Geoffrey Ballotti, President, North America Division for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, will be leaving the company. After joining Sheraton in 1989, he had previously held the position of Executive Vice President of Hotel Operations for the North America Division. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Operations, for Starwood in Southern Europe and Managing Director of CIGA.
A few departures at Hilton as well, where Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Robert LaForgia, Executive Vice President Americas and Global Brands Thomas Keltner, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Grand Vacations Antoine Dagot, and Executive Vice President Brand Management Ernest Wooden have exercised their option to leave the company.
They follow similar recent departures by Hilton Executive Vice President and General Counsel Madeline Kleiner and Senior Vice President and Treasurer Mariel Joliet.
Red Lion Hotels has promoted Anupam Narayan President and Chief Executive Officer, taking over for Arthur Coffey who, after 27 years with the company, is retiring. Narayan was most recently the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the company.
Dimitri Zarikos has been named Regional Vice President and General Manager at the Four Seasons Toronto, taking over for Chris Hart. He has been with the company since 1997, starting out as Executive Assistant Manager at the Four Seasons New York and was most recently the opening General Manager of the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche. A Cornell/IHMI graduate, he also served as Hotel Manager of the Four Seasons Cairo at First Residence. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Zarikos spent nine years at the (Nikko) Essex House in New York.
Philip Baxter has joined the newly formed Palmer Hospitality Group in Beverly Hills as Vice President of Development. A Cornell graduate, Baxter was a Vice President with Tishman Hotels for fourteen years, prior to joining ILX Resorts, slightly over a year ago, as Executive Vice President of Development.
Mandarin Oriental has appointed Rajesh Jhingon General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, due to open in 2009 at City Center. Jhingon had been the General Manager of the Oriental Singapore since May 2004, and previously held General Manager positions at the Taj Exotica in the Maldives, and Amarvilas in India.
Bryan Austin has been appointed General Manager of the Lodge at Vail. He was most recently with the Wingfield Nevada Group in Las Vegas, where he served as President of Resort Operations for the past two years. Previously, he spent six years with Ritz-Carlton, holding posts in Dearborn, Cleveland and Laguna Niguel. Austin also spent ten years with Four Seasons in Hawaii, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
John Remmers has been appointed General Manager of the Magnolia Houston. He was previously the General Manager of the Hotel ZaZa, the former Warwick Houston. Remmers is also a former Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Omni and Dolce man.
At the Lake Lawn Resort in Wisconsin, John Martin has been named General Manager. He was previously the Vice President of Operations for the Chesapeake Hotel Group.
Shutters on the Beach has appointed Gregory Day General Manager. For the past thirty years, he had worked with Fairmont, most recently as Hotel Manager of the Fairmont Royal York. Day also held various posts for the company in San Francisco and New Orleans. In addition, he spent three years in the food and beverage division at Pebble Beach Resorts.
Judith Kalfon has been appointed General Manager of the Radisson Plaza Minneapolis. She most recently served as General Manager of the Marriott Richmond and the Lenox Suites Hotel in Chicago.
Carol Beecher has joined the Hob Knob Inn on Martha’s Vineyard as General Manager. For the past two years, she had been working with the Whatcom Hospice Foundation as Director of Development. She previously served as General Manager at the Hotel Bellwether, the Semiahmoo Resort & Spa and the Wyndham Seatac, all in Washington State.
Mark Sachais has been named Interim General Manager of the Trump Marina Casino Hotel, replacing Cathy Walker who has left the company. Sachais previously served as Vice President of Marketing for both Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Trump Plaza. Prior to joining the company, he served as Vice President of Finance for Harrah's Atlantic City and the Showboat Casino.
At Blackstone’s LXR, Daniel Mann has transferred to the Peaks in Telluride as General Manager, taking over for Eric Sather. For the past three years Mann held a similar position at LXR’s Boca Raton Resort and Club. He had previously overseen the Savoy in London under LXR Co-President Jean-Jacques Pergant. In addition, Mann spent eight years with Orient-Express, managing properties in Virginia, Maryland and New Orleans.
The Equinox Resort in Vermont has named Robert Morgan General Manager. He was previously a task force General Manager for HEI Hotels & Resorts.
William Brendel has been named General Manager of the Crockett Hotel and Assistant General Manager of its sister property, the Menger Hotel, both in San Antonio. Brendel was previously the General Manager of San Antonio’s Emily Morgan Hotel. He previously spent fourteen years with Loews Hotels, including three years as General Manager of the Loews Denver.
David Hall has been appointed General Manager of the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare, due to open September 2008. He was formerly the General Manager at the Chicago City Centre Hotel and Spa and has previously served as General Manager of the three hotels at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta.
Reto Gaudenzi has been named Owner’s Representative for the RIGroup of Hotels. He was most recently the Managing Director at Casa Casuarina in Miami.
Ameristar Casinos has named Reginald Fullwood, Jr. Senior Vice President and General Manager of Ameristar Black Hawk. He was most recently the Vice President and Operations Controller of Harrah's Atlantic City, after serving in various roles with the casino.
Steve Redkoles has been appointed General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton San Juan. He was previously the General Manager of the Costa Rica Marriott. In Puerto Rico, he takes over from Kevin Schwab, who has transferred to Macau with Ritz-Carlton.
Mark Hellrung has been named General Manager at the Four Seasons Las Vegas. He has moved from the island of Lana'i where he had been for the past four years, converting David Murdock’s Manele Bay Hotel and Lodge at Koele into the Four Seasons Lana'i at Manele Bay and the Four Seasons Lana'i, The Lodge at Koele. Hellrung joined Four Seasons fifteen years ago at the Pierre as Hotel Manager and has served as General Manager for the Four Seasons Houston and the Four Seasons Nevis. In Las Vegas, he takes over from George Cordon, who has retired.
The Westin Roco Ki in the Dominican Republic, has appointed Randall Ha pre-opening General Manager. He was most recently the Managing Director of the Westin & Sheraton Our Lucaya Resort. He also served as Managing Director for the Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian Hotels, General Manager of the Sheraton Maui and Hotel Manager for the Sheraton Waikiki and Sheraton Maui.
Domenick Buffone has been named General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Greenville, replacing Nancy Dudak, who has been promoted to General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Suites. Buffone has been with the company for thirty three years, most recently as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Savannah.
Froilan Ramirez has been promoted to General Manager of Sanibel Island’s Casa Ybel Resort, taking over for Awilda Rivera, who moved to Villas Caleton in the Dominican Republic. Ramirez joined Casa Ybel in 1995 and held positions of Resort Manager, Director of Operations and Revenue Manager.
Jim Root has joined the Glen Ivy Hot Springs as President. For the past three years, he had been the Director of Spa Operations at Sea Island. He also held similar positions for Miraval in Arizona and Meadowood in Napa Valley.
Tilo Joos has been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Buenos Aires. He most recently served as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, Caribbean and Central America for Hilton Hotels.
Norbert Relecker has been appointed General Manager for Chaminade at Santa Cruz. He was most recently the General Manager of the Highlands Inn in Carmel. He also served as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Houston Airport.
Gert Kopera has been promoted with Rosewood to the position of Corporate Director of Operations. For the past two years, he served the company as Managing Director of Corniche in Jeddah. Kopera previously managed Rosewood’s Dharmawangsa in Jakarta and held senior positions at the Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo, and both Al Faisaliah and Al Khozama, located in Riyadh.
Noble Investment Group has named Gary Rosenberg Vice President of Resort Operations. He was most recently the President of GKR Hospitality Group in Virginia and previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for ClubCorp Resorts.
Omni Hotels has appointed Austin Khan Vice President of Acquisitions and Development. Before joining Omni, Khan managed development and acquisition projects for OTO Development in Los Angeles.
Omni Hotels has named Rick LaValley Vice President of Finance. He was most recently the Area Director of Finance at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta.
The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, due to open this month, has appointed Diego Pineda Resident Manager. He began his career in the hospitality industry at the Boston Marriott Copley Place and has served as Director of Room Operations at the Panama Marriott and as Director of Services at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.
Sam Basu has been promoted at the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa in Puerto Rico to Resort Manager after joining the resort in May as Executive Assistant Manager/Director of Food and Beverage. Basu was previously with the Ritz-Carlton San Juan for ten years. He joined the resort as Restaurant Manager and through subsequent promotions, was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager/Director of Rooms Operations. Jorge Reyes has been promoted to Executive Assistant Manager - Rooms from his recent position as Director of Front of House Operations at the resort.
Virginia Appling has returned as Director of Finance to the Four Seasons Austin. She was the opening Director of Finance at the hotel in 1986, a position she held for ten years before moving to San Antonio. She was most recently the Financial Controller for Troon Golf.
Michael Florsheim has transferred to the Four Seasons Philadelphia as Area Director of Finance. He has been with the company for over ten years in Dallas, New York and, most recently, as Area Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Nevis. Mathias Cocuron, the Assistant Director of Finance, steps in to take over for Florsheim.
Saul Esquivel has been appointed Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Mexico City. He had been the Assistant Director of Finance at the property from December 2003 until April 2007, when he was promoted to Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Punta Mita.
Anne-Edith Cameron has been named Director of Operations at the Boulders. She comes from the nearby Royal Palms Resort & Spa where she held the same title. At the Boulders, Cameron joins fellow Lausanne graduate Michael Hoffmann, who has been the Managing Director since September 2005. Cameron also spent nine years at the San Ysidro Ranch as Rooms Division Manager, Resort Manager and General Manager.
Mathieu Larochelle has been appointed Director of Operations at the W Atlanta Midtown. He joins the hotel from the W Montreal where he was most recently the Director of Operations.
The Foxwoods Resort Casino has named Edward Stanton Vice President of Hotel Operations. Prior to joining Foxwoods, Stanton served as Hotel Manager at the Westin Copley Place in Boston.
John Shaffer has been promoted by Four Seasons to Director of Engineering for the soon-to-open Four Seasons Seattle. For the past four years, he had been the Assistant Director of Engineering at the Four Seasons Scottsdale. He returns “home” after starting with the company over twenty years ago at the former Four Seasons Olympic in Seattle, moving on to stints at the Four Seasons Aviara, the Four Seasons Wailea and the Four Seasons Los Angeles.
Judy Alberti has been appointed Vice President of Entertainment and Sports at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Alberti was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of the Dodge Theater in Phoenix. Prior to that, she was the Vice President of Entertainment for Station Casinos in Las Vegas.
The Wyndham Hotel Group has named Jeff Farina Vice President of Business Development. He was formerly the Chief Development Officer for Benchmark Hospitality and served in various positions with Doubletree Guest Suites, the Tarrytown Executive Conference Center and the Northland Inn.
Steven Shotsberger has joined Encantado in Santa Fe, as Director of Guest Services. He was most recently the Resident Manager at Malliouhana in Anguilla. He previously spent over five years in various roles at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, most recently as Director of Operations after joining the resort as Rooms Division Manager.
Omni Hotels has named Tom Walker Vice President of Revenue Management. Walker previously served as Executive Vice President of the Rainmaker Group.
Bart Buiring has moved as Vice President Food and Beverage with Ritz-Carlton. He transfers from Marriott International where he was the Area Director of Operations for Asia Pacific.
Brooke Gardner has transferred as Director of Food and Beverage for the Four Seasons New York succeeding, Sven Wiedenhaupt. Gardner was most recently in the same position at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. He has been with Four Seasons for over eighteen years in Atlanta, Dallas and Beverly Hills.
Joe Isidori has been named Vice President of Food and Beverage and Executive Chef for the newly launched Trump Hotel Collection. Isidori will also serve as Executive Chef for the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas. He previously served as Donald Trump’s Personal Chef as well as Chef for the Trump family.
FelCor Lodging Trust has appointed Donald Falgoust to the newly-created position of Vice President Food and Beverage. He was most recently with Remington Hotel Corporation as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage. Previously, he held various management positions with Wyndham, Global Hyatt and InterContinental.
El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa has appointed Eric Britten Director of Food and Beverage. Most recently, Britten served as President of his own company, Science Consultants and previously served as President and Managing Partner to ESB Restaurant Consultants.
Gianluca Passarella, formerly the Executive Assistant Manager at Paris’ Hotel Lotti Castiglione, is now the Director of Food and Beverage at the Mount Royal Club in Montréal.
Joel Rovics has been named Vice President of Marketing of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Rovics previously oversaw sales and marketing for the Silverton Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa and the Fantasy Springs Casino.
Paul Toner has been selected as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality. He was most recently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Asia Pacific for Marriott, based in Hong Kong. He previously served as Director of Marketing Central/Southern Asia and Pacific Islands for Marriott Hong Kong and as Area Director of Marketing for Marriott Pacific Islands.
Villa Group Resorts has appointed Alejandro De La Garza Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing for its Mexico resort properties in Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Sierra Madre, based in San Diego. Most recently, he served as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts’ ME Cabo and Melia Cabo Real Hotel in Cabo San Lucas.
Ronald Smith has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore. His last position was as pre-opening Director of Sales and Marketing for the W Hotel Ft. Lauderdale, slated to open in November. He previously held various sales and marketing positions for the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport, the Sheraton Burlington and the Westin Grand, Washington D.C.
Keith Hensley has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Hensley was formerly the Director of Sales and Marketing for Marriott Hotels & Resorts in Memphis.
Millennium Hotels & Resorts has appointed Jeff Weggeman Regional Vice President of Field Sales and Marketing. He was most recently with Aramark Harrison Lodging as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Previously, Weggeman spent eleven years with Dolce International.
The Whitetail Club & Resort in Idaho has named Rory Veal Vice President of Real Estate Sales and Marketing. Veal was most recently the Vice President of Real Estate Sales at Tamarack Resort.
Carlson Hotels Worldwide has appointed Baron Carr Vice President of Brand Marketing. He was most recently the Vice President of Branding and Multicultural Marketing for Allianz of America and previously held various positions at JPMorgan Chase.
Courtney Lowe has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. Lowe was most recently the Acting General Manager for the Equinox Resort & Spa in Vermont. In addition to previously serving as Director of Sales and Marketing for the resort, Lowe has also overseen sales and marketing at the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville.
Michael Donahue has joined La Quinta Resort and PGA West as Executive Director of Marketing. He previously served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Resort Properties Division for the Irvine Company. Donahue also served as Vice President of Marketing for KSL Resorts for three years.
George Fleck has transferred to open the new W Atlanta Midtown as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was most recently in the same position at the W Retreat & Spa Maldives. Fleck also held various sales and marketing positions for the W Los Angeles, W Chicago Lakeshore, Hyatt Regency Los Angeles, and the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf.
Karen Englund has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the JW Marriott at L.A. Live. She was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott.
Bill Andreorio has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hilton Newark Airport. He was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Premiere Hotel Princeton.
Craig Martell has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Radisson San Francisco Airport Bay Front. He has previously served in various sales positions for Amanresorts, the Villa Florence in San Francisco and the Sheraton Gateway Hotel San Francisco Airport.
Matt Vargas has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing at the Marriott Teaneck in New Jersey. He was most recently the Director of Group Sales at the Marriott Seaview Resort & Spa.
George Lazo has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany, New Jersey. A twenty-two-year Marriott veteran, he was most recently a Senior Account Executive at the Marriott Seaview.
Rusti Price has rejoined the Wynfrey Hotel at Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham, Alabama, as Director of Sales and Marketing after serving in Rooms Division for the hotel from 2005-2006. She was most recently the Director of Operations for Integral Hospitality and the General Manager for the Tutwiler Hotel, also in Birmingham.
Debbie Young has joined the Hotel Fifty in Portland, Oregon, as Director of Sales. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hilton Washington D.C. North.
Coral Hospitality has appointed David Gleim Regional Director of Sales, based in Atlanta. He was most recently the Director of Sales for the Wyndham Midtown Atlanta.
Melanie Koscelnak has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the Renaissance Pittsburgh. She was most recently the Director of Group Sales after joining the hotel in pre-opening as a Sales Manager.
El Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa has appointed Carol Peach Director of Sales and Marketing. Most recently, Peach was the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey. Prior to that, she served as both Vice President of Sales and Marketing for all Remington Hotels and Director of Marketing for the Ventura Beach Marriott.
The Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto has named Sabrina Utting Director of Sales and Marketing. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Sheraton Gateway.
Susan Barry has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the W Atlanta Downtown, due to open in early 2009. She was previously in the same position at the Westin Arlington.
Dawn Truemper has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the new St. Regis Buckhead to open in spring 2009. She was previously running sales and marketing at the Westin Buckhead.
Hawks Cay in the Florida Keys has named Signe Bjorndal Director of Sales and Marketing. She was formerly the Sales and Marketing Director at the Cheeca Lodge.
Joni Barkley has been appointed Director of Sales at Hawks Cay in the Florida Keys. She previously spent eight years as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine.
David Folzenlogen has joined the St. Regis San Francisco as Director of Group Sales. He previously served as Director of Sales at the Renaissance Parc 55 and as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Oakland Marriott City Center.
Dale Smith has moved with Four Seasons to the Worldwide Sales Office in San Francisco as Senior Sales Manager. He was most recently the Director of Sales for the Four Seasons Palo Alto, which he joined in pre-opening. He had previously served as Sales Manager for the Four Seasons San Francisco and the W San Francisco.
David Solis has transferred with Four Seasons to the Worldwide Sales Office in Dallas as Corporate and Travel Industry Sales Manager. He was most recently a Sales Manager for the Four Seasons Houston.
Kurt Schwan has been appointed Director of Catering and Convention Services at the W Atlanta Midtown. He previously served as Associate Director of Catering for the Westin Peachtree Plaza, Westin Buckhead, and Hilton Atlanta Downtown.
The InterContinental Tampa has named Robert Hayden Senior Catering Manager and Jenni Nelson Catering Manager. Hayden previously served as Associate Director of Catering at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach. Nelson most recently was a Catering Sales Manager at the Westin Harbour Island Hotel in Tampa.
At Four Seasons, Jacqui Pucci has been promoted to Senior Director of Human Resources, Labor Relations and Compliance, Americas. Since November 2005, she has been the Director of Human Resources at the Beverly Wilshire (a Four Seasons hotel). She was previously with the Four Seasons Newport Beach (now the Island Hotel) and originally joined the group as Director of Human Resources at the Pierre.
Patricia Michaud-Moerlins has joined the Denihan Hospitality Group in New York as Director of Talent Acquisition. For the past seven years, she was at the Waldorf=Astoria as Assistant Human Resources Director. Previously she served as Director of Human Resources at the Roosevelt, Windows on the World, the Drake Swissôtel and the Omni Park Central Hotel, all in New York.
Benchmark Hospitality International has appointed John Wood Vice President of Human Resources. Wood was most recently the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for the Sterling Companies. He previously served in various positions for John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods in Atlanta, Eastern Airlines and Continental Airlines.
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has appointed Brigitta Witt Vice President, Environmental Affairs. Most recently she was the Senior Director of Business Development and General Manager for GreenDimes.
Jean-Pierre Dubray is relocating from San Francisco to California’s Orange County as Executive Chef of the Irvine Company’s Resort at Pelican Hill. For the past seventeen years, he had been the Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco after joining the company in 1984 as the first dining room chef of the then newly opened Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. At Pelican Hill, Dubray joins a substantial contingent of former Ritz-Carlton people, including President Ralph Grippo, General Managers Giuseppe Lama and Thierry Grandsire, and Club Executive Chef Thomas Ryan.
At the Montage Beverly Hills, due to open in October, John Cuevas has been named Executive Chef. For the past four years, he has been with sister property Montage Laguna Beach under Executive Chef Jim Boyce. Cuevas had already worked under Boyce at Mary Elaine’s at the Phoenician and at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort.
Eric Gilchrist has moved to the East Coast to take over as Executive Chef of the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. He was most recently at the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco as Executive Sous Chef. In New York, he takes over from Eric Branger, who is now the Executive Chef at the soon-to-open Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.
Stephen Milstein has transferred as Executive Chef to the Westin Chicago River North. He was most recently in the same position at the Westin St. Louis. He had previously held various culinary positions at the Four Seasons Houston, the Hyatt Regency Dallas, the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, and the Four Seasons Dallas.
John Beriker has been promoted to Executive Chef at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. He was most recently the Head Chef at the resort, overseeing the restaurant Inn Fusion and has previously served in various culinary positions in Bangkok and Singapore.
Eighty-One is Chef Ed Brown’s new restaurant in the Excelsior Hotel in New York. Brown was previously the Executive Chef at the Sea Grill in Rockefeller Center and has held various culinary positions in New York at Marie-Michelle, and Maurice at Le Parker-Méridien. Juan Cuevas from Blue Hill joins Brown at Eighty-One as Chef de Cuisine.
Ray Garcia has joined the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica as Executive Chef, taking over from Jean-Claude Plihon. Garcia was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Peninsula Beverly Hills.
In Napa, Aaron Meneghelli is to take over the kitchen at Claude Rouas’ Angèle Restaurant, replacing Tripp Mauldin, who is now at Fringale in San Francisco. Meneghelli was the former Chef at Calistoga Ranch.
Christopher Blobaum will be the new Executive Chef at Auberge Resorts’ Inn at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he was, for the past four years, the Executive Chef and Founding Partner of Wilshire, a 180-seat Thomas Schoos-designed restaurant in Santa Monica. Blobaum also spent three years as Executive Chef of the Surf and Sand resort in Laguna Beach.
Paul Rogers has been appointed Executive Chef at The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera. Rogers previously spent five years as Kitchen Manager at the Terra Bistro in Vail, Colorado.
Jean-Louis Dumonet has joined the Union Club in New York as Executive Chef. For the past three years he had been with Saks Fifth Avenue in New York as Director of Food and Beverage after joining the company as their Executive Corporate Chef. He was previously the Executive Chef at the Carlyle.
Srijith Gopinathan has been promoted within Taj Hotels to take over as Executive Chef at Campton Place in San Francisco. He was most recently at the Taj Exotica Resort & Spa in the Maldives, where he served as Executive Sous Chef.
Thorsten Leighty has transferred to the JW Marriott Ihilani as Executive Chef. He was most recently at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa in Tucson as Executive Sous Chef. He previously served as the Executive Sous Chef at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Patina Restaurant after spending five years in various culinary positions in Germany.
Michael Buard has been promoted to Executive Chef at the InterContinental Buckhead. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the InterContinental Chicago.
At the Peninsula Chicago's award-winning Avenues restaurant, Chef Graham Elliott Bowles will be leaving to develop his own restaurant. Curtis Duffy, formerly the Chef de Cuisine at Alinea, will replace him.
Rémi Lauvand has joined Michel Richard’s Citrus at Jeffrey Chodorow’s Social Hollywood, as Executive Chef. He previously served as Executive Chef of Miro at the Bacara Resort, following two years at Drew Nieporent’s Montrachet and two years at Tropica also in New York. Prior to that, Lauvand spent over eight years at Le Cirque first as Sous Chef to Daniel Boulud, later as Executive Sous Chef to Sylvain Portay.
Jean-Marie Auboine has moved to Miami as Executive Pastry Chef for the Fontainebleau Resort. He spent the past five years in Mexico City as Executive Pastry Chef for the Hotel Presidente InterContinental. He is also a former Pastry Chef from the Two-Michelin-Starred La Pyramide in Vienne, France.
Chantelle Pabros has relocated to Chicago as Sommelier and Wine Director for Laurent Gras’ soon-to-open L.20 Restaurant, located where Ambria used to be. She was most recently a Sommelier at Bastide in Los Angeles. Previously, she was based in Atlanta as Wine Director at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.
At Chicago’s Cenitare Restaurants, former Charlie Trotter’s Sommelier Molly Wismeier has been appointed Director of Wines and Spirits. She is the successor to Belinda Chang, now the Wine Director at the Modern in New York for the Union Square Hospitality Group.
Ben Crofton has been appointed Restaurant Director for Gordon Ramsay’s new restaurant in the London Hotel, soon to open in Los Angeles/West Hollywood. He was most recently the West Coast Director for Quintessentially. Crofton previously served as Assistant General Manager at the French Laundry in Napa Valley.
Ramon Villegas has been promoted to Director of Restaurants for the Resort at Squaw Creek. Villegas formerly served as Six Peaks Grille Manager at the resort.
Nathan Griffin has joined W Atlanta Midtown as Director of Revenue Management. He was previously at the W San Diego in the same position.
David Ocampo has joined the W Atlanta Midtown as Director of Banquets. He was previously the Banquets Manager at the W San Francisco.
Raphael Pallais has been appointed Chef Concierge at the just re-opened Plaza in New York. Pallais previously served as Chef Concierge at the Peninsula New York, the InterContinental Paris and the Le Parker-Méridien New York.
EUROPE
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has appointed Ola Ivarsson Senior Vice President Europe. Ivarsson previously held the position of Vice President Germany, Austria and Switzerland for Hilton for five years. Before that, he was in charge of Hilton’ Eastern European operations as Vice President Eastern Europe, including Russia and the Baltic states. Ivarsson succeeds Stefan Flury, who is now the Director of Operations for Mövenpick’s hotel portfolio in Switzerland.
René Beauchamp has transferred to the Four Seasons Provence at Terre Blanche as General Manager. He was most recently the General Manager of the Four Seasons Prague. He has previously held positions for the Four Seasons New York, the Ritz-Carlton Chicago and the Four Seasons Toronto. Beauchamp replaces Dimitri Zarikos who was promoted and transferred to Toronto.
Gorka Bergareche is the new General Manager of the Hyatt Paris Vendôme, where he takes over from Arnaud de Saint Exupéry. Bergareche, who joined Hyatt in 1996, was most recently the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Sales and Marketing at the Park Hyatt Villa Magna in Madrid.
Giampaolo Otazzi has transferred with Orient-Express as General Manager at the Cipriani in Venice. He was most recently overseeing the Hotel Caruso in Ravello.
Luca Finardi has been appointed General Manager of Orient-Express’ Villa San Michele in Florence. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel Helvetia & Bristol also in Florence.
Stuart Chase has been named General Manager for the Swissôtel Grand Fes in Turkey. For the past two years he was the General Manager of the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain and has previously held executive level positions with Shangri-La.
Régis Volot has been named Hotel Manager of Dolce Chantilly, outside Paris, succeeding Jean-Jacques Devert. He was previously the property’s Financial Controller.
Stéphane Vohl, formerly the General Manager of the Hôtel Cheval Blanc in Courchevel, has been appointed General Manager of the Warwick Barsey in Brussels.
Jean-Michel Robier has been appointed Director of Operations at Paris’ Concorde Montparnasse. This is a promotion from his previous position of Assistant General Manager at sister property, the Château Hôtel Mont Royal outside Paris.
Nicolas Gonzalez has moved to Spain to oversee Aguas de Ibiza, slated to open in August. He was most recently the Resort Manager at the Ceiba del Mar Beach and Spa Resort in Mexico. Gonzalez previously served in various food and beverage management positions at the Cipriani Punta del Este Resort, the Miramar InterContinental Panama and the Real InterContinental Tegucigalpa.
Hans Heinz has been appointed General Manager of Operations for Aquapura Hotels Villas & Spas based in Lisbon. He has previously served as General Manager for the Fasano Hotel e Restaurante, Rio de Janeiro.
Eric Hallin has relocated to Spain to open Six Senses Latitude Jafre. He was most recently the General Manager for Sila Evason Hideaway & Spa in Samui.
Seth Lewis has transferred to the Hotel InterContinental London as Director of Food and Beverage, taking over for Clifford Weiner. Lewis, a Lausanne graduate, was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Grand Hotel InterContinental Paris. He previously served as Director of Brand Standards and Operational Support for InterContinental Hotels and Resorts and held various food and beverage management positions with the Royal Lancaster and First Great Western Trains.
Edouard Galisson has joined the Hotel Méridien Etoile as Director of Food and Beverage. He was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at the Hilton Paris Arc de Triomphe.
At the Westin Paris (formerly the InterContinental Paris) Laurent Dripole is on board as Director of Food and Beverage. A Cornell/IHMI graduate, he was previously the Director of Food and Beverage at the Radisson SAS in Nice.
Also at the Westin Paris, Alexandre Combier has been named Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He is a former Assistant Banquets Director from the Ritz Paris.
The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam has appointed Jeroen Sirag Director of Sales and Marketing, taking over from Elisa Soregaroli, who has moved to oversee sales and marketing at the InterContinental de La Ville in Rome. Sirag returns to hospitality from his most recently position as Senior Account Manager at Stage Entertainment/ Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties. He previously served in various sales and marketing capacities at the Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin, the Grand in Amsterdam and the Landmark and the Great Eastern Hotel in London.
Bruno Martin is the new Chief Engineer at Paris’ Marriott Forum Rive Gauche. He was previously the Chief Engineer at the Hotel Prince de Galles, also in Paris.
Frédéric Garnier, a former Sous Chef at Alain Ducasse’s Louis Quinze in Monte Carlo, is the new Chef at Le Mas de Pierre in St. Paul de Vence. Prior to joining Le Louis Quinze in 2004, Garnier was a Chef Instructor at Alain Ducasse Formation for three years.
At the Fairmont Monte Carlo, Maryan Gandon has been appointed Executive Chef, replacing Jacky Tornay who is retiring. Gandon comes from the InterContinental Phoenicia in Beirut.
Gilles Delaloy has joined the Istanbul Doors Restaurant Group as Executive Pastry Chef. He was most recently in Moscow with the Novikov Restaurant Group and has previously served as Pastry Chef for the Ritz-Carlton Singapore and the Datai in Langkawi.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Michael Issenberg has been named Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Accor Asia Pacific, taking over from David Baffsky based in Singapore. A Cornell graduate, Issenberg joined the company in 1994 and had previously held various management positions with Westin Hotels & Resorts.
The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts have appointed Onno Poortier President. A Lausanne graduate, he was with the Peninsula Group in Hong Kong from 1979 to 2000, rising from Front Office Manager at the Peninsula Hong Kong to President of the group. Since leaving Peninsula, Poortier was interim Chief Executive Officer and President of Indecorp (Preferred Hotels) in 2003 and 2004. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Frégate Private Island in the Seychelles.
Tom Roelens has transferred as General Manager to the Four Seasons Resorts Lana'i. For the past two years, he has been the General Manager of the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa. He had previously served as Hotel Manager at the former Four Seasons Newport Beach and Executive Assistant Manager at the Regent Jakarta.
Paul Jones has been promoted to the position of General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Singapore, following two and a half years as Hotel Manager of the legendary Oriental Bangkok. Prior to joining the group, Jones spent six years in India with Oberoi as General Manager of Rajvilas and Vanyavilas. In Singapore, he takes over from Rajesh Jhingon, who will be the opening General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas.
Kevin Schwab has been promoted to Vice President and Managing Director for the Ritz-Carlton Macao Studio City and the Macao Studio City Marriott. For the past three years, he had been the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton San Juan. He had previously served as General Manager for the JW Marriott Mexico City and the Marriott Panama City.
Riaz Mahmood, until now the Area General Manager, Indo-China, for Raffles Hotels and Resorts, has been appointed General Manager of Raffles Beijing. Mahmood has been a General Manager with Raffles for eight years and was appointed General Manager of Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in 2003 before assuming the role of Area General Manager, Indo-China, in 2006.
Peter Wynne has transferred as General Manager of Raffles Cambodia Hotels to oversee both Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh and Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, Siem Reap. This is his second post with the company after joining Raffles as the pre-opening General Manager of Raffles Beijing.
A few changes at GHM Hotels, where M.V. Puri has left his position as Senior Vice President, the Americas, to pursue other interests. Now Stephanie Lee has left her position with the group as Public Relations and Communications Manager. She takes over as Director Brand Development for Millennium & Copthorne International still based in Singapore.
Dirk de Cuyper has joined the Hotel Conrad Xintiandi in Shanghai as opening General Manager. He has previously served as General Manager of the Sanya Hilton Resort and Spa and as opening General Manager of the Hilton Hua Hin in Thailand.
Dominik Ruhl has been named General Manager of the Anantara Resort Maldives. He most recently was an Area General Manager for Per Aquum Resorts.
Timothy Wright has transferred to the Shangri-La Bangkok as General Manager, taking over from Gérard Sintès. He previously served as General Manager of the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and the Shangri-La New Delhi.
Raymond Bragg takes over for Wright at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort as General Manager. He is a former Executive Assistant Manager for the Shangri-La Resort Penang. He also served as the Executive Assistant Manager at the Shangri-La Fijian Resort and as the Director of Rooms at the Hyatt Regency Johor Bahru.
At the Four Seasons Langkawi, Jeff Rednour takes the position of Resort Manager, moving up from that of Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Houston. Rednour joined Four Seasons in 2000 and initially worked at the Corporate Office, eventually becoming the Corporate Rooms Division Manager.
The Dusit Thani Manila has named Frank Grassmann Hotel Manager. He previously managed the Dusit Thani, Bangkok. Grassman also served as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage at the Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City.
Panorama Hospitality in Tokyo has appointed Tatsushige Yonaha Chief Financial Officer. Yonaha was most recently the Director and Chief Financial Officer for Pacific Golf Group International Holdings. He has previously held various finance positions with PriceWaterhouse and the Coca-Cola Company.
John David has moved to the Four Seasons Bangkok as Area Director of Finance. He has been with Four Seasons for over thirteen years at various properties including the Four Seasons New York, the Four Seasons Austin, the Four Seasons Aviara and, most recently, the Four Seasons Philadelphia.
The InterContinental Bali has appointed John Rees, Jr. Director of Food and Beverage. Rees formerly served as Director of Culinary Operations at the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center. He is also a former Executive Chef of the Peninsula New York and the Ritz-Carlton St. Louis.
The Langham Place Beijing Capital Airport has appointed Michael Munro Director of Food and Beverage. Munro previously provided consulting services to hotels and a range of other food and beverage operations.
Jacques Oudinot has joined the Four Seasons Singapore as Director of Rooms. He was most recently at the Island Shangri-La Hong Kong as Executive Assistant Manager - Rooms.
Nelson Hilton has transferred as Director of Marketing to the Four Seasons Bangkok. He was most recently in the same position at the Four Seasons Tokyo at Chinzan-so. He previously held various sales and marketing positions at the Four Seasons Miami, the Four Seasons Austin, the Four Seasons Aviara and the Four Seasons Palm Beach.
The JW Marriott Shanghai has appointed Simon Dowell Director of Marketing. He was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Cheshunt Marriott Hotel, North London and has previously held various sales positions at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square and the Renaissance London Chancery Court Hotel.
Evelina Conti has joined Orient-Express at the Observatory Hotel in Sydney as Director of Marketing and will also oversee Lilianfels outside Sydney. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel de Russie in Rome.
Raffles Singapore has named David Watson Executive Chef. He was previously the Group Executive Chef at De Vere Hotel and Resort Group.
Gerardo Dereviziis has joined the Westin Guangzhou as Executive Chef. For the past four years, he had been with the Ramada Plaza Pudong as Executive Chef.
Danio Galli has been appointed Executive Chef for the JW Marriott Shanghai. He previously served as Executive Sous Chef at the JW Marriott Hong Kong and Chef at the JW Marriott Mumbai.
Eric Brunel has been named Executive Chef at Le Taha’a Island Resort & Spa, Tahiti. Most recently, Brunel spent a year as Executive Chef at Little Dix Bay. No newcomer to French Polynesia, Brunel was the Executive Chef at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort from March 1999 to August 2001.
Dusit International in Asia has appointed Tulaya Pornpiriyakulchai Director of Marketing and Communications. She was most recently with Lowe Worldwide international advertising agency as Creative Vice President where she developed the dusitD2 hotel brand concept.
Dusit International has appointed Karnokratt Chuthanondha Corporate Public Relations Manager. She has previously held various public relations positions for Thai TV Channel 3, Amexteam Advertising Agency and Initiative Media.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
Gérard Sintès has joined the One&Only Capetown as General Manager and Area Vice President for South Africa. For the past three years, he was the General Manager of the Shangri-La Bangkok and Area Manager for Thailand and Myanmar. This is return for him to One&Only after serving for six years as General Manager for the One&Only Le Saint Géran in Mauritius. A Lausanne graduate, Sintès previously managed the Shangri-La Jakarta, the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and the Shangri-La Manila.
Jan Verduyn has been promoted to Managing Director of the Dusit Thani Lakeview Cairo. He was most recently the General Manager of the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket. Replacing him is Peter Komposch who has been the General Manager of Half Moon in Jamaica since 1999.
Michael Kaile has transferred as opening General Manager to the Fairmont Abu Dhabi. He was most recently the General Manager at the Fairmont Dubai.
Pascal Eppink is the new General Manager at the Banyan Tree Resort in Ras al Khaimah. UAE. For the past five years, he had been with the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, most recently as Hotel Manager. He previously served as Resident Manager at the Orchard Hotel Singapore.
Claudia Pronk, who had been the General Manager of Le Méridien Hotel des Indes in The Hague for the past four years, is being transferred by Starwood to be the opening General Manager of the Grand Mauritian Resort and Spa, the first Starwood Luxury Collection property in the Indian Ocean.
Muzaffer Bulgurcuoglu has been appointed General Manager for Sohar Beach by Swiss-Belhotel in Oman. He was most recently the General Manager for the Holiday Inn Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Nils Sven Rothbarth has been named pre-opening General Manager of the Gold Swiss-Belhotel Dubai. He was most recently the General Manager of the Garden Court Sandton City in South Africa.
Vladimir Scanu has been appointed Vice President of Food and Beverage for Sun Resorts International. He was previously the Corporate Chef for One&Only Resorts.
Patrick Camelia has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager for the Radisson SAS Hotel Dubai Deira Creek. For the past four years, he had been the Director of Food and Beverage at the Royal Mansour Méridien in Casablanca. Camelia also served as Executive Chef of Le Royal Méridien Nile Tower in Cairo.
At the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, Jean-Pierre Garat has been named Food and Beverage Director. He was previously the Food and Beverage Director at the Monarch Hotel in Dubai.
Jumeirah in Dubai has named Kevin Coleman Vice President Market Strategy. He was previously based in Atlanta with the InterContinental Hotels Group as Vice President, Market Strategy.
