Michael Silberstein, (Cornell class of 1974), has joined El-Ad Properties,
the new owners of New York�s Plaza, as Owner�s Representative. Silberstein,
who is a former Managing Director at the New York Palace, will advise El-Ad
on their conversion of the 1907 landmark into a mixed-use building to include
250 high-end condominia, a 150-room boutique hotel, and a substantial amount
of luxe retail space.
Jim Veil has been appointed President of Atlanta-based Twelve Hotels
and Residences. Veil had been with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company since
1986, most recently as Regional Vice President Pre-Opening. Twelve will
be developing and operating small high-tech hotels in Atlanta and other
major cities.
Matt Bailey has been appointed Senior Vice President of Operations for
ResortQuest Hawaii, also known as Aston Hotels & Resorts. Bailey comes
home to Hawaii, which he had left in 1997 after being the General Manager
of David Murdock�s Manele Bay Hotel (soon to be reflagged Four Seasons).
Bailey had also been the Resident Manager at Kapalua Bay and the General
Manager of the Keauhou Beach in Kona. Most recently Bailey was a partner
in Fandango Resorts, following tenure as the Vice President and General
Manager of Robert Redford�s Sundance.
Arash Azarbarzin has been appointed President of the SBE Group in Beverly
Hills. For the past two years, he was the General Manager of New York�s
W Union Square. He had also been the General Manager of the now-shuttered
St. Regis Los Angeles.
Howard Karawan has been promoted to Divisional President/Managing Director
with Kerzner International for the company's Destination Resorts business.
Karawan was formerly the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Karawan first joined the Company ten years ago as Vice President, Sales
& Marketing.
Rick Charles has been appointed Chief Operating Officer at the Sandia
Resort & Casino. He previously spent ten years with Gaylord Entertainment
in Nashville, most recently as Corporate Vice President, Hotel Division.
Bill Doak has joined Ian Schrager�s Mondrian as General Manager. He
took over from David Weidlich who has been promoted and has moved to the
Morgan Hotel Group�s corporate offices in New York. Doak's prior experience
include five years at the Regent Beverly Wilshire where he first started
as Director of Sales and Marketing and was later promoted to Resident Manager.
Upon leaving the Beverly Wilshire, Doak became the Senior Vice President
Hospitality for JRK Asset Management, the owners of the Oceana in Santa
Monica and Santa Barbara, as well as the Roger Williams and the Franklin
in New York.
Mark Stevenson has been appointed General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton
Lake Las Vegas, following a six-year tenure in the same capacity at the
Ritz-Carlton San Juan, Puerto Rico. In Lake Las Vegas, Stevenson replaces
Doug Brooks who left the company in September.
Doug Brooks has been appointed General Manager of the Vail Cascade Resort.
The property, formerly the Westin Vail, is operated by Destination Hotels
and Resorts. Brooks recently separated from Ritz-Carlton after thirteen
years. A former Sales and Marketing specialist, Brooks opened three luxury
resorts for Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas, Jamaica and Las Vegas.
Francisco Gomez has been named General Manager of the landmark Fairmont
San Francisco. Gomez succeeds Mark Huntley, who has departed to London
and Fairmont's new trophy property there, the Savoy.
Malcolm Thompson has been appointed General Manager of the Park Hyatt
Los Angeles. Thompson joined Hyatt in 1984 at the Hyatt Regency Sydney
and had been the General Manager of the Park Hyatt Tokyo since 1998.
T.W. Hughes, a Cornell hotel graduate, has been appointed General Manager
of 9 Beaches, a new cabana-style resort in Bermuda slated to open in May
2005. The property is part of the Island Resort Collection, a company owned
by fellow Cornell Alumni David Dodwell and Russ Urban. Hughes was most
recently at the IMG National Country Club in South Korea and had been in
Asia for the past eleven years.
Lynn Farrar has been appointed General Manager at the Shelter Pointe
Resort and Marina in San Diego. He was previously a Regional Vice President-General
Manager with Pacific Hospitality for four years and held a similar position
with Tarsadia for the San Diego region.
Joyce Dorsett has been appointed General Manager of the Hotel Andalucia
in Santa Barbara, operated by the Edward Thomas Companies who also own
and operate Shutters on the Beach and Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. Dorsett
was most recently at the Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley and the Beach House
at Half Moon Bay and Beach House at Hermosa Beach.
Colin McBeath has been appointed General Manager at the Mayfair House,
a Kimpton property, in Coconut Grove, replacing Hans Bratt. McBeath was
previously the Hotel Manager at the Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC and
Assistant General Manager at the Pacific Palisades in Vancouver. Prior
to joining Kimpton, McBeath worked at the Ritz Taipei for five years.
Maria Streeby is the new General Manager of Kimpton's Cypress Hotel
in Cupertino. She was most recently at Accenture as Facilities and Services
Manager.
Robert Foster, Cornell MPS class of 1976, is the General Manager of
the Sunburst Resort in Scottsdale. Foster had previously been the Chief
Executive Officer of Globalrooms.com following nineteen years with Sheraton,
where he was the General Manager of several key properties as well as a
Regional Director of Operations.
Ivor Williams has joined the Anaheim Park Hotel as General Manager.
Williams was previously at the helm of the historic Hotel Culver in Culver
City, once the personal property of John Wayne.
Tim Steckbeck has left his position of Director of Operations at the
Phoenician to become the Director of Resort and Golf Services for Shea
Homes-Trilogy.
Ron Albeit has been named Area General Manager of the Registry Resort
& Club and Edgewater Beach Hotel & Club. Albeit became the General
Manager of the Registry Resort & Club in 1999 after twenty years at
the Boca Raton Resort and Club.
Rich Verruni is the new General Manager of the historic Hotel El Dorado
in Santa Fe. Verruni was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel
Westminster in New Jersey. He comes home to Santa Fe where he managed,
some years ago, La Posada de Santa Fe on behalf of Olympus Real Estate
and Rockresorts.
Kurt Bjorkman is the new General Manager at the Viceroy Palm Springs.
Bjorkman was most recently the Operations Manager at the Fairmont Miramar
in Santa Monica and the Director of Catering and Conference Services at
the Fairmont San Francisco.
Steve Shalit has been appointed General Manager of the St. Regis Fort
Lauderdale due to open in December. Shalit has been involved with Starwood
properties for the past thirty years and was most recently the General
Manager of the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson.
Bob Khalife has been named General Manager of the Grand Barbados Beach
Resort. Khalife was previously the Food and Beverage Director at the Mansion
on Turtle Creek after serving as Guest Services Manager.
Jorge Gutierrez has been named General Manager of the soon-to-open Hilton
Villahermosa & Conference Center. Gutierrez was previously at the Hilton
Cancun Beach & Golf Resort, where he served as Hotel Manager since
July 2003.
Al Petrone has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer for Noble House
Hotels and Resorts in Seattle. Petrone was previously at Hotels AB as Director
of Operations and Ian Schrager Hotels as Vice President-Operations.
Jodi Dell Leblanc has been promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing
for the Americas for Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. Leblanc opened Taj's
North American office in January 1999.
David Moth is opening a development and sales office for Distinguished
Hotels International in Miami as Executive Vice President. Moth was most
recently the General Manager at the Tides in Miami Beach.
Michael Fernandez takes over from David Moth as the General Manager
of the Tides. Fernandez was most recently the Resort Manager at the Four
Seasons Scottsdale and served as Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons
Beverly Hills.
Karyn O'Connell has been appointed Hotel Manager at Le Méridien
Sunny Isles in Miami, slated to open in March 2005. She was previously
working as the Director of Human Resources at Le Méridien Chicago
for three years and with Omni in their Indianapolis and Chicago properties.
Cheryl Wilcox-Long is her successor in Chicago.
Lloyd Van Horn has been appointed Resort Manager at Lajitas in Texas.
Van Horn was previously the General Manager at the Willcox in South Carolina
and the Assistant General Manager at the Point. Both the Willcox and the
Point belong to the Garrett Hotel Group. At Lajitas, he replaces Kurt Wiksten,
who relocated to Florida.
Matthew La Vine formerly the Front Office Manager at the defunct St.
Regis Los Angeles, has moved to the Wyndham Bel Age as Hotel Manager. La
Vine also spent ten years with Four Seasons in various positions and locations.
John Rosen has been named Vice President, Acquisitions & Development
for Omni Hotels in Dallas. Rosen comes from Calistoga Ranch where he was
Vice President Finance and Administration since 2001.
Fernando Gibaja has been appointed Executive Assistant Manager at the
Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. He was previously the Executive Assistant Manager
in charge of Food and Beverage at the Palace in Madrid. Gibaja comes home
to Ritz-Carlton, a company he previously spent eight years with.
Michael Tompkins is the new Director of Hotel and Spa Operations at
the Oneida Indian Nation�s Turning Stone Resort and Casino. Tompkins was
formerly the Associate Managing Director and Director of Health and Healing
at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires.
Anne-Edith Magnin Cameron has joined the Parc 55 in San Francisco as
Director of Operations. She previously spent nine years at San Ysidro Ranch,
where her last position was that of General Manager.
Jeffrey Boland has been appointed Director, Hospitality & Tourism
for Colliers International Realty Advisors Inc. based in Toronto. Prior
to joining Colliers, Boland was the General Manager at Couples Swept Away
Resort in Jamaica. He also spent four years in Grenada as Resident Manager
and part of the opening team for La Source.
Bruno Vergeynst has been promoted to the position of Director of Food
and Beverage at Ian Schrager�s Hudson in New York. He had been part of
the hotel�s opening team, but had left to return to Europe. He returned
last May as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.
Andreas Kappenhagen has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage
at the Viceroy Palm Springs. Kappenhagen was most recently in a similar
position at Miramonte and La Quinta Resort and Club. At the Viceroy, he
replaces Oliver Schutz who transferred back to the Viceroy Santa Monica
as Assistant Food and Beverage Manager.
Mark Boullion is the new Food and Beverage Director at the Bishop Lodge
in Santa Fe. Boullion recently did some Food and Beverage Project Management
at Meadowood.
Michael Seznec is the General Manager of the soon-to-open Brasserie
Boulud at Wynn Las Vegas. Seznec joins from Craftsteak at the MGM Grand.
Steven DeFelice is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hyatt
Regency San Antonio. He previously served as Marketing Director of the
Marriott and Renaissance hotels of New Orleans.
Sherrie Bigler is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at Le Méridien
at Beverly Hills. Bigler is a former Director of Sales and Marketing at
the Westin Bonaventure.
Iman Butler has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the
Ritz-Carlton Tyson�s Corner. Butler was previously in the same position
at the Loews L�Enfant Plaza in Washington DC following nine years with
Hilton Hotels.
Elaine Morena has joined the soon-to-open St. Regis San Francisco as
Director of Group Sales. Morena had been with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
for the past five years, most recently as National Sales Manager at the
Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey.
Terra Calegari has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing
at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort Spa & Casino. Betsy Olwine replaces
Calegari as Director of Sales & Marketing at the Park Hyatt San Francisco.
Rebecca Huetter has started a marketing consulting company, Interim
Management Group. She was most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing
for Rosewood�s Las Ventanas al Paraiso. Huetter, who spent part of her
career with Four Seasons, also was a Regional Director of Sales and Marketing
for Ian Schrager Hotels, based at San Francisco�s Clift.
John Visconti has been named Corporate Director of Sales for JC Resorts
in San Diego. Visconti has been with InterContinental Hotels and Resorts
in various positions since 1990.
Dan League has joined Allimar in Beverly Hills as Executive Director-Electronic
Marketing. League was previously with Secure-Res and TravelClick.
Brian Cassidy has been appointed Regional Sales Director for Mauna Lani
Bay. For the past four years he was the Vice-President of Group and Incentive
Sales at Resort Marketing, Inc. following a fifteen-year career with Hyatt
Hotels and Resorts.
Dione Williams has joined the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel as National
Sales Manager. Williams was most recently a Sales Manager at the Anaheim
Hilton.
Cornell Hotel School graduate Jens Thraenhart has been promoted to Executive
Director, Marketing & Strategy for Fairmont. Thraenhart had re-joined
Fairmont in 2001 as Director, Internet Strategy.
Mario Leon has been named Sales and Marketing Manager at the Royal Plantation
Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Leon was previously the founder of the consulting
company MJL Select. He had also been the Director of Sales and Marketing
at André Balasz� Raleigh on Miami�s South Beach.
Nathalie Debonnet is the new Key Accounts Director of Special Markets
for InterContinental Hotels and Resorts based in Los Angeles. Debonnet
was most recently the Director of Sales North America for the Hôtel
de Crillon and the Hôtel Martinez based in New York. At InterContinental,
she replaces Kristin Tennant.
James Lao has been appointed Director of Catering at the Westin Bonaventure.
He previously worked in the same capacity with the Patina Group in Downtown
Los Angeles for the Los Angeles Music Center. Prior to that, he was at
the Regent Beverly Wilshire for three years.
Deborah Zaharychuk is the Director of Human Resources at the St. Regis
Monarch Beach taking over for Gemma Cardenas. Zaharychuk comes from Raffles
L�Ermitage and was previously at the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills. Cardenas
had left the St. Regis a few months ago to become the Director of Human
Resources at Shutters on the Beach and Casa Del Mar.
Steve Hostetter, formerly Rooms Division Manager at the Hilton Anaheim,
has joined Tarsadia Hotels as their Corporate Director of Staffing, based
in Newport Beach.
Frank Kawecki has joined the Kimpton Restaurant Group as Restaurant
Director, based in Washington DC. Kawecki comes from Striped Bass in Philadelphia
where he was the General Manager. He was previously with China Grill Management
overseeing Mix in New York. At Kimpton, he joins two former China Grill
colleagues, Kelly Jones, Vice President Food and Beverage, and Scott Cronin,
Regional Director of Operations.
Helene Lachance has been appointed Corporate Housekeeping Specialist
with Holland America Line in Seattle. She was previously the Executive
Housekeeper for Crystal Cruises.
Laetitia Vergne will be the Assistant Corporate Director of Housekeeping
at the Palms, Turks and Caicos. Vergne was the opening Executive Housekeeper
at the Radisson Plaza Tahiti and was the Assistant Executive Housekeeper
at Le Tahaa Private Island and Spa.
Jérome Jeannest has joined the Park Hyatt Los Angeles as Chief
Concierge. He previously worked in the same capacity at the St. Regis Los
Angeles.
Ann Emich-Patton has left the St. Regis Monarch Beach where she had
been the Spa Director for the past two and a half years, to start her own
consulting firm. Emich�s seventeen-year career in spa operations included
Director positions at the Sonoma Mission Inn, Bacara Resort and the Paris
Hotel and Casino.
Jasper Schneider is the opening Executive Chef at the Palms in Turks
and Caicos. Schneider comes from La Quinta Resort and Club where he was
the Chef de Cuisine at Azur by Le Bernardin.
Vincent Pouessel is the new Executive Chef at Aureole at Mandalay Bay
taking over for Philippe Rispoli who left to prepare the launch of Brasserie
Daniel at Wynn Las Vegas. Pouessel was previously the Executive Sous Chef
at the Mansion at the MGM Grand, also under Rispoli.
Andreas Nieto is back as the Executive Chef at the Westin Century Plaza.
He briefly joined the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas but was lured
back when his successor at the Century Plaza, Yannick Le Boulch, decided
to stay at the Marriott Denver where he was promoted to Director of Food
and Beverage.
Billy Akunna has been promoted to Executive Chef at Four Seasons Great
Exuma replacing Ciran Hickey who left the company. Akunna was previously
the Executive Sous Chef at the hotel and also worked in the same capacity
at the Four Seasons Istanbul.
Philippe Pinon has been appointed Executive Chef at the Royal Sonesta
in New Orleans. He worked in New Orleans before as Executive Chef of Le
Méridien and as Executive Sous Chef at the Windsor Court.
Michael Patton has left Shady Canyon in Irvine, where he had been the
Executive Chef for the past two years to open the Silverleaf Club in Scottsdale
as Executive Chef. Prior experience includes various culinary positions
at Baccara, Bellagio the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Four Seasons Los Angeles.
Paolo Verzeni a former Chef at the Ritz-Carlton Washington, DC is now
the Executive Chef at the Sofitel Minneapolis.
Ian Scollay is the Executive Chef at the Maidstone Club in Southampton.
Scollay comes from La Grenouille in New York and was previously the Executive
Sous Chef at the Chateau de Bagnols in France and the Ritz London.
David Campbell, formerly Senior Pastry Chef de Partie at the San Diego
Marriott Hotel and Marina, is the new Pastry Chef at the Hilton La Jolla
Torrey Pines. |