HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

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Global Update:
Who's where and doing what:

THE AMERICAS

Chris Hemmeter has died. He was 64. Hemmeter was the biggest hotel developer ever to hit Hawaii. He is to be credited for the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, the Westin Kauai and the Westin Maui. His downfall was the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa, which defined the concept of mega resort. After he left Hawaii, Hemmeter developed some casinos in Louisiana and the California desert.

Robert Cotter has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Starwood. He had been the company's Chief Operating Officer since 2000. Prior to becoming Starwood's COO, Cotter served as President, International Operations, after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer, Europe, a position he held since 1994.

Big change (again) at the helm of St Regis. The brand, which had attained some level of autonomy by being based out of Dallas, a reassuring half-day flight from Starwood headquarters in White Plains, is relocating. It is however doing so minus its President Atef Mankarios and Vice President Marketing Michael Matthews, who are staying behind in the Big D. St Regis is being integrated into Starwood's regional areas, like Four Points, Sheraton, Westin, W and Luxury Collection. In White Plains, Stephen Alden will handle St Regis marketing.

Jennifer Fox who joined Intercontinental in April 2001 as the General Manager of their Asia flagship, the former Regent of Hong Kong, is coming back stateside as Senior Vice President Intercontinental Brand. Fox, who also managed Bacara in Santa Barbara and was an Operations Consultant for Adrian Zecha's Amanresorts, had previously been the Vice President Brand Manager for Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.

At Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Hank Ciaffone has been promoted from Senior Executive Vice President of International Operations and Development to President. He joined Interstate in 1989 as Vice President and Corporate Controller. Also at Interstate, C.A. Anderson has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Development. He had joined the company in May as Senior Vice President, Development and Acquisitions.

Gaylord Entertainment has named Jay Sevigny Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gaylord Hotels. Sevigny joined the company in 2001 and is currently President of Gaylord's flagship property, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.

David Oliver has joined Hawaii's Hualalai Ranch as Vice President, following almost twelve years with Pebble Beach Resorts. Since 1999, Oliver had been the General Manager of Pebble Beach's Inn at Spanish Bay.

Mark Oliver (who happens to be David Oliver's brother) has joined Netsuite. com in Silicon Valley. Oliver previously was the Director of Sales and Marketing at Cordevalle, which is part of Auberge Resorts. Anne Hellwig is Cordevalle's new Director of Sales. She was previously a National Sales Manager for Auberge Resorts.

Michael Shindler has been appointed Senior Vice President, Hyatt Development Corporation in Chicago. This is a return home as he spent ten years at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, most recently as Senior Vice President of Development until October 1996. Shindler served as Vice President of Development for RockResorts since May 2002. Before joining RockResorts, he was the Vice President of Development, Americas, for Mandarin-Oriental.

Robert Schrader has been named Chief Operating Officer for Private Retreats by Abercrombie and Kent. He had been the Vice President Operations of the defunct Regent of Las Vegas, prior to launching his own company, distributing spa products. For the past year, Schrader was the Spa Director at the Ritz-Carlton Naples.

Cindy Schulz is the new General Manager of the Doral Michigan Avenue. Most recently, she served Ritz-Carlton as Director of Residences of their New York City and Washington DC properties.

Nicolas Béliard will be rejoining Four Seasons in January as the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Nevis. Béliard, a Cornell Hotel Graduate, previously worked for Four Seasons at the Pierre and at Paris' Four Seasons George Cinq. For the past two years, he was the General Manager of the famed Château de Bagnols near Lyons. Béliard's successor in Bagnols is Franco Mora, former long-time Hotel Manager at the Ritz Paris.

Klaus Peters has left his position of General Manager at Delamar in Greenwich, to hold the same post at the Watergate in Washington DC. At the Watergate, he takes over from Michael Spamer, who held the position but for a few months.

Deborah Carr is the General Manager of the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach (home of Café Boulud) following an eight-year tenure as Hotel Manager at New York's Hotel Parker-Méridien.

David Cohen is Deborah Carr's successor at the Parker-Méridien New York. Cohen joins from Marriott, for whom he had been unassigned of late, after assisting in the opening of the two Ritz-Carlton properties in Manhattan. He was previously at the Rihga Royal (now a JW Marriott hotel) as its Resident Manager.

Alex Andrade has been appointed President of Rancho La Puerta. Previously, Andrade was the General Manager of the Hyatt Cancun Caribe.

David Hill has been named Area Manager for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants in Washington, DC, based out of their Topaz Hotel. Hill comes from Houston where he successfully opened the Hotel Derek for Amerimar. He is no newcomer to Washington DC where he once managed the Lombardy, the Henley Park and the George.

Taking over from David Hill at Houston's Hotel Derek is Steven André, fresh from a recent stint at the Sam Houston Hotel.

Thomas Nolan has been named General Manager at the Lansdowne National Conference Center. Nolan previously logged twenty years with Marriott in various positions and locations.

Frank Holtslag has joined Kura Hulanda in Curaçao as Hotel Manager, following a two-year stint with Island Outpost in Miami where he served as Executive Assistant Manager at the Tides and Corporate Director of Revenue Management.

Sébastien Carre has left his position of Director of Operations at the Sofitel Lafayette Square to join the Four Seasons Washington as Hotel Manager. Until January 2001, Carre was the Resident Manager at La Plantation in Mauritius.

Simon Pettigrew has been appointed Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons New York. He has been with the company for seventeen years, and comes from the Four Seasons Resort Aviara where he has held the position of Hotel Manager. Pettigrew takes over from Jean-Claude Wietzel who transferred from the Four Seasons New York to the Four Seasons George Cinq in Paris as Hotel Manager.

Todd Raessler was recently named General Manager of Kimpton's Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Most recently, Raessler served as General Manager of the Harbor Court Hotel, another Kimpton property in San Francisco.

Yvette Thomas-Henry joins the soon-to-open Conrad International Miami as Resident Manager. She was the Director of Operations at the Waldorf Towers, also a Conrad International property.

Pamela Graber has departed the Waldorf Towers and her position of Executive Director. Graber is now the Vice President and General Manager of the soon-to-open Alderbrook Resort and Spa on Hood Canal, near Seattle. Replacing Graber as Executive Director of the Waldorf Towers is Patrick Hall, most recently Rooms Director at the Fairmont San Francisco.

At the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner, Kate Deeson has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager of Rooms. She joins from the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans.

Nicolas Daeppen has joined Tentation Potel & Chabot in New York as Managing Director Special Events. Until a few months ago, Daeppen was the General Manager of the Helmsley Park Lane and the Vice President Operations for Helmsley Hotels.

Doris Timmen has joined Chicago's Levy Restaurants as Director of Operations for McCormick Place. Timmen used to be the Director of Food and Beverage at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower.

Jeff Tucci has joined the Loews Coronado Bay as Assistant Executive Director. Tucci, a Cornell Graduate, had been the General Manager of the Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod. He also served as Resident Manager at Rosewood's Crescent Court and was the Director of Food and Beverage at Auberge du Soleil.

Jeff Homad has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sofitel Lafayette Square in Washington D.C.

At Cipriani Punta del Este, Carmen Florio is the Director of Marketing based in Buenos Aires. She previously opened the Sofitel there as Director of Sales and Marketing. Nicolas Gonzalez is the Food and Beverage Manager following many years with InterContinental, most recently in Panama as Director of Food and Beverage. Lea Cordon, Spa Manager, joins after many years opening Spas for Shangri-La in Asia. Michele Chiaranda, Executive Chef, has been with Cipriani for many years in New York, Venice and Sardinia. Alejandra Manzino, Human Resources Manager, moved a few miles down river from a similar position at the Four Seasons Carmelo.

David Taylor has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the St Regis New York. Most recently, Taylor was, for a few months, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Le Méridien Boston. He also held numerous positions at Swissôtel/Raffles International during nine of the past ten years, most recently in London as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing.

At the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Paul Cookley is the new Director of Sales and Marketing. He takes over from David Ryan, who transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay in the same capacity.

Germinal Garcia has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the Casa Magna Marriott Cancun Resort and JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa Cancun. Most recently, Garcia was the Director of Marketing and Sales at the JW Marriott Caracas. Prior to this position, he served as Resident Manager and Director of Marketing and Sales at the Guatemala City Marriott.

Tohnia Miller has joined Kimpton Hotels as Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the Serrano and Monaco in San Francisco. This follows an eighteen-month stint as Director of Sales and Marketing of the Sofitel San Francisco.

Bill Parr is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula. Parr was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Parker-Méridien Palm Springs.

Scott Blakeslee has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at Carmel Valley Ranch, following a stint at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Prior to that, he was the Director of Group Sales at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa.

Connie Williams has been appointed Director of Sales, Western Region, for Omni Hotels and Resorts. Recently, Williams was the Director of Marketing at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. She also held the same position at the Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica.

Susan Pedersen has been appointed Director of Sales at the Estrella Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. She previously worked for Preferred, Summit & Sterling as Regional Director of Group Sales and prior to that at Miramonte Resort as National Sales Manager.

Melissa Centeno has been named Director of Public Relations at the St Regis Monarch Beach. She was until recently the Communications Manager at the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau.

Also at the St Regis Monarch Beach, Dean Birtles is the new Director of Rooms. He previously held the same title at the Phoenician for eight years.

The new Guest Services Manager at the St. Regis Monarch Beach is Chad Womack, previously the Front Desk Manager at San Francisco's Westin St Francis.

Kimberley Johnston has joined Sea Trail Plantation in North Carolina, as Director of Sales, Conference Services and Banquets. Prior to joining Sea Trail Plantation, Johnston served as the Food and Beverage Manager and Conference Services Manager for Berry Hill Plantation & Conference Center in South Boston, Virginia.

Bruno Vergeynst has rejoined China Grill Management as Back of the House Manager at the soon-to-open Hotel Gansevoort in New York. Until a few months ago, he was in a similar position with China Grill at Ian Schrager's Hudson, under Mark Somen, now the Director of Food and Beverage at the Gansevoort.

Darryll Adams is the Rooms Director at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach Club following a five-year tenure at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner.

Sanjay Mahajan is the new Director of Front Office Operations at the Peninsula Chicago. He was previously the Rooms Division Manager at the Omni Orrington in Evanston.

Shana Ominsky has joined KSL's Claremont Resort as Director of Spa Operations. She previously performed a one-year stint in the same capacity at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii. Ominski moved to Hawaii from the position of Spa Director at the Peninsula New York.

Maxence Compagnon will be leaving Le Méridien Boston to become the Director of Food and Beverage at the Fairmont Boston. There, he takes over from Thomas Meding, who left the property in October to be the Executive Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage, at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner.

Roberto Arjona is the Manager of Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach Resorts following a fifteen-year tenure with Evans Hotels of San Diego. Since September 2000, Arjona had been the Hotel Manager at the group's flagship, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, in La Jolla.

Jorge Moran is the New Director of Food and Beverage at the Real Intercontinental Costa Rica. He most recently performed the opening of the Mayan Palace Puerto Peñasco in the same capacity. Prior to that, he was the Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Punta Mita.

Cyrille Pannier has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Nevis. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Las Colinas in Dallas.

Collin Crannell is the new Chef de Cuisine at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica in charge of Oceanfront Restaurant, replacing Quinn Hatfield. Crannell joins after a two-and-a-half-year stint at Los Angeles' Water Grill, where he was the Executive Sous Chef to Michael Cimarrusti.

Martin Becquart has been appointed Executive Sous Chef at Cap Juluca. Previously, he was a Chef de Cuisine at the Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki.

Gilbert Verdugo has been appointed Executive Chef at Los Angeles' Staples Center. Prior to that, he was the Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City.

In Santa Monica, Rainer Schwarz is the new Executive Chef of Whist at the Viceroy. Schwarz replaces Jeffrey Armstrong who went to the Sam Houston Hotel. Schwarz comes from the Sky Room in Long Beach. Prior to that, he was a long time close associate of Joachim Splichal in his Patina Group.

James Romeo has been appointed Executive Sous Chef at the Casanova restaurant in Carmel. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef under Bertrand Bouquin at Maisonnette in Cincinnati.

John Breslin is the new Spa Director at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner, replacing Ryan Crabbe, who is opening the Ritz-Carton South Beach. Breslin moves up from the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation, which he opened as Assistant Spa Director.

Del Rochester has been appointed Director of Loss Prevention at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner, a transfer from the Ritz-Carlton Montego Bay, in Jamaica.

Enrico Lindenhahn has been appointed Food and Beverage Director at Sandals Grand Sport Villa and Spa Resort Jamaica. Recently, Lindenhahn was the opening Food & Beverage Manager at Kura Hulanda in Curaçao.

Kyle Nelson has joined Seattle's chic Rainier Club as Chef de Cuisine following a two-and-a-half-year tenure in a similar capacity at 727 Pine, the restaurant of the Elliott Grand Hyatt Seattle.

Jose Carrasco has been appointed Managing Director of the Paradisus Puerto Rico. Carasco was previously the Managing Director of the Hotel Meliá Caribe Tropical Bavaro in the Dominican Republic. Ramon Sanchez has been hired as Director of Sales & Marketing. Sanchez was previously the Deputy Executive Director of Marketing & Promotions at
the Puerto Rico Tourism Co.

Edgar Motta has been named Resident Manager of the Paradisus Puerto Rico. He began his career twenty years ago at the Caracas Hilton. Ricardo Bagnasco is Paradisus Puerto Rico's Director of Food & Beverage. Prior to his appointment he was an Operations Director for the Freeman Group. Luis Nazario has been appointed Director of Housekeeping, coming from the Wyndham Martineau Bay Resort & Casino in Vieques. Ramon Ventura has been named Financial Controller and previously was the Assistant Controller at the Westin Rio Mar Beach Resort & Golf Club.

Charles Hechinger has been appointed Executive Chef at the Lodge at Vail. He came from the Pan Pacific San Francisco, where he originally debuted as Executive Sous Chef under Eric Oberholzer, who left to join Shutters on the Beach.

Lise Cazelais has been appointed Senior Sales Manager at the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver. She came from the Four Seasons Vancouver.

Amber Deccoteau joins Metropolitan Hotels as Group Sales Manager, coming from the Westin Whistler.

Patrick McFarlan has joined the Willows Lodge in Seattle as Director of Sales. He most recently was the Director of Sales at Resort Semiahmoo.

Todd Jeanotte has returned to the Four Seasons Vancouver from the Fairmont Seattle as the Director of Catering. The Fairmont Seattle used to be a Four Seasons property.

Nicolas Gonzalez has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Cipriani Punta del Este. He was previously at the Miramar Inter-Continental Panama in the same capacity and also worked at other InterContinental properties in Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador.

Eric Espuny has joined Patina at Disney Hall in Los Angeles as Sommelier. Espuny came from New York where he was the Sommelier at Capitale, Alain Ducasse New York, Lutèce and Le Bernardin.

Serge Devesa is the new Executive Chef at the Sofitel Miami, replacing Lamberto Valdez. Devesa was promoted from the position of Executive Chef at the Novotel New York.

Nathan Logan is the new Chef at Thalia and Steve Loffredo's Zoe in New York, following a stint in the same capacity at Limoncello. Logan was previously the Executive Chef of Pazzo at the Vintage Plaza - A Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant in Portland.

Cathy Neumann-Danchertsen has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for Southern California for Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events. Neuman was most recently a Director of Sales at Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara.

EUROPE

Robert Riley has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts. Riley, a well-known international hotelman, recently left the top job at Residensea. Prior to that he was, for several years, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group.

Jean-Luc Naret, 42, is one lucky hotelman: he will be taking over from Derek Brown as the "Directeur Général" of the famed Guide Michelin. Naret has had a very distinguished hospitality career, most recently as Vice President Operations for the Aga Khan's Serena Hotels and Resorts. Naret was also the Managing Director of the uber-luxe Sandy Lane in Barbados, the Residence on Mauritius, the Trianon Palace in Versailles and Sun International's Saint Géran on Mauritius.

Duncan Palmer has been appointed General Manager of the Langham Hilton London. Previously, he held the same position at the Sukhothai in Bangkok. Palmer also spent seven years at the Savoy Hotel Group as the General Manager first of the Savoy, then of the Connaught.

John Blanco is the General Manager of the soon-to-be acquired Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa in Portugal. The property is the former Caesar Park Penha Longa. Blanco was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at Esperanza, the Mexican outpost of Auberge Resorts in Los Cabos. Blanco had already worked for Ritz-Carlton on two occasions before.

Franco Mora, former long-time Hotel Manager at the Ritz Paris, will be the new General Manager at Lady Hamlyn's Chateau de Bagnols, outside Lyons. Mora takes over from Nicolas Béliard, who will be rejoining Four Seasons in Nevis. The Chateau de Bagnols is now operated by Rocco Forte Hotels.

Hans Wiedemann is the new General Manager at Badrutt's Palace in St Moritz, where he replaces Roland Fasel.

Didier Martin, who had joined Hilton International in 2001 as Vice President Operations, South Africa and Indian Ocean, is now in charge of a different region. Based in Vienna, he is now the Vice President Operations for Austria, Switzerland, Central Eastern Europe and Turkey. Martin had originally joined Hilton International following a successful career with Méridien Hotels.

Franka Holtman has been named General Manager of the Hôtel de Crillon. She was previously the Hotel Manager at the Plaza-Athénée Paris. Holtman had joined the Plaza-Athénée following a five-year tenure at the Hotel Ritz Paris.

At the Plaza-Athénée, General Manager François Delahaye has replaced Franka Holtman by creating two positions of Executive Assistant Managers. Laurence Bloch, formerly the hotel's Director of Rooms, is now an Executive Assistant Manager. So is Luca Allegri, former Director of Food and Beverage.

Thierry Naidu has been hired as Director of Development, Europe, for the David Stein Group. For the past ten years, Naidu was the General Manager of the Chateau de La Chèvre d'Or, on the French Riviera.

Michel Decroix is leaving Dolce International France to become the Director of Operations at Domaine de Fayence near Cannes. The property is slated to open in July 2004.

Yves Wencker is the new General Manager at Stapleford Park, taking over from William Boulton-Smith. Wencker was until recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz London. He previously was the General Manager of Alain Ducasse New York and also was the General Manager of Cotton House on Mustique.

Frank Fiskers is taking over the role of Regional Vice President for Hilton International UK and Ireland. He replaces Stephen Elliott, who has left the company after 22 years.

Bernard Micallef is the General Manager of the Donbass Palace in Donetsk, Ukraine. He was previously the head of Consulting and Development for the Glion Group of Switzerland.

Wayne Coté is the Director of Posh, an outside catering company launched by Kempinski's Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. Coté just spent two years as the Director of Catering at London's Claridge's. Istanbul is almost home since he spent four years there as Director of Catering first at the Ciragan Palace, later at the Bosphorus Swissôtel.

The Millennium Hotel London Mayfair has appointed Virginia Masser to the position of General Manager. Prior to that, she was the hotel's deputy General Manager and had also acted as Resident General Manager.

Christian Gerart is the Food and Beverage Manager at the Hyatt La Manga in Spain. He comes from Cotton House on Mustique, where he held the same title. No newcomer to Spain, Gerart had been the Food and Beverage Manager at Las Dunas Beach Hotel & Spa in Estepona.

Still in Spain, Christine Vespermann has joined the Hotel Byblos Andaluz in Mijas as Director of Sales and Marketing. Over the past few years, Vespermann held the position of Director of Sales and Marketing at the Marbella Club Hotel and the Hotel Almenara in Sotogrande. Most recently, she was with Citytravel, also in Spain.

Francois Galoisy is the new Executive Assistant Manager at the Swissôtel Istanbul following a four-year stint at the Grand Mirage Resort Dubai, as Director of Food and Beverage. Prior to that, Galoisy spent five years with Shangri-La as Director of Food and Beverage in Dalian, Rangoon and Penang.

After five years as Director of Sales & Marketing of the Hotel California Paris Champs-Elysées and in the same capacity at the Concorde La Fayette, Jennifer Boccara has been promoted to General Manager of the newest property in the Concorde Hotel Group, the Hotel de la Paix in Geneva.

After two years at the Hotels de Paris group, Laetitia El Maleh has been named Director of Sales of the Hotel du Louvre.

Cyril Casabo has left Intercontinental where he was the Assistant Director of Sales for Paris' Grand Hotel Intercontinental and Hotel Intercontinental Paris. Casabo's new position is that of Director of Sales for the Paris Sales Office of Rezidor.

Marc Rodriguez is the new Executive Assistant Manager at the Ritz Madrid, following an eight-year career with Four Seasons. His last position with the group was that of Acting Food & Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Dublin.

Marc Brugger has joined the Four Seasons Dublin as Food and Beverage Director. A Lausanne graduate, Brugger was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at the Park Hyatt Goa Spa and Resort. He also had been the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.

Marco Novella is the new Manager at the Gritti Palace. He was transferred from the St Regis Grand. Novella started his career at the Four Seasons Milan and also worked at the Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo.

Jean-Claude Wietzel who had joined Four Seasons in October 2002 as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons New York, has been transferred to the Four Seasons George Cinq in the same capacity. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Wietzel was the Hotel Manager at the Méridien Melbourne.

Anthony Borantin has become a partner in Pulse Management in Paris, a hotel consultancy specialized in the Russian market. Until June of this year, Borantin was the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food & Beverage at Paris' new Park Hyatt Vendôme. Borantin spent a total of nine years with Hyatt International in such locales as Berlin, Jerusalem, Istanbul and the Dead Sea region of Israel.

Caroline Courtois has been promoted from Director of Housekeeping to Director of Rooms at Paris' Méridien Etoile. Belia Serrano Rodriguez is her successor at the helm of the Housekeeping department.

Dominique Bugnand was promoted by the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group from Executive Sous Chef at the Oriental in Bangkok to Executive Chef at the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel du Rhône in Geneva.

Famed Three-Star Chef Antoine Westermann and Anthony Clémot, formerly the Chef de Cuisine at Westermann's restaurant in the Sofitel Lafayette Square in Washington DC, are opening their own restaurant in Paris. Located on the Ile Saint Louis, the eatery is called "Mon Vieil Ami."

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Jean-Jacques Reibel has been transferred as General Manager to the InterContinental Hong Kong replacing Jennifer Fox. Reibel, a long-time InterContinental General Manager, comes from the Willard InterContinental in Washington DC.

Matthias Kann is now the General Manager of the Leela Kempinski Mumbai. He spent the past few years as the General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Goa. Kann was previously with Oberoi as the General Manager of their hotel in New Delhi.

Henry and Char Gray will be Co-General Managers of Oberoi's Amarvilas in Agra. Since February 2000, the Grays were running Mahakua Hacienda de San Antonio in Mexico. From 1991 through 1999, they were the Co-General Managers of Amandari in Bali.

Eric Brand is the General Manager of the Orchard Hotel Singapore. Until recently, Brand was the General Manager of the Movenpick Al Nawrs Resort in Jeddah. Prior to that, Brand also served as the General Manager of Bangkok's Sukhothai, Melbourne's Windsor and Seoul's Hotel Shilla.

Peter Kaelli is the new General Manager of the Santiburi Dusit Resort in Koh Samui. Kaelli is no newcomer to the region, since he used to be the General Manager of the Méridien Baan Taling Ngam. Since then, he assumed General Manager roles at Le Méridien Budapest and Le Méridien Fisherman's Cove in the Seychelles.

Jan Hilhorst, former General Manager of the Hanoi Horison Hotel has been promoted by Swiss-Belhotel International to Director of Operations & Development Vietnam.

Vincent Guironnet has joined the pre-opening team of the Conrad Bali as Executive Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage. Guironnet hails from the Oberoi Bali where he was the Resident Manager.

Andrew Nasskau is the newly appointed Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. He previously managed the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur.

Thierry Marais has been appointed Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. He was previously the opening Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul.

Matthias Vogt was named Executive Assistant Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. He was previously the Food and Beverage Director at the Regent Schlosshotel in Berlin.

Rosmalia Hardman has been named Director of Marketing at the W Seoul Walkerhill, coming from the Fullerton Singapore.

Randal Linhart has been transferred by Shangri-La from Director of Food and Beverage at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong to the Shangri-La Bangkok in the same capacity.

After two years in Vietnam, Brad Turley has found a new home in Shanghai. He will be joining the Three on the Bund Group and the Laris Corporation, as Head Chef of the New Heights restaurant.

John Rees is the Executive Chef at the Swissôtel Nankai Osaka. He joins from the same position at the Shangri-La Beijing. Prior to moving to Asia, Rees was the Executive Chef at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island.

Sherryn Bates, Director of Sales and Marketing is leaving the Shangri-La Dubai to join Four Seasons Jakarta in the same position.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Torsten Dressler, until recently the General Manager of the Kempinski Resort Hotel Bel Air Binz, has been appointed General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Amman.

Valerie Duleux is the new Director of Food and Beverage at the Lemuria Resort in the Seychelles. Duleux, who is a graduate of the Paul Bocuse Institute and Cornell's IHMI, was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at Le Méridien Brussels.

Patrick Camelia has been promoted by Méridien to Director of Food and Beverage at Le Royal Mansour Méridien Casablanca. For the past five years, Camelia had been the Executive Chef at Le Méridien Cairo & Nile Tower, which has since been rebranded a Hyatt.

Marko Kristian Lietsa is the new Executive Chef at Le Méridien Kuwait. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef at the Kuwait Hilton Resort.

Sylvain Dubreau will be the new Executive Chef at the Hilton Mauritius following a three-year tenure at Paris' Hôtel de Crillon, where he was a Sous Chef. Dubreau was also a Sous Chef at La Tour d'Argent.

Giovanni Mauro Seu has been appointed Executive Chef of the Domina Coral Bay Sharm El Sheikh. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef at the Grande Sheraton Hotel & Tower Walker Hill in Seoul.

Do you have news for us? Please do not hesitate to send us an e-mail at benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com

Edited by Benoit Gateau-Cumin

President
The Boutique Search Firm

http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com
benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! Please note that the Boutique Search Firm is moving

Our new address is: 1173 Rodeo Drive BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90035 TEL. 310-552-2221 FAX. 310-552-2224 Global Update: Who's where and doing what: