The Newsletter of The Boutique Search Firm, a worldwide retained recruiting firm specializing in hospitality management.
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Global Update: Who's where and doing what:
February 2008
THE AMERICAS
After fourteen years with Four Seasons, Neil Jacobs will be joining Barry Sternlicht at Starwood Capital Group as President of Global Hotel Operations. His most recent position with Four Seasons was as Senior Vice President Asia Pacific. He also served as General Manager of the Four Seasons Bali at Jimbaran Bay before assuming the same position for the Four Seasons Singapore. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Jacobs was one of the founders of Grand Champions Resorts.
Wolfgang Hultner has announced his retirement as Chief Executive Officer, The Americas, for Mandarin Oriental, after thirty years of service with the company. Mandarin Oriental has accordingly promoted Richard Baker to Executive Vice President, Northern Region. Baker joined the company in 2006 as General Manager, Corporate, based in San Francisco. Previously, he held senior management positions with Rosewood and Four Seasons.
Jorge Gonzalez has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Southern Region for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. He will also maintain his position as General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Miami, a position he has held since joining the company in 1999. Gonzalez previously held senior management roles with Loews Hotels, Ritz-Carlton and Hyatt.
Mandarin Oriental has promoted Rudy Tauscher to Area Vice President, New York, Boston and Chicago. He will continue in his existing role as General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental New York. He joined the property in 2002 as pre-opening General Manager, following five years as General Manager of the nearby Trump International Plaza.
Terry Stinson has been promoted to Development Director and President, The Americas, for Mandarin Oriental, based in Atlanta. He joined Mandarin in 1998 as Development Director, based at the corporate headquarters in Hong Kong. He is a former Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Ritz-Carlton Hotels.
Carlson has named Frenchman Hubert Joly President and Chief Executive Officer, the first non-family member to run the Company in its seventy-year history. He succeeds company co-owner Marilyn Carlson Nelson, who will continue as Carlson’s Chairman. Joly was appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Carlson Wagonlit Travel in July 2004 after serving in various leadership roles with Vivendi Universal.
Bjorn Gullaksen has been promoted to President of the Regent Luxury Group from his previous post as Executive Vice President for Carlson Hotels Worldwide - The Americas. He previously served as the company's Executive Vice President of Full Service Hotels.
Also at Carlson, Steve Hedberg has reassumed responsibilities as Vice President – Operations & Implementation; Norman Rafelson has been promoted to Vice President - Operations, for Regent (he had been the opening General Manager of the Regent Shanghai); Jeffrey Freund has been promoted to Senior Director of Operations, Carlson Managed Hotels & Resorts/Regent Luxury Group and John Cardona, Vice President - Sales & Marketing, has left the company.
Paul Kirwin has been appointed President of Carlson Hotels Worldwide - The Americas. Kirwin has served the last five years as President and Managing Director of Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific.
Cornell graduate Chris Hunsberger has been promoted to Senior Vice President, East Coast and Caribbean, for Four Seasons. He was most recently the General Manager of the Four Seasons Washington D.C.
Ed Andrews is replacing retiring Regional Vice President Chris Mander as General Manager of the InterContinental Chicago. He comes from the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City, where he had been the General Manager since February 2007. Yale-educated Andrews also spent seven years with Hyatt as General Manager in Casablanca, Brussels and Belgrade.
Las Ventanas al Paraiso has named Lionel Alvarez General Manager. He was most recently in Portugal as General Manager of Aqua Pura. Alvarez also served as General Manager of the Castillo Hotel Son Vida, the Paraiso de La Bonita Resort & Thalasso, the Hotel Bora Bora and the Hotel Beau Rivage in Mauritius.
Raymond Vermolen has been promoted to General Manager at the InterContinetal Los Angeles Century City. For the past year, he had been the Hotel Manager after serving as Hotel Manager for two years at the InterContinental The Barclay New York. Previously, he has overseen food and beverage operations at the InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut, the InterContinental Alexandria in Egypt and the InterContinental Athenaeum Athens, among others.
Mathew Pargament has joined the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas as General Manager for the soon-to-open Palms Place. He was most recently the General Manager of Mondrian in West Hollywood and previously of sister property the Shore Club in Miami.
Jeff Kulek, former General Manager of the Hilton Long Beach, has taken over for Mathew Pargament as General Manager of Mondrian.
Kimpton has appointed John Douponce General Manager of the Hotel Palomar Los Angeles, scheduled to open in April. Douponce was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel Amarano (formerly the Graciela Hotel) in Burbank. He also served fourteen years as General Manager of Le Montrose for Outrigger Lodging Services.
Noble House has appointed Eric Sather General Manager of the WaterColor Inn and Resort in Florida. Prior to his new appointment, Sather was the General Manager of the Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride. He previously served in various management positions for Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort, the Oak Brook Hills Resort, the Lakeway Resort and the Aspen Meadows Resort.
The New York Palace has recently shed or lost some long-time key personnel, including General Manager Vito Terzulli, Director of Finance Joel Reichbart, Director of Human Resources Anne Power and (recently married) Director of Marketing, Doerte Lau.
MGM Mirage Hospitality has appointed Michael Evans Executive Vice President of Global Development. He was most recently the Senior Vice President of International Hotel Development for Marriott International, based in London. He also served as Vice President of Hotel Development Asia/Pacific, based in Hong Kong, and Vice President of Global Asset Management, for Marriott International.
Francois Richli has been appointed General Manager of Windermere Island in the Bahamas. He was most recently with the Puravarna Group in Bangkok as Vice President Hospitality. Previously, he spent ten years with Amanresorts overseeing resorts in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia.
Thad Hyland has returned to his home state to rejoin the Harbor View Hotel and Resort on Martha’s Vineyard as General Manager. Since 1995, he had been the Managing Director of the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, where he spearheaded a $100 million expansion program. In addition to working early in his career at the Harbor View Hotel, Hyland has served as General Manager of the Peaks Resort and Spa, Hawaii's Ihilani Resort and Spa and the Lodge at Koele on Lanai.
At the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa, which is privately owned by the Crown Family of Chicago, General Manager Anna Olson, a fifteen-year veteran of the resort, will be assuming Hyland’s former responsibilities.
Audrey Oswell has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. She was most recently Chief Operating Officer of the (bankrupt) Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Todd Iacono has been named General Manager of the Hotel Monroe in Phoenix. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel ZaZa in Dallas. Iacono had previously worked in Arizona, for the opening of the (former) James Hotel, now Mondrian.
The Westin Edina Galleria Hotel & Residences in Minnesota has named Marc Faubert General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Sheraton Bloomington in Minneapolis.
Victor Gomez has been named General Manager of the newly opened Casa Dorada Los Cabos, Resort & Spa. He was most recently the Regional Director of Six Sigma, Black Belt, Resorts Mexico for Starwood. Other resort experience includes positions with the Westin Resort & Spa in Puerto Vallarta, Las Brisas in Acapulco and the Sheraton Huatulco.
Lesley Carey has been appointed President of Palmer Hospitality in Beverly Hills. She previously held upper management positions for the Orlando Hotel in Los Angeles; the Lodge at Rancho Mirage; the Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills and the Argyle in West Hollywood.
John Sears has been appointed Vice President of K Hotels under Palmer Hospitality Group. Sears was recently the President of Boutique Hotel Advisors and the Executive Vice President Marketing and Chief Operating Officer of Boutique Hotels & Resorts International.
Bill Jensen has been named Chief Executive Officer for Intrawest in Vancouver. He was most recently the President of Vail Resorts' Mountain Division. He joined Vail Resorts in 1997 as Chief Operating Officer for Breckenridge Ski Resort and was then promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer of Vail Mountain.
John Garnsey, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Beaver Creek Resort and Blaise Carrig, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Heavenly Mountain Resort, have both been promoted to Executive Vice President, Mountain Division, for Vail Resorts, taking over for Bill Jensen. Both will retain their current responsibilities.
Bruno Brunner has been appointed General Manager of Orient-Express’ Windsor Court, taking over for Ashish Verma, who is leaving the company. Brunner moves from Portugal where he was most recently the General Manager of Orient-Express’ Reid’s Palace in Madeira. Previously, he has worked worldwide with St. Regis, Shangri-La, Rosewood and Hyatt.
After twenty one years, John Washko has left Four Seasons. He has returned to San Francisco as Director and President of Hotel Operation for Domus Properties. Washko held many senior positions for Four Seasons in various hotels such as the Four Seasons Los Angeles, the Four Seasons San Francisco and the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, among others. He was most recently based at the Toronto corporate office, serving as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage.
Warren Francis has joined the Abaco Beach Club in the Bahamas as General Manager. He had recently been the General Manager of The Palms (now a Regent Resort) on Turks and Caicos. A Cornell graduate, he previously served as General Manager of the Petit St. Vincent Resort, the Manasota Beach Club and Cotton House.
Nayla Chowdhury has been named General Manager of the Hilton McLean Tyson’s Corner in Virginia. She was most recently the General Manager of the Embassy Suites Tyson’s Corner.
Romana Heeg has joined Capella in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, as General Manager. For the past three years, she operated her own restaurant in Australia. She has previously overseen such resorts as the Colony Club Hotel on Barbados and the Cambridge Beaches Resort on Bermuda.
Marriott International has appointed Walton Paschall Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Global Diversity Officer. Most recently, Paschall was the Executive Vice President of External Affairs at Volunteers of America.
Jim Marino has been appointed General Manager of the Wyndham Glenview Suites Hotel. He was previously in a similar position at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center.
KL International has appointed Karen Hana Senior Vice President of Resort Operations. She was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Princess Port de Plaisance in St. Maarten.
Diamond Resorts International has appointed Martin Kandel President for European operations. Kandel previously was the Chief Executive Officer for Accor Première Vacation Club.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has appointed Patrick McCudden Senior Vice President of Real Estate and Development, Latin America, based in Chicago. A Cornell graduate, McCudden was most recently the Executive Vice President at Juno Properties and previously held a series of senior executive positions with Marriott International’s development organization for seventeen years.
Starwood Capital Group has hired Barden Gale as Vice Chairman of Real Estate. He was most recently with ABP Investment US, Inc., the investment arm of Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, as Chief Investment Officer for real estate.
Outrigger's Condominium Collection has promoted Gregg Enright to Regional Director of Condominium Operations-Kauai in addition to assuming the role of General Manager of the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa. Most recently, Enright served as General Manager of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, a position he has held since 2004. He joined Outrigger in 1987 as Food and Beverage Manager at the then Outrigger Prince Kuhio hotel.
Frank Bowling has moved from the Peninsula Beverly Hills as Ambassador to the Montage Beverly Hills, slated for an October 2008 opening. Bowling had previously served as Managing Director at the Carlyle and the Hotel Bel Air. For the past six years, he held the position of Ambassador at the Peninsula.
Tulio Hochkoeppler has been appointed Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Miami. He was most recently the Resident Manager at the Four Seasons Carmelo. A Cornell graduate, he previously served as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, and in various rooms management positions at the Four Seasons Los Angeles and the Four Seasons New York.
Avi Haksar has been promoted to Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Los Angeles, taking over for Ben Trodd. Haksar had been the Director of Food and Beverage at the hotel since 2006 after serving as Director of Beverage at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. At the Four Seasons Los Angeles, Michael Pedder moves up from his current position of Assistant Director of Food and Beverage to take over for Haksar.
The Phoenician in Scottsdale has appointed Todd Raessler Resort Manager. Raessler most recently served as Resort Manager at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa .
Aqua Hotels & Resorts have promoted Bill Farnsworth, Jr. to Vice President of Finance. Formerly Aqua’s Director of Finance for the past two years, this Cornell graduate previously spent many years with Rockresorts at their destination resorts in the Caribbean, New England, Wyoming and Hawaii.
Jennifer Elfenbein is re-joining Four Seasons as Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Whistler. She had previously served in various finance positions at the Four Seasons Scottsdale, the Four Seasons Hualalai and the Four Seasons Los Angeles.
The InterContinental San Francisco has named Brady Boswell Director of Finance and Accounting. He was most recently the Area Director of Finance and Accounting at the Crowne Plaza Union Square.
Jim Bowen has been named Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas. For the past seven years he was with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Las Vegas as Chief Financial Officer.
Chris Furumoto has been appointed Controller of Pala Mesa in Fallbrook, California. He was most recently the Controller at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen and has previously served as Controller at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club in Redondo Beach and the Paradise Point Resort and Spa in San Diego.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has announced that Jill Johnson has been appointed Vice President, Asset Management. A Cornell graduate, she was most recently the Vice President of Asset Management at LaSalle Hotel Properties.
Ameristar Casinos has promoted Michelle Shriver to Senior Vice President of Operations, based in Las Vegas, taking over for Angie Frost, who has moved into a consulting capacity for the company. Shriver has been with Ameristar for the past eleven years, most recently as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Ameristar Black Hawk in Colorado.
Robert Friedl has joined the Ritz-Carlton Club Aspen Highlands as Director of Operations. For the past two years, he was with Tarsadia Hotels, serving as Director of Guest Services for the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego and Hotel Manager at L'Auberge de Sedona.
The Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences in Las Vegas has appointed Liran Peterzil Vice President of Business Development and Customer Relations. He was previously the Chief of Staff to Richard Lovett, the President of Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills. Prior to CAA, he served as Chief of Staff to the Ambassador of Israel to the United States in Washington D.C.
Kevin Robinson has joined the Starr Restaurant Organization in Philadelphia as Vice President Restaurant Operations. He comes from Shelly Fireman's Caffé Concepts in New York, where he was the Chief Operating Officer since 1998.
Guy Rigby is taking over for Alfons Konrad as Vice President Food and Beverage for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. He has previously served as the General Manager for the Regent Bangkok, The Pierre in New York and, most recently, the Four Seasons Vancouver.
Philippe Larrieu will be moving to the West Coast to return to Four Seasons as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Palo Alto. For the past three years, he had been the Director of Food and Beverage at Miami’s Delano. Previously, he held various food and beverage roles for Four Seasons in the Bahamas, Hawaii, Nevis and Los Angeles for eleven years.
Martin Kipping has transferred to the Four Seasons Las Vegas as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Nevis.
Sean Hardy has joined the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Peninsula Beverly Hills. He previously held the position of Executive Sous Chef at the Peninsula before serving in the kitchens of the Four Seasons Palm Beach and the Lodge at Koele.
Diego Anea has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager-Food and Beverage at the Park Hyatt Washington. Anea started with Hyatt in 2003 at the Park Hyatt Mendoza where he soon became the Director of Food and Beverage. Since 2006, he has been with the Hyatt on Capital Square in Columbus as Executive Assistant Manager - Food and Beverage.
Till Grob has joined the Sheraton Chicago Northwest and Coco Key Water Resort in Illinois as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same position at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. He previously served in various food and beverage management positions at the Fairmont Chicago and the Mark Hopkins InterContinental in San Francisco.
Gamal El Fakih Rodriguez has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City. Since March 2007, he had been at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and previously served as Director of Food and Beverage at Carlisle Bay in Antigua and the Hilton Tobago.
Stéphane Duvacher has joined Little Dix Bay as Food and Beverage Director. He was most recently the Culinary and Food and Beverage Director of the Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa in Dubai. A chef by training, Duvacher previously served as Executive Chef of the Oasis Beach Hotel in Dubai and the Baguio Country Club.
The Davidson Hotel Company has named Robert Clayton Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration. He was most recently the Vice President of Human Resources for OfficeMax. Clayton previously served as Vice President of People Services for Sweet Traditions/Krispy Kreme, Vice President of Human Resources for Domino’s Pizza and Vice President of Human Resources for Home Depot.
Mark Gasta has been appointed Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Vail Resorts. Previously he worked in various human resources capacities for Lexis-Nexis, Target and, most recently, Comcast Communications.
Omni Hotels have appointed Jason Faust Corporate Manager of Human Resources. He most recently worked in Human Resources for Miller Brewing Co.
Intrawest has appointed Mara Pagotto to the newly created position of Chief People Officer. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Human Resources supporting American Express Global Business Travel Services.
Starwood has appointed James Perrin Senior Director of Global Sales for the Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland marketplace. Most recently, Perrin was the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Westin Boston Waterfront. Previously he served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Essex House in New York and the Westin Fairfax in Washington, D.C.
Carl Cohen has been appointed Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Dolce International in Montvale, New Jersey. He was most recently the President of the Marketing Solutions Division of Dendrite International.
Diamond Resorts International has appointed James Danz Chief Marketing Officer. He previously served as Vice President of Marketing for Starwood Vacation Ownership USA; Executive Vice President, Marketing, for the Princeton Resorts Group; and Accor Premiere Vacation Club, based in Australia.
Starwood has named Timothy Rector Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Caribbean region. Most recently, Rector was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.
Richfield Hospitality has appointed Jeff Baryenbruch Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Sales at the Fairmont Chicago. He previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Omni Ambassador East, following ten years with Wyndham.
Harrah's Entertainment has named David Norton Chief Marketing Officer. He has been with the company since 2003 in various marketing roles.
Starwood has named Lourdes Hainlin Director of Leisure Sales for the Caribbean region. Hainlin previously served as Starwood’s Global Account Director of Leisure Sales.
Larry Tsoumas is the pre-opening Director of Sales and Marketing for the Mandarin Oriental Boston slated for a July opening. He was formerly in a similar position at the Taj Boston. He previously served as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Peninsula Chicago and the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island.
Barry Rodriguez has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the Windsor Court in New Orleans. He was most recently the Associate Director of Sales and Marketing for the hotel. His predecessor Janice Guido left a few months ago.
The New Orleans Marriott has appointed Mark Barton Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently in the same position at the Atlanta Renaissance Concourse Hotel.
Janet McAthie has joined the Carmel Valley Ranch as Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, McAthie served as Director of Sales at Meadowood. Her predecessor at Carmel Valley Ranch was Kurt Allen.
HEI Hotels and Resorts has appointed Michael Chagnon Director of Sales and Marketing at the Equinox Resort and Spa in Vermont. Chagnon was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Don Cesar Beach Resort.
Steve Garner has been hired as Sales Director at the Walt Disney World Resort. He most recently served as the Director of Sales at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport.
Brian Fedorowicz has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Inn and Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe. He was previously the Director of Sales and Catering for the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center in Denver, a sister property within Destination Hotels and Resorts.
Thierry Baurez has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at Casa Dorada Los Cabos, Resort & Spa. He previously worked extensively with Camino Real Hotels & Resorts throughout Mexico, most recently as Corporate Director of International Sales in Mexico City.
Andrea Ambroze has been appointed Director of Transient and Corporate Sales at the Mandarin Oriental Boston. For the past seven years, she had been with the St. Regis New York as Director of Corporate Sales. Previously, she spent ten years with Four Seasons, serving in various sales roles in New York, London, Washington D.C. and Dallas.
Mark Dallman has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Northland Inn in Minnesota. For the past seven years, he was with Hyatt, most recently as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. He also served as Director of Sales at the Hyatt Regency Chicago and Associate Director of Sales for the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.
Andrea Haralampopoulos has been appointed Director of Sales at Milwaukee’s soon-to-open Iron Horse Hotel. She most recently served as Corporate Sales Manager at the Embassy Suites Downtown Chicago.
The Westin Boston Waterfront has named Stephen Nass Director of Sales and Marketing. Nass most recently served in the same role at the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Stacey Edinger has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the Parc 55 in San Francisco. A Cornell graduate, Edinger joined the hotel early last year as Director of Sales and previously held various sales positions with Gaylord Hotels, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
Sally Malouf has been appointed Director of Sales at the Hilton Garden Inn Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront.
Andrew Neubauer has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. He was previously the Director of Group Sales at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida.
Jason Prost has returned to the Four Seasons Los Angeles as Director of Sales. He has been with the company since 1995, including eleven years at the Los Angeles property working his way up from Administrative Assistant to Group Sales Manager. For the past two years, he had been with the Four Seasons Westlake as Sales Manager.
Aileen Carreon has joined the Peninsula Beverly Hills as Director of Sales, taking over for Gizem Unal who has joined the Montage Beverly Hills as Director of Special Projects. Carreon was most recently the Director of Sales at the Four Seasons Los Angeles. She previously held various sales positions for the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey, Raffles L'Ermitage Beverly Hills and the Hotel Nikko.
Barcelo Hotels & Resorts has appointed Christy Ortiz Director of Marketing for Latin America, based at the Barcelo Miami offices. She has previously served as Manager of Sales & Promotions for scheduled services airline USA3000.
Concorde Hotels & Resorts has named Ann Tillman Director of Sales for the Western Region. Most recently, she was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Corinthia Hotels International.
Concorde Hotels & Resorts has named Lucy Augustin Director of Group Sales. She previously worked in group sales for The Leading Hotels of the World.
Troy Pade has joined the Palms Casino Resort as Regional Accounts Director, based in Los Angeles. He had previously served in various sales roles for the Oceana Hotel Group, Thompson Hotels, the Mondrian, the Carlyle and the Four Seasons Los Angeles.
The Resort at Pelican Hill has appointed Mark Phillips Director of Leisure Sales and Abha Abbas Leisure Sales Manager. Phillips was most recently at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad as Director of Travel Industry Sales. Abbas was the Transient Sales Manager for both Shutters Hotel on the Beach and Casa del Mar in Santa Monica.
Borja Manchado has been promoted to the position of Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Carmelo. He has previously served as the Front Desk Manager at the Four Seasons Mexico City.
Meredith Macfarlane is named Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Toronto. She was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto.
The Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences in Las Vegas has named Catherine Becker Director of Rooms, a move from the position of Vice President, Human Resources, she previously held for the Light Group, the Harmon’s parent company. Becker also served in various executive positions at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, the St. Regis Monarch Beach and the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.
Dave Duggan has been named Director of Facilities at the Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences in Las Vegas. He had previously opened Treasure Island as Engineer in addition to opening and handling facility operations at Bellagio.
Jisoo Chon has been appointed Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Peninsula Chicago, taking over for Pradeep Raman who has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage for the hotel. Chon had been with Starwood for the past six years, most recently at the Westin Chicago River North as Director of Outlets. He previously served in various food and beverage management roles at the St. Regis New York, the New York Palace and the InterContinental New York.
Patrick Boucher has been named Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Miami. He has moved from Dubai where he was most recently the Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Golf Club Festival City, now delayed in its opening. He joined the company in 1993 in Toronto and has served in the kitchens of the Four Seasons Hualalai, the Regent Beverly Wilshire and the Four Seasons Bali at Jimbaran Bay. In Miami, he takes over for Patrick Duff, now the Executive Chef at the Fairmont Beijing.
The new team, menu and design for the Fifth Floor in San Francisco's Hotel Palomar are finally in place. Laurent Manrique of Aqua and Café de La Presse will remain as Chef-Consultant while Jennie Lorenzo, the opening Executive Sous Chef at Ame, will do the day-to-day cooking.
Marcel Driessen has joined Rosewood’s Little Dix Bay as Executive Chef. He was most recently at Sandy Lane where he was the Executive Chef for the past three years. He previously served as Chef de Cuisine for the Hotel Corona in the Hague before joining InterContinental Hotels as Chef de Cuisine for La Rive at the InterContinental Amstel and, later, as Executive Chef at properties in Miami, Jordan and Lebanon. At Little Dix Bay, Driessen replaces Eric Brunel, who has left the company.
Jeremy Bearman has moved to New York as opening chef of the first American outlet of Rouge Tomate (of Brussels and Paris), on Park Avenue. A Cornell graduate, he was most recently the Executive Chef at Lark Creek Steak in the Westfield San Francisco Centre. Previously, he served in the kitchens at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in the MGM Grand Las Vegas, the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas and Daniel Boulud’s Bistro Moderne in Manhattan.
The Arizona Biltmore has named Todd Sicolo Executive Chef. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he is a former Executive Chef of Little Dix Bay. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Boca Raton Resort & Spa.
Mark Kropczynski has joined the U.S. Grant in San Diego as Executive Chef. For the past three years, he had been overseeing the kitchens at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe in North San Diego. He previously served as Executive Chef of El Encanto in Santa Barbara. At the U.S. Grant, he takes over from Andreas Nieto, who has returned to the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
Bruno Chemel has moved to Mountain View, California, to take over for Christopher Kostow at Chez TJ. He previously served as Executive Chef for the Los Altos Country Club, La Suite in San Francisco and Aqua at the St. Regis Monarch Beach. Chez TJ is the holder of Two Michelin Stars.
Holger Frohlich has joined the Gaylord National in Washington D.C./Maryland as Executive Chef in charge of Convention Operations. He previously served as Corporate Executive Chef for Celebrity Cruises.
At Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas, Sergio Howland has been promoted from Executive Sous Chef to Executive Chef. He slides into the post left vacant by Flynt Payne, who left after five years. Payne is spending the Winter Season as Executive Chef of the Plumpjack Café in Squaw Valley.
Charles Wilson has moved over as Assistant Executive Chef of Culinary Operations for Caesars’ Palace Las Vegas taking over for Pete Ghione who has left the company. Wilson was most recently the Assistant Executive Chef for the Paris Hotel & Casino and Bally's Hotel & Casino.
Nicole Kaplan is the new Pastry Chef at New York’s Plaza Hotel. She was most recently at Del Posto where she was the Executive Pastry Chef.
Todd Stillman, former General Manager at Masa's and most recently the Lark Creek Inn, will be the new General Manager for the Fifth Floor in San Francisco's Hotel Palomar.
Fady Komery has been named Director of Revenue for the InterContinental San Francisco. Komery most recently held the same position at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway.
Pamela Baldwin is relocating to Cape Cod to take over as Spa Manager at the Chatham Bars Inn. For the past five years, she had been with the Cliff House Resort & Spa in Maine, most recently as its Spa Director. At Chatham Bars Inn, she replaces Kimberly Wisenbarger, who has left the property.
Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort has appointed Alice Bergendorff Spa and Wellness Director. She has previously held various spa-related positions in Las Vegas at the Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian Resort, the Imperial Palace Hotel and Elemis Spa at Planet Hollywood, among others.
EUROPE
Two big names in the World of Hospitality passed away in January.
Jean-Claude Vrinat, the last real “patron de grand restaurant” (since both Claude Terrail, of La Tour d’Argent and René Lasserre died in 2006) passed away January 8, a victim of cancer. His restaurant Taillevent was one of the longest-running Three-Michelin-Starred restaurants until recently when it was demoted to Two Stars. Says Thomas Keller: “Mr. Vrinat represented the pure essence of a true restaurateur and our industry may never see another like him. I viewed Mr. Vrinat as one of my few role models. My time at Taillevent although brief set the example for everything I have done since then. I can only hope to some day be half the man he was.” Vrinat’s daughter Valérie will continue his legacy.
Dario Dell’Antonia died January 15. A Lausanne graduate, he had started his career at London’s Savoy as an Accounting Clerk. He worked his way up to General Manager of Paris’ Grand Hotel in 1970. He joined Monaco’s Société des Bains de Mer in 1975, and stayed almost twenty years. Ironically, after leaving SBM, he was recruited by the Cannes Office of Tourism, SBM’s nemesis. He finished his glorious career as Honorary President of the European Hotel Managers Association.
Eric Père is the new Development Director for Orient-Express, taking over most of the responsibilities held by Dean Andrews who has left the company. Père was most recently the General Manager of the company’s Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, and also worked in both a financial and operational capacity at La Samanna. He also served as Hotel Manager of the Berkeley in London and as opening General Manager at the Port Palace Hotel in Monte Carlo.
Sandro Fabris has been appointed General Manager of Orient-Express’ Reid’s Palace in Madeira. Fabris has been with Orient-Express since 1993 serving as Resident Manager of the Hotel Cipriani, General Manager of Quinta do Lago and, most recently, General Manager of the Lapa Palace in Lisbon. At Reid’s, he replaces Bruno Brunner, now the General Manager of sister property the Windsor Court, in New Orleans.
Philippe Spagnol has taken over for Fabris as General Manager of the Lapa Palace. Since 2004, he had been managing the Hotel Monasterio in Peru, also for Orient-Express, a company he originally joined in 1995 as Resident Manager at Quinta do Lago. Patricio Zucconi takes over for Spagnol in Peru from his most recent duties managing sister property the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.
Lionel Servant has been appointed Area General Manager, France, by Radisson SAS. He will continue to assume his current responsibilities of General Manager of the Radisson SAS Nice, a property he joined in 2006.
Yann Charles has joined the Grand Hotel Thalasso Spa Loreamar in France as General Manager, taking over from Alain Mourgues. Earlier in his career, Charles served as General Manager of the Pansea Douar Ksar Ghilane in Tunisia.
Giampaolo Padula has been appointed General Manager for the Caesar Augustus in Capri. He was most recently the General Manager of the Chiena Resort in Reggello, Italy and previously served as Resident Manager of the Hotel Lord Byron in Rome.
The Polonia Palace in Warsaw has named Alexander Huschka General Manager. Prior to relocating to Warsaw, he was the Managing Director of Columbia Hotels & Resorts. He previously served with Renaissance Hotels for ten years, opening and managing properties in Vienna, Bangkok, Los Angeles and Prague.
Marie-Christine Albini has joined the Hostellerie Lafarque in Belgium as General Manager. She was most recently the Director of Rooms at Les Crayères in Reims. She also previously served in various roles for Colony Capital in Sardinia and both the Hotel Carl Gustav and Guanahani on St. Barthélémy.
Trevor Owens has been promoted to Vice President of Sales for InterContinental Europe replacing Jonathan Mills who has moved as Vice President of Sales Asia for InterContinental. Owens was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the InterContinental Hong Kong.
Wyndham Hotel Group has appointed Nicolas Le Bras Director of Global Sales for France, to be based in Paris. For the last four years, he held a similar role with Hilton Sales Worldwide in Paris. Le Bras had previously held various sales roles at the Broadmoor and the Marriott Renaissance Hotel Paris La Défense.
The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has appointed Christina Deeny Director of Sales and Marketing. A Lausanne graduate, Deeny was most recently a Regional Director for The Leading Hotels of the World. She had previously served as the opening Sales and Marketing Director for the Merrion in Dublin and at the Dorchester in London.
Alessandra Ruggieri has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Park Hyatt Milano taking over for Edoardo Officioso who moves to the Park Hyatt Villa Magna in Madrid. Ruggieri was most recently with Baglioni Hotels.
London’s Grosvenor House, now a JW Marriott, has promoted Vicki Richards Director of Sales and Marketing. Formerly the Director of Sales for the hotel, she steps into the role vacated by Chip Stuckmeyer who moves to the Far East to oversee the launch of the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott in Macau. Richards had previously served in sales and marketing with the Park Lane Marriott and Renaissance Chancery Court. Steve Nunan takes over for Richards as Director of Sales.
Sandro Gamba will be returning to France to serve as Corporate Chef for Sofitel Worldwide, based in Paris. He previously held the role of Executive Chef at the Park Hyatt Chicago, the St. Regis Washington D.C. and, most recently the Four Seasons Westlake.
Arnaud Payet has joined the Hotel Fouquet’s Paris as Director of Butler Services. He was most recently with the Chateau Hotel Mont Royal in Chantilly as Food and Beverage Director. He previously served as Food and Beverage Manager at the Hotel Napoleon in Paris. Payet had also been a Butler for the Spelling family in Los Angeles.
Tim Eagland has been named Food and Beverage Manager at the Corinthia Hotel Lisbon. He previously occupied senior management roles at the Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel in St. Petersburg, and the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel in Gambia.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Chris Hart is taking over for Neil Jacobs as Senior Vice President Asia Pacific with Four Seasons. Hart was most recently the Regional Vice President and General Manager at the Four Seasons Toronto. He has previously served as Executive Assistant Manager at the Four Seasons Washington D.C. and General Manager of the Four Seasons Santa Barbara, the Four Seasons Palm Beach and opening General Manager of the Four Seasons Scottsdale.
Terence Tan has joined Six Senses Resorts & Spas as Managing Director of Six Senses asset owning companies. Tan’s mixed career include stints as a lawyer in London, a director for an advertising company, a restaurateur and, most recently, a real estate investment banker.
Brian Butterworth has been named General Manager of the Mauna Lani Resort. He had previously served over twelve years with Four Seasons, including stints at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, the Four Seasons Olympic in Seattle and the Four Seasons Buenos Aires. Most recently, he served as Resident Manager at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica.
Shaun Campbell has moved to India as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Calcutta. He had previously served as Cluster Director of Marketing for Marriott Resorts Thailand along with his duties as Vice President of Marketing for Royal Garden Resorts.
Christophe Pointaux has been appointed General Manager for Rayavadee in Thailand. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
Clinton Owen has been named General Manager of the ResortQuest Mahana at Kaanapali. Owen was previously the General Manager of the ResortQuest Islander on the Beach on Kauai.
Jean-Baptiste Pigeon has transferred as General Manager to the Intercontinental Yokohama. He joined the company in 1983 and has served as General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Beirut and, most recently, the Regency InterContinental in Bahrain.
Diaz Yonadie has been named General Manager of the Swiss-Bellhotel Papua Indonesia. He had joined the Swiss-Grand Bali as General Manager in 2003 and transferred to the Swiss-Bellhotel Borneo as General Manager in May 2006.
Michael Jokovich has returned as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Maui. He was formerly the Executive Assistant Manager Rooms Division at the resort in 1990. He had since served as General Manager of the Hyatt on Capitol Square in Columbus and the Hyatt Regency Waikiki.
Tony Chisholm has been appointed General Manager of the Sofitel Dalat Palace in Vietnam. He most recently served as Resident Manager of the Novotel Clarke Quay in Singapore. Prior to Singapore, he was the Director of Operations at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon for two years.
Carlo Schmed has transferred as General Manager of the InterContinental Century City Chengdu. He was most recently the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Jinan.
Clement Teo has been named General Manager of the Millennium Hongqiao in Shanghai. Teo joins the hotel from sister property the Grand Copthorne Waterfront in Singapore where he had served as Hotel Manager.
The Langham Place Beijing Capital Airport has named Mark Francis General Manager. He was previously the Hotel Manager of the Langham, Melbourne.
Klaus Woizik has been promoted at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta to Resident Manager. He joined the hotel last year as Executive Assistant Manager-Rooms. He had previously served as Director of Rooms at the Park Hyatt Melbourne.
Serge Couturiaux has been named Resort Manager at the Baros Island Resort in the Maldives. He was most recently the General Manager of the Veranda Resort after serving as Executive Assistant Manager of the Palms, both in Turks & Caicos.
Damian Cooper has joined the InterContinental Phnom Penh in Cambodia as Director of Food and Beverage. He was most recently in the same position at the Anantara Resort Hua Hin for the past year. He had previously served in various food and beverage positions at Le Méridien Port Vila, the Star City Hotel and the Swiss Grand Hotel Bondi Beach.
Anna Guillan has accepted the position of Executive General Manager Sales and Marketing for Voyages Hotels & Resorts. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Hayman. Jacqueline Kennedy comes from overseeing JW Marriott hotels in Seoul and Shanghai to take over for Guillan at Hayman as Director of Sales and Marketing.
Joanne Tang has transferred to the new Ritz-Carlton Krabi in Thailand as Director of Sales and Marketing. For the past two years she had been with the (now shuttered) Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong as Director of Sales after joining the property as Assistant Director of Sales. Tang had previously held various sales positions at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental and the Island Shangri-La.
Vanessa Williams has moved over to the InterContinental Hong Kong to take over for Trevor Owens as Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently in a similar position at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. Williams had previously been based out of Los Angeles, serving as Director of Sales and Marketing for Raffles L’Ermitage and the Hotel Nikko.
Vernon Hulihe'e has been named Director of International Sales at the Mauna Lani Resort, based in Honolulu. His past experience includes international sales for the Kahala Resort, Sheraton Hawaii and Halekulani.
Sandy Frewer has been appointed Director of Marketing and Villa Operations for Wailea Beach Villas. She previously served in various roles at the Royal Hawaiian and the Palms at Wailea before joining Destination Resorts Hawaii in 1995.
Rex Loh has re-joined the Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore as Director of Sales. He was previously the Associate Director of Sales for the property before his most recent position with the Pudong Shangri-La as Director of Convention Sales.
Gilles Arzur will be the opening Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Bora Bora. For the past two years, he was the Executive Chef at the Sofitel Water Tower in Chicago. He also served as Executive Chef at the Sofitel Montreal and the Sofitel Los Angeles.
The Legian Bali welcomes back Executive Chef Dorin Schuster. He was previously the Executive Chef for the property before taking on his most recent roles as Executive Chef of Iggy’s at the Regent Singapore.
Paul Lenz has joined the Shangri-La Singapore as Executive Chef. He was most recently in the same position for the Grand Mirage Resort in Dubai and previously the Beachcomber Group in Mauritius.
The Fairmont Orchid has appointed Collin Thornton Executive Chef. He was most recently overseeing the kitchen for the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. He previously served in various culinary positions at the Fairmont Southampton and the Fairmont Royal York.
Jimmy Tang has transferred to the Mandarin Oriental Beijing as Food and Beverage Manager. He was most recently the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Mandarin Oriental Macau. Tang also previously served in various food and beverage positions at Raffles Singapore and the Peninsula Chicago.
Hervé Dudognon has moved to China to serve as Restaurant Manager for Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. For the past two years, he had been at the Palazzo Versace in Australia, most recently as Manager of Vanitas Restaurant.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Jan Peter Van Der Ree is the new General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Dubai. For the past three years, he had been the General Manager of the Park Hyatt Saigon. He had previously served as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Cheju and the Hyatt Regency Cologne.
Hossein Vetry has been appointed General Manager of Ritz-Carlton’s Sharq Village & Spa in Qatar. He was most recently the Hotel Manager for the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai.
Daniele Vastolo has been promoted to General Manager to open the Shangri-La Resort & Spa Seychelles. For the past two years, he served as Resident Manager of the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur.
Philippe Montaubin is the new General Manager of the Sofitel City Centre Hotel & Residence in Dubai. He previously served as General Manager of the Sofitel Palm Resort in Malaysia, the Novotel Hefei and the Novotel International Zhengzhou.
Philippe Bonnot has been appointed General Manager of the Mövenpick Tower & Suites in Doha. He previously served as General Manager of the Hotel Méridien Brussels. He had also been the General Manager of Le Méridien Heliopolis, Le Méridien Cochin and Le Méridien Bora Bora.
At Apavou Resorts on Mauritius, Ravin Unthiah has been named General Manager of La Plantation Resort & Spa. He joins Apavou from Naiade Resorts where he was the General Manager of the White Sands Resort & Spa. Unthiah was previously the Resident Manager of the Legends Resort, also on Mauritius.
Kevin Robinson has been named Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Alexandria. He was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Nevis. He originally joined the company in 2002 at the Four Seasons Dallas and served in various rooms management positions before heading to Nevis. On Nevis, Charles Fisher has been promoted from his position of Assistant Director of Rooms to take over for Robinson.
Franck Royer has joined the Al Bustan Rotana in Dubai as Director of Food and Beverage. For the past year, he had been the Executive Assistant Manager at the Bavaria Executive Suites. He had previously spent over eleven years with InterContinental in various food and beverage management positions at the Regency InterContinental in Bahrain, Le Vendôme InterContinental in Beirut and the Al Bustan Palace Hotel InterContinental in Oman.
Clifford Weiner has moved to Dubai as Director of Food and Beverage at Atlantis The Palm. For the past two years, he served in the same position at the InterContinental London and was previously the Food and Beverage Manager at Badrutt's Palace Hotel in Switzerland.
Vivienne Gan is the new Regional Director of Public Relations, Middle East for Ritz-Carlton, based in Dubai. She previously served as Director of Public Relations for both the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain and the Ritz-Carlton Singapore. In addition, she served as Director of Communications at the former Kahala Mandarin Oriental in Hawaii.
Farid Patria has transferred as Director of Rooms to the Four Seasons Damascus. For the past three years, he had served in the same capacity at the Four Seasons Langkawi where he was part of the opening team.
Saleh Bataineh has been promoted to Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Amman after joining the hotel last year as Assistant Director of Rooms. He was previously with the hotel in pre-opening before transferring to the Four Seasons Toronto where he held various rooms management positions.
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
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