HEADS above the Rest
by Benoit Gateau-Cumin

The Newsletter of The Boutique Search Firm, a worldwide retained recruiting firm specializing in hospitality management.

For any information, please contact us at 1-310-552-2221 or visit our website at http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com

Global Update: Who's where and doing what:
June 2007

THE AMERICAS

Matthew Hart has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Corporation, taking over for the retiring Stephen Bollenbach. Hart joined Hilton in 1996. Previously, he has held various senior level positions with the Walt Disney Company, Host Marriott and Bankers Trust.

Stephen Ast has joined the Boca Raton Resort and Club as President. He was previously the Executive Vice President Hospitality for Loretto Bay. Ast also served as Vice President and General Manager at the Arizona Biltmore and the Grand Wailea Resort.

Gamal Aziz adds to his current duties as President and Chief Operating Officer at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, the responsibilities of President and Chief Executive Officer of newly-formed MGM Mirage Hospitality. He originally joined what is now MGM Mirage in 1998 as Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage at the Bellagio. He has been the President of the MGM Grand Las Vegas since 2003.

Tobias Mattstedt will team up with Aziz as his Senior Vice President, Development and Operations, for MGM Mirage Hospitality. Mattstedt was originally recruited by Aziz to be the Vice President Food and Beverage at the MGM Grand Las Vegas in 2001. He was twice promoted since, most recently performing as Vice President of Corporate Development and International Operations for MGM Mirage. He is a former Ritz-Carlton and Peninsula man.

Ralph Grippo has joined Don Bren’s Irvine Company as President, Resort Properties. He is a long-time Ritz-Carlton man who most recently served as Vice President/Area General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai. Grippo is also a former General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Huntington. The Irvine Company owns and operates the Island Hotel (formerly Four Seasons) Newport Beach, and is building the luxury Pelican Hill Resort in Corona del Mar.

Alexandra Walterspiel will be joining Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources as Vice President, Independent Hotels. For the past five years, Lausanne-educated Walterspiel has been the General Manager of San Francisco’s Clift. She previously spent thirteen years with Ritz-Carlton in various domestic and international positions culminating in that of Vice President, Rooms Division, Pre-opening, Clubs and Residences.

Stephen Haggerty has been appointed Executive Vice President, Real Estate and Development, for Global Hyatt, based in Chicago. Haggerty, a Cornell graduate, joins Hyatt from Marriott International where he worked for the past thirteen years, most recently in London as Senior Vice President, International Project Finance and Asset Management for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

eSuites has appointed Samuel Winterbottom President and Chief Executive Officer. He is the former Executive Vice President of Development for Carlson Hotels and President of Starwood Hotels Franchise division.  

Maria Razumich-Zec has been promoted to Regional Vice President, USA-East Coast, for Peninsula, based at the Peninsula Chicago where she will continue her role as General Manager. She joined the Peninsula Chicago as General Manager in March 2002, after seven years at the New York Palace, first as Hotel Manager, then as Managing Director.

Mark Somen has been promoted to Director of Operations for Soho House North America. Since 2004, he had been the General Manager of Soho House in New York. Previously he had assumed food and beverage leadership roles at the Hotel Gansevoort, the Hudson, the St. Regis New York and the Four Seasons New York.

Lisa Impagliazzo has been named Senior Vice President of Operations for HEI Hotels and Resorts in Connecticut. She rejoins long time boss Ted Darnall, ex Starwood, who is the Chief Operating Officer of the group. Impagliazzo was the Executive Vice President of Operations at Affinia Hotel Group/Denihan Hospitality in New York. She also served as General Manager and Regional Vice President of Le Royal Méridien King Edward in Toronto.

Dan Miller has been named Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at Kimpton. A Cornell graduate, he was most recently the Vice President – Capital Transactions, for Felcor Lodging. His prior posts include Vice President of Real Estate & Development for Accor North America, and Development Director for Embassy Suites.

Paul McCormick has returned to KSL Resorts as Vice President and General Manager at the Barton Creek Resort in Austin. He was most recently in the same position at La Quinta Resort and Club and previously at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. La Quinta, a former KSL Resort, is now operated by Hilton.

Sean Maddock is also rejoining KSL as Vice President and General Manager of the classic Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. He had originally joined KSL in early 2004 as Vice President and General Manager of the Claremont in Berkeley, prior to being promoted to a similar post at the Arizona Biltmore. Since 2006, the Arizona Biltmore has been operated by Hilton, as a member of its Waldorf=Astoria Collection. Maddock had previously spent three years with Shangri La Hotels and Resorts in Bangkok, Manila and Hong Kong.

David Cohen has been promoted to General Manager of the Parker Méridien in New York. He joined the hotel in 2003 as its Hotel Manager. He was previously at the Rhiga Royal (now the London-New York) for four years, prior to moving over to the Marriott corporate offices as Task Force Manager after their purchase of the Rhiga in 2001.

Duncan Graham has been appointed Managing Director of the Mansion on Turtle Creek. For the past three years, he had held the position of Managing Director at San Ysidro Ranch, also a Rosewood property. Graham previously served as General Manager of the St. Regis Washington DC for four years and the St. Regis Houston for two years.

Gunter Muller has joined the Worldmark Resort in Sonoma County as General Manager. He was recently a General Manager for Resortquest in Aspen. Muller also served in various executive level roles at the Renaissance Manchester, Renaissance London Heathrow and the Renaissance London Chancery Court.

Michael Allen has been named General Manager of the Providence Biltmore. He was most recently the General Manager of the Intercontinental Milwaukee. Prior to that, he served as General Manager of the Inn and Spa at Loretto, after having served as General Manager at the Grove Isle Hotel & Spa.
 
Thierry Kennel has been appointed General Manager for the upcoming Four Seasons St. Louis, slated for opening in November. He comes from the Four Seasons Boston, where he was the Hotel Manager for the past five years. He has previously held posts with Four Seasons in Nevis, the Maldives, Jakarta, Vancouver, Toronto and Houston.  
 
John Gilbert returns to Starwood after a ten-year absence as General Manager at the Sheraton Pomona. Since 2005, he ran his own Ambassador Management Group, after serving seven years with the Robert Mayer Corporation as Senior Vice President/General Manager of assets that included the Waterfront Hilton and the Hyatt Regency, both in Huntington Beach. His 22-year stint with Starwood/Westin included serving as General Manager of the Westin South Coast Plaza, the Westin Fort Lauderdale and as Corporate Director of Operations for Westin Hotels of Mexico.

Jacqueline Sanders has been named General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Westchester, expected to open in October. For the past four years, she had been the Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. Prior to that, she served as Resident Manager of the Plaza-Athénée New York, Rooms Division Manager at the Regency and at the Rhiga Royal. In addition, she has held prior posts for Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta and Amelia Island.

Keith Hess has been named General Manager at the Hilton O'Hare. Most recently, he was the General Manager of the Hilton Omaha.

Luigi Romaniello has been named Managing Director of the Mansion on Peachtree, operated by Rosewood, slated to open in 2008 in Atlanta. He joined Rosewood in 1999 as Resident Manager of Caneel Bay. For the past five years, he served as Hotel Manager at the Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas.

Alberto Andrade has joined the St. Anthony in San Antonio as General Manager. Andrade, a Cornell man, was most recently the Area General Manager for the Kor Group’s Sheraton Gateway and Delfina in Los Angeles. He previously spent thirteen years as General Manager of the Renaissance New York.
 

The Four Seasons Nevis has appointed Andrew Humphries General Manager and Regional Vice President, taking over for Martin Sinclair, who is now the General Manager at the Regent Singapore. Humphries comes from the Four Seasons Amman, where he was also the General Manager. Prior to arriving in Amman in 2001, he spent four years as Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons London.

Omar Said returns to Ritz-Carlton as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences San Francisco. He briefly served as General Manager of Villa del Sol, a Kor Group property. Said is a fourteen-year Ritz-Carlton veteran.

Maarten van Wijk has been named General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the Columbia Club in Indianapolis. He was previously the Executive Vice President at Divi Resorts.

Christophe Granger heads to Denver as General Manager of the Green Gable Country Club. Since 2001, he had been the General Manager/Chief Operating Officer at the Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena after serving three years as the Clubhouse Manager/Director of Food and Beverage at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

Marco Perry has joined San Ysidro Ranch as General Manager, taking over the spot left vacant by Duncan Graham. For the past two years, he was with GHM, serving as General Manager of Heritage House in Mendocino and Food and Beverage Manager at the Setai in Miami. Perry was previously based in New York as Food and Beverage Director at Soho House and the Mark.

At New York’s Soho House, Charlie Irons comes from the Hotel Victor in Miami to take over from General Manager Mark Somen, who has been promoted to Director of Operations, North America.

Jeff Bloom is the new General Manager of Chaminade in Santa Cruz. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village and previously played a similar role at the Lake Arrowhead Resort.

John Stoddard has been appointed General Manager for the recently opened Pan Pacific Seattle. Since 1998, Stoddard had served as General Manager at the Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles.
 
Tom Waithe has been promoted to General Manager/Director of Operations of Kimpton Pacific Northwest. He was most recently the General Manager at the Willows Lodge and Spa in Seattle. He also managed the Metropolitan Vancouver and was with Four Seasons for seven years in Chicago, Tokyo, Maui, Seattle and Vancouver.

Greg Tinsley is now the General Manager at the Conrad Indianapolis, taking over from opening General Manager Jan Chovanec. Tinsley was the Hotel Manager at the Beverly Hilton.

John Langston has joined the Stoneleigh in Dallas as Managing Director. He comes from the Driskill in Austin, where he had been the Resident Manager since 1999. Previously, he spent seven years with Rosewood, as Director of Food and Beverage at the Mansion on Turtle Creek. 
 
Bruce James has taken the position of General Manager for the Quinta Real Acapulco. He was previously the General Manager at Casa del Mar, in Cabo San Lucas.

Didier de La Ferrière was recently named General Manager of the Sofitel San Francisco Bay. He was most recently the General Manager at the Sofitel Houston. He has been with Accor for twelve years in Madrid, Paris and New York.

Alfredo Rosas has joined the Inn at Loreto Bay in Mexico, as General Manager. He joins from Quinta Real Hotels where he served first as General Manager of their Puerto Vallarta property and most recently as General Manager of the Quinta Real Acapulco.  

Bob Pallay has been promoted to General Manager of the National Hotel in Miami. He joined the property three years ago as Director of Food and Beverage. He takes over for Jeff Lehman who joined the property as General Manager for the re-opening in 1997.  
 
Rainer Auckenthaler has been named General Manager at the Hilton Princess Managua in Nicaragua. He has worked for Hilton since 1998 most recently as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage for the Hilton Princess Chain Central America.

Sam Ioannidis replaces Thierry Kennel as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Boston. He joined the hotel in 2003 as Food and Beverage Director and has been with the company since 1989 after joining the Four Seasons Inn on the Park.

Michael Robertson moves back to his position of Hotel Manager at the Beverly Hilton, replacing Greg Tinsley who is now the General Manager of the Conrad Indianapolis . Robertson joined the hotel in 1999 as Assistant Food and Beverage Director and had recently been the hotel’s Project Manager.

Sergio Nuñez has been named Hotel Manager at Villa La Estancia Beach Resort & Spa Nuevo Vallarta. He joins the property after a stint as Operations Manager of the Paradise Village Resort in Nuevo Vallarta. Nunez previously served in management capacities with Ritz-Carlton and Marriott in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Chile and Peru.

Christopher Eastmond has been appointed Resort Manager at Hodges Bay Club in Antigua, due to open in November. He comes from Carlisle Bay, also in Antigua, where he was most recently the Resort Manager after joining in 2003 as Director of Rooms. Previously, he has held various positions at Sandy Lane and Cobblers Cove, both in Barbados.

Kyle Lott has rejoined the Athens Group as Project Manager, to help build a Montage Resort in Deer Valley. He was previously with the group in 2002, involved in the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch and Montage Laguna Beach projects. His most recent position was with Harrah’s Entertainment in Las Vegas as Director of Hotel Operations.

James Wroblewski has been named the Director of Operations at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. Most recently he was at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas in the same capacity. Wroblewski also worked for Starwood for seven years at the Century Plaza and the Westin Pasadena.

Will Sutton and Rhiannon Price are the new Management Couple in charge of day-to-day operations at David Copperfield’s Musha Cay in the Bahamas. Sutton was most recently the Managing Director of the Chalet Marmottes in the French Alps. Prior to that, he spent thirteen years at the Kaya Mawa Lodge. Price assisted in the general management at Kaya Mawa and was previously the Tour Operations Manager for Bushtracks Africa.

Phing Tong has been named Director of Finance at the Four Seasons San Francisco. Tong joins from the Westin Market Street and, prior to that, was the Director of Finance at the Claremont in Berkeley. In addition, he has served as multi-property Controller with Kimpton at the Monaco and the Palomar in San Francisco.

In New York, Andrew Dorough has been named Rooms Division Director at the Millennium Broadway. He previously held various positions at the Roosevelt and the Park Central New York.

Wynn Las Vegas has promoted Steve Weitman to Vice President of Food and Beverage, from the position of Executive Director of Food and Beverage. Weitman, a Cornell graduate, has previously worked for ESPN Zone, Club Disney and Wondercamp Entertainment.

Sean McCarron has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Boston. He was most recently the Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Chicago but spent two years in the early nineties at the Ritz-Carlton Boston (now the Taj Boston). He also held management positions at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan, the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and the Four Seasons Atlanta.

David Bull has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the St. Anthony in San Antonio. He most recently was the Executive Chef at the Driskill in Austin.

The Wyndham Sugar Bay in St. Thomas has named Scott Kenney Food and Beverage Director. He was most recently the Food and Beverage Director at Fisher Island in Miami and served six years at the Mission Inn Golf & Tennis Resort.

Charles Riley is the new Food and Beverage Director at the Omni Dallas Park West. He joined Omni in 2004 as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Omni Mandalay. He was previously a multi-property Director of Food and Beverage with Interstate, based in Austin, and the Director of Food and Beverage at the Fairmont New Orleans.

Rosa Abreu joins New York’s Millennium UN Plaza as Director of Food and Beverage. She was previously the Director of Events Operations at the Detroit Marriott and the Director of Food and Beverage at the New York Marriott East Side.

Sam Basu has been appointed Food and Beverage Director at the Rio Mar Beach Resort in Puerto Rico. He was previously the Executive Assistant Manager, Rooms, at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan.

Brian Hogg has been named Director of Human Resources at the Four Seasons St. Louis. He joined the company at the Four Seasons Dallas in 1999 as Assistant Executive Housekeeper and eventually became the property’s Assistant Director of Human Resources. Since 2005, he had been the Assistant Director of Human Resources at the Four Seasons San Francisco.  

The soon-to-open Grand Del Mar in North San Diego County has named Reena Gurtner Director of Human Resources. She previously spent over seven years with Four Seasons in Toronto, the Maldives and, most recently, the Four Seasons Whistler.

David Silver will be busy as the new Director of Human Resources for the Michael Mina Group as they have eight new restaurants due to open within the next twelve months. Silver was most recently the Corporate Director of Employment Development for Joie de Vivre Hospitality in San Francisco.

Laura Hernandez has rejoined HotelsAB at the Standard Downtown Los Angeles as Director of Human Resources. She had been the Director of Human Resources at the Standard Hollywood from 2002 to 2003.

Lisa Owens has been appointed Director of Human Resources at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, due to open December 2007. She comes from the position of Regional Director of Human Resources with Levy Restaurants.

After two years as Director of Human Resources at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, Karyn O'Connell has launched Work Life Balance Consulting. She also served as Director of Human Resources for Méridien in Chicago and Miami and for Omni in Chicago and Indianapolis.

Don Schreifels has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the new Four Seasons Bora Bora, due to open early 2008, based in Los Angeles. For the past four years, he has represented the Four Seasons Nevis and previously held various sales and marketing positions for the Four Seasons Newport Beach, Four Seasons Palm Beach and Four Seasons Toronto.

Melissa Lorenz has been appointed Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons St. Louis. She was most recently the Director of Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, after spending two years at the Four Seasons Chicago. She also served in various sales positions at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn, the Ritz-Carlton Huntington, the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage and the Ritz-Carlton St. Louis.

Lisa Kent has been named Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Palm Beach. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Westin Fort Lauderdale.  

Mark Kerwin has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for Las Ventanas al Paraiso, based in Los Angeles. Kerwin was previously the Director of Sales at the Hotel Bel Air, a position he had also held at the Peninsula Beverly Hills.

Sharon Klaschka has moved to Maui as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Wailea Marriott Beach Resort and Spa. She was most recently the Director of Sales at the Kahala Resort in Honolulu.

Virgil Napier moves to the West Indies as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Viceroy in Anguilla. He was most recently serving as the Director of Sales at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove.

Mike Aylmer has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Homestead. He originally joined KSL in 1998 and was promoted to Senior Director of National Sales in 2004. Previously, he was with Ritz-Carlton in various sales positions in Tyson’s Corner and the New York International Sales Office, before leaving to help launch Miraval in Tucson.

Ellen Adelman has been appointed Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Irvine Company. For the past four years, she served in the same capacity for the Edward Thomas Management Company, the owner-operator of Shutters on the Beach and Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica and the Andalucia in Santa Barbara. 

The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago has appointed Robert Prohaska Director of Sales and Marketing. He comes from the Sofitel Chicago where he held the same position. Prohaska also served in the same capacity at Chicago’s Sutton Place.

The Renaissance Père Marquette and the Renaissance Arts Hotel in New Orleans have appointed Michael Touchy Director of Sales and Marketing. He joins the hotel from the Fairmont New Orleans where he held the same title.  

Jay Lee has been named Vice President Sales and Marketing at Sunriver in Oregon, for Destination Hotels and Resorts. Since 2003, he had served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Gemstone Hospitality and was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Resort at Squaw Creek.

Kerzner International has promoted Franz Buchhalter to Vice President of Leisure Sales and Marketing, overseeing the properties at Atlantis. He originally joined Kerzner in 1998 as Executive Director of Leisure Sales and Marketing.

Candace Taylor is the new Director of Sales at Canyon Ranch in Tucson. She was most recently in San Antonio, overseeing La Mansion Del Rio Hotel and the Watermark as Director of Group Sales.

The House of Blues Hotel Chicago (soon to be the Hotel Sax Chicago) has named Nanci Lynn Figueroa Director of Sales. She previously held various sales positions with Kimpton Hotels and the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.

Murielle Ferdinand is the Director of Entertainment Sales at the Sofitel Los Angeles. She was most recently a Senior Sales Manager at the Renaissance Hollywood and also was a Sales Manager at the Renaissance Stanford Court.

Max Shroeder has been appointed Director of Transient Sales at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. Most recently he was the Central Region Director of Sales for Jumeirah, and previously was a sales team member at the Peninsula Chicago.

Melody Campbell-Goeken has been named Director of Marketing Communications for Barton Creek Resort & Spa. She served as Director of Public Relations and Advertising for five years at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa.

The Kor Hotel Group has appointed Daniel Guerrero Director of Public Relations. He comes from the position of Director of Communications for the West Hollywood Marketing Corporation/ Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Connie Perez has been named Director of Public Relations for InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco. She joined the group five years ago and was most recently the Public Relations Manager at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins.

Joseph Russell has been named Director of Catering and Convention Services at the Millennium Cincinnati. His previous experience includes the role of Director of Catering at Xavier University, Director of Catering and Convention Services at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati and Associate Director of Catering at the Wyndham Palace.

Sheba Mitchell has been named Director of Catering at the Millennium UN Plaza in New York. She came from the Hilton Times Square where she held the same position.

Monikka Lotter has been named Director of Catering at the Trump International Hotel Chicago. She most recently held the same position at the Hard Rock Hotel and was previously a Catering Manager at the Peninsula Chicago.

John Coleman will be the opening Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas. He joined the company in 1989 as a Saucier at the Ritz-Carlton Boston and was most recently the Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson’s Corner.

Phillip Smith has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid. He joined the property in 2005 as Executive Sous Chef, following stints at the Hilton Lake Placid Resort and Mirror Lake Inn. 

Joseph Meiners has taken over the position of Executive Chef at the Millennium Cincinnati. He was most recently the Chef de Cuisine at the Metropolitan Club in Covington, Kentucky, and was previously the Executive Chef at the Clovernook Country Club and Western Hills Country Club, both in Cincinnati.

Joel Harrington has been named Chef de Cuisine for Fearing’s Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas, slated for opening this summer. He joins from the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel where he was most recently in charge of Restaurant 162.

Vincent Cachot has moved to Los Angeles as Executive Chef of the InterContinental (formerly the Park Hyatt Century City).  He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Sofitel San Francisco.

Sean Dent has joined the InterContinental Los Angeles as Executive Sous Chef. He comes from the Beverly Hilton where he was the opening Chef de Cuisine at Circa 55.

At Bacar in San Francisco, the latest addition is Wine Director Micky Clevenger. He was most recently the General Manager and Wine Director at Frisson. He also served as Sommelier at Fleur de Lys.

Tauseen Malik will be the new Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles. He most recently worked in the same capacity at the Hilton Glendale and previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at the Sedona Rouge Hotel and Spa.

The Wyndham Sugar Bay in St. Thomas has appointed Elliot Manning Rooms Director. He was previously the Director of Housekeeping at the Wyndham Miami Airport.

Jeroen Elmendorp is the new Director of Rooms at the Trump International Hotel Chicago. He was most recently the Director of Operations at the Conrad Chicago.

Claudia Ghartey has been named Regional Director of Spas for the Villa Group Resorts Vallarta. She was most recently the Spa Director for the Spa Treatment Center at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.

Robin Jones has been named Spa Director at the Grand Del Mar in North San Diego County, slated to open this fall. She was most recently the Spa Director at the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

The Millennium Broadway has named Melanie Turner Front Office Director. Turner held the same position at the Novotel New York.

EUROPE

Ulf Karow is moving back to Europe where he has accepted the position of Executive Vice President - Europe for Barcelona-based Luxury Lifestyle Hotels & Resorts . He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at Le Méridien Seychelles Resorts. Previously he was based in Germany, overseeing sales and marketing at the Regent Schlosshotel, the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, both in Berlin, and Orient Express Hotels based in Frankfurt.

Philippe Leboeuf has left Rosewood to join Claridge’s in London as General Manager. He had joined Rosewood last August as Vice President of Operations. Leboeuf, a Board Director for Leading Hotels of the World, served until 2005 as Executive Vice President of Louvre Hotels, the Barry Sternlicht-controlled entity that includes the Hotel de Crillon. Leboeuf was at the helm of the Crillon for six years. From 1989 to 1991, he was an Executive Assistant Manager at New York's Carlyle.

Peter Clark will be joining the Four Seasons Gresham Palace as Hotel Manager. He joined the company in April 1998 as Assistant Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Washington D.C. He has served as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons in Bali, the Four Seasons Bangkok and, most recently, at the Four Seasons Shanghai.

Leonardo Baiocchi will join the pre-opening team of the Four Seasons Firenze as Hotel Manager. He has been with the company for the past fourteen years, joining to open the Four Seasons Milano, where he later was promoted to Front Office Manager. He also worked at the Regent Chiang Mai, the Four Seasons Canary Wharf, the Four Seasons Sharm el Sheikh and, most recently, the Four Seasons Budapest where he was the Hotel Manager since 2004.

Dolce International has named Michel Prokop Regional Area Director Germany. He will remain as General Manager of the Dolce Bad Nauheim, near Frankfurt, a position he has held since 2004. Previously, he served as General Manager at the Crowne Plaza Wiesbaden for four years.

Ingo Peters has been promoted to the position of Regional Vice President and General Manager, Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg. He has been the hotel’s General Manager since 1997, following four years with Mandarin Oriental, as General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Jakarta and the Phuket Yacht Club.

Xavier Rugeroni has joined Fairmont as Regional Vice President and General Manager, Fairmont Monte Carlo. He was most recently the Area General Manager for Le Méridien, Southern France & Monaco. He also served as General Manager at the Compleat Angler in Marlow, the Westbury in London and Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort in Portugal.

Emile Bootsma has joined the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich as Hotel Manager. Bootsma was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager of the Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel Munich.

Fernando Horta has been appointed General Manager of the Tróia Casino Hotel in Portugal, due to open in 2008. He was previously the General Manager of the Lake Resort in Vilamoura, Portugal. He also spent ten years with Starwood, with his last position as Director of Engineering Spain and Portugal.

Marc Ohlendorf has been named General manager of the Swissôtel Zurich, where he takes over from Pierre Stacher, now the General Manager of the Swissôtel Sydney.
 
António Henriques da Silva has been appointed General Manager of the Lake Resort in Vilamoura, Portugal. He was previously the Manager of Lusotur Golfes also in Vilamoura.

The Grand Hyatt Berlin has promoted Heddo Siebs to Resident Manager. He has been with Hyatt since 1999 in various food and beverage positions in Germany, Cairo, Sharm el Sheik and most recently as the Executive Assistant Manager Food and Beverage at the Grand Hyatt Berlin.
 

David Collas has joined the Ritz in London as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage. He comes from a two-year stint as the Food and Beverage Director at the Hotel Martinez in Cannes. Previously, he served as Food and Beverage Manager at the Lancaster in Paris, the Chateau Eze on the French Riviera and as Food and Beverage Operations Manager at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen.

Franck Jaulneau has been promoted to Director of Operations at the Hotel Castille in Paris. He moves up from the position as Director of Food and Beverage, one he had held since 2005. Jaulneau previously spent two years as Director at Le Jardin d'Hiver at the Hôtel Meurice in Paris.

Richard Raab transfers as Director of Food and Beverage to the Four Seasons Gresham Palace, replacing Attila Gyulai who is leaving the company. Raab comes from the Four Seasons London and did prior stops at the Four Seasons Maui, the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and the Four Seasons Cairo. Before joining Four Seasons, he was with the Churchill Intercontinental and the Regent (Landmark) London.

Tiago Castro has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues. He moves up from the position of Director of Restaurants. He has previously served in various food and beverage positions at the Four Seasons London and the Four Seasons Lisbon.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Eric Brand has been appointed Senior Executive Vice President – Operations, for Bangkok based TCC Hotels Management, the operating company for the Imperial Hotel Group. Brand, a Lausanne graduate, was recently the General Manager of the Orchard Hotel in Singapore. He also ran the Movenpick Al Nawras in Jeddah. He was the General Manager of Melbourne’s Windsor from 1997 to 2001, following a two-year stint as General Manager of the Hotel Shilla in Seoul.

Clyde Min has joined Kingdom Hotel Investments in Singapore as Vice President Asset Management, Asia Pacific. Since 2004, he had been a Vice President Asset Management with Host Marriott. Previously, he has held the General Manager posts at the Williamsburg Inn and Walt Disney World. Min had already resided in Singapore when he was the General Manager of the Marina Mandarin from 1991 to 1995.

Michael Branham returns to Tokyo for his promotion to General Manager at the Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi. He comes from the Four Seasons Singapore where he had been the Hotel Manager for the past two years. He joined the company in 1997 as Food and Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Jakarta.

Michael Monks has been transferred by Shangri-La to General Manager of the Shangri-La Golden Flower in Xian. Monks, who joined the group in 1995, was most recently the General Manager of the Shangri-La Hangzhou.

Rudolf van Dijk has transferred to the Four Seasons Singapore as Hotel Manager. He moves from the Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi, where he had temporarily been holding the fort since Tracy Mercer's move to Silicon Valley. He joined the company in 1998 at the Four Seasons New York where he was the Director of Food and Beverage. He first came to Asia in 2003 when he joined the Four Seasons Shanghai as Hotel Manager, followed by the Four Seasons Bangkok in the same capacity in 2005.

Robert Petrovic has been promoted to Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street. He was previously the hotel’s Executive Assistant Manager, Food and Beverage. He joined the company in 2003 as the Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg.

Thomas John is the new Chief Operating Officer for Gold Resorts & Hotels based in New Delhi. He was most recently with the Hashoo Group in Dubai, as its Chief Operating Officer, Hotel Division. Previously he served as the General Manager at the Grand New Delhi, the Pearl Continental in Pakistan and the Shepheard Hotel in Cairo.

Raymond McShane is the new General Manager of the Grand New Delhi. He was formerly the Area General Manager of Habtoor Hotels, Lebanon and Resident Manager for Conrad Hotels in Istanbul and Dublin.

Amanda Scott has been appointed General Manager of the Excelsior, Hong Kong. She was most recently the General Manager of the Waldorf in London, a post she has held for the past five years.

Pierre Stacher has been appointed General Manager of the Swissôtel Sydney. A former General Manager of Australia’s Hayman Island, he had joined Swissôtel in 2003 as General Manager of the Swissôtel Zurich.

Andre Kretschmann has been named General Manager at the Shangri-La Boracay Resort & Spa due to open in 2008. He was most recently the General Manager of the Bo Phut Resort & Spa in Samui and previously served as General Manager of the Chedi Phuket and the Chedi Muscat.

Robert Stark has been appointed General Manager of the JW Marriott Seoul. He was most recently based in Singapore and has been with Marriott since 1985, serving in Jakarta, Bangkok and Waikiki Beach, among others.

Neil Blenkharn has transferred as General Manager to the Garden Cliff Resort & Spa in Pattaya (managed by Sofitel).  He was previously the General Manager at the Mercure Ginza Tokyo and has worked with Accor for over ten years.

Kim Powley has recently been appointed General Manager of the Westin Kuala Lumpur. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sheraton Saigon. Powley has served in various roles with Sheraton, Hyatt and Starwood in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Bastian Germer returns to the hotel industry with Singapore based K.M.C. Holdings as General Manager of the Majestic Hotel and Hotel 1929. In 2004, he left his position of Restaurant Manager of Doc Cheng’s at Raffles Singapore to join IndoChine Singapore as General Manager.

Domenico Palumbo takes the helm as General Manager of the Old Chengdu Club Hotel & Suites, slated for opening late 2007. He joins from the Shanghai Racquet Club & Apartments, where he had been the Club Manager for the past three years.

The Novotel Beijing West has appointed Roger Mair General Manager. Mair comes from Xiamen where he opened the Sofitel Plaza Xiamen two years ago.

Michael and Luciana Nijdam have relocated to New Zealand to take over as joint-General Managers of Carrington Resort and Karikari Estate Vineyards & Winery. They were previously the opening General Managers of Winvian in Connecticut.

Hang Sokvanna has been named Executive Assistant Manager at the Angkor Century Resort & Spa, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was most recently the Resident Manager of the Borei Angkor Hotel for more than three years and previously held Front Office Manager positions with Raffles Hotel Le Royal and Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor.

At the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel , Jeremy Cooper has been promoted to the position of Executive Assistant Manager. He joined the hotel in 2001 as Executive Chef and was promoted to Director of Food and Beverage in 2004.

Sunil Narang has transferred to the Four Seasons Maui as Director of Rooms. He comes from the Four Seasons Scottsdale where he had been the Director of Rooms for the past three years.

Le Méridien Tahiti and Le Méridien Bora Bora have appointed Nicolas Orget Director of Sales and Marketing, based in Tahiti. This is his second time with Le Méridien after serving in various roles in Copacabana and Nice. He was most recently the General Manager of Elcotour, based in Rio de Janeiro.

Divya Prakash Ahuja has been named Director of Marketing at the Shangri-La Jakarta. He comes from his current post on the pre-opening team at the Shangri-La Chiang Mai and was earlier the Director of Marketing at the Shangri-La New Delhi.

At the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Darren Lauder has been appointed to the position of Executive Chef. He joins from the Hilton Nagoya where he was the Western Executive Chef. He has held previous Executive Chef positions at the Ajman Kempinski Resort, the Santiago Marriott and the Westin Jeddah.

Karlheinz Ritter joins the Venetian Macau as Executive Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Westin Bund Center Shanghai. His replacement in Shanghai is Luke Elder who comes from the Sheraton Singapore.

Christian Frigo has been appointed Italian Executive Chef at La Favola at Le Royal Méridien Shanghai. He was most recently in the same position at Tomato Restaurant at the InterContinental Muscat.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Philip Barnes was promoted by Fairmont to Regional Vice President Middle East and General Manager of the soon-to-open Fairmont Palm Dubai. Barnes joined Fairmont in 1998 as Regional Vice President, British Columbia, for what was then Delta Hotels and Resorts. He was most recently the General Manager of the Fairmont Vancouver, and Regional Vice President, Pacific Northwest region.

Octavio Gamarra has been appointed Senior Vice-President for Dusit Hotels and Resorts. Gamarra, a Lausanne graduate, is a seventeen-year veteran of Ritz-Carlton whose two most recent posts were as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Osaka and General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.

Hans Keller has been appointed General Manager at the Zhiwa Ling Hotel in Bhutan. He had previously worked with Rockresorts and Sonesta, among others. In addition, he has owned and operated hotels in Egypt, Israel, Holland, Puerto Rico and Switzerland.

The InterContinental Dubai Festival City has named Dieter Franke Hotel Manager. He joined InterContinental in 1988 in Frankfurt and was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Phoenicia InterContinental Beirut.

Karim Klaa has been appointed General Manager at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club. Previously, he has served as General Manager at the Hotel Les Ottomans in Istanbul and La Bastide Rouge in Saint-Tropez.

Marc Lambert is now the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage at the InterContinental Muscat. He had originally joined InterContinental in Dubai in 1988, and followed with postings in Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta and Beirut. He then served as Food and Beverage Director at the Athenaeum InterContinental in Athens.

Walid Dib has been appointed Financial Controller for the Movenpick Hotel Bur Dubai. He joined Movenpick five years ago as Director of Finance for the Movenpick Hotel & Resort Beirut.

Ayman Omar has been appointed Director of Human Resources at the Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano in Egypt. He comes from the same position at the Marriott Beach Resort Sharm El Sheikh and has been with Marriott for the past six years.

Fabrice Collot has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Banyan Tree Desert Spa & Resort Al Areen in Bahrain. He was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at the Kempinski Moika 22 in St. Petersburg.

Mihai Paunescu has been appointed Food and Beverage Manager at the Bavaria City Suites Doha. He comes from his most recent position as Main Media Centre Head of Catering for the Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee. 

Wolfgang Fischer has joined the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi as Executive Chef. Most recently he oversaw the opening of Wynn Macau as Executive Chef after serving as Executive Chef at the Grand InterContinental Seoul for four years. In addition, he was previously with Shangri-La in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong.    

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, Lisa Leroy & Susana Parks

The Boutique Search Firm
http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com
benoit@boutiquesearchfirm.com
lisa@boutiquesearchfirm.com