Jean-Louis Palladin, justly hailed by many as the nicest guy in the
fine dining industry, passed away after waging a valiant fight against
lung cancer for over one year. Palladin inspired an entire generation of
stellar chefs and will be missed.
Bruce Hearn has been named Managing Director of Carénage Bay
Resort and Golf Club by Rosewood Hotels, where he takes over from Rich
Verruni, who left the company. Hearn, a Cornell graduate, was most recently
with Lindblad Expeditions as Director of Hotel Operations for four ships.
One of the world's leading expert on Caribbean hotelkeeping, he also ran
Island Outpost¹s Jamaica properties, was the General Manager of Windjammer
Landing on St. Lucia, the Bitter End Yacht Club and St. James¹
Club in Antigua and opened the Wyndham Virgin Grand in St. Thomas.
His career originally started with Rockresorts at Little Dix Bay and Caneel
Bay Plantation. Ironically, these two properties are now part of Rosewood.
At the Kor Group, Ellen Miller is already gone as General Manager of
Avalon (that makes her the property¹s third General Manager in slightly
over two years) replaced by Paul Birchall. The latter joined the group
two years ago and was previously the General Manager for both the Estrella
Inn in Palm Springs and the Viceroy in Santa Monica. Henri Birmele has
been named General Manager of the Viceroy, which is due to open in the
spring. A Swiss, Birmele was previously with St. Regis as Hotel Manager,
first at the Washington DC St. Regis, then as the troubled Los Angeles
property, which he left in October.
David Dressler is Director of Food and Beverage at Shutters on the Beach,
replacing Jeff Jackson. Dressler, a Canadian, was recently a free-lance
food and beverage consultant, but previously worked with Four Seasons in
Newport Beach, New York, Beverly Hills and Carlsbad. He is a graduate of
the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne.
At Sonoma Spa Resorts, big changes include the departure of Charles
Henning (he is going to Vero Beach to manage a high-end private club) and
that of Ulrich Krauer. The latter is being replaced by Thomas Becker who
is promoted from Resort Manager to General Manager of Sonoma Mission Inn.
Becker, prior to joining the property in 2000, spent three and a half years
with Sun International in Mauritius, and nine years with Mandarin-Oriental
in Singapore, San Francisco and Hong Kong.
Aloha Knaefler has been named Vice President of Sales and Marketing
for Sonoma Spa Resorts, in charge of marketing Sonoma Mission Inn and its
sister property Ventana Big Sur. Knaefler previously directed sales and
marketing for ANA Hotels on the US market.
Also at Sonoma Spa Resorts, Pete Gibbons was named company Vice President
of Merchandise and Retail. He was previously with Disney stores and also
logged some time in Product Management for Starbucks Coffee Company in
Seattle. Tu Tran, Vice President of Business Development for Sonoma Spa
Resorts, will also assume responsibility for overseeing the accounting
and financial services departments for both Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
and Ventana Inn & Spa. Mr. Tran¹s career in the hospitality industry
spans two decades with ANA, Hyatt, Hilton Hotels and Holiday Inns. Wendy
Waha now assumes the responsibility of General Manager of the Sonoma Club,
an exclusive, recreational lifestyle club. She replaces Charles Henning.
The $1 billion, 2,010 room Borgata Casino Resort in Atlantic City, scheduled
to open Summer 2003, is a joint venture development of Boyd Gaming Corporation
and MGM Mirage. It announced the appointment of five executives who will
be among the senior brass at the resort:
Kevin Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer,
Auggie Cipollini, Vice President of Finance, Cassie Fireman, Vice President
of Talent, David Farlin, Vice President of Information Technology, Joseph
Corbo, Vice President and General Counsel.
Anthony Suttile is the new General Manager of the 163-room Claridge
Hotel in Chicago. Suttile just completed a three-year assignment as General
Manager for the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Pioneer Resort & Marina. He also
previously served as Vice President and General Manager for MetroGolf-Chicago,
and was also the General Manager for the Ambassador West and the Knickerbocker
hotels for Grand Heritage Hotels International.
Changes (again) with Millennium Hotels and Resorts, where Tony Kinnear,
Senior Vice President of Operations, is now based at the Millennium Knickerbocker
Hotel in Chicago, where he also serves as General Manager. He ran
that hotel from 1995 to 2000 under the Regal flag prior to the acquisition
by Millennium. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Operations for Trusthouse
Forte Hotels, based in San Diego. Daniel Pirrallo, formerly General Manager
of the Knickerbocker now holds the same post at the Millennium Boulder
in Colorado.
Olivier Bottois has left Four Seasons after a nine-year stint. His
last position was that of Director of Food and Beverage at the company
flagship, Chicago's Ritz-Carlton. Bottois also took part, in the same position,
in the takeover of what became the Four Seasons Atlanta. Prior to joining
the company in 1992, Bottois worked in such stellar luxury hotels as the
Peninsula New York, the Connaught in London, Vierjarheszeiten in Hamburg
and the Ritz in Paris.
John Groom has been named President of Caesar's Palace Las Vegas. He
had served as Caesar¹s Palace's interim president since September
5. The 35-year old gaming landmark is currently building a 4,000-seat theatre.
Groom originally joined Caesar¹s in 1979 in Atlantic City and has
a pure casino background.
Sharon Rothstein has been named Senior Vice President, Global Brand
Marketing, for Starwood. Most recently, she served as Vice President, Brand
Marketing for Starwood's STARS division. Before joining Starwood, she served
as Chief Executive Officer of Worldspy.com. Rothstein also spent 13 years
with Procter & Gamble and Nabisco.
At the soon-to-open 83-room Delamar in Greenwich Connecticut, Klaus
Peters started as General Manager September 11, 2001. He was previously
at Islamorada¹s tony Cheeca Lodge after a long career with Hyatt and
Sheraton. He joins Director of Sales and Marketing Noelle Carroll who joined
in the summer after three years in the same capacity at New York¹s
Warwick. Peters succeeds Tim Kirwan who was very, very briefly in the position.
Christopher Perry has been named Vice President of Sales & Marketing
for the Boutique Hotel Group's five Manhattan properties. He replaces Milvi
Vehik who held the post for the past two years. Perry is a well-known second-generation
hotel marketer, who previously was the Director of Sales and Marketing
at the Barclay Inter-Continental New York for four years. He also
served with Hilton Hotels Corporation in Atlanta and New York, as well
as with Ritz-Carlton.
Matthew Nuss has been named Vice President Operations of the Valencia
Group. He was most recently General Manager of the Omni Houston hotel.
Previous assignments with Omni included General Manager of the Omni Austin
Southpark and Omni Berkshire Place in New York City, Resident Manager of
the Omni Royal Orleans and Controller of the Omni Houston. Also,
Carlos Flores has been named Corporate Controller of the Valencia Group.
Flores' most recent position was Regional Controller for Wyndham.
Prior to that he was the Controller of the Camino Real del Paso Norte in
El Paso, Texas.
The Pinehurst Company (formerly known as Club Corporation of America)
has announced the appointment of Michael Thomas, as President of Barton
Creek Resort. Thomas comes to Barton Creek from Daufuskie Island Resort,
where he has served as President since 1998. Prior to his joining
The Pinehurst Company, Michael Thomas served as President and General Manager
of the Tides, in Virginia. He also was General Manager of Miami¹s
exclusive Fisher Island.
KSL has named Ted Axe to serve as the new Vice President and General
Manager of La Costa Resort and Spa. Axe will make the transition from his
current role as Vice President and General Manager of KSL's Claremont Resort
& Spa in Northern California to return to La Costa Resort and Spa where
he served as Director of Operations from 1996 to 1998.
At KSL's La Quinta, Executive Chef James Footit, a former Ritz-Carlton
and Hyatt man, is moving on to the Hotel Del Coronado for Destination Resorts.
He is replaced at La Quinta by Lee-Ann Kamekona, who had once been a Sous
Chef there under John Zaner and most recently served as Executive Chef
of the Outrigger Wailea Resort. Also at La Quinta, at the recently opened
gourmet Azur, a by-product of New York¹s Le Bernardin, Jasper Schneider
is manning the stove under the once-a-month tutelage of Bernardin Chef
and co-owner Eric Ripert. Azur's front of the house is manned by Pierre
Vilay, a once Maitre d'Hotel at Le Colonial in Los Angeles and the Hotel
Bel-Air.
The Doral Park Avenue Hotel has named Tara Harding Corporate Group
Sales Manager. She previously was on the sales side of New York Cruise
Lines (Circle Line & World Yacht).
Jennifer Tzonas has left her position of Director of Sales at the New
York Palace to become the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hotel
Sofitel New York. At the Palace, John Fredsall has been hired as Director
of Sales and Marketing. A former Holiday Inn man he was recently with Accor.
Jeff Doane, who left his position of Director of Marketing at the new
Four Seasons San Francisco after one year, has returned to Fairmont, this
time as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Fairmont San Francisco.
He replaces David Wiener who is now Regional Director of Sales and Marketing
for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts for the US Western Region.
Nora Gainer has joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide as
the Director of Marketing Programs. She comes to Preferred after six years
with Swissôtel Management, where she was Director of Marketing Communications
for North and South America. Prior to Swissôtel Management, Nora
worked for the Italian Trade Commission.
Jean-Luc Naret has left as Managing Director of the ultraplush Sandy
Lane. Naret, a most seasoned resort operator, had joined the property in
May 2000 after leaving his mark on two major resorts in Mauritius: La Résidence
and Le Saint Géran. At Sandy Lane, he brought to fruition a major
$450 million renovation project, with a three-year closure of the entire
resort. The 112-suite Sandy Lane with two Golf Courses and a 45,000 sq.ft.
spa, opened March 17, 2001. Colm Hannon takes over as General Manager of
Sandy Lane Hotel and Michael Davern as General Manager of Golf & Sandy
Lane Properties.
Rick Masucci, General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda, passed
away on November 2, 2001.
Michel Willaume, who won the Pastry World Cup in Lyon earlier this
year (with teammates En-Ming Hsu from the Four Seasons Chicago, and Ewald
Notter from the Confectionery Arts School in Maryland) has left the Ritz-Carlton
San Francisco where he had been the Pastry Chef for four years, to launch
his own venture, called Mondrian Pastry, a French Gourmet Pastry Shop and
Café in Great Neck, Long Island. Prior to San Francisco, Willaume
came from the Hotel Arts Barcelona, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel property, where
he was the Pastry Chef for almost five years.
Michael Brake has been appointed as General Manager of the Grenada
Grand Beach Resort, a 250-room beachfront resort and convention center
located on Grand Anse Beach in Grenada. Previously he was associated as
Area Manager with two Ramada hotels in Toronto.
Paul Tormey took Daniel Kaile's spot as the General Manager of the
Fairmont Hamilton Princess. He was previously the Hotel Manager at the
Plaza in New York, also a Fairmont hotel.
Rajan Lai has been promoted to Vice President Human Resources the Americas
for Raffles International. He also assumes the role of Director of Human
Resources for the Swissôtel Chicago. In his dual role, Lai reports
to both Thomas Klein, Raffles Vice President Americas and Joseph Violi,
General Manager Swissôtel Chicago.
Mark Earle has been appointed Senior Vice President for HVS Capital,
after a 22-year-career with Marriott. He was most recently Vice President
of Resort Development for Marriott International¹s fractional ownership
division. Earle has a master¹s degree from Cornell University¹s
School of Hotel Management.
Karim Meslem has been named Regional Sales Manager based in New York
for London¹s Savoy Hotel Group. Prior to his move to New York, he
served as Senior Sales Manager for The Savoy Group in London. He joined
from Méridien Hotels. A native of France, Meslem began his hospitality
industry career in Lyon.
Gildas Renaux has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for the Elegant
Hotels Group in Barbados, and will report to Marcello Pigozzo, Chief Executive
Officer of the group. Prior to this appointment, Renaux was an Area General
Manager for Hoteles Sol Melia for whom he managed six hotels in Morocco,
under Pigozzo. Renaux's previous experience includes the role of General
Manager for Puente Romano and Sa Talaia, both in Spain. Still with Elegant
Hotels, Gary Peters has been named Executive Vice President of Development.
He too came from Sol Melia. Last but not least, Reto Torriani has been
appointed General Manager of Elegant Hotels¹ Tamarind Cove in Barbados.
Torriani, whose most recent posting was in Tunisia, also was previously
the General Manager of the Leela Palace in Goa, and the opening General
Manager of the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort in Polynesia. He also opened
as General Manager, the Chedi in Ubud.
Omni Hotels promoted James Kuthy to Vice President of Development and
Business Analysis and appointed Scott Johnson as Vice President of Development.
Kuthy, who joined Omni Hotels in 1994, most recently served as Regional
Controller for the company. He previously worked at the Marriott Yosemite
and the Del Mar Hilton. Johnson most recently directed the business development
department for an on-line financial services company based in Fort Worth
and served as an aide to President Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign.
Mike Fegley has been named Vice President of Field Sales for Six Continents
Hotels and Resorts, Americas Region, reporting directly to Chuck Brownfield,
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Americas. Prior to
joining Six Continents Hotels, Fegley held senior management sales positions
with the Holiday Inn, Ramada, Inter-Continental Hotels, Renaissance and
Wyndham hotel brands. His most recent position was Vice President of Sales
with Radisson Hotels & Resorts.
Mike Goodson has been named Senior Vice President, Finance, for the
Americas at Six Continents Hotels and Resorts. He has been with the company
in various finance positions for the past thirteen years.
Joel Letofsky has been named Controller of the Gaylord Palms Resort
& Convention Center, (formerly Opryland Florida) anticipating a successful
January 2002 opening. He was previously the Assistant Director of Finance
at Bacara, following a successful six years career with Park Place Entertainment
in Las Vegas and Orlando. He is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel
Administration.
Melissa Trumbull has joined China Grill Management at Ian Schrager's
Royalton as Restaurant Director. As such she will be responsible for the
opening of the Blue Door, with consulting Chef Claude Troisgros. Until
September 11 of this year, Trumbull, who is a Cornell graduate, was the
Restaurant Director at Windows on the World. |