Cornell graduate Luc Van Wambeke, 51, untimely died August 13, while
on a business trip to Santo Domingo. A resident of St. Thomas since last
year, he had previously been the Regional Controller, East Coast, for the
SportsClub Company for five years. When the company broke up last year,
he joined his brother's business in the US Virgin Islands as Chief Financial
Officer. Prior to joining the SportsClub Company in 2002, Van Wambeke had
been the opening Financial Controller for what used to be the Regent Wall
Street. That followed an eleven-year stint as Financial Controller with
Ritz-Carlton in New York and Philadelphia.
Luis Fernandes has joined the Kor Group in the newly created position
of Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, responsible for the group's
properties on the East Coast and Mexico. He was previously the Chief Operating
Officer of Ty Warner's hotel group after serving as Managing Director at
Las Ventanas al Paraiso for two years.
Lausanne hotelier Paul Zuest has joined the Chatham Bars Inn as Managing
Director. He had been the Managing Director of Campton Place until it was
sold to the Kor Hotel Group. Zuest also served as Vice President Operations
at Broken Top in Oregon and President of Jumby Bay in Antigua. Over a nine-year
stint with Rosewood, he was the General Manager of the Hotel Bel-Air and
the Remington, now the St. Regis Houston.
Paul Ratchford has been named Managing Director of the Greenbrier, taking
over from Ted Kleisner, who is retiring after twenty-five years on the
job. Since 2003, Ratchford had been the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton
Half Moon Bay. A confirmed resort specialist, he had also played a role
as Vice President of Resort Operations for the Pebble Beach Company.
Texas hotelman Jeffrey Trigger will, as the head of Austin-based La
Corsha Hospitality, be leading the renaissance of the St. Anthony in San
Antonio and the Stoneleigh in Dallas. Trigger, who made his name at the
helm of the Mansion on Turtle Creek and the Adolphus, spent the past eight
years nurturing Austin's venerable Driskill back to its original splendor.
Florent Gateau has returned to Rosewood as Managing Director of Acqualina,
taking over from David Kurland. He was most recently the Resident Manager
at the Setai in Miami, a property he opened, following his initial seven
years with Rosewood in various positions at the Mansion on Turtle Creek
and Las Ventanas al Paraiso.
Stephen Bello has joined RockResorts as Corporate Director of Operations
and is currently doing double duty as Interim General Manager at La Posada
de Santa Fe until a successor is found for Ken Humes who has left the company.
Bello was most recently the President of the Classic Collection at RB Associates
in Washington, DC. He also served as General Manager of the Madison, also
in Washington, DC and the Hotel Hershey. Bello also logged nine years with
Ritz-Carlton as General Manager in Philadelphia, Rancho Mirage and Dubai.
Elizabeth Mullins has added Vice President/Area General Manager for
Ritz-Carlton Hotels to her existing duties as General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton
Philadelphia. She had previously been the General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton
Cleveland and the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.
Joel Freyberg will be leaving his position of Hotel Manager at New York's
Hotel Gansevoort to become the Executive Director of the prestigious Waldorf
Towers. Prior to joining the Gansevoort two years ago, he was the Director
of Housekeeping at the Carlyle.
Victor Barothy-Langer has been named General Manager of the soon-to-reopen
US Grant Hotel in San Diego, now a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection.
He was most recently the Hotel Manager at the Westin St. Francis and also
served as Hotel Manager at La Costa.
Steve Contos, previously the General Manager of the JW Marriott Orlando
has been promoted to Vice President and Managing Director of the 500-acre
Grande Lakes Orlando that includes the JW Marriott as well as the Ritz-Carlton.
Peter Kacheris replaces Contos as General Manager. Kacheris was most recently
the Hotel Manager at the Orlando World Center Marriott.
Michel Garnier has been appointed General Manager of Le Grand Lodge
in Mont Tremblant, Québec. He previously worked at the Chateau Cartier,
the Crowne Plaza Ottawa-Hull, the Crowne Plaza Isla Verde in Puerto Rico
as well as the Hotel Salam and Le Grand Hotel de Bamako in West Africa.
Kevin Osterhaus, formerly the General Manager of Casa Casuarina in Miami
Beach, has been promoted by Destination Club Management to the company-wide
role of Director of Operations.
Enrich Linden Hahn has been named General Manager at the Lodge Kura
Hulanda and Beach Club in Curacao. He was most recently with Sandals/Beaches
Resorts International as the Executive Assistant Manager at the French
Village at Beaches Turks & Calicos Resort & Spa.
Joachim Ohlin has joined the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach as General
Manager. He was most recently the Vice President for Resort Operations
at Mirbeau Companies as well as the General Manager at the Mirbeau Inn
and Spa. Deborah Carr, the former General Manager of the Brazilian Court,
has left the company.
Morton Valldejuli has been named General Manager of the City Club at
River Ranch replacing Elsa Lemoine who has relocated to Portland. Valldejuli
was most recently the Area General Manager for New Orleans Fine Hotels.
Michael Hoe-Knudsen has transferred as General Manager to the InterContinental
Buenos Aires. A Cornell graduate, he was most recently the General Manager
of the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort Montego Bay where he had been promoted
from Resident Manager at the InterContinental Rio.
Albert Mertz rejoins the Mandarin Oriental Miami as Hotel Manager after
a brief stint as the Chief Operating Officer at the Barish Group in New
York. He had previously served in a similar role at the hotel from 2000
to 2004, before being appointed General Manager at the Mandarin Oriental
Riviera Maya.
At the Hotel Carl Gustav on St. Barthélémy, Olivier Robert
has been appointed General Manager. Marie-Christine Albini had been appointed
to the post in March 2004.
Courtney Tai has been appointed Hotel Manager for the Sundy House in
Delray Beach. He was most recently the General Manager of Fisher Island.
Jeffrey Tucci has been named Vice President of Hospitality for the Los
Angeles County Fair. He was most recently the General Manager of the former
Loews Beverly Hills (temporarily renamed the Tower Beverly Hills). Tucci
had originally joined Loews as Assistant General Manager at the Loews Coronado
Bay Resort. A Cornell graduate, Tucci also held various positions at the
Hotel Crescent Court, the Mansion on Turtle Creek and Auberge du Soleil.
The Salish Lodge & Spa has promoted Carl Meyer to Resident Manager
from the position of Director of Rooms. Prior to rejoining Salish in June
2005, Meyer served as Director of Operations at the Statler Hotel, operated
by Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. He previously was
the Director of Rooms at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa.
Jonathan Brown has been named Director of Finance at the Chatham Bars
Inn on Cape Cod. He was previously with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
as Financial Controller at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, DC and the
Mark Mandarin Oriental in New York. In addition, Brown had been the Director
of Finance at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia.
Jason Pallen has joined the Princeton Club in New York as Director of
Food and Beverage. He was most recently in a similar position at the Millennium
Broadway following several years in food and beverage management at the
Waldorf=Astoria.
Till Grob has been appointed Director of Food and Beverage at the Hard
Rock Hotel Chicago. He was previously the Director of Banquet Operations
at the Fairmont Chicago. Prior to that, Grob was Assistant Director of
Food and Beverage at the Mark Hopkins InterContinental in San Francisco.
Guillaume Paupy has been promoted to Food and Beverage Director at the
Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo from Assistant Food and Beverage Director at the
Grand Hyatt Singapore.
Joseph Chin has been appointed Food and Beverage Director at the Lodge
Kura Hulanda and Beach Club. He was most recently at Beaches Turks &
Caicos as Assistant Food and Beverage Manager and previously at the Maho
Beach Resort & Casino on St. Maarten as Banquet/Convention Manager.
In Mexico, Karisma Hotels and Resorts has promoted Jeroen Hanlo to Vice
President of Operations for Food and Beverage. Hanlo joined Karisma Resorts
in September 2003 as Food and Beverage Director. Previously, he was
Executive Assistant Manager and Food and Beverage Director for Allure Resort
and Director of Operations of the Forchetta Group.
Gail Gerber has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for the
new InterContinental San Francisco currently under construction. She was
most recently the Director of Sales and Marketing at sister property the
InterContinental Mark Hopkins.
Ginger Mahmoud has been named Director of Sales for New York's Downtown
Conference Center. She was most recently a Senior Sales Manager for Millennium
Hotels.
Jason Kycek has rejoined KSL Resorts as Corporate Director of Travel
Industry Sales. Originally joining the company as Director of Travel Industry
Sales at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, he was appointed Corporate Director
of Travel Industry Sales in 2004. When La Quinta left the fold of KSL to
become part of the Waldorf=Astoria Collection, Kysek stayed on for six
months prior to rejoining KSL.
The Ritz-Carlton Central Park has appointed Peter Coppola Director of
Purchasing. He has thirty years experience in the hospitality industry,
including the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group and Princess Hotels International.
Kathaleen Fairey has been named Purchasing Manager with Rosewood Hotels
based out of their corporate office in Texas. She was previously the Spa
Director at Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands. Prior to that,
she spent three years as Assistant Spa Director at the Spa at the Crescent
Hotel in Dallas.
Fabien Deguffroy will be taking over as Spa Director at Little Dix Bay.
He most recently served as Assistant Spa Director at the Palms in Turks
and Caicos, following a stint as part of the Spa at the Boca Raton Resort
and Club.
John Tesar joins the Mansion on Turtle Creek as Executive Chef. He was
most recently the Executive Chef of Rick Moonen's rm Restaurant at the
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. At the Mansion, Tesar steps
into the boots of Dean Fearing, who held the post for over twenty years
prior to leaving earlier hits year to join the developers of the future
Ritz-Carlton Dallas.
Brad Manchester is leaving his position of Executive Chef at the Renaissance
Las Vegas to become the Executive Chef at Houston's soon-to-open Hotel
Zaza. Manchester had originally started at the Renaissance as Executive
Sous Chef, prior to being promoted to Executive Chef.
Jonathan Wright has joined Bradley Ogden's Lark Creek Inn as Executive
Chef taking over for Michael Otsuka. He was most recently the Executive
Chef and Director of Food and Beverage at the Hotel Conrad Indianapolis.
Wright, who came to the United States in 2002 to spearhead culinary operations
at the Windsor Court, previously had his own restaurant in England, La
Gousse d'Ail. He also was the Executive Chef de Cuisine at Raymond Blanc's
Two-Michelin-Starred Manoir aux Quat' Saisons.
Jeffrey Armstrong has been named Executive Chef at Keswick Hall in Charlottesville,
with Orient-Express. He was most recently the Executive Chef at Nick's
Airport Inn in Hagerstown and previously served as Corporate Chef of the
Domaine Restaurant Group in California, supervising operations of all of
the group's restaurants, including Dakota at the Roosevelt, Troquet Restaurant,
Meson G and Red Pearl Kitchen.
Milan Drager moved to the Mandarin Oriental San Francisco as Executive
Chef, taking over from Ray Knight, who has left the company. Drager was
most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Kahala Resort (formerly the
Kahala Mandarin Oriental) in Honolulu, and previously worked in the kitchens
at the Ritz-Carlton Miami, the Four Seasons Newport Beach and the Valparaiso
Palace Hotel in Mallorca.
Jeremy Bearman has been appointed Executive Chef at Lark Creek Steak
in San Francisco. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at L'Atelier
de Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand Las Vegas and previously the Restaurant
Executive Chef at the Medici Café and Terrace at the Ritz-Carlton
Lake Las Vegas. In addition, Bearman worked at Daniel Boulud's Bistro Moderne
in New York working his way up to Executive Sous Chef. He is a Cornell
hotel school graduate.
Jeffrey Foresman has been named Executive Chef of the Hyatt Regency
Hill Country Resort and Spa. A nineteen-year veteran with Hyatt, he worked
for seven different properties including the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress,
the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa, the Hyatt Regency Irvine, and the Grand Hyatt
Washington, DC.
The Loews Annapolis Hotel has named Allison Trinkle Executive Chef replacing
Andrew Saba who has been promoted to Director of Food and Beverage. Trinkle
was most recently the Executive Sous Chef at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel
in Nashville. Saba previously served for two years as Executive Chef at
the Jefferson in Washington, DC (formerly a Loews Hotel) before coming
to Annapolis.
Christopher Lee has joined Gilt at the New York Palace as Chef de Cuisine.
He was most recently the Executive Chef at Striped Bass in Philadelphia
and also toiled in the kitchen at Oceana and Jean-Georges in New York.
At Gilt, Lee takes over from avant-garde British Chef Paul Liebrandt.
Pascal Legrain has been appointed Executive Chef at the Fiesta Americana
Grand Coral Beach in Cancun. A return to Mexico for Legrain, who was most
recently the Director of Food and Beverage at the Vila Sol Golf and Spa
Resort in Portugal, but previously ran the kitchens of the Méridien
Cancun and at Las Ventanas Al Paraiso.
Jason Prendergast has been appointed Executive Sous Chef at Shutters
on the Beach. Since 1997 he has been at the Four Seasons Chicago, most
recently as Executive Sous Chef.
Babak Mohajer Nasser has joined the Fairmont Miramar Santa Monica as
Executive Sous Chef. He was most recently the Executive Sous Chef of the
former Park Hyatt San Francisco (newly re-branded in 2006 as Le Méridien
San Francisco).
Stefan Outrequin has been promoted to Director of Banquet Operations
at the Drake in Chicago. For the past four years he has been the Food and
Beverage Manager at the hotel.
Gilles Kolakowski has joined Picasso at the Bellagio as General Manager
replacing Mario Daniele who has retired. Kolakowski was most recently a
Restaurant Manager at Alain Ducasse's Mix Las Vegas. His replacement at
Mix is Fabien Rivière.
Michael Mina's soon to open Stripsteak at the Mandalay Bay has appointed
Tony Fisher General Manager. He was most recently at BOA Steakhouse.
Don Hart returns to Fiamma at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as General
Manager. He was previously at the restaurant as the Assistant General Manager
before moving over to Michael Mina's Seablue where he was the General Manager.
Nicolas Rouet has been named Sommelier at the Ryland Inn in New Jersey.
He was briefly at the Four Seasons Great Exuma following a thirty-month
stint as Chef Sommelier at Le Paradou in Washington, DC. Prior to coming
to the United States, Rouet worked as Sommelier at La Tour d'Argent and
Lasserre both in Paris. |