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: October 2012.

THE AMERICAS

John Cottrill returns to hospitality to join Loews Hotels & Resorts in New York as Executive Vice President Operations. He had previously held executive positions with the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company before taking on his most recent position of Executive Vice President of Stores at Brooks Brothers.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide has named Cliff Delorey Executive Vice President and Chief Resort Experience Officer. He has been with Marriott for 31 years, most recently as Vice President of Operations for the Middle East and Africa.

Gary Van Hettinga has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. Last year, he joined as President of Mohegan Gaming Advisors and had previously held senior executive positions at Caesars World and Tropicana.

Richfield Hospitality has named Allen Kramme Senior Vice President of Operations. For the past nine years, the Cornell graduate has been with ARK Hospitality Consultants and is the former General Manager for the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort.

Paolo Sanavia has been named Chief Executive Officer for Eden Roc at Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic slated to open in December. He is the former General Manager at Le Mirador Kempinski in Switzerland and the Kempinski Hotel Giardino di Costanza in Italy.

The Bristol Hospitality Group (operator of the Bristol Buenaventura in Panama) has appointed Al Petrone Chief Executive Officer. He had previously served as Vice President of Operations for Ian Schrager Hotels and as Chief Marketing Officer for both Noble House Hotels and CruiseWest.

Serena Lightner has joined the Standard East Village in New York as Managing Director. She had previously served as General Manager and Director of Sales and Marketing for the Mercer before taking on her most recent position as Vice President of Coppola Resorts.

Stephen Batta is the General Manager of the newly reflagged JW Marriott Essex House New York. Most recently, he was the General Manager of the Renaissance New York Hotel 57.

The Inn at Little Washington has named Thomas List General Manager. He had previously overseen the Woodstock Inn & Resort and the Kedron Valley Inn. 

Tim Nardi has moved to The Perry in Miami as General Manager. He was most recently in the same position for the Shore Club Miami.

Michael Ryan is back in Miami as General Manager of the Soho Beach House. He has previously served as Hotel Manager for The Raleigh before heading to New York as Hotel Manager for the Gansevoort.

Joseph Dantoni has been appointed General Manager for the Melrose Hotel in Washington, D.C. He is the former General Manager at Historic Inns of Annapolis and The Lodge at Woodloch.

Seth Horowitz has been named General Manager of the Culver Hotel in Culver City. He was previously with Luxe Worldwide and Hotel Oceana Group as the former General Manager of the Hotel Oceana, Santa Barbara and the Hotel Oceana, Santa Monica.
 
The Warwick New York has named Andrew Schlesinger General Manager. He had previously served as General Manager for the InterContinental New York Times Square before heading to Sydney for his most recent role overseeing the Star Hotel & Casino. At the Warwick, he is the fourth General Manager in so many years after Wanda Chan, David Cohen and Sam Kapadia.

Mark Birtha is back in Las Vegas as Corporate Vice President and General Manager for Station Casinos. He was previously overseeing Casino del Sol in Tucson. The Cornell graduate is also a former Vice President Development, Las Vegas, for Marriott International.
 
The Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square has appointed David Burt General Manager. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa.

Craig Forbus has been promoted to General Manager at the Anabella Anaheim. He was most recently serving the hotel as Assistant General Manager. Forbus is the former Director of Rooms at Shutters on the Beach.

Roger Amidon has been named General Manager for the Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Resort & Spa. He had previously served as Area General Manager for the Marriott Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton Residence and the Fort Lauderdale Marriott North as well as General Manager for both the Sheraton at CityPlace and the Delray Beach Marriott.

Edward Maynard has been named General Manager of the Westin New York Grand Central (the former New York Helmsley Hotel). Most recently he had been overseeing both the W New York Union Square and the W New York. At the Westin New York Grand Central, Maynard takes over from Maurizio Bonivento.

Afsi Behnam has joined the Oxford Hotel in Denver as General Manager. She was most recently in Jackson Hole as Hotel Manager for the Hotel Terra. She was previously the Director of Rooms at the former Four Seasons Aviara and the Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara.

Olivier Maumaire has been named General Manager at El San Juan Resort & Casino. He is the former General Manager at the Embassy Suites San Juan Hotel and Casino and the Hilton Papagayo Resort & Spa.

Dominique Marty has moved as General Manager to the Hilton Boston Back Bay. He was most recently in the same position for the Millennium Bostonian. He is the former General Manager of the Doubletree Westborough.

Dan Piotrowski has been appointed General Manager of the Omni Nashville. He was most recently the General Manager of the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and is the former General Manager of the Omni Berkshire Place in New York City.

Michael Mestraud has been named Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara. The Lausanne graduate was most recently serving as Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Bora Bora.

The Four Seasons St. Louis has named Awet Sium Hotel Manager. He was most recently the General Manager for the Vero Beach Hotel and Spa.

Philippe Larrieu has been named Hotel Manager for the Four Seasons Houston. He was most recently the Resort Manager at the Four Seasons Langkawi and is the former Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley.  

Janelle Eng has joined Solage Calistoga as Director of Operations. She was most recently in the same role for former sister property Encantado Resort in Santa Fe. Eng had previously served in food and beverage positions at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole and the Four Seasons Vancouver.

Mark Bock has been named Controller for the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. He was previously Controller for the Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa and the W San Diego.

Abby Murtagh has joined the New York Palace as Executive Director - Food and Beverage. The Cornell graduate was most recently with the Hilton Waikoloa Village as Director of Food and Beverage.

Marco Bustamante is now the Director of Food and Beverage at the Capella Pedregal. He was most recently serving the resort as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Chef for Auberge de Sedona and Sous Chef for the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans.

Robert Brandenberg has joined the St. Regis Atlanta as Director of Food and Beverage. For the past two years, he had been in the same role for the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage at Le Méridien Jakarta and the Palace Hotel San Francisco.

Ludovic Poirier has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage for the Inn at Dos Brisas. He was most recently based in Houston for Lasco Entreprises as Director of Operations for the Tasting Room locations. He had previously served in food and beverage positions at the Hotel Icon and the Alden Hotel, both in Houston.

Mark Giannantonio has been named Vice President of Hotel Operations and Food and Beverage for Resorts Casino. Giannantonio is a former President for Tropicana.

Andres Airoldi has joined the Luxe City Center Hotel in Los Angeles as Director of Food and Beverage. He had previously served as General Manager at La Boheme and Chaya Brasserie. He is the former Restaurant General Manager at Faena Hotel & Universe in Argentina.

James Cassady has moved up to Carlsbad to the Park Hyatt Aviara as Director of Outlets. He was most recently in the same position for the Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Diego Anea is now in Miami at the Trump Doral Golf Resort and Spa as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort as an Executive Assistant Manager - Food and Beverage. He had previously overseen food and beverage at the Park Hyatt Washington, D.C.

Stephen Kallaher has been named Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for Omni Hotels & Resorts. He was most recently the Vice President of Development for the Wyndham Hotel Group.

Jen Augle Hooper has rejoined the Tao Group as Director of Human Resources. She was previously in the same role before taking on her most recent post as Vice President of Human Resources at BR Guest.

The Rosewood's Carlyle Hotel has named Adrian Norbury Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently in the same position in Dallas for the Rosewood Crescent Hotel.

The Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara has named Larry Tsoumas Director of Marketing, taking over from Janice Snowden. Tsoumas was most recently with the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower as Director of Sales and Marketing, and previously held the same post at the Mandarin Oriental Boston.

Jeff Gillick has joined Bacara Resort and Spa as Executive Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently with the Boulders Resort as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Jorge Collazo has joined the Gansevoort Hotel Group as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for the Setai Miami, the Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa Miami Beach and the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.

Mary Tindall has been named Vice President of Marketing at Resorts Casino. Most recently, she was in a similar role for Tropicana.

Ben Shih has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, taking over from David Burt. He had most recently been overseeing sales for both the resort and the Fairmont San Francisco.

Gregory Bell has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hotel Milano San Francisco. He is the former Director of Sales for the Redbury and the Chamberlain West Hollywood.

The Grand Hyatt Atlanta has named Matthew Martin Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, he worked as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts has appointed Betsy O'Rourke Vice President, Sales and Marketing. She is the former Senior Vice President, Marketing for Royal Caribbean International and Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications for Wyndham Worldwide.

Thierry Baurez will be transitioning from Director of Sales and Marketing at the Trump Panama into a Global Sales Director role for the brand, covering the Latin America markets.  

Replacing Baurez as Director of Sales and Marketing at Trump Panama is John Cardona. Most recently coming from the Sunset Beach Resort Marina & Spa – Al Khobar Saudi Arabia, Cardona also held senior positions with Regent, Peninsula, Rosewood and Ritz-Carlton.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel has named David Wahba Director of Sales. He was most recently Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Beach Resort & Spa, Fort Lauderdale and the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel.

Blake Crawford takes over from Wahba as Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Beach Resort & Spa Fort Lauderdale and the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel. He was most recently in Atlanta in regional sales for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Ron Siegel has been named Executive Chef at Michael Mina Restaurant in San Francisco. This is return for Siegel who previously worked at the former Aqua over 20 years ago. Siegel then went on to work with Thomas Keller at the French Laundry, Charles Nob Hill and in 2004 joined the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco.

The Waldorf=Astoria New York has named Christopher Eagle Restaurant Chef to oversee Peacock Alley, Oscar's Brasserie, and the Bull & Bear Steakhouse. He is the former Executive Sous Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Aspen, and Executive Chef at the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, formerly run by Raffles.

Andrew Cooper has been named Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Rancho Encantado Santa Fe. Since 2010, he had held the post of Executive Sous Chef for the Four Seasons Hualalai.

Christian Clair is now in Puerto Rico as Executive Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Dorado Beach. He was most recently serving as Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale. He is the former Executive Sous Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel and the Sofitel Chicago.

Scott Quinn is now in Berkeley as Chef de Cuisine for Meritage at the Claremont Hotel Club and Spa. He was most recently in a similar post for Bagatelle in Los Angeles. He is a former Sous Chef from Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas.

Robert Wysong has joined the Colleton River Plantation Club in South Carolina as Executive Chef. He was most recently serving as Executive Chef and Director of Restaurants for the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island.

John Armstrong has been appointed Executive Chef at the Sheraton Seattle. He had previously served in culinary positions for the Buena Vista Palace Resort and Spa, the Westin La Cantera Resort and both the Marriott Rivercenter and the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio.

Paul Peddle has joined the Fairmont Palliser, Calgary as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Fairmont Dallas.

EUROPE

Steigenberger Hotels has appointed Puneet Chhatwal Chief Executive Officer. He was most recently the Chief Development Officer at Rezidor.

Manuel De Vasconcelos is now at Le Méridien Beach Plaza in Monaco as General Manager. He is the former General Manager of the Hotel Prince de Galles in Paris and the Maria Cristina in San Sebastian.

Jean-Marc Boutilly has been appointed General Manager of Le Mirador Kempinski Mont-Pèlerin Lake Geneva, taking over from Jean-Marc Michel. Boutilly was most recently the General Manager of the Crans Ambassador. His wife, Lausanne graduate Charlotte Renaud Boutilly, also moves from the Crans Ambassador to take on the post of Executive Assistant at Le Mirador.

Johan Joris has been appointed General Manager of The Hotel in Brussels. He was most recently the Director of Operations of the Russian Azimut Hotel Group.

Stéphane Lafon has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage for the Dorchester in London. He was previously the Food and Beverage Operations Manager at the Hilton Group.

Hugues Miranda has joined Le Bristol Paris as Sales Manager Europe. He had previously served in sales positions for the Hôtel de Crillon, the Hôtel Ritz Paris and the Martinez in Cannes.

Daniela Bromfield has been named Director, Global Accounts, Germany and Eastern Europe, with Fairmont Hotels. She was most recently Director of Sales and Marketing Germany, Switzerland and Austria, for Six Senses Resorts & Spas.

Ronan Sayburn has been named Head of Wines UK for the Dorchester Collection. He is the former Director of Wine and Spirits at the Hotel du Vin Group. He had previously served as Executive Head Sommelier at the Greenhouse Restaurant, and Executive Head Sommelier for Gordon Ramsay Holdings.

Brian Hughson has moved as Executive Chef to Coworth Park for the Dorchester Collection. He was most recently serving as Head Chef at The Grill at the Dorchester.

Guillermo Gomez has joined the Verdura Golf And Spa Resort in Sicily as Executive Chef. He was most recently with the Villa Group in Cabo San Lucas as Executive Chef.

Jutta Asta has been named Executive Housekeeper for The Dorchester. She was most recently in the same role for the Adlon Kempinski Berlin.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

InterContinental Hotels Group has promoted Douglas Martell as Vice President, Operations, South West Asia, based in Delhi. He succeeds Chris Moloney, who has retired after a career spanning three decades with the company. Martell was most recently Vice President, Food and Beverage and Operations, for the company's Greater China region, based in Shanghai.

Kurt Berman is now in Thailand as General Manager of the Samujana on Koh Samui. He was most recently in China opening naked Stables Private Reserve. He had previously served as pre-opening General Manager of Six Senses Laamu and Resident Manager of Soneva Gili and Jumby Bay.

Martin Leclerc has been named General Manager of the Fairmont Nanjing expected to open in 2013. Leclerc was most recently the General Manager for the Fairmont Empress.

Chris Ely has been promoted at the Jumeirah Dhevanafushi Resort to General Manager. In 2010, he joined the resort pre-opening team as Director of Operations.

Bruno Cristol is the new General Manager of the Traders Hotel Brisbane. He was most recently overseeing sister property the Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La.

Zayne Boon has been appointed General Manager of the Novotel Bangkok Impact. He has been with Accor since 1992, most recently as Regional General Manager, overseeing both the Novotel and ibis Auckland Ellerslie.

Bryan Ashlock has been named Hotel Manager for the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage and Executive Chef for the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa. 

Jakri Rujirat has been appointed Hotel Manager of the Kirimaya Golf Resort Spa. He is the former General Manager of the Rest Detail Hotel Hua Hin and Director of Food and Beverage at the Anantara Resort & Spa Hua Hin.

Yonatan Kachko has been named Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Macau. He was most recently at the Four Seasons Tented Camp at the Golden Triangle as Camp Manager.

The Four Seasons Lanai has named Charles Fisher Resort Manager. He was most recently with the Four Seasons Chiang Mai as Resort Manager. He is the former Director of Rooms for the Four Seasons Nevis and the Regent Singapore.

Taking the place of Fisher as Resort Manager of the Four Seasons Chiang Mai is Jeff Miller. He was most recently the Director of Rooms and Residences at the Four Seasons Vail. Miller is the former Assistant Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Seattle and Front Office Manager of the Four Seasons Maui.

Schack Von Rumohr is back in Hawaii, rejoining the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay as Director of Operations. He has previously served the resort as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in Aruba at the Westin Resort and Casino as Director of Operations and is the former Director of Operations of the W Fort Lauderdale.

Jeffrey Perkins has moved to Oahu to join the Turtle Bay Resort as Director of Operations. He was most recently the Director of Housekeeping at the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort. He is the former Director of Rooms for the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower Panama and Director of Housekeeping for the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale.

Brett Hickey has been named Director of Operations for the Fairmont Beijing. He has been with the company since 1996, most recently as Director of Operations at the Fairmont Yangcheng Lake, Kunshan.

Patrick Duff has joined the Swissôtel Bangkok Nai Lert Park as Director of Operations. For the past three years, he had been serving as Executive Chef at the Fairmont Dubai. He is the former Executive Chef at the Fairmont Beijing, the Four Seasons Miami and the Sukhothai in Bangkok.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village has names Neil Poisson Executive Assistant Manager. He has been with Hilton Hotels since 1987, most recently as Resident Manager of the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

Gerald Ursulet is now in Korea as Director of Food and Beverage for the Hyatt Regency Incheon. He was most recently overseeing food and beverage for the Park Hyatt Sydney.

The Four Seasons Shenzhen has named Vivien He Director of Human Resources. She is the former Director of Human Resources for the Four Points Sheraton Beijing.

The Four Seasons Shenzhen has appointed Cristina Dolendo Director of Marketing. For the past eight years, she had been overseeing marketing for the Four Seasons Singapore.

Anantara has opened a global sales office in Mumbai and appointed Shannon Creado Regional Sales Director. He is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for the Anantara Phuket Villas.

Alana Miranda has been named Director of Leisure Sales for the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay. She had previously held sales positions for the Cabo Azul Resort and Spa and Starwood French Polynesia.

Dietmar Sawyere has been appointed Chef and Director of Restaurants at Hayman in Australia. He had previously overseen the kitchens at Le Restaurant at the Regent Melbourne, Gekko at the Park Lane Sydney and Forty One Restaurant, also in Sydney. In addition, he had re-opened the Berowra Waters Inn.

Simone Cerea has been named Executive Chef for the Regent Singapore. He was most recently serving as Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest. Cerea is the former Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara.

Paul Lenz has moved to Manila as Executive Chef for the Makati Shangri-La. He is the former Executive Chef at the Shangri-La Singapore, the Shangri-La Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa and the One&Only Royal Mirage.

Olivier Piganiol has been named Executive Chef at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. He is the former Executive Chef at the Dharmawangsa in Jakarta, the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh, and La Plantation Resort & Spa Hotel in Mauritius.

Holger Deh has joined the Four Seasons Beijing as Executive Pastry Chef. He was most recently in the same position for the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur. He is the former Executive Pastry Chef at the Peninsula Beijing and the Datai Langkawi.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Mark Sawkins has been named General Manager for the Fairmont Zimbali Lodge and Fairmont Zimbali Resort. He is the former Vice President of Operations for Harlequin Hotels and Resorts and Resort Manager of the Viceroy Anguilla.

The Kempinski Hotel Aqaba Red Sea has appointed Masami Egami General Manager, taking over from Marc Guenther. For the past two years, Egami had served as Hotel Manager at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea.

Jean-Marc Michel has returned to the Seychelles as General Manager of the Kempinski Seychelles Resort. He was previously overseeing the Ephelia Resort before taking on his most recent post as General Manager of the Le Mirador Kempinski in Switzerland.

Didier Jardin has moved as Resort Manager to the Four Seasons Mauritius. He has been with the company since 1993, most recently as Hotel Manager for the Four Seasons Cairo at First Residence. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Biltmore Santa Barbara and the Four Seasons New York, and the Four Seasons Hualalai.

The Four Seasons Mauritius has named Lorenzo Mietitore Director of Food and Beverage, taking over from Adrien Harel. Mietitore was most recently at the Four Seasons Punta Mita in the same position.

Sevtap Polat has joined the Shangri-La Istanbul as Director of Food and Beverage. She had previously served in food and beverage positions for the Ritz-Carlton Dubai, the Ritz-Carlton Singapore and the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul.

The Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers Cairo has named Hala Sabry Director of Sales and Marketing. She is the former Director of Sales and Marketing for the Semiramis InterContinental Cairo.

Gisella Torresala has been appointed Director of Sales for the soon to open St. Regis Corniche Abu Dhabi. She had previously served as Director of Group Sales for the W Barcelona and as Business Travel Manager with the W Atlanta Midtown at Colony Square.

Cladys Magagna has been appointed Executive Chef for the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi. He was most recently the Executive Chef for the Fairmont Acapulco Princess and the Fairmont Pierre Marques.

Joachim Textor has been named Executive Chef for the Al Ghurair Arjaan and the Al Ghurair Rayhaan in Dubai. He was previously the Executive Chef for the Al Murooj Rotana Dubai.

Fabrice Giraud has joined the Shangri-La Istanbul as Executive Chef. He is the former Executive Sous Chef and Chef de Cuisine for the Shangri-La Pudong in Shanghai.

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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