Dieter Huckenstein has been named Chief Executive Officer of lumber
mogul Tim Blixseth's Yellowstone Club, where $4 million buys its members
access to dream homes in all the right places. Huckenstein was most recently
the Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Conrad International Hotels
for long-time employer Hilton Hotels.
Don Robinson has been appointed President of Baha Mar Resorts following
thirty-four years with Disney. He ran operations for the entire Walt Disney
World Resort and, most recently, served as Executive Vice President and
Group Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland.
San Francisco's Personality Hotels has hired Stephen Algood as Chief
Operating Officer. He is a former Vice President of Operations for Luxe
Worldwide Hotels, a Regional General Manager of SeaSpan Management Company
and a former General Manager for Radisson.
Marriott International has promoted Robert McCarthy to President, North
American Lodging Operations. He was Executive Vice President, North American
Lodging Operations prior to his appointment. McCarthy also served as Executive
Vice President of Operations, Planning and Support, Regional Senior Vice
President of the Northeast and Vice President of Operations for Courtyard
and Fairfield Inns.
Bob Boughner has returned to Las Vegas to lead the development as President
and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming's Echelon Place, the complex
due to be built on the location of the current Stardust. Boughner had previously
served in a similar capacity for the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic
City. Filling in for Boughner in Atlantic City will be Larry Mullin who
has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of the Borgata.
Chuck Floyd has been promoted to Executive Vice President/Chief Operating
Officer for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. He will be replacing longtime company
executive Ed Rabin who retired in December. Floyd has served as the Executive
Vice President of Operations since September 2003.
Stephen Miller has been named Senior Vice President, Acquisitions and
Development for Laurence Geller's Strategic Hotels & Resorts. He was
most recently the President and CEO of Arlington Hospitality.
Ventana Hotels & Resorts has appointed Steven Chelew as Chief Operating
Officer. Chelew was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel La Jolla
at the Shores.
Robert La Forgia has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer at Hilton Hotels. He was previously the Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer since 2004, and prior to that as Senior Vice
President and Controller since 1996.
James Harvey has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief
Information Officer at Hilton Hotels. He previously served as Senior Vice
President and Chief Information Officer.
David Thompson has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Controller
at Hilton Hotels. He has been with Hilton for eleven years.
Steven Standefer has been named Senior Vice President � Tax for Hilton
Hotels. He was working for Promus in 1999 when it was purchased by Hilton.
Cornell graduate Charly Assaly has been named President of Buddha-Bar
Hotels, Resorts and Spas, Worldwide. Assaly was most recently at Sol Melia
Hotels and Resorts in Miami as the Corporate Director of New Development.
Carlos Cabrera has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Field Operations
for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Cabrera was most recently the Vice President
and Managing Director of the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa.
Tom Gurtner has relocated to the Four Seasons Westlake Village as pre-opening
General Manager and will continue to be an Area Vice President overseeing
several other properties. Gurtner was most recently based, as its General
Manager, at the now-former Four Seasons Newport Beach.
Mark Neubert has joined the Moana Hotel and Restaurant Group in Mill
Valley as Vice President Operations. Neubert was most recently the General
Manager at the Hotel Andalucia in Santa Barbara. Moana, a sister company
to Auberge Resorts, includes seventeen Piatti restaurants as well as Redd
and Sonoma Kitchen.
Brian Flaherty has returned to the hotel industry joining MTM Management
as Vice President and Opening General Manager of the Hotel 1000 in Seattle,
scheduled to open June 2006. Flaherty was most recently the Chief Operating
Officer of ERA Care following a twenty-year career with Four Seasons.
Jerry Gibson transferred to the Grand Hyatt New York as General Manager.
He was most recently the General Manager of the Hyatt Lake Las Vegas after
holding the same position at the Hyatt Regency Kauai.
Lori Main was appointed General Manager at the new Pan Pacific Seattle
scheduled for opening October 2006. Main was most recently the General
Manager at the Roosevelt, also in Seattle.
Manfred Timmel has been named General Manager of the Hotel Andalucia
in Santa Barbara, taking over for Mark Neubert. Timmel had previously been
the opening General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park,
the Regent Wall Street, and the Peninsula New York. He also ran the Southampton
Princess in Bermuda.
Stephen Parker has transferred as General Manager to the InterContinental
Harbor Court in Baltimore, formerly known as the Harbor Court Hotel. Parker
was previously the General Manager at InterContinental Hotels in Austin,
Shanghai and Sri Lanka.
Guy Lucas has been appointed General Manager at the Ramada Toronto International
Airport. Lucas was most recently the General Manager at the Holiday Inn
Marina in Monterey, following a stint as Director of Operations at the
Sofitel Los Angeles.
Bob Sassani is the new General Manager of the Water Club in San Juan,
Puerto Rico. He was most recently the General Manager of the Hotel Astor
in Miami Beach.
Ralph Renz has been appointed General Manager of New York's Lowell replacing
Heiko Kuenstle who left several months ago to become the General Manager
of the Pierre for Taj International.
Laurent Carrasset has been named General Manager for Orient-Express
Peru. Carrasset was most recently the General Manager of Orient-Express'
Bora Bora Lagoon Resort. Second time around in Peru for Carrasset who once
was the General Manager of the Hotel Monasterio in Cusco.
Andres Araya has been promoted from Resort Manager to Managing Director
of Las Ventanas al Paraiso. Prior to joining Las Ventanas in 2003, Araya
was the Executive Assistant Manager/Director of Food & Beverage at
the Ajman Kempinski Hotel & Resort. Previously, he served as Director
of Food & Beverage at the Conrad Cairo Hotel & Casino, the St.
Regis Aspen, the Sheraton Maria Isabel and the Palace of the Lost City.
At Las Ventanas, Araya takes over for Luis Fernandes, who is now at the
helm of owner Ty Warner's hotel group.
Didier Picquot has joined the Lyford Cay Club as Managing Director.
He was most recently the General Manager at the Regent of Bangkok (now
the Four Seasons Bangkok). Picquot also ran the Pierre for Four Seasons,
following a stint as Vice President with Peninsula in Hong Kong.
Leland Lewis has transferred as General Manager from the InterContinental
Cleveland to the InterContinental The Barclay in New York. Lewis has spent
the vast majority of his career with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
in New Orleans, Toronto and Montreal. He previously worked for Four Seasons
in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
Campbell Black replaces Leland Lewis at the InterContinental Cleveland
as General Manager and Regional Vice President. Black transfers from the
Mark Hopkins InterContinental.
Chuck Pomerantz has been appointed Senior Vice President and General
Manager at the Atlantis on Paradise Island. Pomerantz joins from the Gaylord
Palms in Dallas where he was the Vice President and Hotel Manager since
2003.
Also at the Atlantis, Ellen Poth has transferred as Vice President
- Quality Assurance from the Atlantis Palm Island Dubai where she was the
(pre-opening) Executive Director - Hotel Operations for the past year.
Prior to that, she was with Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Gene Allbury has been appointed Senior Vice President - Special Project
Liaison for Atlantis Paradise Island. He was previously the Senior Vice
President at Harbourside Timeshare Resort. Replacing Allbury as the new
Senior Vice President - Harbourside Timeshare Resort, is Russell Miller
who was formerly the General Manager of the One & Only Ocean Club Resort,
and has most recently been overseeing Kerzner's new "condotelÓ joint
venture with Turnberry.
John Conway is appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager for
Paradise Island's as yet un-named new All-Suite Tower, and for the new
"condotel" joint venture with Turnberry. For the past eight years, he had
been the Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Royal Towers
at Atlantis.
InterContinental Hotels has appointed Tom Conophy to the newly created
position of Chief Information Officer. Conophy joins from Starwood where
he held the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Technology
Officer. Previous to Starwood, he was the Senior Vice President for Strategic
Architecture for Sabre.
Steve Labrie will be joining SBE Entertainment as Vice President Technology.
He joins from House of Blues Entertainment where he was the Director of
Network Operations.
Jan Rozenveld joins the Kor Group's Tides Hotel on Miami's South Beach.
He was most recently the General Manager of the Royalton in New York.
Jort Buning has moved to Brazil and is the new General Manager of the
Iberostar Grand Amazon in Manaus. He previously ran the company's Iberostar
Cozumel property, as well as the Iberostar Barlovento in Cuba.
Warren Francis has been named General Manager of the Palms in Turks
and Caicos. Francis, a Cornell graduate, was most recently the Manager
of the Petit St. Vincent Resort and was previously the General Manager
at the Manasota Beach Club.
Eric Rimmele has been named General Manager of the hip, new Hotel Tower
23 in Pacific Beach. Rimmele was most recently the Director of Food and
Beverage at the Westgate in San Diego.
Don Dennis has been appointed General Manager of the University Tower
Hotel in Seattle, replacing Karl Kruger who has been named Managing Director-Seattle
for Noble House Hotels & Resorts. Since joining Noble House in 2002,
Dennis has served as the Director of Rooms at Hotel Viking in Newport and
as the interim General Manager of the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club
in Redondo Beach.
Carter Donovan has joined Campton Place in San Francisco as General
Manager. Donovan had previously been the General Manager/Consultant at
the Francisco Grande Hotel and Golf Resort in Arizona following a twenty-year
career with Ritz-Carlton. At Campton Place, she replaces Paul Zuest, who
successfully ran the property for nine years.
The Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel has appointed Donald Dougherty as General
Manager. Dougherty was most recently the General Manager at the Crowne
Plaza Harrisburg. He had also served as Director of Operations at the former
Wyndham Old San Juan Hotel and Casino.
Mark Murphy has been appointed General Manager of the Hotel Telluride
Condominium in Colorado replacing Tammy Burden. Murphy was most recently
the Rooms Director at the Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa.
At the Greenbrier, General Manager Jack Damioli has left after twenty
two years; so has long-time Vice President of Food and Beverage Rod Stoner,
who is being replaced by Gunnard Cunningham.
Ellis O'Connor has been appointed Resident Manager at the Peninsula
New York replacing Zack Zahran who has left the company. O'Connor transfers
from the same position at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where he spent over
nine years.
Christophe Thomas has been named Hotel Manager of the Gramercy Park
Hotel in New York scheduled to reopen this spring. Thomas, who served thirteen
years with Hilton International in Europe, South America and the Caribbean,
was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Drake in Chicago and the
Windsor Court in New Orleans.
Christoph Ganster has been promoted to Executive Assistant Manager Food
and Beverage at Raffles Resort Canouan Island. He was promoted from Director
of Food & Beverage. He previously worked as the Food & Beverage
Manager at Lemuria Resort of Praslin, Seychelles; One&Only Kanuhura,
Maldives and Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, Mauritius.
Win Person has been appointed Vice President Restaurant Development
at Las Vegas' Pure Management Group. He was until recently the Vice President
Food and Beverage at Bellagio, following seven years with Four Seasons
in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. He is a Lausanne graduate.
Rene Van Camp has been named Beverage Director for InterContinental
Hotels, the Americas, reporting to Vice President Food and Beverage Jean-Pierre
Etcheberrigaray. Van Camp moves up from the position of Assistant Food
and Beverage Director at the InterContinental Buckhead.
Marie Maher has joined Wynn Las Vegas as Executive Director of Food
and Beverage. She had recently left Bellagio where she held the same title.
Patrick De Staercke has been named Director of Food and Beverage at
Meeru Island Resort in the Maldives. He was most recently the Director
of Restaurants at the Brown Palace following a stint in the same role at
Elk Mountain Resort near Telluride.
Joseph Prezioso has been hired by State of the Art Enterprises as Vice
President of Business Development. A former Director of Banquet Operations
of the Pierre, Prezioso previously spent many years in the same capacity
at the St. Regis.
Toby Reivant has moved to Miami to join Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
as Director of Alternative Dining. Reivant was most recently the Director
of Operations at Bistro Moderne in the Hotel Derek in Houston. He is also
a former Restaurant Director at Napa Valley's Auberge du Soleil.
Ramon Arrau has been named Director of Food and Beverage at the Lodge
Kura Hulanda & Beach Club in Curacao. He was previously the Resident
Manager at the Hotel Hacienda Los Lingues in Chile.
Eric Vievard has transferred as Director of Food and Beverage to the
Four Seasons Resort Santa Barbara, from the same position at the Four Seasons
Terre Blanche in Provence, a property he opened.
Pradeep Raman has transferred back to the Peninsula Chicago as the Assistant
Director of Food and Beverage. Raman was most recently in the same position
at the Peninsula Hong Kong after serving as Restaurant Manager at the Peninsula
Chicago.
Christopher Garcia has been named Director of Rooms at the Windsor Court
in New Orleans. Garcia was most recently in Hawaii as Manager of Front
Office Operations at Halekulani.
Raffles Resort Canouan Island has promoted Benjamin Simpao to Rooms
Division Manager. Simpao was previously the Assistant Rooms Division Manager
and was part of the pre-opening team. He transferred in 2004 from Raffles
L'Ermitage Beverly Hills.
Linda Hodgson has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for the
InterContinental The Barclay New York. She most recently held the same
title at the Langham Boston, a property she had recently joined from Hilton
International.
John Visconti is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hyatt
Regency Miami. He was most recently serving as a consultant for Thompson
Hotels in Los Angeles and was previously the Regional Director Sales and
Marketing for JC Resorts. In addition, he spent thirteen years with InterContinental
Hotels and Resorts.
Francis Purvey has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for
both the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino and the soon-to-open Radisson
St. Martin Resort & Spa. He was most recently the Director of Sales
and Marketing at the Bahia Mar Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale.
Bruce James has been named Director of Sales and Marketing for Casa
del Mar Resort in Cabo San Lucas. He was most recently the Director of
Sales at the Pantages Hotel in Toronto following stints with Fiesta Americana
and Hyatt.
Melinda Anderson-De Regil has been appointed Director of Sales in charge
of the Western Region with Taj Hotels in Los Angeles. She was previously
with Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts for five years as Director of
Global Sales.
Amanda Shipp has been promoted to Executive Vice President Public Relations
at the Experiential Agency after joining the company in 2004. Shipp, a
Cornell graduate, was previously with Spago in Chicago as a Managing Partner.
The Marcus Corporation has promoted Karen Spindler to Corporate Director
of Human Resources taking over the responsibilities of Fred Delmenhorst
who has retired. Prior to her promotion, Spindler served as Vice President
of Human Resources for Marcus Hotels and Resorts. She joined Marcus in
2001 following fifteen years with Hyatt.
Miranda DeSantis has joined Noble House Hotels & Resorts as Vice
President of "Great People" leading Noble House's human resources organization.
Prior to joining Noble House, DeSantis held human resources positions at
Starwood and Verizon.
Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants has named Greg Smith Senior Vice President
Human Resources. Smith comes from Interstate Hotels.
Matt Martin has been promoted to Corporate Director of Human Resources
with Marcus Hotels and Resorts. Martin was previously the Director of Human
Resources at the Hotel Phillips in Kansas City.
Daniel Leonard has transferred to the Park Hyatt Washington DC as Assistant
Director of Human Resources. Leonard was most recently at the Park Hyatt
Carmel Highlands Inn and was previously at the Park Hyatt Toronto Hotel.
Paul Wade, for many years the talented Executive Chef at Montagna at
the Little Nell, has left the Four Seasons Houston after a short stint
(He had replaced Tim Keating). Wade will be the Executive Chef at Santa
Fe's landmark Hotel Eldorado and its restaurant The Old House.
Martin Davis has been named Executive Chef at the Palms in Turks and
Caicos taking over for Jasper Schneider who opened the hotel. Davis was
most recently the Head Chef at Penthouse in London and was previously Executive
Chef at the Royalton, Tuscan Steak in New York and Asia de Cuba in London.
Quinn and Karen Hatfield plated their last dish at San Francisco's Cortez
on New Year's Eve. The chef and pastry chef are headed to West Hollywood,
where they plan to open their own restaurant in the spring. The 50-seat
place will be called Hatfield. Los Angeles is where home was when the Hatfields
worked as a team at the helm of Oceanfront at Casa Del mar.
Bruno Egea has joined the Fairmont Newport Beach as Executive Chef.
Egea comes from Las Vegas where he had been at the Paris Hotel and Casino
since 1999, most recently as the Executive Sous Chef. He also toiled at
the Four Seasons Nevis, the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills, L'Orangerie
and the Ritz-Carlton Huntington.
The Café at the Ritz-Carlton Boston has a new chef, Rex Gonsalves.
Gonsalves came to Boston from the fine dining restaurant, Georgia's, at
the Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation. Prior to that, he was at
the Ritz-Carlton Dubai for three years and worked at the Taj Group of hotels
in Bombay.
Swissôtel The Drake, New York has appointed Donald Drnek as Executive
Chef. Drnek was most recently in the same position at the Omni Berkshire
Place.
Ron Boyd has been appointed Executive Chef at Un Grand Café in
San Francisco. Boyd was most recently the Chef at Domaine Chandon and had
run Julia's Kitchen at COPIA.
JER-NE at the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common has a new chef, Scott Gambone,
who comes from the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead where he was Executive Sous Chef.
He also worked for Boca Resorts as Executive Sous Chef at the Registry
in Naples, and at the Club Room at the Boca Raton Resort and Club as Chef
de Cuisine.
Michel Darmon has joined Tom Keller's Bouchon in Yountville as General
Manager of Private Dining. Darmon was most recently an Assistant General
Manager at Keller's Per Se in New York.
Nick Fielding has joined Table 8 at the Regent South Beach as General
Manager. Fielding was most recently the Director of Service at Spago Beverly
Hills following seven years at Turnberry Isle Resort and Club.
Don Hart has been promoted to General Manager at Michael Mina's Seablue
at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. He was most recently the Assistant General
Manager at Fiamma at the MGM Grand and was previously at Bouchon at the
Venetian.
Joshua Summers has been appointed Director of Beverage at Mandalay Bay
and THE hotel. Summers makes the move from Diego at the MGM Grand where
he was the General Manager. He had also served as Restaurant Manager at
Breeze at the Westin (now Hyatt Regency) Century Plaza.
Oded Talmor has been promoted to General Manager of Wolfgang Puck's
Spago restaurant in Las Vegas. Talmor was previously the Assistant General
Manager at another Puck eatery, the Venetian's Postrio.
Ron Didner is the Owner/Managing Partner at the new Pair of Eights restaurant
in New York City. Didner, a Cornell graduate, was most recently the General
Manager at Café des Artistes.
Christophe Lilienfeld has joined Albert Uster Imports in California
as Sales Representative. Lilienfeld was most recently the Pastry Chef at
the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa where he spent four years. Lilienfeld had also
been the Executive Pastry Chef at Chinois on Main and L'Orangerie.
Robert Watson is the new Chef Concierge at the Willard Intercontinental
in Washington DC. Watson has been a Concierge for the last thirty years
and worked with Intercontinental Hotels for fifteen years in London, South
Africa and Luxembourg. He was most recently at the Landmark London.
Richard Gonzales has joined the Four Seasons Washington DC as Assistant
Director of Revenue Management. Gonzales was previously the Reservations
Director at the former Four Seasons Newport Beach. |