Hotel Online Special Report


Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What
March/April  2004
Heads Above the Rest
The Newsletter of The Boutique Search Firm
Europe
Klaus Reincke passed away last month in Germany, unexpectedly struck by a devastating illness. I will remember him as an inspiration at the beginning of my career when he was my General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capital Hill, some twenty-seven years ago. Klaus was an entrepreneur at heart whose career spun many countries in Europe, the Middle East and North America. He will be missed.

Anthony Stewart-Moore, a Marriott veteran with over twenty-two years in the industry, has been promoted to the Marriott Grosvenor House in London as General Manager. He comes from the Marriott Renaissance Center in Detroit. In London, he takes over from James McBride, now the Managing Director of the Carlyle in New York.

Asaad Farag has been appointed General Manager of the Conrad Istanbul. He was previously with the recently-shuttered Regent Wall Street for two years. Farag also was the opening Managing Director of the Stirling Club at Turnberry in Las Vegas.

Francis Longuève is leaving his position of General Manager at world-famous Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo to be the President of newly formed Summer Hotel Group in Menton, France. Prior to his seven-year tenure at the Hotel de Paris, Longuève was the Executive Assistant Manager at Paris� Hotel de Crillon.

Jonathan Orr-Ewing has assumed the post of General Manager at Le Manoir aux Quat� Saisons in Oxfordshire. Orr-Ewing joined Le Manoir aux Quat� Saisons following the departure of Philip Newman-Hall. He comes to Great Milton from London, where he had been the General Manager of Montcalm � Hotel Nikko for the past eight years.

Bruno Brunner has been appointed General Manager of Reid�s Palace in Madeira, an Orient-Express hotel. Brunner comes from Los Angeles where he was the Vice President and Managing Director at the St. Regis. Prior to that, Brunner spent two years based in Hong Kong as Vice President and General Manager of the Shangri-La Kowloon.

Daniel Mann has been appointed Hotel Manager at London�s Savoy where he is replacing Lionel Benjamin. Most recently, Mann ran the Daufuskie Island Club and Resort in South Carolina as its General Manager. Mann also worked with Orient Express for seven years.

Noel de Munck has been appointed General Manager at the Luxembourg Hilton. De Munck has been with Hilton for over twelve years and was previously based in Brussels as Area Food and Beverage Director. He has also held various Food and Beverage Management positions at the Hilton Manchester Airport and at the Hilton International Brussels.

Michel Decroix has been appointed General Manager at Domaine de Fayence in the south of France He was previously the Assistant General Manager at Dolce Frégate in Bandol.

Jean Ricoux has been appointed General Manager of Le Méridien London Gatwick. He moves from the Shelbourne Hotel Dublin where he was the General Manager for the past seven years.

Bernard Granier has been appointed Director of Potel and Chabot in Paris. Granier has spent most of his career with Méridien. His most recent position with the group was as Area General Manager and General Manager of the Méridien Paris Etoile.

James Kostecky has been transferred to the Four Seasons London as Hotel Manager. He comes from the Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island of Hawaii where he was the Resort Manager for two years. Prior to joining Four Seasons, Kostecky was the General Manager of the Tides in Miami for Island Outpost.

Emmanuelle Coutat will be the opening General Manager of Paris� boutique Hotel de Sers due to debut in May. Coutat was most recently the General Manager of the 34-room Hotel Opal, also in Paris. She previously spent two years as the Assistant Manager at Grace Leo-Andrieu�s Hotel Bel-Ami.

Jan Hendrik Bosch has been appointed General Manager of the Hotel Amstel in Amsterdam. He previously worked in Asia for several years and was most recently the General Manager of the Plaza-Athénée Bangkok. He also operated his own restaurant inn Bangkok and worked as an owner's representative for the Méridien Phuket.

Also at the Hotel Amstel, Jean-Paul Kroese has been named Director of Sales. He previously worked in New York for four years with Mandarin-Oriental as a Senior Sales Manager at the Mark and transferred last year to their newest property, the Mandarin-Oriental New York.

Andrew Henning is the new Director of Food and Beverage at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh. Prior to joining Sheraton, Henning worked in various Food and Beverage management positions at Le Royal Hotel in Jordan and at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

Katya Bauval has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at Orient-Express� Lapa Palace in Lisbon. She was already with Orient Express Hotels before and worked as Director of Sales and Marketing at their properties in Portugal, Hotel Quinta do Lago and in France at the Hôtel de La Cité. Bauval also worked in the United States at the Carlton in Washington DC, now a St. Regis property.

Jean-Francois Casanova has been named Director of Operations at the Alain Ducasse Restaurant Group in Paris. Most recently, he was at the Hotel Plaza-Athénée in Paris as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. Casanova also worked in the United States, as Food and Beverage Manager at the Sutton Place in Newport Beach.

Olivier Dupart has been appointed Chef de Cuisine at the Chateau de Gilly. He was previously at the Chateau d'Esclimont for six years. Dupart's previous experience includes two years at Le Relais du Parc where he worked under Alain Ducasse as well as at Lucas-Carton and La Réserve de Beaulieu.

Francesco Ieri is the Director of Corporate Sales for Boscolo Hotels. He previously worked for several years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, where his last role was Area Account Director in charge of the European markets for the Costa Smeralda & Malta hotels, based out of London.

Antony Treston has been promoted to the position of General Manager of the Mount Juliet Conrad from the Conrad Centennial Singapore, where he held the position of Resident Manager since 1998. He joined the Conrad Centennial Singapore in 1996, initially recruited as Executive Assistant Manager � Rooms. Treston was appointed in replacement of previous General Manager, Andrew Phelan, who left the company.

Jan Marie-Roger Verduyn has been appointed General Manager at the Anassa in Cyprus. He previously held the same position at the Paradise Hotel and Casino in Busan, Korea. Prior to that he worked in Nairobi at the Grand Regency Hotel, in Brussels at the Royal Windsor Hotel and in Vietnam with Hilton also as General Manager.

Asia and the Pacific
At Hong Kong�s Peninsula Group, Peter Borer will relinquish the position of General Manager of the flagship Peninsula Hong Kong and be elevated to the role of Chief Operating Officer. He spent ten years guiding the Peninsula Hong Kong through its highly successful extension and renovation. Replacing Borer as the General Manager of the Peninsula Hong Kong will be Ian Coughlan, currently the General Manager of the award-winning Peninsula Bangkok, a position he has held since mid 1999. Coughlan originally joined the company in 1996 as the Resident Manager of the Peninsula Hong Kong. Rainy Chan, a very long-time Peninsula employee and currently the Hotel Manager at the Peninsula Hong Kong, will be Coughlan�s successor in Bangkok.

Thomas Steinhauer has been promoted to Regional Vice President and General Manager of the Four Seasons Maui and Four Seasons Hawaii. He was previously the General Manager at the Four Seasons New York. Steinhauer had been the General Manager of the Four Seasons Maui from 1999 to 2001. He will also oversee the integration of David Murdock�s Manele Bay Hotel and Lodge at Koele, on the Island of Lanai, as they become part of the Four Seasons system.

Vincent Yeo has been promoted to the position of President of Millennium & Copthorne International Asia Pacific. Taking over Yeo�s previous position as Chief Operating Officer is Daniel Desbaillets, who had recently launched the Dare to Dream hotel group following a twenty-five-year career with InterContinental. He last held the position of Area Vice President Asia Pacific for the group.

Ed Brea has been promoted to General Manager at the Shangri-La Cairns from his current position of Hotel Manager at the Shangri-La Singapore. He had transferred to Singapore from the Island Shangri-La. Prior to joining Shangri-La, Brea was with Hyatt International for eighteen years. His last position with them was as the Resident Manager of the Grand Hyatt Taipei.

Peter French has been appointed General Manager of Bangkok�s Sukhothai. He takes over from Duncan Palmer who had left a few months ago to return to London as the General Manager of the Langham. French was most recently the Managing Director of New York�s Carlyle for Rosewood, where he was replaced by James McBride.

Patrick Finet has been named General Manager at the Mandarin-Oriental Chiang Mai due to open toward the end of the year. He previously worked in the same capacity at the Prince Maurice Hotel in Mauritius, the K-Club on Barbuda and at Manapany on St. Barts.

Patrice Larroque has been appointed General Manager of the Sofitel Westlake Hangzhou. He originally joined Accor in 1997 and was most recently the General Manager of the Imperial Palace Suites in Quezon City. Larroque was replaced by Frédéric Lemoine-Romain, who transferred from Vietnam where he was the General Manager of the Novotel Coralia Ocean Dunes and Golf Resort. Lemoine-Romain joined Accor in 1994 in Martinique and later relocated to Asia.

Jean-Marc Vermorel is the new General Manager at the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort, replacing Loic Martenot who moved to Mexico and left the hotel industry. Vermorel, 32, has been active in luxury hotels in French Polynesia for over ten years. He spent the past three years as the Financial Controller of Orient-Express� Bora Bora Lagoon Resort.

Marc Cremoux has been appointed General Manager at the Taj Exotica in the Maldives. He recently held the same position at Cayo Espanto in Belize and at Fregate Island in the Seychelles.

Robin Graf has been appointed General Manager of the Waikiki Parc, Halekulani's sister property in Honolulu. Graf previously ran the Waikoloa Beach Marriott and served six years as the Resident Manager of the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Henry Gray is the new General Manager at Udaivilas where he replaces Joseph Polito. Polito left the property to launch a new villa concept hotel in Bali. Gray transfers from Oberoi�s Amarvilas, which he joined a few months ago. He and wife Char Gray worked for Amanresorts for over ten years as General Managers of Mahakua in Mexico and at Amandari in Bali.

Somock Inthavong has been named General Manager at the Dusit Chiang Mai Resort in Thailand. He previously worked with Four Seasons for nine years and had been the Resort Manager of the Regent Chiang Mai for two years and a half. Prior to that, he was the Director of food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Resort Bali for five years as Director of Food and Beverage and following two years in the same capacity at the Regent Jakarta.

Renato Pecorelli has been appointed General Manager of the Bora Bora Nui Resort. He replaces Dominique Lapointe who left the position vacant last month. He was previously the General Manager for the Hotel Fiera Milano in Milan. As for Lapointe, she is now the General Manager of the Royal Méridien Phuket Yacht Club.

Robert Lagerwey has been promoted to Hotel Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia in Singapore. He had been transferred to Singapore two and a half years ago as Director of Food and Beverage from the Ritz-Carlton Seoul. Prior to joining Ritz-Carlton, Lagerwey was with Four Seasons and worked in their Philadelphia and Chicago properties in Food and Beverage management positions.

Jason Friedman, a Cornell hotel graduate, has been appointed Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai. He was previously the Managing Director of his own Wine School Company in New York. Friedman also worked in Asia as the Resident Manager at Amandari in Bali.

Bruno Cristol has been promoted to the Shangri-La Sydney (formerly the ANA), as the Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage after three years at the Kowloon Shangri-La in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he was at the Carlton in Cannes and worked in Australia for ten years with Hyatt International in various Food and Beverage Management positions.

Richard Simmons has joined Shangri-La�s China World Hotel as its Director of rooms. Simmons previously spent several years with Hyatt International.

Olivier Larcher is the new Financial Controller at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort. He came from the Bora Bora Nui Resort, across the lagoon, where he held the same position since the property's opening. Larcher had originally joined Starwood French Polynesia in 2000 as the Assistant Controller at the Sheraton Tahiti. He subsequently helped open the Sheraton Moorea in the same capacity prior to his promotion to the Bora Bora Nui Resort. At the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort, he takes over from Jean-Marc Vermorel, who left to become the General Manager of the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort.

Rémy Berthomieu has been appointed General Manager of the Mercure Hotel Chonburi. He joined Accor in 1997 and was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel Ibis Thalassa.

Dominique Mercier has been appointed General Manager of the Mercure Rekso Hayam Wuruk in Jakarta. He joined Accor thirteen years ago initially at the Ibis Paris Montmartre. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel Ibis Bandung.

Eric Pendaries has been named Executive Assistant Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Bali. He previously held the same position at the now partly-opened Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Prior to that, Pendaries was in Malaysia as Director of Food and Beverage of the Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur and also worked with Four Seasons in the Maldives.

Christoph Voegli has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager at the Carlton Hotel in Singapore. He previously held the same position at the Royal Mulu Resort in Sarawak and at the Hotel Sanur Beach in Bali.

Roy Crane has been appointed Director of Rooms at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii. Previously he was the Director of Rooms at the Westin St. Francis. Crane also worked at the Claremont in Berkeley as Resident Manager and at Nemacolin Woodland Resort as Project Manager.

Also at the Turtle Bay Resort, Milton Husted has been promoted to Director of Revenue Management. Husted has been with Benchmark Hospitality for over four years, starting with the company at the Founders Inn of Virginia Beach.

Thomas Parke has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii. Parke was previously the Chief Operating Officer & Sales Director at Cayo Largo in Puerto Rico. Parke has held senior-level management positions at American Golf Corporation Monica, CCA International as well as Director-level positions at the Maui InterContinental Resort and the Kea Lani Hotel and Villas.

Also at Turtle Bay Resort, Stacy Keen has been appointed Director of Travel Industry Sales. Keen was previously the Director of Product Development for American Tours International in Honolulu.

Gregg Enright has joined the Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort as General Manager. Enright was most recently the General Manager of the Outrigger at Lae nani.

Norman Higashi has been appointed Director of Banquet Services at the Turtle Bay Resort. Most recently, he was the Executive Assistant Manager and Food and Beverage Director for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts in Guam.

Marion Walsh is the new Director of Communications at the Intercontinental Grand Stanford in Hong Kong. Walsh previously spent over six years working closely with Alain Ducasse as his prime Public Relations liaison in Monte Carlo, Paris and New York. Ducasse has a Spoon restaurant at the other Intercontinental in Hong Kong.

Elsie Chia-Ozaku has been named Director, Global Sales - Singapore Hotels with Raffles International and will be based out of Tokyo. Chia-Ozaku joins Raffles from the Singapore Tourism Board in Japan where she worked for over eighteen years.

Geoffroy Boehme has been appointed Front Office Manager at Huvafen Fushi, a new luxury resort scheduled to open in July in the Maldives. Boehme previously worked in Chicago at the Swissôtel as a Concierge, and in Paris at the Grand Hotel Intercontinental.

Kristoffer Luczak will be joining Raffles as Executive Chef this summer, taking over from Jean-Paul Naquin who left in March. Luczak, a talented Swede who is only 35, is currently the Executive Chef at the award-winning Peninsula Bangkok. His first Executive Chef position, at age 30, was at the Bali Aubrey.

Michel Seyve has been appointed Executive Chef at the Bora Bora Nui Resort. He comes to Tahiti from China where he was the Executive Chef at the Crowne Plaza North Beijing. Seyve previously worked in Hanoi where he owned a French restaurant and also worked as the Executive Chef of the Nikko Hanoi.

Nam Quoc Nguyen has been appointed Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage at the Legian Bali. He comes from the Swissôtel/Raffles the Howard London. Before joining The Howard, Nam worked for the Les Amis Group in Singapore in the capacity of Resident Chef at the Lighthouse at the Fullerton Hotel. He also worked for Aquavit in New York, Le Canard in Oslo and Grand Hotel Oslo. At the Legian, Nguyen takes over from Sean O�Connell, now the Executive Chef at the Banyan Tree Phuket.

Gary Palm has been appointed Executive Chef at the Marriott Pusan. He was previously at the Park Lane in Jakarta in the same position. Palm worked in California before at the Mission Inn and at the Hotel Del Coronado. He had previously experienced Korea as the Executive Sous Chef of the Ritz-Carlton Seoul.

Nicolas Joanny has joined the Four Seasons Bangkok as Chef de Cuisine and will be in charge of the restaurant Madison. He was previously in Singapore as Executive Chef and Partner of Les Saisons and at Ntermezzo Restaurant.

Adam Watson is the new Executive Sous Chef at the Hilton Tokyo Bay. Most recently, Watson was the Chef de Cuisine at Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort and Spa in Dubai. He also worked in Guam with Marriott as Chef de Cuisine and at the Westin Resort Guam as Banquet Sous Chef.

Africa and the Middle East
Simon Casson has been promoted to the position of General Manager at the Four Seasons Doha. He transfers from the Four Seasons London where he was the Hotel Manager for three years. Casson also worked at the Four Seasons Canary Wharf in the same capacity and at the Four Seasons Washington DC as Rooms Division Manager.

Jean- Pierre Simon has been appointed General Manager at the Sands Resort in Mauritius. He was previously in the United Arab Emirates at the Al Jazhira Hotel and at the Jebel Ali as Hotel Manager.

Markus Engel has been appointed General Manager at the Oberoi Mauritius. He is taking over from Wilhelm Luxem. Engel was previously with Mandarin-Oriental in Munich as the General Manager and in London as Resident Manager. He has also worked with Peninsula in Chicago where he was the opening Director of Food and Beverage.

Claude Lalande has been appointed Manager of the Government House for the Prime Minister's Court Gudaibiya Palace in Bahrain. Prior to that, Lalande worked with Méridien as Deputy General Manager for the Jeddah and Cairo properties. He also worked in Turkey as Resident Manager at the Kempinski Ciragan Palace Istanbul.

Ron Cusiter has been promoted to Regional Director of Marketing for the Middle East and Asia with Rosewood Hotels and Resorts. Cusiter previously held the title of Director of Marketing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Rosewood�s Al Faisaliah Hotel and Hotel Al Khozama. Prior to his joining Rosewood four years ago, Cusiter honed his skills at Hilton International UK and Ireland as Area Director of Sales.

Moritz Klein has been appointed Resident Manager at the Beach Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Prior to that, Klein was in Brunei at the Empire Hotel and Country Club where he was Director of Rooms and was part of the pre-opening team. Klein's previous hotel management experience across the globe included the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow; Claridge's, London; the Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich and the New World Hotel in Saigon.

Edouard Demptos has joined the Hyatt Regency Casablanca as Food and Beverage Director. Most recently, he was in Ireland at Jury�s Hotel in Dublin as Food and Beverage Manager; he also worked with InterContinental for four years in various Food and Beverage positions in Venezuela.

Adel Baban has taken over the reins as Resident Manager at Dar Al Sondos Hotel Apartments by Le Méridien in Dubai. Most recently employed as General Manager of Concorde Hotel & Residence in Dubai, overseeing its soft opening, Baban worked with Méridien before in Baghdad as Director of Sales and Marketing.

Felix Mayer has been promoted to Director of Business Development with InterContinental in Doha, Qatar. Most recently, Mayer was Director of Rooms with the InterContinental Miami for three years. He also worked in the New York and Vienna properties.

Frank Reichenbach has been appointed General Manager of the Movenpick Bahrain. He transfers from the Movenpick Beirut where he held the same position. Reichenbach previously worked in Asia for several years with Shangri-La Hotels as the General Manager of the Shangri-La Golden Sands Resort, Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort and Shangri-La Surabaya.

Amal Oumasse has been appointed Director of Sales & Marketing at the Mövenpick Hotel Bur Dubai. Oumasse, originally from Morocco, was most recently at the Sheraton Deira Hotel in Dubai.

Philippe Bousseau is the new Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager at the Sands Resort in Mauritius. He was previously Executive Chef at Naiade Resort Les Pavillons also in Mauritius. Prior to that, Bousseau worked in French Polynesia as the opening Executive Sous Chef of what is now the Sheraton Tahiti.

Andre Buser has been appointed Executive Chef at the soon-to-open Four Seasons Cairo. Originally from Switzerland, Buser was previously in Thailand and worked in the same capacity at the JW Marriott, the Sukhothai and the Oriental in Bangkok.

The Americas
David Kurland has been appointed Managing Director at Acqualina, by developer Jules Trump and Rosewood Hotels and Resorts. The 51-story luxury beachfront property, which promises to be one of the country�s finest, is slated to open in November. Kurland was previously in Puerto Rico as the President and Managing Director of the cool Water Club and its sister property the Excelsior. He also was, for many years, the President and Managing Director of the El San Juan Hotel and Casino. Kurland is no stranger to Miami, where he ran the Grand Bay for six years.

Duncan Graham has been named General Manager at San Ysidro Ranch. Prior to that, he was with Starwood as General Manager of the St. Regis Washington, DC. He had joined the property four years ago as Hotel Manager from the St. Regis Houston.

Sileshi Mengiste has been appointed Executive Director of Hotel Operations at Wynn Las Vegas. He was previously the General Manager of the St. Regis Houston. Mengiste also managed the Clift in San Francisco.

William Taylor has been appointed General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. He transfers from the Four Seasons Atlanta where he held the same position. In Chicago, he replaces Christoph Schmidinger, who is now the General Manager of the Four Seasons New York, replacing Thomas Steinhauer.

Robert Nelson has been appointed General Manager at the Lodge at Cordillera. He was previously the General Manager and Vice President of Hospitality at the Woodlands Resort and Conference Center.

Mehdi Eftekari has been appointed General Manager of the Four Seasons Los Angeles, taking over from William Mackay who transferred to Hong Kong. Eftekari previously held the top job at the Four Seasons Newport Beach. His successor in Newport Beach is Thomas Gurtner, who comes from the Four Seasons Boston where he was the General Manager and a Regional Vice President. Gurtner�s successor in Boston is Peter O�Colmain, formerly the General Manager of the Regent Beverly Wilshire.

At the Regent Beverly Wilshire, Rada Arora takes over from O�Colmain. He comes from the Four Seasons Wailea Maui, where he had been the General Manager for the past three years.

Philip Barnes has been appointed Regional Vice President, Pacific Northwest Region, Fairmont Hotels and General Manager at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Barnes was most recently the Regional Vice President, Operations, Western Canada, Delta Hotels, and General Manager of the Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel. Prior to joining Delta (now part of Fairmont), Barnes was the Chief Operating Officer of Stamford Hotels and Resorts. Before that, Barnes had held General Manager positions at the Regent of Auckland, the Four Seasons Singapore, the Shangri-La Singapore and Houston�s former Four Seasons Inn on the Park.

Joseph Violi has been appointed General Manager at the Orrington Hotel in Evanston. He most recently was the General Manager of the Swissôtel Chicago. He also worked in California before as Managing Director of the Cliffs in Shell Beach. Violi, a Cornell graduate, also logged fourteen years with Hyatt and six with Ritz-Carlton.

Lisa Impagliazzo has been named General Manager of Le Méridien Beverly Hills. She will be cumulating this position with that of Area Vice President Americas for Méridien Hotels. In Beverly Hills, she replaces Laurence Saward who left the company.

Kurt Wiksten has been appointed Resort Manager at Lajitas, "Texas� Ultimate Hideout". Wiksten has been the Director of Operations at Le Méridien Beverly Hills for the past two years. He also took part in the opening of the Kor Group�s two Viceroys in Santa Monica and Palm Springs.

Andrea Melotti has been appointed Managing Director of the Bentley Group in Miami. Until a few months ago, Melotti was the General Manager of the Raleigh and previously the Managing Director at the Sagamore also in Miami.

Denis Dupart has been transferred to the Sofitel Lafayette Square in Washington, DC where he will be taking over from Francis Cossuta as General Manager. Cossuta will be moving to Egypt in a similar capacity. Dupart was previously the Director of Operations at the Sofitel Montreal and also worked in Asia for the Sofitel and Novotel brands for several years.

Henri Birmele has been promoted to General Manager at Shutters on the Beach. He had joined the property a year ago from the Viceroy where he was the opening General Manager. Prior to joining the Kor Group, Birmele worked with Starwood as the Hotel Manager of the St. Regis Hotel and Spa in Los Angeles where he was a member of the opening team. At Shutters, he replaces Armella Stepan who has been promoted to Vice President of Brand and Marketing for the Edward Thomas Companies, the owners of Shutters on the Beach and Casa Del Mar. Prior to that, Stepan had been the opening General Manager at the Standard in Hollywood.

At Casa Del Mar, Klaus Mennekes has been promoted to Vice President of Operations for the Edward Thomas Companies.

Shaun Robinson has been named General Manager of the Doubletree Hotel San Diego/Del Mar.  Robinson most recently served as General Manager of the Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, a position he held for three years.

Michel Chertouh has been promoted to General Manager at the Intercontinental Sao Paulo. Chertouh has been with the Intercontinental Hotel Group for twenty years and previously held the same position at the Crowne Plaza, also in Sao Paulo. He also worked at other Intercontinental properties in Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, London and Paris.

At the Adam�s Mark St. Louis the new General Manager is Wolfgang Waldor. He comes from the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. The position had been left vacant since Jeffrey Jacobs left in January.

Laura Neumann has been promoted to the position of Vice President and General Manager of the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs by Benchmark Hospitality. A seventeen-year company veteran she held regional positions with Benchmark for several years.

Jean-Luc Deguines has been named General Manager of New York�s classic Knickerbocker Club. Deguines was the Resident Manager at the Mandarin-Oriental Hotel du Rhône in Geneva. He had worked in New York before also with Mandarin-Oriental at the Mark as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food and Beverage.

Antoine Berberi has been appointed General Manager of the Westin Governor Morris following a thirteen-year career with InterContinental, where his last position was that of General Manager at the InterContinental Al Ain. Berberi is an IHMI Cornell-Essec graduate.

Marie-Christine Albini has been appointed General Manager at the Hotel Carl Gustav in St. Barthelemy. Albini was previously the Rooms Division Manager at the Kilimanjaro in Courchevel. She had worked in St. Barthelemy before as the Operations Manager at Guanahani.

Joseph Kirtley has been transferred by Ian Schrager Hotels from the Paramount in New York (which was just sold to Hard Rock International) to the Mondrian in Los Angeles. Lateral move for Kirtley, who keeps his same title of Hotel Manager. A graduate of Michigan State University, he has been with Ian Schrager Hotels since 1995.

Mark Fischer is the opening General Manager of Kimpton's newest Boutique property, the Onyx Hotel, in Boston, set to open mid-May. Fischer was previously the Assistant General Manager at Kimpton's Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge. Before that, he was the Rooms Division Manager at the Chambers in New York.

Enrico Lindenhahn has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager in charge of the French Village at the Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort. Lindenhahn was previously the Food and Beverage Director at Grande Sport Villa Golf Resort and Spa in Jamaica.

At Rosewood�s soon-to-open Acqualina, Deborah Yager-Fleming has been named Director of Sales and Marketing. She joins following a two-year stint as a Vice President with our friendly competitor Executive Search International. Yager also worked as Vice President of Marketing for Island Outpost and held several senior management positions with The Leading Hotels of the World.

Teresa Holden joined Allison Kneubuhl�s Allimar as Vice President Marketing. Holden has spent over twenty years marketing luxury hotels. She has been affiliated with Ritz-Carlton, Wyndham, Ian Schrager Hotels, W Hotels and St. Regis Hotels & Resorts. Most recently, she was the Director of Sales and Marketing at the St. Regis Los Angeles.

Michele Rees has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the soon-to-open Elk Mountain Resort outside Telluride. Rees previously worked in Chicago for six years as Vice President of Marketing and Sales with a full service travel agency. She also held various Sales and Marketing positions with Hyatt International in Germany and Switzerland. Elk Mountain Resort is managed by Jack Westergom�s Manhattan Hospitality Advisors, of Hermosa Beach.

Jeff Karlson has been appointed Regional Director of Sales & Marketing for Hilton International in Latin America to be based in Sao Paulo.  Karlson was formerly the Vice President of Marketing for Starwood Hotels in Latin America. Prior to that, he held the position of Regional Director of Sales & Marketing for InterContinental Hotels in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. 

Denise Miller has been named Regional Director of Sales for Destination Hotels and Resorts, based in New York City. Miller was previously the Director of National Accounts for Kimpton Hotels in San Francisco.

Julia Gajcak has been named Vice President, Communications for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. She replaces Stephanie Platt who retired after fourteen years with the company. Gajcak previously worked for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. She started her Four Seasons career in Bali and most recently served as Regional Director of Public Relations for Asia.

Marjan Sabetian has joined Four Seasons Hotels as Public Relations Manager at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. She was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Mosaic also in Beverly Hills and at the Beverly Plaza Hotel.

John Makhamaltchi has joined Small Luxury Hotels in San Francisco as their Regional Director of Sales. He was previously the opening Director of Sales and Marketing at the Carneros Inn in Napa Valley and the Director of Sales at San Francisco�s luxe Huntington.

Nanci Figueroa has been promoted to Area Director of Sales and Marketing for two of Kimpton�s three Chicago properties, the Hotel Monaco Chicago and the Hotel Burnham.  Figueroa joined Kimpton in 2001 when she was brought on board as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel Monaco Chicago. 

Kimberly Schaller has been promoted to Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. In her new role, Schaller will maintain her former responsibilities as Vice President of Marketing � a role she held for seven years.

Also at Hershey, Timothy Bugas becomes Vice President of Sales. Bugas began with the Company in 2001 as the Managing Director of Resorts Sales for Hershey Resorts. He has held various Director Sales roles in the hospitality industry including at the Greenbrier and the Homestead.

Mike Pistana is the new Director of Leisure Sales at Bellagio in Las Vegas. Pistana has been employed by MGM Mirage for the past ten years in various Hotel Operations and Sales & Marketing positions at Las Vegas� Golden Nugget and at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi.

Mark Wallisa has been named Director of Sales and Marketing at the Millennium Hotel Cincinnati. Wallisa previously held the position of Vice President of Sales with the Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau. He had also served as Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GES Exposition Services, one of the country�s leading trade show and event marketing firms.

Peter Dyckes has joined the Four Seasons San Francisco as its Director of Sales. He comes from Loews Resorts in Orlando. He takes the spot left vacant when Joe Dunnavant left San Francisco to join Four Seasons� Western Sales Office in Beverly Hills.

Also at the Four Seasons San Francisco, Kevin O�Rourke has joined as Sales Manager. O�Rourke previously logged seven years with Hyatt in San Francisco, first at the Park Hyatt, then at the Hyatt Regency at Embarcadero Center.

Michael Consuelo has been appointed Director of Group Sales at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa. Most recently, he was the Group and Convention Sales Director at the Disneyland Resort.

Kimberley Curtis Johnston has been promoted to Director of Resort Operations at Sea Trail Plantation, a property she joined in 2002 as Director of Sales, Conference Services and Banquets.

Oliver Wharton has been appointed Managing Director of Fix at the Bellagio. Wharton, a Cornell hotel graduate, previously worked as Director of Restaurants Operations for Michael Mina Restaurants where he was responsible for the openings of Nob Hill and Seablue at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Prior to that, Wharton worked with Jean-Georges Vongerichten for several years including two as the General Manager of the much-lamented Vong in London.

Ana Lavin has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the soon-to-open Inn at Palmetto Bluff, the latest Auberge Resort, in Bluffton, South Carolina. Most recently, Lavin served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the Coastal Hotel Group, whose properties include the Bitter End Yacht Club, Sunset Waters Beach Resort, the Inn at Morro Bay and its sister property, the Sea Venture Resort.

Patrick Pollak has been transferred back to Mexico by Four Seasons as Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Punta Mita. Most recently, he was the Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. Pollak has been with Four Seasons for eight years and was at the Four Seasons Mexico City prior to moving to Chicago.

Wim Steenbakkers has been appointed Director of Operations for Eleuthera Properties in the Bahamas. Prior to that, Steenbakkers was at the head of a consulting firm specializing in the development and marketing of European Resort properties. He also owned a small luxury resort in Quebec.

Frank Fraser has been named Director of Catering and Conference Services at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa. He most recently was at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where he was the Director of Private Events for two years. Prior to the Peninsula, he was with Starwood as a Catering Sales Manager at the Phoenician.

Greg Martinez has been named Director of Sales at the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center in Berkeley. His previous experience includes Director of Sales for the South Seas Resort, on Captiva Island and Director of Sales at the Fairmont Dallas.  Most recently, he served as the Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the San Francisco Bay Hotel Collection, a collection of five San Francisco hotels. 

Alexander Kim has been named Vice President and General Manager of Conference Services and Banquet Operations at Atlantis on Paradise Island. Prior to joining Atlantis, Kim was at La Quinta Resort and Club where he served as Director of Conference Services and Director of Food and Beverage.

David Bodette has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Langham Hotel Boston, formerly Le Méridien Boston. He was previously the Director of Tasting Room Operations at Napa Valley�s Niebaum-Coppola winery. Bodette also served as Director of Food and Beverage at L'Auberge du Soleil, at the Elliott in Seattle (now the Grand Hyatt) and at the Elbow Beach Mandarin-Oriental.

Cyndi Roppolo has joined the Sofitel New York as Director of Catering Sales. She was previously the Director of Catering at the Intercontinental New York Central Park South.

Oscar Gomez has been promoted to Director of Engineering for Accor Hotels New York City, overseeing the Sofitel and Novotel. He was previously the Director of Engineering at the Sofitel New York.

Beverly Ramsook has been appointed Director of Revenue of Accor Hotels New York City, overseeing the Sofitel and the Novotel. Prior to that, she was the Director of Revenue for the Sofitel New York.

Karen Webster has been appointed Controller of Accor Hotels New York City. She will oversee the Sofitel and Novotel properties. Before her promotion, she was the Controller at the Novotel New York.

James Lao has joined the Patina Group as Director of Catering at the Music Center for the Performing Arts. Lao most recently worked at the Regent Beverly Wilshire in both catering and banquets. He also spent ten years with Hyatt Hotels and two years with the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey also in catering.

Fiona Milne has been appointed Front of the House Manager at Necker Island, Sir Richard Branson's private island located in the British Virgin Islands. She comes from the Draycott Hotel in London where she was an Assistant Manager. Prior to that, Milne was with Mandarin-Oriental for four years at their London and Miami properties.

Jim Root has been appointed Director of the Spa at Miraval. He previously held the same position at Meadowood, where he stayed for four years.

Nicolas Sangros is the new Restaurant Director at Joel Antunes� restaurant in Atlanta where he replaces Frédéric Serol who is moving back to France. Sangros just completed two years as the Director of Restaurants at the Sofitel Lafayette Square in Washington, DC.

Grant MacPherson has been promoted to Executive Chef at Wynn Las Vegas. He previously served as Executive Chef developing launch plans for the upcoming Wynn Resort Macau. Previously he opened Bellagio in Las Vegas and for five years oversaw its culinary operations. MacPherson was the Executive Chef at Singapore�s Raffles Hotel and at the Datai in Langkawi.

Also at Wynn Las Vegas, Frédéric Robert has been appointed Executive Pastry Chef. Robert has spent the last twenty five years working side by side with Alain Ducasse.

Christian Delouvrier is back on the scene of one of his first successes as the new Chef at Alain Ducasse New York (where he replaces Didier Elena who went back to France). He plies his trade in the very location where his award-winning Les Célébrités was launched. From there, Delouvrier had moved to the now-shuttered Lespinasse at the St. Regis New York. His first hit in New York was the also shuttered Restaurant Maurice at the Hotel Parker-Méridien, which was opened in 1981.

Michael Bilger is leaving the Lodge at Sonoma where he had been the Executive Chef since May 2002, to be the opening Chef at the Nord Family Wine Garden, set to open in June in Yountville. Bilger had also worked as a Sous Chef at Boulevard and Moose�s, both in San Francisco.

Denis Jaricot is the new Executive Chef at Rosewood�s Little Dix Bay. He was previously the Executive Chef at the CuisinArt Resort and Spa in Anguilla.

Anthony Keene is the new Executive Chef at Little Palm Island. Prior to that, Anthony had held Executive Chef positions at the Ojai Valley Inn, the Paradise Valley Country Club and at several Ritz-Carlton properties.

Dennis Leary has left Francis Ford Coppola�s wine- friendly Rubicon after four years. His replacement as Executive Chef is Stuart Brioza, formerly of Tapawingo in Ellsworth, Michigan, and one of Food & Wine magazine's top 10 American chefs of 2003.

Richard Bies is the new Pastry Chef at the Chanler in Newport. He most recently worked at the Fairmont San Francisco as the Executive Pastry Chef, a position he also held at the Four Seasons Atlanta and the Omni Atlanta.

Eric Damidot has been appointed Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta. Damidot was previously at France�s plush new Palais de La Méditerranée in Nice as its Chef de Cuisine. Damidot also worked in Las Vegas at the Rio Hotel and Casino as Executive Sous Chef and at Bellagio as Executive Banquet Chef. Damidot had worked with Ritz-Carlton before at their San Francisco and Palm Beach properties.

Thomas Ryan is the new Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove. Originally joining Ritz-Carlton Hotels in 1990 in Marina Del Rey, Ryan left six years later to join Rosewood Hotels. He also opened hotels for Omni and the Grand America in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympics. His return to Ritz-Carlton came in 2002 in Atlanta.

Lewis Butler is the new Executive Chef at Rancho Bernardo Inn. He was previously the Executive Sous Chef at the Four Seasons Los Angeles. Originally from Canada, Lewis had worked with Four Seasons in their Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Atlanta properties before moving to Los Angeles.

Ryan Johnston was briefly named Executive Chef at Beaucoup in San Francisco. He replaced Bruno Davaillon who left to become the Executive Chef at Alain Ducasse's Mix scheduled to open in September at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Johnston held his position for a month or so before Beaucoup was shuttered by its owners, San Francisco�s Real Restaurant Group.

Christian Haug has been appointed Pastry Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Naples. He was previously the Assistant Pastry Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. Haug also worked at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson�s Corner.

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Edited by 
Benoit Gateau-Cumin
President
The Boutique Search Firm
http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com
[email protected]
.
THE BOUTIQUE SEARCH FIRM
A California Corporation
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Beverly Hills, CA 90035
TEL. 310-552-2221
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[email protected]


Karen Jolley, Vice President, 
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The Boutique Search Firm
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Tel:  (33) 4-75-27-10-31
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http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com

Also See:
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What/ Februrary 2004
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What/ January 2004
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What/ December 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What/ November 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What/ October 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What/ September 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / August 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / July 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / June 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / May 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / April 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / March 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / Feb 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / Jan 2003
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / Dec 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / Nov 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / Oct 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What - the Americas / June 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / May 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / April 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / Feb 2002
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / December 2001
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / November 2001
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / June 2001
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / May 2001
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What / April 2001
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What  / February 2001
Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What  / Nov 2000
 
 

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