the Delano, Shore Club and Mondrian in South Beach. Most recently, he was the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Loews Miami Beach Hotel and prior to that, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Noble House Hotels at the Grove Isle Hotel and Spa.

Andrew Oxton has been named Director of Northeast Sales for the Montage Deer Valley, slated to open in December. For the past eight years, he had been with Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage, Half Moon Bay and, most recently at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, as a Senior Sales Manager.

The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club has named Christopher Bracken Director of Sales and Marketing. His previous hotel experience includes Director of Marketing for the Don CeSar Beach Hotel, the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa and for the Biscayne Bay Marriott. He was most recently Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Visit Jacksonville.

The Westin Aruba has named Bill Thompson Director of Sales and Marketing. He was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Westin St. John Resort & Villas, before being named Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Arianne Valentino-Welch returns to Aruba as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Radisson Aruba Resort, Casino & Spa. She had previously held sales and marketing roles for the Wyndham Aruba and the Westin Aruba. She was most recently serving as Global Sales Director of Tour and Leisure for Wyndham Hotel Group.

Mark Podolski has joined the Pacific Palms Hotel and Conference Center in Industry Hills as Director of Sales and Marketing. He had previously served as Executive Vice President, Convention Sales & Marketing with the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau.

Mark Swetman has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hilton Parsippany and the adjacent Hampton Inn Parsippany. He had previously served as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for the Dolce Basking Ridge and Director of Sales and Marketing for the Park Central hotel and the Hilton Short Hills.

LaJeune Marbury has moved over as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Melrose Hotel, Washington, D.C. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Capitol Hill Suites and prior to that served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Doubletree Suites Tysons Corner.

Michael Mettler has moved south to take over as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey. For the past three years, he had been in the same position for the InterContinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco.

David Almond has been appointed Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Chicago and the Westin Chicago River North. For the past four years, the Cornell graduate had been the Director of Sales for the Hiltons of Chicago.

Matthew Martinucci has returned to San Francisco as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Parc 55 Hotel. He had previously spent two and a half years at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco as Director of Sales and Marketing and worked with the Argent Hotel (now the Westin San Francisco, Market Street). He most recently was the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at the Vail Cascade Resort and Spa.

Howard Jacobs has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the Holiday Inn Resort Palm Springs.  He was previously the Director of Sales for the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism.

Denise Schultz has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of the Hotel Palomar Chicago set to open spring 2010. Most recently, Schultz served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Radisson Plaza Minneapolis.

Paul Pebley has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts Miami. Most recently, he served as Director of Marketing for the Fontainebleau Miami.

The Omni Dallas has appointed Kimy Piland Director, National Accounts. She had previously served in various sales positions with the Omni Austin Hotel and at the Omni Fort Worth.

Michael Barrett has been named as Director of Marketing and Sales for the Renaissance Providence Hotel. He was most recently the Director of Group Sales at the InterContinental Boston. He had previously held sales and marketing positions for the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, and the Providence Biltmore Hotel. 

Hospitality Management Corporation has appointed Rose Marie Harris Corporate Director of Sales. Harris began working with HMC four years ago as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Green Oaks Hotel in Fort Worth.

Kimpton's Hotel Palomar Atlanta Midtown has named Mireille Dizard Director of Sales and Marketing. Dizard most recently served as Associate Director of Sales at the Grand Hyatt Washington, DC.

An Verbeeck has joined the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica as Director of Business Travel. She had previously served as Regional Director of Sales for Ace Hotels and Director of Sales at the Mondrian.

The Shores Resort & Spa has appointed Mary Hutchcraft Director of Sales, Groups. Most recently, she spent four years as Director of Sales at the Reunion Resort in Orlando.

Kevin Donahue has joined the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island as Director of Sales. He was most recently with the Grand Bohemian Hotel as Director of Sales.

Ramses Meijer has joined the Omni Hotel Dallas as Sales Director. He was most recently in the same position at the Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas.

The Omni Hotel Dallas has appointed Harold Queisser Marketing Director. He had been with Marriott for more than thirty years, most recently as Director of Affiliate Sales for the Marriott Convention & Resort Network based in San Diego.

Richard Cimilluca has been appointed Director of Sales at Hamilton Park Hotel & Conference Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. Cimilluca takes over from Steve Migliara who is now the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston. Cimilluca had previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Palace at Somerset Park and the Heldrich.

Jeanette Stancato has been designated Director of Group Sales for the Northeast region at Leading Hotels of the World. She was most recently the Director of Group Sales with the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park. She had held various catering and sales positions at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile and the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel.

Leading Hotels of the World has named Cathy Myers Director of Group Sales for the Western region. For the past fifteen years, she had held various sales positions at Destination Hotels & Resorts.

Personality Hotels in San Francisco has appointed Marilyn Perry National Sales Director. Most recently, she was the Regional Director of Sales for Marin Management.

Maria Corona has been appointed Director of Sales for the Marenas Resort in Florida. She was previously a Senior Sales Manager for One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa.

The Westin St. Francis has appointed Dan Egan Director of Sales. He had previously served as Director of Sales at the Sheraton Suites Chicago Elk Grove and as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Westin Chicago North Shore.

Joan Pata has joined the Westin St. Francis as Senior Convention Sales Manager. She was most recently at the Westin Copley Place Boston as a Senior Sales Manager.

The Westin St. Francis has also named Ryan Litsey Senior Convention Sales Manager. For the past two years, he had served as Sales Manager for the Westin San Francisco Airport.

Don Ehehalt has returned to Beverly Hills for the Beverly Hills Hotel in the position of Director of Catering Sales and Conference Service. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Las Vegas as Sales Manager. He had previously spent seven years with Four Seasons in Los Angeles, Carlsbad, Santa Barbara and Palm Beach before taking on various roles at the Red Rock Resort and Spa and the Venetian, both in Las Vegas.

Eva Pekkala was recently promoted to oversee the new catering division for the Aspen Skiing Company. She was previously the Director of Catering for the Snowmass Club. Prior to that, she was the General Manager of the Maroon Bells Lodge, Assistant General Manager at the Aspen Club Lodge and Food and Beverage Director at the Hotel Jerome.

Bill Hedgepeth has been appointed Director of Catering and Convention Services for the Westin St. Francis, San Francisco. Most recently, he was the Director of Catering and Convention Services at the Sheraton Premiere at Tyson Corner.

Joseph Mahon has taken over the recently re-opened Bastide in Los Angeles as Executive Chef. The CIA graduate was most recently overseeing the kitchen at 208 Rodeo in Beverly Hills. His impressive résumé includes stints at Sona in Los Angeles and Bouley, Danube and Café Boulud, all in New York.

The Ellis Hotel in Atlanta has named Thomas McKeown Executive Chef. McKeown, an Irishman, was most recently overseeing the kitchen at Thatch Restaurant in Nenagh, Tipperary, Ireland. He had previously served as Sous Chef of the Somerset Club in Boston.

Bruno Chemel has departed from Mountain View's Chez TJ, disappointed over losing one of two Michelin stars. He will open his own place, Baume, in Palo Alto, taking over the former Cafe Maremonti space. Scott Nishiyama, formerly of Yoshi's in San Francisco and the French Laundry in Yountville, has taken over for Chemel at Chez TJ.

Clint Clausen has opened Four Daughters Kitchen in Manhattan Beach. He was most recently the Senior Vice President of Restaurant Operations for the SBE Group. He had previously served with the Innovative Dining Group in Las Vegas as Director of Operations-Operating Partner.

The Westin St. John has appointed William Ryan Executive Chef. For the past ten years, Ryan had been with the Westin Resort and Spa Hilton Head Island in South Carolina in various food and beverage positions before being promoted to Executive Chef in 2003.

Louis Martorano has returned to the Hilton Orlando as Executive Chef. He previously opened the resort as a Banquet Chef before heading to the Boca Raton Resort and Club for eleven years and serving in his most recent role as Executive Chef of the National Pastime at the Gaylord National Hotel & Resort.

Sylvain Bortolini has joined the Bellagio in Las Vegas as Assistant Pastry Chef. He was most recently in a similar position at the Fontainebleau Miami.

Alyson Heller has been appointed Director of Outlets at the St. Regis Aspen, following almost thirteen years at the Little Nell. She also spent seven years with the Garrett Hotel Group at the Lake Placid Lodge and The Point.

Sheri Claflin has been appointed Director Spa Operations for the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. She had previously served as Spa Director at the Montage Beverly Hills.

EUROPE

Didier Le Calvez will be taking over as Managing Director, replacing Pierre Ferchaud, at the Hotel Bristol in Paris. Le Calvez previously spent seventeen years with Four Seasons, serving as General Manager for the Four Seasons George V, the Pierre and the Regent Singapore. He departed the company in 2008 to take on what was to be the Shangri-La Hotel Palais D'Iena in Paris now slated to open this year.

Luc Delafosse has taken over from Jean-Claude Messant as General Manager of Paris' Hôtel de Crillon. A former Managing Director of the Ritz London and General Manager of Dubai's Burj Al Arab, Delafosse was most recently Head of Hotel Development for London-based Capital Construction & Development, Ltd.

Laurent Ebzant is the new General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Paris Madeleine, taking over from Philippe Zuber. Ebzant was previously the Hotel Manager at the Hyatt Regency Paris Charles de Gaulle, under Thierry Guillot.

Jean-Pierre Trévisan has been promoted at the Ritz Paris to the position of Hotel Manager. He joined the hotel in 2005 as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons George V and the Hotel InterContinental Paris. 

Alberto Zerbini has been appointed General Manager of the Hotel Thalasia & Thalasso Center in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain. He had previously served as Hotel Manager for the InterContinental La Torre Golf Resort Murcia and as Director of Food and Beverage at the St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca.

The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam has appointed Nils Axing General Manager, taking over from Hendrik Bosch, who will be retiring. Axing was formerly the General Manager of the Grand Hôtel InterContinental Stockholm.

Jörg Krauss has been appointed General Manager at the Swissôtel Düsseldorf/Neuss, taking over from Ronald Nilsson, who is now the General Manager of the first Swissôtel in India. Krauss was most recently with the NH Hotel Group as Regional Director for three NH hotels in the Heidelberg region. 

The Savoy London has appointed Marc Sittl Hotel Manager.  He was most recently with the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel and Resort as Deputy General Manager. Previously, he worked as Director of Operations at Le Méridien Abu Dhabi.

Gaetano Petruzzella has joined the soon-to-open Kempinski River Park Bratislava as Executive Assistant Manager. For the past four years, he had been at the Boscolo New York Palace Budapest, most recently as Operations Manager.

Arnaud Duhem has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Shangri-La Hotel Palais D'Iena in Paris slated to open in December. He had been holding a similar position at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme since 2005. Prior to that, Duhem worked for Alain Ducasse in Paris and in Italy.

The Savoy London has promoted Simon Gilkes to Director of Sales. He joined the hotel in 2005 as Director of Corporate Travel. He had previously served in various sales roles with the St. Regis New York as well as the Drake Hotel.

The Savoy London has appointed Ahmed El-Barkouki Director, International Sales. For the past year he had been with the Maybourne Group as a Senior Sales Manager and prior to this was with Four Seasons in Egypt for 8 years.

At the Radisson Blu Biarritz, Thuy Vu has been promoted from Director of Sales to Director of Marketing. Former Sales Manager Emilie Lacombe becomes the new Director of Sales.

The Savoy London has appointed Julia Harris Director, Entertainment Sales. She joins the hotel from the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park where she was a Senior Sales Manager.
 
The Savoy London has appointed Brett Perkins Director of Communications. He most recently ran his own public relations company, True Communications, representing the Dorchester, the Carlyle and Skibo Castle.  
 
The Savoy London has appointed Shelley Cairns Director of Learning and Development. She was most recently at Raffles Dubai as Director of Training and Development. Previously, she served as Learning Coach at the Fairmont Olympic and previously worked for Disney Cruise Lines.

James Norman has moved to the Mandarin Oriental Geneva as Executive Chef. For the past two years, he had been at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong as Executive Sous Chef. Previously, he had served as Executive Sous Chef for the Empire Hotel & Country Club in Brunei.

The Savoy London has appointed Lionel Bethaz Executive Pastry Chef. He was most recently with the Amstel InterContinental as Chef Patissier Hotel and Restaurant.  

The Savoy London has appointed Ryan Murphy Restaurant Chef. He was most recently the Chef de Cuisine at Ronnums Heergard in Sweden. Previously, he had worked for Schloss Velden hotel as Executive Sous Chef and at Jean George New York as Sous Chef.

The Savoy London has appointed Diane Stronach Executive Housekeeper. She was most recently the Director of Housekeeping at the Four Seasons Park Lane.

Ronald Dooremalen returns to the Savoy London as Director of Rooms. He worked for the property prior to its closure in December 2005 and spent the past year working for both the Fairmont Singapore and the Fairmont Beijing as Rooms Transition Manager. Prior to that, he worked for both the Ritz-Carlton Sharm El Sheikh and the JW Marriott Mirage City in Cairo.

The Savoy London has appointed Barry Lugg Director of Security. He was most recently the Head of Fire and Security at London's Royal National Theatre.  
 
The Savoy London has appointed Stuart Stancombe Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently with the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Dubai as Outlets Manager. 
 
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Robert Lagerwey is the General Manager of Singapore's Capella, following five years at the helm of the Bulgari Bali. Lagerwey is no stranger to Singapore where he was the Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia for four years.

Akira Moreno has been promoted from General Manager of the Andaman, Langkawi to Director of Pre-Opening for GHM Hotels based in Singapore.

Jan Kirstein has stepped in for Moreno as Interim General Manager of the Andaman, Langkawi which will no longer be managed by GHM but reflagged as a Luxury Collection Resort and will be operated by Starwood. Kirstein moves from his most recent position as General Manager of the Sheraton Laguna Grande in Phuket.

Biswajit Chakraborty has moved over as General Manager to the Leela Kempinski Mumbai. For the past four years, he had been the General Manager of the Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach, Kerala.  

Graham Koch has been named General Manager of the Pullman Beijing South. An Australian, he was most recently the Resident Manager at the Sofitel Chongqing.

Richard Chan has been named General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Maanshan. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Crowne Plaza Paragon Xiamen.

Klaus Christandl has transferred as General Manager to the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket. He was most recently in the same position for the Sheraton Miramar Resort in El Gouna, Egypt. In Phuket, he replaces Jan Kirstein.

Michael Monks has been transferred as General Manager of Shangri-La's Fijian resort. He was previously the General Manager of the Shangri-La Golden Flower in Xian.

Hans Loontiens has been appointed General Manager of the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel. He was most recently overseeing the Renaissance Tianjin TEDA Hotel and Convention Centre. He joined the company in 2001 as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Cairo Marriott and Omar Khayyam Casino before being promoted at the hotel to the position of Resident Manager. He then joined the Taba Heights Marriott Beach Resort as General Manager.

Hotel Manager Troy Hickox has been promoted to Acting General Manager of the Mira Hong Kong. He takes over from Dirk Dalichau who has returned to his previous role as Vice President, Operations & Development for the parent company, Miramar Group. Hickox was previously in various senior operations management roles at the Four Seasons Hong Kong and the Venetian Macao.
 
Stephan Interthal has been appointed General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Beijing. He had previously managed the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest, the Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten Munich and, most recently, the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin.

Claude Scheffer has been named General Manager of the Adamas Resort and Spa in Phuket. For the past five years, he had been serving as General Manager of the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel in Bangkok.

David Baldwin has been named General Manager of the Sofitel Dongguan Humen Oriental. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sofitel Shanghai Jin Jiang Oriental. 

Robert Rippon has been appointed General Manager of the Sofitel Shanghai Jin Jiang Oriental. He was previously the General Manager of the Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16.

Chooleng Goh has been appointed General Manager of the Plaza Athénée Bangkok, a Royal Méridien Hotel. She was previously the Hotel Manager of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Bangkok.

Fredrik Genberg has been appointed General Manager of the Sofitel Wanda Harbin. He had previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Guoman International Hotels, opening General Manager for the Canton Club in Guangzhou and pre-opening General Manager for the Imperial Springs Resort.

Jon Ashenden has been appointed General Manager of the Sala Phuket Resort & Spa. He was most recently the Resort Director at the Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa.

Willem Pentermann has been appointed Regional Director – Indochina - for Absolute Hotel Services. Pentermann was previously Director of Development for Palmerston Hotels & Resorts in Japan.

Ricky Theodores has been appointed General Manager of the soon-to-open Grand Aston City Hall Hotel & Residence in Medan, Indonesia. He was most recently the General Manager of the Aryaduta Suites Hotel Semanggi, Jakarta.
 
Judy Mokhtar has been appointed Resort Manager for the Impiana Resort & Spa Samui. She was most recently the Director of Rooms and Director of and Sales and Marketing for the Nirwana Gardens, Bintan.

Todd Yamaoka has returned to Hawaii as Resort Manager of the Four Seasons Lana‘i, the Lodge at Koele. He has been with the company for the past twelve years, most recently at the Four Seasons Austin where he served as Assistant Director of Rooms.  He previously worked in catering and conference service management at the Four Seasons Maui at Wailea and had held various positions with the Four Seasons Washington, D.C. and the Four Seasons Toronto.

Sheraton Dameisha Resort has appointed Anthony Cheng General Manager. He was most recently the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing in China for Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts and had served as Hotel Manager for the Sheraton Sanya Resort.

Desmond Tan has been announced as the new General Manager of the Grand Park Kunming. With over eighteen years of experience, Tan joined the hotel two years ago as Hotel Manager and will continue to oversee day-to-day operations.
 
Raymond Saja is the new General Manager at Karma Samui. Previously he had served as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of food and beverage for two Bali properties, Karma Jimbaran and Karma Kandara.

Noorazzudin Omar has been appointed General Manager of the Impiana Resort & Spa Phuket. Omar was most recently with the Impiana Resort & Spa Samui where he served as Resort Manager.

Richard Margo has been appointed Director of Operations at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa. Margo was most recently serving as Executive Assistant Manager at Le Méridien Amman.

The Radisson Plaza Xing Guo Hotel Shanghai has appointed Howard Bennett Managing Director. He was most recently the Vice President of Operations in Greater China for Howard Johnson International.

Edward Shapard has moved to the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong as Hotel Manager. For the past five years, he had been with the Mandarin Oriental New York as Resident Manager.

Danny Wong has been appointed Hotel Manager of the Meritus Mandarin Singapore. Wong has been with the hotel since 1986, having been its Director of Project Services, Director of Rooms, Executive Assistant Manager and Director of Food and Beverage.

Brian Harris has been promoted at the Grand Hyatt Seoul to the position of Executive Assistant Manager. He joined the hotel in 2006 as Director of Rooms. He had previously served as Front Office Manager for the Hyatt Regency Chicago and as Executive Housekeeper for the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.

Stuart Dickie has been appointed Chief Financial Officer for Mandarin Oriental International, effective April 2010. Dickie has been with Mandarin Oriental for nine years, having joined as Director of Corporate Finance in 2000.

Thomas Vaucouleur de Ville d'Avray has joined the One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously served in food and beverage management positions for the Grand Hyatt Singapore, the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, the Hyatt Regency Paris and the Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme.

Daniel Smith has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage for the Holiday Inn Male. Smith arrives in the Maldives from the Crowne Plaza Queenstown, New Zealand, and was part of the pre-opening team at the Holiday Inn Wellington.

The Pan Pacific Hotels Group has appointed Daniel Tan to the newly-created role of Area Director of Marketing, Singapore. His past accomplishments include setting up Valuair - subsequently becoming the airline's General Manager in Thailand and headed Ascott's branding and marketing operations in China.

Eddie Wong has moved as Director of Marketing to the Renaissance Shanghai Pudong. He was most recently in the same position at the Renaissance Shanghai Zhongshan Park Hotel.

Outrigger Enterprises has promoted Teri Orton to Vice President, Condominium Resort Marketing. Orton first joined Outrigger in 2008 as General Manager of the Ohana Islander Waikiki before moving to the Embassy Suites Waikiki Beach Walk as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Panpath Kanlaya has been appointed to the position of Group Director of Sales for the Burasari Group. Kanlaya previously worked for the Banyan Tree Bangkok and the Sheraton Hua Hin.

Marriott International has appointed John Toomey Regional Director of Global Sales for Greater China, based in Hong Kong. He has been with Marriott since 1996, most recently as Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia.

Sraithong Boonburaphong has been appointed Regional Director of Sales and Marketing – Thailand for Absolute Hotel Services. She joins from Marriott where she was Cluster Assistant Director of Sales – Leisure.

Céline Du has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Shangri-La Kerry Centre Beijing. She was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Shangri-La Dalian and the Shangri-La Wuhan.

The Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort Lombok has appointed Ian Sutedjo Director of Sales and Marketing. For the past six years, he had held sales and marketing positions with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Indonesia and with the Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali.

The AYANA Resort and Spa Bali has appointed Giordano Faggioli Executive Chef. He had previously served as Executive Chef at the St. Regis Beijing, the Four Seasons Chiang Mai and the Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh.

Uncharted Hotels and Resorts has appointed Carl Middleton as Executive Chef of Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa and Echoes Boutique Hotel. He was most recently the Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Sydney.

Bernhard Koll has been named Executive Chef of the Anantara Si Kao Resort & Spa in Trang, Thailand. He was most recently the Executive Chef at Dara Samui Beach Resort & Spa Villa, Koh Samui.

Spencer Kells have been named Director of Kitchens at the Sheraton Pattaya Resort. He was most recently cooking at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok.

Eric Yeo Cheng Leng has been named Executive Chinese Chef at the Meritus Mandarin Singapore. He was most recently the Executive Chinese Chef of the Tang Dian Wang Shanghai Restaurant.

Robert Chan has joined the Swissôtel Merchant Court as Executive Chef. He was most recently at the Pan Pacific Orchard as Executive Chef.

The Swissôtel Merchant Court, Singapore has appointed Aznan Bin Mohamed Shariff Food and Beverage Manager. He was most recently the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Swissôtel The Stamford.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Oliver Key, who had been the General Manager of The Address Dubai and the Hotel Manager at the Fairmont Dubai, is now the General Manager of the Armani Dubai, located in the Burj Khalifa Tower.

Pep Lozano has been appointed General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Doha. He was most recently the General Manager of Ritz-Carlton's Abama Golf & Spa Resort in Tenerife, Spain. He had previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. and as Hotel Manager at Ritz-Carlton's Barcelona property, the Hotel Arts.

Bernard de Villèle has been named General Manager at the St. Regis Mauritius slated for a December opening. He was most recently the Area General Manager for Habtoor Hotels – Lebanon. A former Vice President with Taj Hotels & Palaces, de Villèle was also the Managing Director of La Samanna for Orient Express.

Ashwini Kumar has been appointed General Manager of the Hyatt at Capital Centre in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. He was most recently the Hotel Manager of the Grand Hyatt Dubai, a position he held since 2004.

Jean-Philippe Hubau is now the Managing Director Leisure for the Medine Group in Mauritius. He was previously the Corporate Director of Operations for Latitudes Hotels, based in Paris.

The Al Bustan Rotana Dubai has appointed Mohammad Haj Hassan General Manager. He was most recently serving as General Manager at the Al Salam Rotana in Khartoum, Sudan.

Fathi Khogaly has returned to the Grand Hyatt Dubai as Hotel Manager, where he was previously a part of the pre-opening team. He was most recently at the Hyatt Regency Dubai as Resident Manager.

Federico Mantoani has been promoted to Executive Assistant Manager of the Grand Hyatt Muscat. He had been the Director of Food and Beverage at the hotel since joining in 2006.

Roma Shah has joined the Tribe in Nairobi as Food and Beverage Director. Shah, a native of Kenya, was previously with the Roux Brothers in England, followed by Gordon Ramsay in London and New York.

Gary Dodds has been appointed Regional Vice President of Human Resources for the Middle East & Africa, with Marriott International. Previously, he was Vice President of Human Resources for the United Kingdom, Middle East & Africa, based in London. Dodds is also a former Vice President Human Resources, Asia Pacific, for InterContinental.

Amari has appointed Suresh Menon Executive Vice President of Human Resources. He was most recently the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at the Atlantis Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

The Al Murooj Rotana Dubai has named Nicoleta Cucos Director of Human Resources. She was most recently the Director of Human Resources at its sister property, the Towers Rotana Dubai.

Barry Vitel has joined the Kempinski Emirates Palace Hotel as Director of Human Resources. He was most recently with Jebel Ali International Hotels as Corporate Director of Human Resources. He had previously served as Director of Human Resources at the Novotel Ibis World Trade Centre Dubai.

Jeff Strachan has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Middle East & Africa for Marriott International. Based in Dubai, Strachan previously served as Area Marketing Director for the same region.

Lama Semaan has been appointed Director of Catering and Sales Events at the Westin Dubai and Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina Complex. She was most recently the Director of Conventions at the W Qatar.

The Aloft Hotel Abu Dhabi has appointed Todd Hunter Executive Chef. He had previously served as Chef de Cuisine for the Grosvenor House Hotel in Dubai and was a part of the opening of what was to become the Michelin starred restaurant, Zuma in London.

Didier Gusching has joined the Kempinski Hotel Ajman as Executive Chef. He had previously held various culinary positions for the Media One Hotel Dubai, the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa and the Sheraton Manama.

Patrick Bischoff has joined the Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi as Executive Chef. He had previously served as Executive Chef at the Asara Wine Estate & Hotel in South Africa and at the Oasis Beach Hotel in Dubai.

Didier Jacob has been named Executive Chef at the Maradiva Resort in Mauritius. He was previously the Executive Chef at Aka in Hua Hin, Thailand, following two years as Chef de Cuisine at the One&Only Royal Mirage Dubai.

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

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