A native of Sweden, Tomas Hansson has held various senior management positions in Starwood and in China, most recently as opening General Manager of Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel. Prior to that, Mr. Hansson has been involved in the openings of Sheraton Shenyang and Sheraton Nanjing and has also been the General Manager of Sheraton Chengdu. Before coming to China, Mr. Hansson worked in Sheraton in England and in Sweden and will now with his team bring a part of European culture to the hotel market in Qingdao with the chic and cultured Le Meridien.   

Also Tomas Hansson announced four appointments of executive committee positions. 

Ms. Catherine Han was appointed as Executive Assistant Manager, overseeing hotel human resources and security. Prior to this position, she was the Director of Human Resources in Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel. Ms. Han joined Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2000 and has over 14 years experience in the hospitality industry. 

Ms. Sara Liu was appointed as Director of Sales + Marketing after her success in the award winning Westin Beijing Financial Street as a member of opening team. Before that, she was the sales and marketing manager of the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel in Beijing. Garnered strong track records on marketing, communications and sales, Ms. Liu is looking forward to another success of hotel opening in the scenic beach city of Qingdao.  

Mr. Bart van den Brink took the position as Director of Food + Beverage. Prior to moving to Qingdao, Mr. van den Brink had successfully been part of the opening team of Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel. With over 20 years of broad and extensive experience in management and the culinary arts, Mr. van den Brink brings his creativity and innovation to present a unique culinary discovery at Le Méridien Qingdao.

Mr. Andrew Barty-King was appointed as Director of Rooms. Since starting his hotel career back in 1972, Mr. Barty-King has worked in various management positions in Room Division and also served different brands of Starwood, including W, Westin, Sheraton, in Australia, New Zealand, Guam and China. Mr. Barty-King will present the excellence of Le Meridien services to guests from all over the world. 

Scheduled to open in December 2009, Le Méridien Qingdao is the first Starwood hotel in Qingdao and also the 4th Le Méridien Hotels in mainland China. Located in the newly developing CBD centre, the hotel presents the elegantly designed 348 guest rooms and suites equipped with everything for the sophisticated travellers, three fine restaurants and lobby lounge offering the world class culinary experiences, well-equipped fitness centre and spa, as well as a total of 1824 square metres meeting space with most advanced meeting facilities. 

Le Méridien
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, with its portfolio of more than 120 luxury and upscale hotels in 52 countries worldwide, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. The majority of Le Méridien properties are located in the world's top cities and resorts throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. In the 2005 Luxury Brand Status Index survey Le Méridien was recognised as one of the top 15 luxury hotel brands. For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com. 

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced AloftSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.