Island Outpost merged with Acacia, making Acacia founder William Anderson the new company¹s Chief Executive Officer. Acacia¹s Chief Financial Officer, Bruce Campbell, joins the new company as its CFO.  Jona Liebrecht, Island Outpost¹s former President, is now Head of Operations. Prior to launching Acacia in 1999 under the principle of "intelligent luxury" Anderson served as President of Abercrombie & Kent Hotels. Bruce Campbell was Corporate Controller for Carefree Resorts, and Senior Vice President of the Golden Door Spa division, when Wyndham gobbled up Carefree.
     
Seamus McManus has returned to Napa Valley after one year in Orange County. He who used to live in St Helena while managing Meadowood from 1998 through 2000, has moved back home. He is now the General Manager of the upcoming Calistoga Ranch, the newest project from the good people at Auberge Resorts.
     
Jo-Anne Hill has been named Vice President Sales and Marketing, Western Region, by Ritz-Carlton. She was until last winter the Vice President Sales and Marketing North America for Mandarin-Oriental Hotels, a company she had originally joined as Director of Sales and Marketing for the boutique Mandarin-Oriental San Francisco. Prior to that, Hill had a successful career with Four Seasons.
     
With St Regis taking over London¹s Lanesborough from Rosewood (upon expiration of its initial ten-year management contract), no personnel changes are expected, since the team there had been put into place by St Regis President Atef Mankarios, while he was at the helm of Rosewood.
     
Speaking of St Regis and former Rosewood people, Gunter Richter is taking over from Herbert Pliessnig as Managing Director of the St Regis New York. Richter was the opening General Manager of the Remington for Rosewood, several years ago. The Remington, after a brief Ritz-Carlton  re-incarnation, is now known as the St Regis Houston. The St Regis New York is an old stomping ground for Richter who was the property¹s General Manager some twenty years ago, long before the property was upgraded to what it is now. Richter joins the St Regis from New York¹s Drake Swissôtel.
     
At Fandango Resorts, principals Bill Shoaf and Matt Bailey have taken over the 300-room Inn of the Seventh Mountain in Oregon, slating it for a major remodel. They have appointed Clarence Hofheins as the inn's new General Manager. Hofheins has spent more than 15 years in the hospitality industry, 12 of those years at Robert Redford's Sundance in Utah during the resort's huge expansion. He followed Shoaf from Sundance to Bermuda in 1998, where he was part of the opening team for Elbow Beach following a $40 million renovation. Before joining the Inn of the Seventh Mountain, Hofheins was General Manager of a boutique property in Bermuda, the Newstead Hotel. Davis Smith has been hired as Director of Sales. His experience in the hotel industry spans more than a decade, with his latest position being General Manager of the Honeywell Conference Center in Redmond, Washington.  Prior to that, Smith was General Manager of the 234-room Doubletree Hotel in Eugene, Oregon.  Karen Mayall, CPA, is the inn's Controller and her latest position was Controller at the Hooker Creek Ranch in Bend, Oregon. For six years she was employed by Four Seasons Hotels, and held the position of Staff Accountant at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills and the Four Seasons Seattle. Craig Fraser has been hired as Director of Human Resources.  His most recent positions in the travel industry include being Human Resources Director at Silvertree Properties in Snowmass Village and Sundance Resort. Patricia McMeen is the inn's Director of Lodging. She most recently hailed from INNspired, LLC as consultant and Housekeeping Manager. 
     
Rudy Tauscher has been appointed by Mandarin-Oriental as Project Director for the upcoming Mandarin-Oriental New York at AOL Time Warner Plaza. Up until March of this year, he was the General Manager of the Trump International Plaza, across Columbus Circle from his new home.
     
Markus Engel is  leaving his post of Director of Food and Beverage at the Peninsula Chicago, which he had joined in  October 2000, to become the Resident Manager at the Mandarin-Oriental Hyde Park in London.  Engel, a German, has also been  the Director of Food and Beverage at the Vierjahreszeiten in Hamburg and Peninsula's Palace in Beijing.
     
Susana Parks has joined Sofitel as Director of Global Entertainment Sales, based at the Sofitel Los Angeles and responsible for selling all Sofitel properties to the entertainment industry. She previously held the position of Director of Sales for Bacara in Santa Barbara. Susana also handled West Coast sales for the St Regis New York and the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. 
     
Rich Ramirez joins the Sofitel Los Angeles as Director of Sales and Marketing. He was until recently the Director of Sales for Palmilla, in Mexico. Also at the Sofitel Los Angeles, Max Hamilton is the Manager of Outlets. He previously performed food and beverage management stints at the Fairmont Miramar, the Ritz-Carlton Huntington and the Beverly Hills Hotel.
     
Cecile Gilmer has joined the Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena as Associate Director of Sales. She previously was the Director of Sales at the Shore Club in Miami, following several years in sales with Four Seasons in Chicago and Carlsbad, California.
     
Jonathan and Nicole Wise will be, as of July 1, taking over as co-General Managers of the very plush Villa Del Sol in Zihuatanejo. As such they will be taking over from Peter Koehler. Wise, the son of a Relais & Chateau owner, was until now the Project Director for Delamar, a soon-to-open boutique luxury hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut. He also served as the General Manager of New York's boutique Iroquois Hotel, following a stint as Front Office Manager at the Mark, also in New York.  He was the General Manager of the exclusive White Barn Inn in Kennenbunkport. Wife Nicole Wise has been responsible for selling the Bulgari perfume line to luxury hotels. She previously was the Revenue Manager at the Mark.
     
Andrew Zephirin is the new General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey, where he replaces Charles de Foucauld, who went to the Ritz-Carlton Seoul just in time for the soccer world cup. Zephirin was previously the Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. 
     
There is another change of General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach where former Marriott man Marc Hoffman is being replaced by Darryl Sheaffer. Hoffman is returning to Marriott, in Orlando, while Sheaffer transfers from the Ritz-Carlton Doha in Qatar, which he opened.
     
Jean-Pierre Alotte is the new General Manager at the 133-room Pala Mesa resort in Fallbrook, near San Diego. Until recently Alotte was the General Manager of Miramonte in Indian Wells, a Preferred Hotel.
     
Nathalie Doane is the Director of Citywide Sales for Starwood in San Francisco. Prior to that she was a Sales Manager for the W San Francisco, which she opened three years ago. Her husband Jeff Doane is the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Fairmont San Francisco.
     
Donna Collings is the new General Manager of the Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort. She previously held the same position at the Renaissance Westchester.
     
Joe Malia has joined the Boston Harbor Hotel as Director of Sales and Marketing. A native Bostonian, he relocates to Beantown from San Francisco, where he was the Director of Marketing at the Renaissance Stanford Court.
     
Still in San Francisco David Akin is the Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons, moving up from the position of Director of Sales at the Four Seasons Scottsdale, a property he opened. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Akin spent six and a half years as Director of Sales at the Breakers in Palm Beach. In San Francisco he replaces Jeff Doane who left several months ago to re-join Fairmont.
     
Jennifer Wachter has been hired as Director of Catering for Charlie Palmer¹s Astra at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. She joins from La Costa in Carlsbad. Wachter's previous positions were all in New York and included stints as Catering Manager at the Waldorf=Astoria and the Peninsula.
     
Patrik Pollak moved from the Four Seasons Mexico City where he was Assistant Director of Food & Beverage to the Ritz-Carlton Chicago (a Four Seasons Hotel) in the same position. Pollak spent six years with the Four Seasons Mexico City.
     
Jim McPartlin was recently named Director of Operations for Kimpton Boutique Hotels in San Francisco, as well as General Manager for the 198-room Hotel Palomar. McPartlin brings nine years of experience with Kimpton. Most recently, he spent two years as Vice President, Human Resources and Organizational Development. From 1993 to 1999, he worked as General Manager for several Kimpton Boutique Hotels, beginning with San Francisco¹s Vintage Court, followed by the Beverly Prescott in Los Angeles and the Prescott in San Francisco.  
     
Chris Riccardi transferred from Director of Sales at the new Ritz-Carlton Naples Golf Course, to Director of Western Region Sales for the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. Riccardi will be working from his home in Southern California. Prior to joining Ritz-Carlton, he logged five years with Renaissance in Hawaii, Chicago and St. Thomas.
     
Jody Flowers has been elevated to Vice President of Business Development with Kerry Hotels, which belong to her brother Kerry Flowers.
     
Jeff Ward has been named General Manager of the new Teton Mountain Lodge, the newest property from Destination Hotels and Resorts in Wyoming. He did not have far to travel since he came from Amangani, up the road in Jackson Hole, where he was the Resident Manager. Prior to joining Amanresorts, Ward was the Director of Rooms at the Spring Mountain Ranch, also in Jackson Hole.
     
Kyle Lott has joined the Athens Group, developers of the upcoming Ritz-Carlton at Bachelor Gulch, near Vail. Lott is a Project Manager for the uber-posh resort, and was previously the opening Director of Housekeeping at Miami¹s Shore Club. Lott had previously opened, in the same capacity, the former Regent of Las Vegas.
     
Stephane Clasquin, one of Los Angeles most popular Maitres d¹Hotel, has returned to Gerard Ferry's L'Orangerie as Manager. He had logged several years at the prestigious Relais Gourmand until he left two years ago to take management of Mario Oliver's popular Linq in Los Angeles. Also at L'Orangerie, Executive Chef Ludovic Lefebvre is leaving after a six-year tenure.
     
Deborah Potter is the opening Director of Catering at the spanking new Sofitel Chicago. She joins from the Fairmont Chicago. Also at the Sofitel Chicago, Julie Hellyer is the opening Executive Housekeeper, after performing the opening of the Peninsula Chicago as Assistant Director of Housekeeping.
     
Renaissance Hotels Florida announced a new Marketing and Sales team led by Randy Griffin, former Director of Marketing for the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort & Spa in Miami Beach. The team includes Bryan Schacht, Director of Sales, Southeast Corporate Sales, Atlanta to Carolinas. He was previously the Director of Group Sales at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club; Wendy Traurig, Director of Sales, Southeast Corporate Sales, Key West to Orlando, was until now the Director of Sales for the past 3-1/2 years at the Renaissance Eden Roc;
     
Laura Alsup, Senior Account Executive, Southeast Corporate Sales, Orlando to Atlanta, was previously a Sales Manager at the Renaissance Orlando; Karen Nosari Hollern, Senior Account Executive, Florida State Association Sales and Diane Jezdimir, Director of Sales, Leisure Sales, Southeastern U.S. 
     
Park Place Entertainment Corporation has named former judge, gaming administrator and casino executive Lorenzo Creighton as the new President of the Flamingo Las Vegas. Creighton, 49, formerly served as Park Place's Corporate Vice President for Government and Community Affairs. Before joining the Park Place corporate group last year, Creighton served for six years as the executive in charge of operations at Bally's Casino in New Orleans. 
     
Trey Matheu was named Director of Lodging at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa. Prior to joining Nemacolin, Matheu was Resident Manager at Snake River Lodge & Spa in Teton Village, Wyoming.  Also at Nemacolin, Kenneth Migneault has joined the resort as the Chef at Seasons restaurant at Woodlands Spa. Prior to joining Nemacolin Woodlands, Migneault was Executive Chef at Red Mountain, in Utah, Chef de Cuisine at Miraval, Tucson, and Executive Sous Chef at Maine Course in Tucson.   
     
Chuck Katan has been appointed President of the Coral Collection of Fine Hotels & Resorts, a group of eight small hotels in Florida and the Caribbean, which he joined in 1999. He previously was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Noble House Hotels, Resorts and Hideaways.  Prior to Noble House, he directed the worldwide sales effort to establish a portfolio of more than 50 member hotels for Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts¹ Global Partner Division. 
     
Ellen Thornton has joined the Hotel Bel-Air as Director of Sales after two years with The Leading Hotels of the World, where she worked as a Sales Manager in the Los Angeles office. Prior to that, she served as National Sales Manager for the Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena.
     
Also at the Bel-Air, the new Controller is Ed Anonas, who came from the W Los Angeles, the former Westwood Marquis. He also was the Controller at Ian Schrager¹s Mondrian in West Hollywood.
     
At the St Regis Monarch Beach, Food and Beverage Director Charles Lennox III was replaced by Paul O'Dowd, who was most recently in Florida as Director of Operations at the Boca Country Club.  He has also held positions as Corporate Director of Food and Beverage for Kimpton and Director of Food & Beverage for the Highlands Inn in Carmel, the Homestead in Virginia and L'Auberge Del Mar in San Diego as well General Manager of Aqua San Francisco. Lennox is now the Director of Food and Beverage at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. 
     
The Santa Barbara Inn has hired Susie Couch as Director of Sales. She previously was the Director of Sales and Catering for the Holiday Inn Santa Barbara. 
     
Martin Finch was named Regional Director of Sales for Fiesta Americana and Fiesta Americana Grand Hotels and Resorts. Finch¹s extensive sales career features management and sales positions with the Manele Bay Hotel and Lodge at Koele, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and LuxuryLink.com.     
     
John Arnett is the new Head of Operations at Brad Korzen's Kor Group in Los Angeles. Until recently he was Vice President of Operations for the Kimpton Group. Arnett also was the opening General Manager of the late Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani on the Big Island of Hawaii.
     
Also at the Kor Group, Kurt Wiksten has been transferred from General Manager at the Estrella Inn in Palm Springs to Food and Beverage Director at the soon-to-open Viceroy in Santa Monica. The restaurant at the Viceroy, incidentally, will be operated by Tim and Lisa Goodell, owners of three highly successful restaurants in Orange County, Aubergine, Troquet and Pearl Dragon.
     
At KSL's La Quinta, Director of Food and Beverage Randy O'Connor, who had held the position since September 2000, has been replaced with Alex Kim, previously the hotel's Director of Conference Services. Kim is now in charge of both Conference Services and La Quinta¹s $30 million food and beverage operation.
     
At the Plaza-Athénée New York, Director of Housekeeping Elizabeth Cheung has left. Her successor is Anna Marie Eapen.
     
Win Person has been named Director of Food and Beverage at Las Vegas' Bellagio, following a seven-year career with Four Seasons in Mexico City, Houston and Dallas. Person is a graduate of the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne.
     
Former Hyatt Executive Cody Plott has been named President and Chief Operating Officer at Pebble Beach Company. The position had been vacant since the untimely passing of John Chadwell in February. Plott, 52, was previously the President of the commercial real estate brokerage firm of Colliers Seeley, based in Southern California. He also spent more than 22 years with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, rising to Regional Vice President of Sales in Southern California.  
     
Diane Briskin, after opening up the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park South as an outside consultant, now runs the hospitality division of Dan Flores Communications. 
     
Francesca Gadaleta has been Named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Muse in New York.  Swiss-educated Gadaleta was previously with Swissôtel, including three years with the Swissôtel Beijing. She most recently functioned as Associate Director of Sales at Swissôtel New York, The Drake. 
     
Rockresorts announced the appointment of Michael Shindler as Vice President of Development. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Development for the Americas at the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group. 
     
Adolf Fratton has been named General Manager of LaSource, Grenada.  Since 1997, he was General Manager at the Muskoka Sands Resort & Conference Center in Ontario. Prior to this, he held the same position at the Grenada Renaissance Resort from 1994-1996.  
     
Jim Bode has been named General Manager of Miami¹s Roney Palace Beach Resort. Prior to joining, Bode served seven years as General Manager of the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott.  Also at the Roney Palace, Tim Paulus has been named Director of Sales and Marketing. He previously held a similar position at the Westin Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. 
     
Jean-Francois Pelaez joins the Lyford Cay Club in Nassau as Executive Chef. Pelaez was the Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Mexico City for the past three years.
     
The Pinehurst Company has announced the hiring of Andy Finn as Senior Vice President, Sales. Most recently, he worked as Vice-President of Sales, Resorts and Specialty Markets for Starwood, and was based in Chicago. 
     
At Ritz-Carlton, some substantial changes at the corporate office with the departure of Vice President Sales and Marketing Jim Shultonhauver to Ian Schrager's hotel group. He has been replaced by Bruce Himmelstein, who comes from sister company Marriott. Also at Ritz-Carlton, Corporate Director of Catering Eddie Layton has left the company to become a meeting planner for Home Depot.
     
Charlton Hines has been appointed General Manager of the Loews Miami Beach, replacing Mike Welly who was there no more than a few months. Hines comes from the soon-not-to-open Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami. He is a former Marriott General Manager.
     
Eric Torralba is the new Executive Chef at Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley. The Frenchman, who was selected after a very complex search process, was most recently at Masraff's Restaurant in Houston, but also spent eight years as the Executive Chef on board the Savarona, arguably the world's most luxurious and largest private yacht. Globe trotting Torralba also once earned a Michelin star for the restaurant Westra Piren in Goteborg, Sweden.
     
John Moser has been named the new Chief Marketing Officer of Manhattan East Suite Hotels. Moser most recently served as General Manager of the company's luxury hotel The Benjamin, which opened in April 1999. Prior to The Benjamin, Moser was General Manager of the company's Dumont Plaza for eight years. Before that he was General Manager at the Shelburne Murray Hill following positions at the Beekman Tower Hotel and the Surrey Hotel.
     
Michael Pendergast has been appointed General Manager of the Fairmont Kansas City. He originally joined Fairmont in 1994 where he held his most recent position as Hotel Manager for the Fairmont New Orleans. 
     
Hervé Pennequin is the Dining Room Manager and Wine Director at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. A true wine expert, Pennequin previously ran his own wine import company, following a two-year stint as the Head Sommelier at Nicolai's Roof at the Atlanta Hilton and Towers. 
     
Cynthia Chung has joined the stylish new Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park South as Director of Diplomatic Affairs. She most recently was at the Plaza for four years in the same capacity. Prior to that, Chung was the Front Office Manager at the Waldorf=Astoria.  
     
At the Peninsula Chicago, former Assistant Director of Food and Beverage Eric Faivre was promoted to the Peninsula Bangkok as the Director of Food and Beverage. He replaces Hans Hordijk who transferred to the Peninsula Manila. Faivre¹s replacement in Chicago is Jonathan Crook who was transferred from the Peninsula New York.
     
Last month we announced by mistake that Araj Azarbazin was named General Manager of the W New York Times Square. We had the city right, but the square wrong: he went in fact to the W New York Union Square. Speaking of the W New York Times Square, exit its opening General Manager Daniel Bergman, who left the company after opening three of its Manhattan properties. Prior to joining W, Bergman was the General Manager of the Wyndham Bel-Age in West Hollywood for over three years.
     
Brian Dye has left the St. Regis Monarch Beach where he was the Director of Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining the property, he had spent several years in the same capacity at the Hilton Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Laura Madrid, who previously served at St. Regis Monarch Beach as a Sales Manager, is heading St Regis' new Atlanta sales office. Rob Roche, former Regional Director of Sales with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, is heading the Los Angeles office, and will be based at the St. Regis Los Angeles. Lori Lauman, former Director of Sales with the Peninsula Beverly Hills, is overseeing the New York regional sales office.
     
Richard Sorensen has been promoted from Front Office Manager at the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, to Rooms Manager at the Four Seasons Resort Carmelo, in Uruguay. He was previously with the Four Seasons Aviara and Four Seasons Vancouver.
     
Guy Luzy is the opening General Manager for the chic, boutique, Le St James, in Montreal. He was previously with Delta Hotels, also in Canada.
     
At the spanking new Sofitel Montreal, Denis Goupille is the Financial Controller, coming from the Hilton Lac Lamy and Méridien Toronto;
     
Veronique Loiseau is Front Office Manager, moving up one notch from the Sofitel New York where she was the Assistant Front Office Manager;
     
Joel Gosselin is Director of Engineering, coming from the Sheraton Montreal, the Inter-Continental Montreal (which he opened) and the Hilton Bonaventure, also in Montreal; Denis Dupart is the Director of Operations, coming from Accor Asia Pacific where he spent seven years;
     
Genevieve Gravel is Director of Human Resources, coming from Delta Hotels in Montreal. 
     
Jérome Laurent is the new Chef de Cuisine at Julien, the signature restaurant of Le Méridien Boston. He was previously the Chef at Le Relais in Great Falls, Virginia, and had spent two years as Executive Chef at France¹s Chateau de Marcay, a Relais & Chateau.
     
Omni Hotels has appointed five Area Managing Directors. They are Peter Austin, General Manager of the Omni Shoreham, a ten-year Omni veteran;  Steven Ferran, General Manager of the Omni Royal Orleans, who had joined Omni Hotels in 1998; Offer Nissenbaum, General Manager of the Omni Berkshire Place in New York, who joined Omni in 1999, from The Plaza also in New York; Troy Schroeder, Managing Director of the Omni Atlanta, joined Omni Hotels in 1992. Mark Yardis General Manager of the Omni Richmond Hotel, joined Omni Hotels in 1987. 
                           
Al Petrone has been recruited by Ian Schrager Hotels to be the General Manager of New York¹s Hudson, replacing Mark O'Brien who moved to Connecticut to take care of his own business. Petrone joins Schrager after leaving his post as Vice President for Sheraton brand operations at Starwood. He previously was Director of Operations for the W brand, and Director of Planning and Development for Starwood. He originally joined Sheraton in 1992, from General Electric.

Also at Schrager Hotels in New York, Klaus Ortlieb left Royalton to launch his own venture.

Lesley Carey is the new General Manager at Palm Springs' historic La Mancha. A Canadian, she recently was the Director of Sales and Marketing at Ian Schrager¹s Mondrian in West Hollywood.

Chris Komanowski has joined Harrah's Entertainment as Vice President. Komanowski, a Cornell graduate, was formerly the Vice President of Hotel Development for Ritz-Carlton. 

At the Peabody Memphis Elise Wiggins has been appointed Chef de Cuisine for Capriccio, the hotel's Italian restaurant.

Shannon Short has been named Public Relations Manager for the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, the 1,000-or-so-room hotel that touts itself a "boutique" property. Short was previously part of the 2002 Winter Olympic Organizing Committee.