Hotel Online Special Report


Global Update: Who�s Where and Doing What
October  2002
Heads Above the Rest
The Newsletter of The Boutique Search Firm
The Americas
At Island Outpost' Strawberry Hill, located in the historic Blue Mountains of Jamaica, new General Manager Mara Bouvier has brought Catherine Peplowski as Executive Chef. Like Bouvier, Peplowski joins from the Inn at Morro Bay, California, where she last served as Executive Chef. Her past experience includes the Sea Turtle Inn, located in Atlantic Beach, Florida;
Mark's in the Grove and Mark's Place, in Coconut Grove, as well as Williams Island. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Johnson and Wales University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University. 

At Alan Fuerstman's upcoming Montage Resort and Spa in Laguna Beach, it seems every other member of the new team worked with him at one time or another at the Phoenician Resort. Besides the previously announced Jeff Johnson and Bob Frear at the helm of Sales and Marketing, and Carol Reynolds in Human Resources (who, like Fuerstman, came by way of Bacara), there is now Bill Claypool, Director of Technical Services, who came from the Phoenician; Marguarite Clark also came from the Phoenician (and prior to that was with Loews Coronado and Santa Monica) to become Montage's Corporate Director of Public Relations. As for James Boyce, until recently the Culinary Director at the Phoenician as well as its Director and Executive Chef for Mary Elaine's he will be on board in a few weeks with a possibly even fancier title.

One who comes from a totally different source however is Director of Sales Janet Kato-White, who was Director of Sales for Halekulani for the past eighteen years, based out of Los Angeles.

Jacques Ligné is gone from Le Méridien at Beverly Hills where he was the General Manager for over three years. Also gone from the hotel are Director of Finance Daniel Monnet and Director of Rooms Russell Birch.

Bruno Davaillon the Chef de Cuisine at the St Regis Los Angeles is out of a job: the hotel decided this week that it could no longer afford a gourmet Chef.  Davaillon had been on board since March 2000. Prior to joining St Regis he had been the Executive Sous Chef at the Two-Michelin-Starred Ferme Saint Siméon in Honfleur, France.

Leland Lewis is the new General Manager of Cleveland¹s three Inter-Continental hotel properties. He transfers from the Inter-Continental New Orleans, after several years in the same capacity. Lewis originally was the Director of Marketing at the Hotel Inter-Continental New York. 

Wyndham International announced that Mark Solls will join the company as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, replacing Carla Moreland who resigned the position last year to enter private practice. Most recently Solls was with Dal-Tile International as Vice president, General Counsel and Secretary. Prior to Dal-Tile, he was Vice President and General Counsel for Pronet, a national telecommunications company.

Pascal Valero is the Chef de Cuisine at EAU, the oddly-named fine dining restaurant at the spanking new Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo. He joins from the acclaimed Restaurant Taillevent in Paris where he was second in command under famous chef Michel Del Burgo. Valero was also for one year the Chef at Mas Perrier an offshoot of Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia. He had already been at Taillevent as Executive Sous Chef under Del Burgo for one year prior to joining Perrier. Valero even worked under Del Burgo when the latter was the Executive Chef at Paris' Hotel Bristol. For more on Del Burgo, see our Europe section, next week.

Jacqueline Edwards is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner. She joins from mother company Marriott Hotels and Resorts where she was a Director of Business Assessment. At Tyson¹s Corner, she takes over from Kate Harth who transferred over to the Ritz-Carlton New York Battery City in the same capacity. Harth had been at Tyson's Corner for a mere nine months, coming from the Ritz-Carlton Washington DC and the Marriott Wardman, also in DC.

Robert Dunigan, Area Director of Finance at the Four Seasons Palm Beach, is being promoted to Four Seasons' Corporate Office as Director of Internal and Operational Audit. He is being replaced as Director of Finance in Palm Beach by Jane Boissonneau, who is transferring from the Four Seasons Boston.

Peter Faraone has joined Sea Island Company as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Faraone brings more than two decades of industry leadership to the Georgia company which includes The Cloister, The Lodge at Sea Island, Sea Island Club, Ocean Forest Golf Club, The Lodge at Cabin Bluff, and various real estate interests. Faraone joins Sea Island following a successful career at KSL Resorts and The Ritz-Carton Hotel Company. 

At the Regent Beverly Wilshire, Susana Parks is Senior Sales Manager, coming from Sofitel North America. Parks spent several years in a similar capacity for sister property the Four Seasons Beverly Hills in the nineties.  Marce Johnston also joins the Beverly Wilshire as Sales Manager from New York's Parker-Méridien.

Still at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, Arnaud Michel Leclère joins as Restaurant Manager. He has worked with the Patina Group, the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the Ritz in London, the Ritz and the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris.
At the Four Seasons Newport Beach, Katie Mitchell has been named Director of Marketing, transferring from the Four Seasons Palm Beach where she held the  same title for the past two years. Mitchell also was the opening Director of Sales at the Four Seasons Atlanta from 1997 to 2000. She originally joined Four Seasons form the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. In Newport Beach, she replaces Carrie Olsen-Bishop.

Rick Gonzalez lasted only three months at the Mandarin-Oriental San Francisco as Chef de Cuisine, and had made it barely longer at Willow Creek at the Ritz-Carlton Club in Aspen. Call him peripatetic... His tenure at the Hotel Bel-Air two years ago lasted but a  few days. His position at the Mandarin-Oriental is now assumed by Christophe Vessaire, formerly the Executive Chef at Earl Holding's Westgate in San Diego. Vessaire held a similar position at the Kahala Mandarin-Oriental in Hawaii three years ago.  His successor at the Westgate is his  former Executive Sous Chef Fabrice Hardel.

Kurt Wiksten has left the newly-opened Viceroy in Santa Monica where he was the Director of Food and Beverage to become the Director of Operations at Le Méridien at Beverly Hills.

Janis Clapoff has left her position of Managing Partner at San Ysidro Ranch after ten years. The luxury hideaway is operated by Auberge Resorts and owned by Ty Warner.  Anne Edith Cameron, the resort's manager, will be the acting General Manager until further notice.

Colm O'Callaghan (a graduate of the Irish Hotel School in Shannon) is the new Director of Food and Beverage Operations at the Peninsula Chicago, replacing Markus Engel, who left three months ago to become the Hotel Manager at the Mandarin-Oriental London. O¹Callaghan rejoins his former General Manager Maria Razumich-Zec, to whom he reported at the New York Palace. He had left the Palace in February 2002 to join the St Regis New York. O¹Callaghan and his wife met in Chicago in the late eighties when both (as well as Razumich) worked for Hilton Hotels.

Beverly Shields has been promoted by Ritz-Carlton after nine years at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on Maui to the same position of Director of Human Resources to perform the opening of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas.

Mike Fiorentino has been named Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Inter-Continental and Crowne Plaza Hotels in the company¹s Northeast region. Prior to this appointment, Fiorentino was the New York-based National Director of Sales for the hotel¹s parent company, Six Continents Hotels. He will be based at the company¹s flagship New York hotel, Inter-Continental The Barclay New York. He was that hotel¹s Director of Marketing from 1995-1998. 

Mercer Mohr has been appointed Executive Chef for the Hotel Valencia Santana Row due to open in San Jose early next year. He joins from the Omni Houston (formerly the Four Seasons Inn on the Park) and also served as Executive Chef at the Clift in San Francisco when that property was still operated by Four Seasons. Mohr is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Still at the Hotel Valencia Santana Row, Martin Duane is General Manager.  Most recently, Duane served as Director of Operations for the AAA Five-diamond Omni Houston Hotel. He also served as Director of Food & Beverage with the Omni Houston.  Included in Duane¹s career are food & beverage management positions at Daufuskie Island Resort, the Homestead, Fairmont New Orleansand Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. 
Six Continents Hotels has named Francie Schulwolf Vice President of Corporate Communications. She joined Six Continents Hotels in 1992 as Manager of Advertising for the Americas. Throughout her tenure with the company, Schulwolf has also worked as Director of Advertising for Holiday Inn hotels, Director of Marketing for Holiday Inn hotels, Director of Executive Projects for the Midscale Hotel Group and Director of Brand Communications. 

Prior to joining Six Continents Hotels, Schulwolf worked at several Atlanta advertising agencies including Fitzgerald & Company and Fahlgren Martin.

Harrah's Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Philip Satre
will turn over his CEO position to Harrah's President and Chief Operating
Officer Gary Loveman, effective Jan. 1, 2003. Satre, 53, will remain
Chairman of the Harrah's Entertainment Board of Directors, Loveman, 42,
said. Harrah's Eastern Division President Timothy Wilmott, 44, will assume
Loveman's COO duties. Wilmott, a graduate of the Wharton School of
Business with an MBA in corporate finance, has been Eastern Division
President since 1997 and a Harrah's executive since 1987. Loveman has a
Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a
B.A. in economics from Wesleyan University. He is a former Associate
Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard University Graduate
School of Business Administration.

Steve Marx has left New York¹s Boutique Hotel Group after his one-year contract expired.

At the Watergate, now no longer a Swissôtel, former Assistant General Manager Alberto Ramirez has been promoted to General Manager, while Jan Chovanec followed Swissôtel to Istanbul. Ramirez reports to Watergate owners the Blackstone Group, through Asset Manager Hartmut Stauss.

The 489-room Gran Meliá México Reforma announces Rodolfo Roth as the new General Manager. Roth, who graduated from the Ecole Hôteliere de Lausanne, is a 23-year industry veteran. He joined Meliá after holding executive positions with Presidente, Camino Real and Radisson Hotels at individual properties and corporate offices.  

Alfonso Jarquin has replaced Kamal Chaoui as General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Merida. Chaoui is now the General Manager of the Banyan Tree Phuket.

In the Caribbean, island specialist Alistair Forest manages the just re-opened Antigua Carlisle Bay Club. Forest was the General Manager of the Ana Mandara resort in Vietnam and the Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives, both part of Soneva Pavilion Six Senses. A Caribbean veteran, Forest used to run the Rex Saint Lucian and the Halcyon Cove.

Tim Kirwan is opening as General Manager the luxe Boston Commonwealth Hotel. Well known in Beantown, Kirwan also ran the Westin Providence in Rhode Island, the Sherbourne Inn and opened the Bostonian. He used to be the Director of Food and Beverage at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge.

At Starwood, Richard Cotter has been elevated to Vice President Operations, Mid Atlantic Region. He was previously responsible for all Starwood Operations in the Greater New York Area.

Andreas Ioannou has been named General Manager of the 407-room Hilton Charlotte & Towers. He most recently served as Resident Manager of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, a position held since 1999. A 13-year Hilton veteran, Ioannou began his career in 1989 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. He then joined the Hilton Atlanta Airport as Director of Restaurants in 1990. In 1992 he became the Assistant Director of Food & Beverage at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort & Towers and was then promoted to Director of Food & Beverage for the Hilton McLean Tyson's Corner. From 1995 to 1998 he returned to the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort & Towers where he served as Director of Food & Beverage and Area Director Food & Beverage for the Hiltons of Florida; in 1998 he was promoted to Executive Assistant Manager at the same hotel before joining the Waldorf-Astoria in his most recent position. 

Marcel Herbst, a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, has been promoted from the Hilton Torrey Pines in la Jolla where he was a Director of Meetings and Conventions to the position of Director of Food and Beverage at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort.

Jort Buning has joined Iberostar Hotels & Resorts as General Manager at their Barlovento property in Varadero Cuba. He was previously a Vice President for Swiss Finance SL in Marbella. 

Vincent Cachot has been promoted from Kerzner¹s Ocean Club where was the Executive Sous Chef, to the position of Executive Sous Chef Tournant at the company¹s Atlantis mega-resort. 

At the Ritz-Carlton Boston Common, Trish Berry has been appointed Hotel Manager. She moves up from the Ritz-Carlton New-Orleans.

Michael Casola took over from Mara Bouvier as General Manager of the Inn at Morro Bay. Casola previously did a very brief stint with Kimpton as General Manager of the Serrano. Prior to that, he was with Fairmont for seven years, first as Director of Food and Beverage in Dallas then as Hotel Manager at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, prior to being appointed General Manager at the Fairmont Kansas City (formerly that city's Ritz-Carlton and the Alameda Plaza).

At the New York Palace, Director of Human Resources Sandra Stock has left to return to her previous employer, Condé Nast Publications. Industry veteran Anne Power, who was most recently in charge of corporate training for Starwood in New York and also held the function of Director of Human Resources at the St Regis, replaces her.

Cesar Fernandez, former Executive Chef at Puerto Rico's El San Juan Hotel & Casino, now holds the same post at San Juan's new Water Club hotel. He learned under Katsuo "Suki" Sugiura, at the then Five-Star Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove where he spent five years. (Sugiura is now at the Beverly Hills Hotel).

John Beckert, former President of Bristol Hotels, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of ClubCorp Inc. For the past two years Beckert has been a partner in Seneca Advisors, a Dallas-based consulting and private investment firm. Before that, he was president and chief operating officer for Bristol Hotels & Resorts, a Dallas-based company that grew to 110 hotels and 30,000 rooms.  He joined Bristol Hotels in 1981. Some of his early jobs included opening and running the company's Harvey Hotels in Dallas and Plano.  

In 1985, he became Vice President of Operations for the chain and was part of a management team that acquired about 100 hotels in three years, including 60 Holiday Inns. Beckert graduated from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.  

David Villarrubia has been named General Manager of the 1,200-room Hilton Americas-Houston scheduled for completion in late 2003. Villarrubia most recently served in the same position at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport. A native of New Orleans, Villarrubia has held a number of positions during nearly 30 years with Hilton Hotels Corporation. He began his career with the company in 1973 as a front desk agent at the Hilton New Orleans Airport. 

Paul Westbrook is the new General Manager at the Ritz-Carlton
Washington DC. He replaces the hotel's opening General Manager James
McBride who left the company. McBride, by the way, is now the General
Manager at the landmark Grosvenor House in London.

Peter Rudolph has been appointed Chef de Cuisine of Navio, the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay's signature restaurant. Rudolph has nine years of  Ritz-Carlton experience and has worked under Gunter Seeger, Joel Antunes and Troy Thompson. He joins the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay¹s culinary team most recently from reporting to Thompson at Jer-ne Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey. Rudolph is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

Six weeks after Steve Potter was appointed President the Americas for Six Continents, he announced the return of former Holiday Inn Worldwide executive Kirk Kinsell, who will oversee Americas franchising operations.  From 1988 to 1995 he served as Senior Vice President of Franchise for Holiday Inn Worldwide, a predecessor of Six Continents Hotels. During his tenure with Holiday Inn Worldwide, Kinsell led the launch of Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Select and Holiday Inn SunSpree Resorts. He also served on the Management Board of Directors from 1994 to 1995. In 1995 and 1996, Kinsell served as President of the Franchise Division at ITT Sheraton, where he created the concept of Four Points Hotels. He then served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Avado Brands, Inc., (Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchen, Hops Restaurant Bar and Brewery, McCormick and Schmick Restaurants, and Canyon Café restaurants.) 

Potter also promoted Tom Seddon, to Senior Vice President, Americas Brands Strategy. Seddon most recently served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Services. Tom Murray has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, the Americas, with responsibility for all Six Continents Hotels owned and managed hotel operations spanning Canada through Latin America. Murray most recently served as Area President, Midscale Operations, North America. Mike Goodson has been promoted to Senior Vice President Americas Finance and Business Development. Goodson most recently served as Senior Vice President Finance. Kate Stillman was promoted to Senior Vice President, Americas Human Resources and Corporate Affairs. Stillman most recently served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Bob Hill, Executive Vice President and General Counsel will continue to have responsibility for legal and risk management, Six Continents Hotels, Americas division. 

Rudy Tauscher has been named General Manager of Mandarin-Oriental¹s future New York flaghsip Hotel. He officially joined the project since May 2002. He brought along Kristin Ruble as the Director of Sales & Marketing, who held the same position at the Trump International Hotel on Central Park West, already then reporting to Tauscher.

Abdullah Wural is the latest Director of Food and Beverage at the Ritz-Carlton St Louis, replacing Tom Beaty. Wural came to the property as an inter-company transfer from the Renaissance Stanford Court San Francisco where he also was the Director of Food and Beverage.

Daniel Hostettler has been named Vice President of Operations for the Lajitas Resort, a newly constructed 100-room luxury resort designed to be the first luxury destination resort in Texas.  With 25,000 acres, two eighteen hole golf course, tennis center, 36,000 sq ft health club, equestrian center, and its own jet airport, it has provisionally been accepted as a Leading Hotel of the World. Hostettler, a Lausanne graduate was until recently the General Manager of La Posada de Santa Fe for Rockresorts, and also served as Assistant general Manager at Meadowood.

From Miami's Shore Club, Director of Sales and Marketing Jonathan Caplan has gone to the Hotel Santana Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts have appointed Richard Lebowitz as the Regional Director of Sales for the Eastern Region. 

Jorg Wesche is the new Front of the House Manager at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn. He previously opened the Benjamin for Manhattan East Suite Hotels in New York, first as Front Office Manager, then as Executive Housekeeper.

At Rosewood¹s Little Dix Bay, Jeff David resigned as Director of Food and Beverage to accept the same position at Cap Juluca in Anguilla. David had joined Rosewood from the Four Seasons Boston.

Kim Canteenwalla left the MGM Grand Las Vegas where he had been the Executive Chef. His plan is to launch a restaurant concept in Las Vegas. 

Tom Roth was named General Manager of the just-opened Renaissance Fort Lauderdale ­ Plantation Hotel. A 15-year veteran with Marriott International, he was most recently the Director of Marketing, for Indianapolis' largest hotel, the $100 million 615-room Marriott Downtown.

Steven Fisher has been appointed as the Director of Catering and Conference Services at the new Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.  Fisher transferred with the company from their hotel in St. Thomas, where he joined the company as Director in 2000.  Fisher was previously the Associate Director of Conference Services at The Breakers in Palm Beach.

Olivier Zardoni is the new General Manager at the award-winning Le Bernardin in New York. He previously opened as Sommelier Aqua at the St Regis Monarch Beach Resort. Zardoni was also the sommelier at the much lamented Cello in New York. Prior to stints in New York at Destinée and at Jean-Louis in Greenwich,  Zardoni had been a Sommelier at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, which is rated Three Michelin Stars.

Susan Rachek was named General Manager and Lynn Thomas Director of Sales and Marketing for the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Hotel. Rachek was previously General Manager of the Columbus Marriott North. Lynn Thomas was most recently Director of Sales and Marketing at the Doubletree Hotel Palm Beach and prior to that the Omni Charlottesville Hotel.  

At André Balasz' Standard LA, Steven Wright has been hired as General Manager. A Brit, he was most recently the Hotel Manager at Sir Rocco Forte¹s Balmoral in Edinburgh. Wright also served as resident Manager at the Driskill in Austin.

Michel Ducamp has been appointed Managing Director of Nantucket Island Resorts. In his new position, Ducamp will oversee all hotel operations, strategic direction, financial performance, and sales and marketing initiatives for the five upscale properties. Ducamp comes to Nantucket from Las Vegas where he served as Executive Vice President of Hotel Operations for Park Place Entertainment, the world¹s largest gaming company, with oversight for Bally¹s, Paris Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Hilton.  Prior to his career in the gaming industry, he held positions of increasing responsibility for a number of multi-national hotel chains including Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts where he began his hotel career, the Sheraton Luxury Collection, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Rocco Forte Hotels and Exclusive Hotels by Forte.  Ducamp is a graduate of Cornell University where he earned a master's degree in hotel administration. Nantucket Island Resorts include The Wauwinet, the White Elephant, The Breakers, the Garden Cottages, Fifty Seven Easton, Harbor House Village,  Harborview & Wharf Cottages and the Nantucket Boat Basin.

Jim Kelley has been appointed Marketing Director at the St Regis Monarch Beach Resort, joining from The Westgate River Ranch Resort in Florida.  He also recently helped position the Elliott Grand Hyatt in Seattle.

JoAnn Kurtz-Ahlers has left Ritz-Carlton to launch her own marketing firm.  Most recently the company¹s corporate Vice President Sales and Business Development, U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, she spent fifteen years with Ritz-Carlton. She originally joined the company in 1987 as Director Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. Her new firm, JoAnn Kurtz-Ahlers and Associates, is based in San Juan Capistrano.

John Blanco has been appointed Director of Food and beverage at Esperanza, in Cabo San Lucas. A Leading Hotel of the World, Esperanza is operated by Auberge Resorts. Blanco joins from a similar position at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.

Christian Gerart has been named Director of Food and Beverage at tony Cotton House in Mustique. He joins from the same post at the equally posh Las Dunas Beach Hotel and Spa in Marbella. Prior to Las Dunas, Gerart spent two years at the Peninsula New York as Assistant Food and Beverage Manager.

Annick Salaun is Cotton House's new Resident Manager. She most recently was Director of Revenue at the Grand Hills Village Resort in Lebanon and at the posh Méridien Nirwana in Bali.

Rounding up the team at Cotton House is Kimberly Reed, Spa Manager.  Reed spent several years with Mandara Spas in the Bahamas, Las Vegas and Aruba.

Jan Schoningh has been appointed General Manager at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Canada. A Dutchman, he began his career as a member of the pre-opening team for the Golden Tulip St. Honoré in Paris. He later joined the Walt Disney Company as part of the opening team of Disneyland Paris.  His last position with Disney was Operations Manager for their largest property the Newport Bay Club, a 1,100 room hotel. 
Schoningh joined Fairmont in 1994 as Director of Operations at Chateau Frontenac, holding this position until he was promoted to Manager in 1997. Schoningh was appointed to his most recent position as General Manager, the Fairmont Glitter Bay & Royal Pavilion in 1999. 

Olivier Duprez has been appointed Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at Orient-Express' exclusive La Samanna in St Martin. He was previously working in a similar capacity at Cliveden outside London. 

KSL's Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has announced the promotion of Colleen Brzozowski to National Sales Manager.  Brzozowski became an Executive Meetings Manager at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in November of 2001.  Before joining the resort, she was a Sales Manager with the Lodge at Yarrow in Augusta, Michigan for nearly three years.  Previously, she was Director of Sales for the Holiday Inn Airport in Kalamazoo and also was employed at the Holiday Inn West in Kalamazoo.  

Torsten Arnold has joined the Minneapolis Club as Director of Food and Beverage, following four years as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at the Drake in Chicago.

Benchmark Hospitality has announced the appointment of Scott Spurlock as General Manager for Virginia Crossings Resort. He was previously Assistant General Manager for the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and the Country Club of Colorado, before commencing his employment with Virginia Crossings Resort.  Prior to this, Spurlock was Director of Marketing for Cheyenne Mountain Resort. He was also employed as the Resident Manager at Cheyenne¹s sister resort, Scottsdale Conference Resort,  in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Paul Pastoor has been tapped to head a new division of Prestige Resorts and Destinations, Ltd, called Prestige Resorts Management and Consulting.  Pastoor will play a major role in developing new properties especially in the Caribbean including the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.  He is responsible for the operations of Samana Bay Village Resort in the Dominican Republic, which is managed by Prestige Resorts. A native of the Netherlands, Pastoor joined Discover Resorts International in 2000 after working as Vice President of Operations at John Gardiner's Resorts in Paradise Valley, Sedona and Rancho Valencia, California. As Vice President of Pperations, he was responsible for overseeing the operations of the vacation rental, resort and property management handled by Discover Resorts International.

Christine Judd has left her position of Director of Sales and Marketing at the Peninsula Beverly Hills to take the same spot at the newly renamed Four Seasons Sydney. An Australian, Judd replaced Diane Yost who moved back to Florida to open the new Four Seasons Miami. Leslie MacKillop has been promoted internally at Peninsula to step into Judd's position.

Manya Duhoffmann is Director of Sales and Marketing for the Standard LA.  She joined the group after an eighteen-month stint at Kor where she was in charge of selling Avalon and Maison 140. Prior to joining Kor on the West Coast she was with Rockresorts in New York mostly marketing the Cuisinart Resort and Spa in Anguilla, as well as Palmilla in Mexico and Jumby Bay, also former Rockresort properties. She started her career in the New York sales office of the Four Seasons Nevis.

Starwood has appointed Scott Hermes, as Senior Vice President ­ Sales and Field Marketing for the company¹s North America division. Hermes will oversee the sales and field marketing organizations for Starwood¹s Westin, Sheraton, Luxury Collection and Four Points by Sheraton brands. He reports to Geoff Ballotti. A hotel industry veteran, Hermes formerly served as Vice President of Sales and Field Marketing for the Western U.S. for Starwood. Prior to Starwood, Hermes held senior sales positions during his thirteen years at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Sunstone Hotels, as well as in the hotel technology venture, RoomKey.

Also at Starwood, Ted Darnall, President, North America, has been named President, Starwood Real Estate, and Geoff Ballotti, Senior Vice President of Southern Europe, has been appointed Executive Vice President, Hotel Operations for North America. Darnall will report to Barry Sternlicht, Starwood¹s Chairman and CEO and Ballotti will report to Chief Operating Officer, Robert Cotter. Darnall originally joined Starwood in 1996 as Chief Operating Officer and assumed his current position as President, North America in 1999. Prior to Starwood, he spent 15 years at Interstate Hotels Corporation.  Ballotti will now be responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day operations of Starwood¹s hotels in North America. Ballotti began his Starwood career with Sheraton as Director of Marketing for North America in 1989. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Still at Starwood, Norman Macleod, currently in North American hotel operations, has been named to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Sheraton while Sue Brush, currently Vice President, Brand Operations for North America has been promoted to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Westin. Both Macleod and Brush will report to Cotter.

At Hyatt International, Myles McGourty has been appointed Area Vice President for South America in addition to his duties as General Manager of Grand Hyatt São Paulo, which opened August 19. In 1983, he joined the team of Hyatt Regency Riyadh as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage.  Following assignments as Director of Food and Beverage in Sydney and Acapulco, he was appointed Executive Assistant Manager at the Hyatt Regency Acapulco in 1988. The following year, McGourty was promoted to Manager, and in 1991, was appointed General Manager of Hyatt Regency Santiago. In 1995, he was given additional responsibilities as Regional Director - South America. 

In 2000, McGourty was appointed Regional Director/General Manager of Grand Hyatt São Paulo, and in January 2001, to the position of Area Director for South America.

Melanie Wendeler was named Director, Hotel Integration, for Fairmont Hotels. Wendeler joined Fairmont as reception agent at one of the company¹s landmark properties, the Royal York in 1987.  In 1998 she moved to Fairmont¹s corporate headquarters as revenue management specialist, holding this position until 2000, when she was appointed to her most recent post as Director of Revenue Management within the company¹s sales & distribution division. 

Richard Ham has been named General Manager of the 484-room Hilton Costa Mesa. Ham most recently served as Hotel Manager of the Anaheim Hilton. A 14-year Hilton veteran, he began his career in 1988 and has held positions as Front Office Manager, Rooms Division Manager and Executive Assistant Manager at the Hilton Anaheim and Hilton Portland. 

At Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, a flurry of promotions and new arrivals on the sales team: promoted from within are Heather Nelson (she joined in 2000 as Manager of Corporate Sales and was promoted in April, 2002 to Director of Corporate Sales. In her new position Heather will oversee the direction of the corporate sales personnel within North America.  Karime Buraye joined Preferred Hotels in June 2000 and was promoted to Manager of Corporate Sales in March 2002. She will be responsible for increasing production for top corporate accounts in the North East Region.  Rick Stiffer joined in August, 2000. He started as the Manager of Travel Industry Accounts and was promoted to Senior Manager of Travel Industry Sales. Robin Graham joins Preferred as the Manager of Corporate Sales in the Chicago office. She has over twenty years of sales experience holding positions such as Sales Manager with Rosemont Suites Hotel, Corporate Sales Manager with the Radisson Hotel & Suites and the Director of Business Travel at the Talbott Hotel.  Barbara Redin will be the Manager of Corporate Sales for the Chicago area. She has held various titles at several hotels including the Director of Sales at the Lenox Suites Hotel and The Whitehall Hotel in Chicago and Associate Director of Sales at the Mandarin-Oriental in Miami, Florida.  Georgina Zizzo joins Preferred as Manager of Group Sales for The Conference Collection. She has five years of sales experience having worked with State Farm and Nextel Communications and most recently with the Leading Hotels of the World Groups Division.  Michele Ross joins Preferred as Manager of Group Sales in New York. Michele has 12 years handling group sales nationally and regionally. She has held positions at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Harbor Court Hotel, Clarion Inn Pier 5 and the Columbia Hilton. 

Wendy Kierle joins Preferred as Manager of Travel Industry Sales in the London office. Wendy will cover sales activities for the corporate and travel industry markets within the UK. She worked previously with Thistle Hotels, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, P&O Princess Cruises.  Mark Jones joins Preferred¹s London team as the Manager of Corporate Sales. He brings with him international experience acquired with Air Mauritius, Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic and FedEx.  Fiona Jones joins Preferred as Manager of Group Sales UK, covering sales activities for the UK groups and conference & incentive markets. Based in the London office, she brings with her experience and sales success from the conference industry in the UK, most recently from an events management company, IBC UK Conferences, and BTI UK Hogg Robinson, one of the largest conference organizers in the UK. Roberta Possenti joins preferred as Senior Sales Manager in Italy. Based in the Milan office. Roberta brings with her a wealth of experience of all market sectors within Italy, having most recently worked in the international sales office in Milan with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as well as Hilton Corporation and J. Walter Thompson. Simone Correa joins Preferred as the Senior Sales Manager in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she will oversee the travel industry, corporate and group accounts. Simone has eight years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry with previous titles that include Sales Executive/ Manager at Utell. 

Benchmark Hospitality has announced the appointment of Robert Wong as Director of Food & Beverage and Executive Chef for Glade Springs Resort.  Wong had previously worked as an independent contractor with the resort.  He was selected by the renowned Greenbrier Resort of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, as the youngest Executive Chef in the famed property¹s 200-year history.  His predecessor left to become the official chef at The White House in Washington, DC. Glade Springs Resort's five-star-quality gourmet restaurant, Robert's, is named after Mr. Wong. 

Troy Hughes is joining the soon to open Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa, Canada, as Director of Finance. He was formerly Director of Finance and Technology for O'Neill Hotels and Resorts/Whistler Lodging Company.

Edited by 
Benoit Gateau-Cumin
President
The Boutique Search Firm
http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com
[email protected]
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CULVER CITY, California
Tel. 310-398-9320
Fax. 310-398-9541
[email protected]


Karen Jolley, Vice President, 
Europe, Middle East, Africa 
The Boutique Search Firm
BP 16 26111 Nyons CEDEX, France
Tel:  (33) 4-75-27-10-31
eFax:  (1) 240-331-0079
[email protected]

http://www.boutiquesearchfirm.com

Also See:
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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