Cornell hotelman Richard Cotter has left his position of Executive Vice President Hotel and Food and Beverage for Wynn Las Vegas after two and a half years to launch his own advisory boutique. A luxury specialist, he had been the Managing Director of New York's St. Regis, the New York Palace and the Beverly Hilton.
Mark Huntley has been appointed Senior Vice President Operations at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The Englishman was most recently running London's Savoy for Fairmont, following ten years at the helm of the Fairmont San Francisco.
Tobias Mattstedt has been promoted by MGM MIRAGE to Vice President Corporate Development and International Operations. He had most recently held dual roles at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, as both Vice President Development and Vice President of Operations for Skylofts. He originally joined the MGM Grand in 2001 as Vice President of Food and Beverage.
Robert Katz has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts. Ed Mace has resigned as the President of Vail Resorts' subsidiary Rockresorts. Former Rockresorts Vice President Operations William Hall becomes Vice President – Lodging Division for Vail Resorts.
Paul Westbrook has been promoted to Senior Vice President Product and Brand for Ritz-Carlton based in Chevy Chase. A Lausanne graduate, he was most recently at the Ritz-Carlton Washington DC as the Vice President and Area General Manager.
Adriaan Radder has taken over from Westbrook at the Ritz-Carlton Washington DC. He was most recently the General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City.
Kai Speth has transferred to the Park Hyatt Los Angeles as General Manager, taking over from Malcolm Thompson who has left the Hyatt fold. Speth was most recently the General Manager at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa. He previously headed up food and beverage at the Grand Hyatt Taipei and the Grand Hyatt Bali.
Scott Mason has been appointed General Manager of the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa replacing Kai Speth. Mason has been the Executive Assistant Manager at the Park Hyatt Chicago following stints at the Grand Hyatt New York, the Hyatt Regency Cerromar and the Stanhope Park Hyatt.
Alex Andrade has been named General Manager of Yacht Haven in St. Thomas. He was most recently the General Manager at the Mayan Palace in Manzanillo. He is also a former General Manager of the Hyatt Cancun Caribe.
Patrick Brizio will be the opening General Manager at Discovery at Marigot Bay on St. Lucia. The soon-to-open property was originally managed by Sonesta but is now part of Grace Leo Andrieu's GLA Hotels. Brizio is the former Managing Director of Frégate Island in the Seychelles and was previously at the Lyford Cay Club in the Bahamas.
At Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island, General Manager Martijn Brouwer will be leaving after six years (and a total of nine years with the Virgin Group). He will be replaced by Shawn and Beverly Matthews, who had been the resort's original Managers, back in 1982. They had since spent some time with Adrian Zecha's Amanresorts, prior to opening and running the enormously successful Twin Farms for Thurston Twigg-Smith. The Matthews had returned to Amanresorts in 2005 to work on their Norman's Cay project in the Bahamas.
As for Martijn Brouwer he will be the Co-Manager, with Laura McCraith, of the exclusive, seven-room Palmasola on Mexico's chic Punta Mita.
Pippa Ona Williamson will be named General Manager at Cotton House taking over from Nicholas Simmonds who will be leaving the company. Williamson is the Hotel Manager at the Royal Riviera in St. Jean Cap Ferrat. Like Cotton House, the Royal Riviera is part of Paris-based GLA Hotels.
John Hutar is the Vice President of Hotel Operations for the MGM Grand Detroit due to open in early 2008. For the past nine years, Hutar had been the General Manager of the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. Hutar's successor at the Nikko is Anna Marie Presutti, a former Kimpton executive now in her second year as Nikko's Director of Sales and Marketing.
Samuel Huegli has been named General Manager at the Sheraton Hotel and Casino in Puerto Rico. He was most recently the Director of Hotels at the Porto Carras Grand Resort in Greece and has previously been handling operations at the Palmas del Mar Country Club and the Caribe Hilton both in Puerto Rico.
Geoff Stewart has been named General Manager of the Sheraton Bradley Hotel in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. He had previously worked for Interstate, InterContinental and Marriott.
Michael Hoe-Knudsen is the new General Manager of the Holiday Inn SunSpree®Resort in Montego Bay. A Cornell graduate he previously held various positions with InterContinental hotels in Frankfurt, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Rio and most recently as Hotel Manager of the Tamanaco InterContinental Caracas.
Lucy Ruiz has taken over from Lionel Alvarez as the General Manager of Paraiso de la Bonita in Mexico. Alvarez has moved back to Europe to be the General Manager of the Castillo Son Vida in Mallorca.
Ellen Ruane-Johnson has been appointed General Manager at the Founders Inn in Virginia Beach. She was most recently the Director of Operations at the North Maple Inn in New Jersey.
Seth Horowitz is running both the Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard Bel Air and the Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills. Horowitz began his career in his native South Africa at the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg and was until recently the Vice President of Hotel Operations for the Oceana Hotel Group.
The Ocean Edge Resort & Club on Cape Cod has named John Murtha General Manager. Prior to joining Ocean Edge, Murtha spent a decade as General Manager of the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston, Sonesta Beach Resort Bermuda and Sonesta Beach Resort & Casino Curaçao.
The Blackstone Group has promoted Matthew La Vine to General Manager of the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Florida from the position of Hotel Manager at the Bel Age in West Hollywood. La Vine also toiled as Front Office Manager at the defunct St. Regis Los Angeles. In addition, he was with Four Seasons for ten years in Dallas, Toronto, Carlsbad and Beverly Hills.
Armel Santens is the new General Manager at the Bel Age with the tall order to transform the hotel into The London-Los Angeles, a lifestyle hotel featuring a restaurant by Gordon Ramsay. Santens was until recently the Managing Director at the Brown Palace in Denver.
Cornellman John Sharpe, who had retired from the position of Chief Operating Officer with Four Seasons (a company with which he spent twenty two years), will be the Chief Operating Officer of the upcoming 400-room Charlie Palmer Hotel in Las Vegas. Interior designer Adam Tihany will be a partner in the project.
Bryan Forsythe has been named General Manager at Berry Hill Plantation in Virginia. He was previously the Director of Operations at Stonewall in West Virginia.
Tom Petot has been appointed General Manager of the Inn By The Sea on Crescent Beach in Maine. Petot, a Cornell graduate, was previously managing the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia.
Sarah Cruse has accepted the position of General Manager of the Peninsula Group's Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley. She was previously the General Manager of the Olympic View Golf Club and the Furry Creek Golf and Country Club both on Vancouver Island.
Tracy Pikhart Ritter has been promoted from Director of Food and Beverage to General Manager at Sunrise Springs in Santa Fe. Ritter had also been the Executive Chef at the Golden Door Spa in California.
Ron Vuy has been appointed General Manager and Regional Area Director of Dolce International's Lakeway Resort and Spa in Austin. He was most recently the General Manager of the Oak Brook Hills Resort in Chicago and previously the Managing Director at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens.
Kevin Osterhaus has been named General Manager at Casa Casuarina in Miami. For the past nine years, Osterhaus was with Pinehurst Resorts at the Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin and the Daufuskie Island Club and Resort on Hilton Head Island.
Alejandro Rueda has accepted the position of General Manager at the Hotel Basico in Mexico. He spent several years in Sales and Marketing with Presidente InterContinental Hoteles.
Mark Steenge is the new General Manager at Nine Beaches in Bermuda. He was briefly the Director of Fine Dining at the MGM Grand Las Vegas and previously ran Restaurant Lumière in Vancouver.
Chauncey Copeland has been appointed Hotel Director of the Fisher Island Hotel and Resort. He replaces Courtney Tai. Copeland was most recently the General Manager of the Beach House also in Miami Beach.
Hans Schaepman has joined the Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena as Executive Assistant Manager Rooms. He was most recently the Director of Operations at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove and has been with the company since 1992 in such properties as the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort Naples, the Ritz-Carlton Sharm El Sheikh, the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, the Ritz-Carlton Sydney, the Ritz-Carlton New York and the Ritz-Carlton Boston.
Edward Boylan has been promoted at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne to Executive Assistant Manager Rooms Division. He comes from the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes where he was the opening Assistant Director of Rooms.
Robert Rechtermann has been appointed Resident Manager at the award-winning Peninsula Chicago, filling the spot left vacant when Colm O'Callaghan left to become the General Manager of the Conrad Chicago. Most recently the Director of Operations at the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common, Rechtermann had, like Peninsula Chicago General Manager Maria Razumich-Zec, previously toiled at the Waldorf=Astoria and the Hilton at Short Hills.
David Bodette is leaving the Langham Boston, where he had been the Director of Food and Beverage for the past two years, to become the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Boston. Prior to his move to Boston, he had served as Director of Food and Beverage at Auberge du Soleil.
Omar Said has been appointed Director of Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota. He was most recently at the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas were he was the Executive Assistant Manager, Rooms Division.
Reto Torriani will be joining the no-longer-a Rockresort Cheeca Lodge as Resort Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the newly opened Dolphin Bay Hotel and Residences in Shell Beach, where he was replaced by Shaw William McPherson, formerly the Director of Food and Beverage at the Sunset Towers in West Hollywood. At Cheeca, Torriani joins General Manager Jerry Broz, formerly of Auberge Resorts' Inn at Palmetto Bluff.
Kim Phoebus has moved to Thompson Hotels as Vice President Finance. She was most recently the Controller at the St. Regis New York.
Rabih Feghali has been named Director of Operations at the Westin Governor Morris. He was most recently at the Melrose in New York as Director of Rooms and following various operational positions at the New York Palace.
Didier Belmonte has been named Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage at the Bodyholiday at LeSport in the Caribbean. He was most recently the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Madinat Jumeirah Dubai and previously worked at the Chedi Muscat and the Royal Mirage in Dubai.
Antoine Maalouf has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Sunset Towers in West Hollywood, taking over from Shaw McPherson. Maalouf was most recently at the Beverly Hilton as Associate Director of Food and Beverage. He previously assumed a similar role at the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Westin Bonaventure.
Eric Dupaix has accepted the position of Director of Food and Beverage at the Westin Times Square. He comes from the same position at the Essex House. Dupaix also served as Food and Beverage Director at Rosewood's Carlyle for three years.
Avinash Haksar has replaced Brooke Gardner as the Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Haksar was most recently the Director of Beverage for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He previously ran food and beverage at the Westin St. Francis and the Westin Century Plaza. Second time around with Four Seasons for Haksar who used to be the Director of Banquets at the former Four Seasons Olympic in Seattle.
At the MGM Grand Las Vegas, Alex Jureeratana has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Mansion, which includes the Mansion Dining Room, L'Atelier and Joel Robuchon at the Mansion. Jureeratana was most recently the General Manager at the MGM Grand's Shibuya and was previously at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas.
Guillaume Flament has been promoted at the Westgate in San Diego to Director of Food and Beverage. He had joined the hotel in 2001 as the Banquet Manager from his position at the Ritz in Paris where he was the Catering Sales Manager.
Farzin Khorsandjamal has been named Director of Food and Beverage at Estancia La Jolla. He was most recently a Food and Beverage Manager at Raffles L'Ermitage Beverly Hills and previously served as Restaurant Manager at the defunct Aqua at the St. Regis Monarch Beach.
Inga Heubach has joined the Boulders as Food and Beverage Operations Manager. She was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at Campton Place in San Francisco.
Ramón Arrau has been appointed Food and Beverage Director at the Grenada Grand Beach. He was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage of the Lodge Kura Hulanda and Beach Club in Curacao.
Olivier Glattfelder has been appointed Rooms Division Manager at the Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin. For the past six years, he was the General Manager of the Porches Inn in Massachusetts.
Rosalyn Smith has been appointed Area Director of Human Resources at the Omni Atlanta. She originally joined Omni in April 1999 and has been in Human Resources at the Omni Austin Downtown, the Omni Austin Southpark and the Omni Mandalay in Dallas.
Julia Gajcak is now the Vice President Marketing and Communications for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company based in Chevy Chase. She was most recently the Vice President, Communications for the company and previously has served as Director of Public Relations at the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa.
Michael Doneff has been named Vice President Marketing for SBEHG, SBE Hotel Group, the hotel company owned by Sam Nazarian. SBE will be launching its own brand of hotels all to be designed by Philippe Starck. Doneff comes from the respected Susan Magrino Agency in New York, where, as the agency's Executive Vice President, he handled such hospitality accounts as One&Only Resorts and Blackstone's LXR Luxury Resorts.
The Hotel Twin Dolphin in Cabo San Lucas has employed Rowena Jurado as Director of Sales. Jurado was most recently at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay as National Travel Industry Sales Manager.
Peter Cronin has been name Director of Sales at the Omni Atlanta. Previously, he was Vice President of Sales for Associated Luxury Hotels International and has served as the Assistant Director of Sales for the Hilton Atlanta & Towers.
Aileen Carreon has joined the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills as Director of Sales. She was at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey for the past four years and previously at Raffles L'Ermitage.
Tony Rodriguez has been promoted from Director of Sales to Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Miami. He was previously the Director of Sales at the Four Seasons Philadelphia and the Group Sales Manager at the Four Seasons Houston.
Marie Denebeim has joined Leading Hotels of the World as Sales Manager based in Mill Valley. She was most recently with Wyndham as Director of National Sales.
Steven Eidelberg has been named Director of Travel Industry Sales for Noble House Hotels & Resorts to be based in New York City. He was with Sonesta Hotels, Resorts & Nile Cruises most recently headquartered in Miami as the Regional Director of Travel Industry Sales. During his ten years with Sonesta he was the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Chateau Sonesta New Orleans, as well as the Director of Leisure Sales and Tour and the Travel Sales Manager at the Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne.
Susan Benshoff has been appointed Corporate Director of Revenue Management at Noble Investment Group. Prior to joining Noble, Benshoff was Central Director of Revenue Management for Wyndham International.
Janelle Cornett has been named Corporate Director of Revenue Management for the Coastal Hotel Group. Most recently, Cornett was Director of Catering and Group Revenue Management at the Waldorf=Astoria, the first position of its kind in the Hilton organization.
Nelson Garrido has been appointed Vice President of Information Technology at Noble Investment Group. He joins from Dolce International where he held a variety of positions culminating in Senior Director of Global Technology.
Paula Winkler has been promoted to Chief Information Officer for Carlson Hotels Worldwide. She was previously the Vice President of Technology and Program Executive for Carlson Global Solutions.
David Federico has joined the Boulders as Director of Rooms. He had been the Director of Housekeeping at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, after serving as Director of Front Office Operations at both La Mansion Del Rio and the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa.
The Langham in Boston has promoted Mark Sapienza to Executive Chef replacing Daniel Kenney, who is moving to Washington, D.C. Sapienza originally joined the hotel in 1998 and after a brief intermission, rejoined the culinary team in March 2004 as Chef de Cuisine for the Julien restaurant. In addition, he has worked at the Boston Harbor Hotel and Claridge's in London.
Daniel Kenny takes over for Guenael Le Berre as Executive Chef at the Willard InterContinental. Kenny was most recently at the Langham Boston where his successor is Mark Sapienza.
Michel Piéton is the new Director of Culinary Operations at the Boulders in Arizona. He had been with Four Seasons since 1975 in Texas, Chicago and since 1986, at the Four Seasons Newport Beach as Executive Chef.
Frédéric Castan will be joining the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and Spa as Executive Chef. Castan was most recently in the same position at the Sofitel Water Tower in Chicago. He had also been the Executive Chef at Big Horn Country Club in Palm Springs, the Westin South Coast Plaza, Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club and the Ritz-Carlton Huntington.
At Wynn Las Vegas, talented Alsatian Eric Klein is out as the Chef of SW Steakhouse where he has been replaced by David Walzog. The latter had been the Chef at Wynn's Country Club restaurant, where he had replaced Jimmy Sneed (who had left prior to opening).
Chris Shackelford, who had been the Sommelier at Erna’s Elderberry House Restaurant at the Chateau du Sureau for the past ten years, has opened his own restaurant, in nearby Clovis, California.
Scott Simpson has been appointed Executive Chef at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Renaissance Hotel & Marriott Lake Chalet Apartments in Mumbai, India.
Guillaume Brard is the new Executive Chef at Nine Beaches in Bermuda, following five years with InterContinental in Cleveland and Beirut. As the Chef de Cuisine at Classics at the InterContinental Cleveland, Brard was credited for earning the restaurant an AAA Five-Diamond rating.
Philip Mahl has recently joined the culinary team at the Maidstone Club in Southampton. He rejoins mentor Executive Chef Ian Scollay under whom he had worked in the kitchens at La Grenouille. His resume also includes stints at Per Se under Thomas Keller and at Maestro at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner under Fabio Trabocchi.
Darren McCabe has joined the new Hilton Financial District in San Francisco as Executive Chef. He comes from the McKinley Chalet Resort in Alaska.
Brian McBride has been named Executive Chef at the Blue Duck Tavern in Washington, DC. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Park Hyatt Washington, DC.
Alvaro Arbeloa will be joining the team for the re-opening of Ceiba del Mar Spa Resort in Riviera Maya. He was previously the Executive Chef at the Mantra Resort in Punta del Este.
Joshua Nudd has been named Chef de Cuisine at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. Most recently the Chef de Cuisine at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental responsible for Hoku's Restaurant, he had logged eight years at the Peninsula Beverly Hills under the Island's Executive Chef Bill Bracken.
Wendy Little has accepted the position of Chef de Cuisine at the Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa. Little began her career at San Ysidro Ranch and has since served in the kitchens of Mustard's Grill in Napa Valley, the Four Seasons Biltmore, Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur and the Jacksonville Inn in Oregon. A champion of organic cuisine, Little then successfully opened and ran ZigZag in Carmel.
Maxim Ridorossi has been appointed Chef at the King Pacific Lodge in British Columbia. He previously worked in the kitchens of West Restaurant, Sooke Harbour House and Cafe Brio, all in British Columbia.
Truman Jones has been named Chef de Cuisine at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas overseeing Restaurant Medici. He was most recently the Executive Chef at Friday Harbor House in the San Juan Islands. Jones has also been the Executive Sous Chef at Campton Place in San Francisco.
David Werly has moved to New York as Executive Sous Chef at the new Le Cirque. He comes from Le Cirque in Mexico City.
Regis Monges has transferred as Pastry Chef to the soon-to-open Le Cirque in New York City. He had been the opening Executive Pastry Chef at Le Cirque Mexico City.
Chris Wessling has returned to Las Vegas to accept the General Manager position at Simon Kitchen & Bar. He had local experience at several MGM Grand outlets before he departed to run food and beverage operations at the Aspen Meadows Resort.
Isabelle Husser has transferred as Wine Director from Le Cirque in Mexico City to Le Cirque in New York City. She used to be the Assistant Chef Sommelier at Le Cirque 2000.
Bob Kelly has been hired as the new Sommelier for Piero Selvaggio's Valentino at the Venetian, filling the position left vacant when Steven Hua left to become the Sommelier at Michael Mina's Nob Hill at the MGM Grand.
Samantha Telesford has transferred as Spa Director to the Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena. Telesford was most recently in the same position at the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort Jamaica. She was previously the Spa Director at Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort in the Bahamas.
Holly Cohen has joined Estancia La Jolla as Spa Manager. She came from the Steiner Day Spa Group.
EUROPE
Hotelier Giles Shepard, has died of cancer in London. He had guided the Savoy Group through its battle against takeover by the Forte Group, and then moved in the mid-1990s to the Ritz London. He had retired from the Ritz in 2004.
Clement Barter will be retiring from Conrad International, the company he helped build as Hilton Hotels Corporation's international luxury brand. He was the driving force in the opening of Conrad's earlier and finest properties in Brussels, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Singapore and Dublin. With Barter's departure, Conrad will shed its Brussels headquarters to share office space with sister company Hilton International in Watford, England. Prior to starting Conrad, Barter had a distinguished career with InterContinental.
Richard Blamey, who had joined Conrad in 2001 as Vice President Marketing, is promoted to Senior Vice President and Brand Manager and gets to move to Watford.
Michael Wale has been promoted by Starwood to Senior Vice President Operations for Le Méridien. Based in London, he will also continue to be the Area Director of Operations for the group's twenty-one hotels in North Western Europe.
Franka Holtmann has rejoined the Dorchester Group as General Manager of the Hotel Meurice, taking over from long-time General Manager Dominique Borri. Holtmann had left the Plaza-Athénée after three years as Hotel Manager to become the General Manager of the recently sold Hotel de Crillon.
Noel de Munck has transferred as General Manager to the City Hilton in Brussels. He has been with Hilton International Hotels since 1992 most recently as the General Manager at the Luxembourg Hilton.
Andreas Jersabeck has been appointed General Manager at the Imperial Hilton in Croatia. He previously served as General Manager at the Watford Hilton, the Trafalgar Hilton and the Park Lane Hilton both in London.
Philip Skitch has been named General Manager of the Thistle Piccadilly Hotel and the Thistle Trafalgar Square Hotel. Skitch was most recently consulting in Berlin following a stint as Executive Assistant Manager at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel in New York.
Michael Metaxas is the new General Manager at the Metropolitan Hotel – Athens, a member of Chandris Hotels and Resorts. He was previously the General Manager of the Anassa in Cyprus.
Gastone Di Domenico has been named Managing Director for Amthotels based in Palermo. For the past five years, he had been with the Il Ciocco Hotel and Resort.
Raul Salcido has accepted the position of Hotel Manager at Ritz-Carlton's Hotel Arts Barcelona. He transfers from the Ritz-Carlton Santiago where he held the same position.
Jacques Vitu has been appointed General Manager of the Andrassy Hotel in Budapest. He was previously with Le Plaza Brussels and the Conrad Brussels. He spent seven years with InterContinental in various capacities.
Stefan-Peter Buchs is the new General Manager at the Millennium Mayfair in London. He was most recently the General Manager at the Radisson SAS Hotel Praha where he started as the Director of Sales and Marketing.
Vito Romeo has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager at the Conrad Brussels. He comes from the Dorchester Hotel Group where he served as Food and Beverage Director at the Hotel Principe di Savoia. Romeo previously worked as the Director of Operations and Development for the Alain Ducasse Group in New York.
Olaf van der Horst has accepted the position of Director of Food and Beverage at the Rive Gauche St Jacques Hotel and Conference Center in Paris. The property will be re-branded Marriott at the end of 2007 after extensive renovations. He was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at the Renaissance La Défense Paris and the Dayton Marriott.
Pascal Rey has been named Director of Business Development at the Royal Luxembourg. Until last year, Rey was the Director of Marketing at the Palace Gstaad.
Olivia Aubry has been named Director of Sales and Marketing of the Ritz in Paris. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ambassador Concorde.
After three years as Director of Sales and Marketing at Paris' Hotel Louvre Concorde, Laeticia Elmaleh has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing at both the Ambassador Concorde and Concorde St. Lazare Hotels.
Stéphane Ferrec is the new Executive Housekeeper at the Dolce Domaine de Chantilly, following three years as Assistant Executive Housekeeper at the Hotel Montalembert.
Laurent Delarbre is the new Executive Chef at Café de la Paix at the Grand Hotel Intercontinental Paris. Delarbre was previously at the Hotel Astor Saint-Honoré and at the Ritz.
Jean-Francois Sicallac is leaving La Tour d'Argent to open his own restaurant, La Coquille in Concarneau. He had been the Chef de Cuisine at La Tour d'Argent for the past six years. Stéphane Haissant, his Executive Sous Chef, will be his successor on a temporary basis.
Christophe Kelsch will be joining Executive Chef Michel Roth as General Manager of the fine-dining restaurant L'Espadon at the Ritz Paris. Kelsch, who started his career at the Ritz London became the Assistant General Manager of the restaurant Le Cinq at the Four Seasons George V in 2001. In 2003, he was named Director of Food and Beverage at the Elysées du Vernet.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Mark Brown has joined the Sands Macau as President. Brown was most recently the President of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts.
Craig Smith has been promoted to Area Vice President Asia for Marriott International based in Hong Kong. He was most recently the General Manager of JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa and has been with Marriott International since 1988.
Pieter van der Hoeven has joined the Evason Hideaway and Evason Resort in Thailand as General Manager. He was previously the Resident Manager of the Anantara Resort and Spa Hua Hin and the Rooms Division Manager at the Peninsula Bangkok.
John Marshall has been named General Manager at the Te Tiare Beach on the island of Huahine in French Polynesia. He previously served as General Manager and Director of Operations for a variety of resorts, including Pacific Explorer Hotels, the Captain Cook Beach Hotel, Bali Hai Hotels and the Société Hotelière de Taharaa et Bora Bora.
Malcolm Thompson is returning to Tokyo as the opening General Manager of the Peninsula. He previously ran the Park Hyatt Tokyo before transferring as General Manager to the Park Hyatt Los Angeles. He joined the company in 1984 at the Hyatt Regency Sydney.
Gerd Knaust has been named General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Sanya. He joined Mandarin Oriental in 1994, as the Executive Chef at the Oriental Singapore where he was subsequently named Director of Food and Beverage before moving as General Manager to the Mandarin Oriental Surabaya. His most recent assignment was as the Hotel Manager of the Excelsior in Hong Kong.
John Webb transfers as General Manager of the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. He was most recently the General Manager at JW Marriott Mumbai.
Peter Wynne has been appointed General Manager at Raffles Beijing. He was most recently the General Manager at the Taj Exotica Resort and Spa in the Maldives and previously the General Manager of the Taj Lake Palace and the Taj Falaknuma Palace. Prior to joining Taj, Wynne ran the Lemuria Resort in the Seychelles, following a three-year stint at the helm of Begawan Giri on Bali.
Sven Isberg has transferred to the Chongquing Hilton as General Manager. He had previously been with Hilton International as General Manager at the Parmelia Hilton, the Seoul Grand Hilton and the Beijing Hilton.
Jay Leonard has been appointed General Manager of the Radisson Waikiki Prince Kuhio. He previously oversaw the conversion of the Radisson Orlando to the Doubletree Hotel at the entrance to Universal Orlando.
Maximilian Pleyer has been promoted from Hotel Manager to General Manager of the World Trade Hotel and Service Apartments in China taking over from Terry Ko who is joining Starwood as General Manager of the soon to open Sheraton at Chansha, Hunan Province. Pleyer has previously been with Hilton, Westin and Dusit Thani.
Akram Touma has joined the Méridien Shanghai as the opening General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager at the Westin Resort Macau and previously the General Manager at the Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel and the Sheraton Guilin.
Phan Ing Pai is the pre-opening General Manager at the Hotel Soul in Suzhou, China. He was most recently at the Swiss-Belhotel on the Park in Wuhan.
Spencer Wadama has been transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Osaka as Executive Assistant Manager Rooms Division. He comes from the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay where he held the same position. His previous assignments with Ritz-Carlton took him to Atlanta, Dearborn, Hawaii and San Francisco.
The Kahala Resort has appointed Sharon Klaschka as Director of Sales. She was most recently the Director of Leisure Sales at the Fairmont Kea Lani for the past fourteen years and previously at the Stouffer Wailea Beach and Maui Intercontinental.
At Honolulu's Kahala Resort, Vernon Hulihe'e has been promoted to Associate Director of Sales, International. Hulihe'e has been involved in international sales with the hotel for more than ten years. He has also been involved in international sales for Sheraton Hawaii and Halekulani.
Bradley Packer has joined the Four Seasons Resorts of Lanai as Director of Public Relations. He was previously heading up public relations for Noble House Hotels & Resorts and Island Outpost.
Sonny Ang has joined the opening team of the Méridien Shanghai as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently with Hilton International based in Shanghai, overseeing the National Sales Office and was previously on property overseeing sales and marketing at the Hilton Shanghai.
Elaine Chin is now at the Westin Beijing as Director of MICE. She was most recently at the Sheraton Dongguan where she began as Director of Catering and was promoted to Director of Sales.
Sean Spinks has transferred to the Grand InterContinental Seoul as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage. He was previously the Director of Food & Beverage at the Crowne Plaza Dubai.
Patrick Robineau is the new Director of Food and Beverage at the Raffles Grand Hotel D'Angkor. He was most recently the acting Food and Beverage Director at the Trans Asia Hotel in Sri Lanka and was previously in food and beverage at the Millennium Hotel in London, Boudoir in Dubai, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and One Aldwych in London.
Jess Lam has been promoted to Rooms Manager at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur. He was most recently the Front Office Manager for three years at the property and previously at the Marriott Kuala Lumpur.
Patrick Behrens has transferred to Raffles The Plaza in Singapore as Food and Beverage Manager. He previously held the same position at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh. His successor there is Frank Bochmann.
Laurent Le Deu has joined the Peninsula Group's Repulse Bay Hotel in Hong Kong as Food and Beverage Manager. He had recently been the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Al Bustan Palace in Oman. This is a return to Hong Kong for Le Deu who previously spent three years at the Excelsior.
Joachim Textor has been named Executive Chef at the soon-to-open Regent Beijing. He was most recently at the Westin Chosun Seoul following eight years at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel Singapore.
Denis Lartigue has left Hilton International after fourteen years and joined the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong as Executive Chef. Lartigue was in the kitchens for Hilton in Barbados, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Chicago.
Thomas Laberer has joined the Singapore Hilton as Executive Chef. He was most recently overseeing the kitchens at the Shanghai Hilton.
Jean-Christophe Basseau has joined the Méridien Bora Bora as Executive Chef. He was most recently in the same position at the Legends Resort in Mauritius following two years as Executive Chef at Udaivilas in India.
Guenael Le Berre has been appointed Executive Chef at the Osaka Hilton. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Willard InterContinental in Washington, DC and previously the Executive Chef at the Elyseum Resort in Cyprus and the Banyan Tree Bangkok.
Benny Dong has been named Executive Chef at the World Trade Hotel in China. He was most recently at the Westin Shanghai where he served as Senior Sous Chef.
Frédéric Colin will be the opening Executive Chef at the St. Regis Bora Bora. He just spent three years with Hotels AB as Executive Chef at the Raleigh in Miami and the Sunset Beach on Shelter Island. No stranger to small islands, Colin spent several years on St. Barthélémy and Barbuda.
Jean-Francois Pelaez is the new Executive Chef at the Imperial in New Delhi. He was most recently in a similar position at the Oberoi also in New Delhi and was previously the Executive Chef at Udaivilas in Udaipur. Prior to moving to India, Pelaez served as Executive Chef at the Lyford Cay Club in the Bahamas and the Four Seasons Mexico City.
Julien Jouhanaud has joined the Hilton Singapore as Chef de Cuisine at the Harbour Grill and Oyster Bar. He was previously at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV in Monaco.
Gilles Favre is heading to the ITC Welcomgroup in India as Corporate Pastry Chef. He was previously the Executive Pastry Chef at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel & Casino in Seoul and Casa de Campo and Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort, both in the Dominican Republic.
Philippe Daue has joined the Shangri-La Bangkok as Pastry Chef. He was most recently in the same position at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur.
At Christophe Megel's at-sunrice, the Singapore Culinary Academy and Spice Garden, Frédéric Deshayes is Chief Instructor for pastry and bakery; Alexandre Lozachmeur is Chief Chef Instructor and Elise Jouhanaud is Food and Beverage Manager. Deshayes previously worked at Paris' Plaza-Athénée as Assistant Pastry Chef with Christophe Michalak. Lozachmeur was previously with Alain Ducasse at the Plaza-Athénée as Sous Chef and Jouhanaud was previously with Alain Ducasse's Louis XV in Monaco as Assistant Food Beverage Manager.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Bahram Sepahi has transferred as General Manager to the Four Seasons Festival City in Dubai. He was most recently the General Manager of the Four Seasons Riyadh.
Francois Waller has been promoted to General Manager at the soon-to-open Sheraton Aleppo in Syria. He most recently served as Deputy General Manager at the Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel and Towers. A Lausanne graduate, Waller spent over five years with Shangri-La in Asia prior to joining Sheraton in Egypt in 1998.
Juan Uribe has been promoted General Manager of the Eko Hotels & Suites in Lagos. He was previously the Assistant General Manager for the property, the former Le Méridien Eko Hotel.
Paul McIntyre is the new General Manager at the Crescent Beach Hotel and Leisure Resort in the Azerbaijan Republic. He replaces Sean Halliday who is now in Vietnam. McIntyre was most recently a project manager for ESS in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
The Sheraton Miramar Resort El Gouna has named Klaus Christandl General Manager. He was most recently the Deputy General Manager at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Resort & Towers and previously at the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, the Mandarin Oriental in Macau and Manila and the Phuket Yacht Club Hotel & Beach Resort. Prior to joining Sheraton in Abu Dhabi in 2005, he held the position of Deputy General Manager at the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers.
John Pelling has transferred as the opening General Manager of the Jumeirah Al Khor in Dubai. He was most recently the General Manager of the Jumeirah Mina A'Salam where his successor is Richard Alexander.
Wolfgang Maier has been appointed General Manager at the Jeddah Hilton International. He was most recently the General Manager at the Cebu Hilton Resort and Towers. Maier also held General Manager posts at the Hilton Dalian, the Beijing Hilton, the Sydney Airport Hilton and the Kuching Hilton.
Jan Ifcic has been named Executive Assistant Manager at the Holiday Inn Downtown in Kuwait. He joined the Intercontinental Hotels Group in 1992 with his most recent assignments at the InterContinental Abu Dhabi, InterContinental Hotels Group Headquarters and the InterContinental London.
The Mövenpick Hotel Bur Dubai has promoted Prisca Lobo to Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing. Lobo started in the hotel industry in 1987 at the TAJ Mahal InterContinental Bombay and has been with the Mövenpick Hotel Bur Dubai since 2004 in various sales positions, most recently as Assistant Director of Sales.
Denis Dernault has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Domina Coral Bay in Egypt. Dernault was most recently at the Hilton Ethiopia after serving as Director of Food and Beverage at the Bora Bora Nui Resort and the White Sands Resort and Spa in the Maldives.
Sébastien Noat will be rejoining Shangri-La, this time in Dubai, as Director of Food and Beverage. He spent the past year opening the Monte Carlo Bay Resort. He previously served with Shangri-La in food and beverage for four years in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. A Lausanne graduate Noat also spent four years with Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, San Francisco and St. Thomas.
Willi Elsener has been appointed Group Director of Restaurants and Bars for Jumeirah International. He, who had been the Executive Chef at London's Dorchester for fourteen years, started consulting for Jumeirah in 2001.
Alfred Abi Moussa has been named Food and Beverage Manager at the Holiday Inn Downtown Kuwait. Abi Moussa has joined the InterContinental Hotels Group when he first started at the InterContinental Phoenicia in Beirut, later moving to the Carlton InterContinental in Cannes.
The Holiday Inn Downtown Kuwait has named Danny Kattar Executive Chef. Kattar started at the InterContinental Phoenicia in Beirut, and later moved to InterContinental Saint Julien, in Malta then to the InterContinental Doha as the Executive Sous-Chef.
