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The Newsletter of The Boutique
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| The Americas |
Gerard Van Grinsven has been named General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton
Dearborn, replacing Michel Goget who transferred to the Ritz-Carlton Tysons
Corner. Van Grinsven, quite recently, had been appointed to the position
of Director of Openings, in charge of setting up all new properties for
Ritz-Carlton worldwide. Van Grinsven joined Ritz-Carlton in 1995, from
Inter-Continental Hotels in Berlin.
Richard Adie, a Cornell Hotel School graduate, as the new General Manager
of the Statler Hotel at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration
in Ithaca, New York, effective July 2002. Adie will first finish a 27-year
career with Hyatt Hotels. A General Manager since 1983, he served in that
capacity in Hyatt properties in Houston. Denver San Francisco Chicago and
his current appointment with the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.
Steve Bello has been named General Manager of the Hotel Hershey, replacing
Maarten Van Wijk, who had left several months ago to get involved with
the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Until recently Bello served as General
Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia. Prior to that, he was General
Manager at The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, and at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai,
Steve has spent the past nine years with The Ritz-Carlton organization,
which he joined following four years with the former Rockresorts.
Jon Kimball has been promoted from General Manager of the Westin at
Los Angeles International Airport to the soon-to-open 700-room Westin at
the convention center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kimball a Cornell graduate
was previously the Director of Operations at the Westin Century Plaza.
At the Westin LAX, Kimball is being replaced by Mary Casey, a Brit who
comes from the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow. Casey was previously the Vice
President Sales Europe for Sheraton.
At the St Regis Los Angeles exit General Manager Arash Azarbarzin,
dispatched in the same capacity to the much hipper W New York Times Square.
Bruno Brunner is back from the Orient as Vice President Operations
for St Regis. He worked with St Regis President Atef Mankarios and the
rest of his team at Rosewood, prior to joining Shangri-La in Hong Kong.
Six Continents Hotels Appointed Isaac Collazo as Vice President, Operations
Strategy & Planning. Most recently, he was Vice President of Strategic
Brand Knowledge with Marriott International. Prior to his four-year tenure
at Marriott he also served with Promus Hotel Corporation.
Frank Ashmore is Director of Sales and Marketing at the Ritz-Carlton
Phoenix. He held the same position previously at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn.
In Phoenix he replaces Steven Janicek who is now the pre-opening Director
of Sales for the much anticipated Laguna Beach Colony Hotel, an "independent"
being built as Marriott Corporation's first "Marriott luxury Division"
property. You know that Luxury Division in which some properties will be
branded Bvlgari, and some won't.
Michael McMahon has rejoined Ritz-Carlton eleven years almost to the
day after leaving that company. Now in charge of marketing the two Ritz-Carlton
properties in Naples, Florida, (replacing Frank Cavella, who left the company)
he comes from Boca Resorts, for whom he marketed their two Naples properties,
the Registry and the Naples Grande. McMahon spent seven years with Ritz-Carlton
from 1984 to 1991, holding the top sales and marketing spot in Houston,
Rancho mirage and Atlanta.
Josephine Claytor is the new Executive Housekeeper at Auberge du Soleil
in Napa Valley. Claytor used to own a restaurant in England, prior to engaging
in a hotel management career in the Caribbean (Curaçao, Virgin Gorda,
Grand Cayman).
Bruno Lopez has been promoted to Executive Chef at Raffles L'Ermitage
in Beverly Hills. He originally joined the property in January as Executive
Sous Chef, after a ten-year career with Ritz-Carlton.
Jim Kostecky, a Cornell graduate, has left Island Outpost's Tides on
Miami's hot South Beach after an eighteen-month tenure. He previously was
at the Peaks in Telluride for five years
Robert Koren was named Vice President of Operations for W Hotels, in
charge of spreading the concept worldwide. He most recently served as the
Area Manager for Starwood's famed Costa Smeralda and Malta hotels, and
as General Manager of the Hotel Cala di Volpe in Porto Cervo.
Six Continents Hotels appointed Jeff Senior as Vice President, Inter-Continental
Hotels, The Americas. His most recent position was Vice President, Sales
and Marketing for Kimpton.
Carlos Molinet has been appointed General Manager of the Wyndham Bel
Age, in West Hollywood. He joins from a similar position at the Westin
Providence hotel. He was previously with Wyndham as General Manager of
the Wyndham Old San Juan Hotel & Casino in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Joe Vina has joined Evans Hotels of San Diego as Director of Sales
at the Catamaran. He previously held a similar position with the cool Shore
Club on Miami's South Beach for seven months. Vina also was Associate Director
of Sales for the Ritz-Carlton Tyson's Corner.
Holger Frohlich is joining the Mirage in Las Vegas as Assistant Executive
Chef. He was most recently the Executive Chef at the Brazilian Court in
Palm Beach.
Craig Mueller has been named Vice President of Development for the
Northeastern and Midwestern United States for Six Continents, based in
Chicago. Prior to joining Six Continents Hotels, Mueller held several senior
positions with Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Deloitte & Touche,
Ritz-Carlton, and Laventhol & Horwath.
David Siguaw is the new Director of Sales and Marketing at Le Méridien
at Beverly Hills. He joins from the Park Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel.
Brian Whitmer left the Lodge at Sonoma to be the General Manager of
Paradise Foods, a very high-end gourmet retailer in Corte Madera.
Whitmer, who also was the Chef at Montrachet, Pacific Edge and Moose's,
is leaving the kitchen after 26 years. His successor at the Lodge at Sonoma
is his former Chef de Cuisine for Carneros, Michael Bilger.
Brian Webb is the new General Manager at Stonehaven Villas in Tobago.
The Caribbean veteran is a former General Manager of Jumby Bay.
Speaking of Jumby Bay, it has been reflagged Rosewood, and Dan Reid
is expected any day now to take over as General Manager. Reid, also a Caribbean
veteran, comes from Amanresorts, where he was the Regional Director for
Indonesia, based out of Amanusa in Bali. Reid originally joined Amanresorts
as the General Manager of its most secluded property, Amanpulo, in the
Philippines. His Caribbean career included stints as General Manager of
Galley Bay in Antigua and of Richard Branson's Necker Island.
Conrad Wangeman, a Cornell hotel school graduate, has been named General
Manager of the New York Hilton & Tower, after five years in a similar
capacity at the Pittsburgh Hilton. He has been with Hilton Hotels for 23
years. His father, a distinguished and respected hotelier, was the Managing
Director of Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria for many years.
At Napa Valley's Domaine Chandon, Executive chef Robert Curry
is leaving. He had taken over from Philippe Jeanty when the latter left
a few years back to open his immensely successful Bistro Jeanty in Yountville
(to which he since added Jeanty at Jack's in San Francisco) Curry is going
to Disneyworld where he will be the Executive chef at the Flying Fish Café
at the Boardwalk.
Jean-Francois Houdré, Executive Pastry Chef at the Sutton Place
(formerly Le Meridien) Newport Beach is leaving after ten years to run
his own pastry shop, Pat-A-Chou, in Cap Feret, France. The 30-year boutique
makes ice creams and sorbets, candy, ice creams and also features
a tea room.
Ken Jesina has been appointed General Manager for Benchmark Racine,
in Racine Wisconsin, property of the Johnson Foundation; Jesina was previously
the Rooms Division Director at Bald Head Island Resort, North Carolina,
and prior to this was General Manager for Glade Springs Resort in Daniels,
West Virginia.
Christina Torok has been hired as Spa Manager at the Royal Bahamian
in Nassau, Bahamas. She previously held a similar position at l'Auberge
del Mar for Destination Hotels and Resorts.
Elegant Hotels of Barbados has named Kenneth Kerr Chief Financial Officer.
He was previously Vice President Finance for Inter-Continental Middle East
and Africa Division.
Charles Lennox III is the new Director of Food and Beverage the Regent
Beverly Wilshire. He takes over from Kaleed Mirca who was transferred to
the Middle East to open a new Four Seasons property. Lennox logged just
a little less than one year at the St Regis Monarch Beach, the opening
of which he performed.
Mark Ansteth has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for
Cheyenne Mountain Resort. He comes to Colorado Springs from Steamboat Springs,
Colorado, where he was Director of Sales and Marketing for the Steamboat
Grand Resort Hotel & Conference Center. He also used to be the Director
of Marketing at the Scottsdale Princess Resort (now The Fairmont Princess).
Herb Faulkenberry has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing
of the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel & Conference Center. Prior to joining
the Steamboat Grand, he was National Director of Sales for American Skiing
Company.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has appointed Elaine Fenard as Vice President,
Spa Development & Operations. Most recently Fenard served as a consultant
for Steiner Maritime Services where she directed all phases of daily operations
for the Disney Magic and Wonder Vista Spas.
Christopher Garcia has been named Director of Sales for Hyatt Regency
Pittsburgh International Airport. He comes form the Hyatt Regency Chicago
where he was employed from 1994 to February 2002. Prior to that he
worked for Hyatt Hotels in Cambridge and Hilton Head Island.
Hugues Jaquier is gone as General Manager of Le Méridien Chicago,
replaced by Lisa Mipagliazzo. A Swiss, Jaquier was a twenty-year Méridien
veteran, who had held General Manager positions in Méridien properties
in Guadeloupe, Boston, Lisbon, Jakarta and Cancun, prior to opening the
Chicago property.
At the Ritz-Carlton Montreal General Manager Carel Folkersma has been
replaced by Alan Federer, formerly of the Wyndham Montreal.
There is a new Executive Chef at San Francisco's popular Kuleto's.
She is Sharyl Seim, a former lieutenant to Cindy Palcyn at Mustard's and
Miramonte. Also in San Francisco and also with Kimpton, the new Manager
at the Fifth Floor at the Hotel Palomar is John Jasso, who comes from Gary
Danko's.
At the Hotel Bel-Air, Director of Catering Deanna Maddalena has left
after seven years. She has been replaced with Niles Deegan, previously
a Catering Manager at Shutters on the Beach, in Santa Monica.
Margaret Chow has been named Director of Corporate Sales at the Pan
Pacific Vancouver. She had joined Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts in 1994
as Regional Director of Sales covering the Asia Pacific markets.
Also at the Pan Pacific Vancouver Maged Gubr was named Director of
Revenue Management. Most recently, Gubr was Regional Revenue Manager for
Crowne Plaza Hotels in Dubai.
Robert Cornell has been promoted to Managing Director for Preferred
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Cornell joined Preferred in 1994 and most
recently served as Senior Vice President of Development for the brand's
parent company, IndeCorp Corporation. Prior to joining Preferred, he was
senior sales and marketing executive with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Yves-Pierre Gérondeau is leaving his position of Executive Assistant
Manager at Ritz-Carlton's Hotel Arts Barcelona to become the Hotel Manager
for the future Ritz-Carlton Santiago, in Chili. His replacement in Barcelona
will be Joseph "Pep" Lozano. Ass for the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton
Santiago, he is James Hughes, a former Hyatt man.
Rebecca Abbott is the Controller at the just-opened Standard LA, part
of André Balasz' hip group of hotels (as in Mercer, Chateau Marmont..etc..)
She joins from Inteletek, a temporary accounting service, and had been
the Assistant Controller at the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey.
Cristina Romero-Peri was named Director of Sales and Marketing for
Rosewood's Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos. She replaces Leila Thorne
who had held the job since 1997, and since left the company. Romero-Peri
has been for the last four years with Las Ventanas. She joined the resort
in 1998 as Sales Manager and in 2000 became Las Ventanas' Assistant Director
of Sales and Marketing. Previously, she was a Sales Manager with
L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills.
Wyndham announced the appointment of Matthew Sparks as Vice President
of Development and Acquisitions. He was most recently Vice President of
Acquisitions and Development for Starwood. Sparks is a graduate of the
School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Michigan State
University.
At the Peninsula New York, Brice Kemper is gone as Front Office Manager,
replaced by Tina Liu, who was previously the hotel's Front Desk Manager.
New Vice President & General Manager at the Lodge & Spa at
Cordillera is Tomas Zeisel, a Cornell Hotel School alumnus. He comes from
the Chesterfield in Palm Beach. Also at Cordillera the new Food & Beverage
Director is Noel Broadhead. She comes from Champion Hills-Fazio Home Course
Country Club in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
At the spanking new Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park South, Matthias
Terrettaz is Director of Club, transferred from the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco
in the same capacity. Also at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South, Jean-Francois
Bonnet is the Pastry Chef. He came from Cello, also in New York. |
| Asia & the Pacific |
At the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, General Manager John Toner has left. A
legendary hotelier (in Hawaii anyway), he is fully credited for making
the resort such a success. Toner is now consulting for the Ko'Olina Resort,
East of Pearl Harbor where the JW Marriott Ihilani and Ko'Olina golf club
may be expanded with two additional luxury hotels, another gold course,
luxury retail outlets and luxury villas.
Also gone from the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua is Director of Sales and Marketing
Steven Sampson. His successor is Mark Benson, who was previously the hotel's
Director of Sales.
Bradford Jencks, a former General Manager of Halekulani, has been named
General Manager of the Turtle Bay Resort at Kahuku. He most recently was
Area Vice President for Hilton Hotels in Washington State and Alaska. The
Turtle Bay Resort, formerly known as the Turtle Bay Hilton (and prior to
that as the Hyatt Kuilima) is now a Benchmark Hospitality property. Alex
Doyle joins Jencks as Director of Sales and Marketing at Turtle Bay, coming
from the Outrigger Wailea (previously known as the Aston Wailea and the
Hotel Inter-Continental Wailea.) Doyle and Jencks worked together in the
past at the Inter-Continental Wailea and at Halekulani.
At age 52, Jean-Pierre Dosse is probably the youngest retiree we know.
After over twenty years with Regent International and later Four Seasons,
the Frenchman from Annecy has decided to call it quits. Dosse just recently
successfully opened the Four Seasons Shanghai (after a two-year gestation)
as General Manager. He previously held the same position for the Regent
Grand Formosa in Taipei for ten years. Dosse also worked with Regent in
Hawaii (Halekulani and Kapalua) Auckland, Okinawa, Washington DC, Beverly
Hills and Bangkok. His successor at the helm of the Four Seasons Shanghai
is Peter Weber whose most recent assignment has been as General Manager
of the Regent KualaLumpur since March 1999. Weber has previously been stationed
in Shanghai in the eighties when Regent was involved with the old Peace
Hotel.
Randy Shimabuku is taking over from Peter Weber in his first General
Manager assignment at the Regent Kuala Lumpur. For the past two years,
Shimabuku was the Hotel Manager at the Regent Bangkok. Once the Director
of Food and Beverage at Halekulani, Shimabuku joined Four Seasons
in 1988 in Toronto as Assistant Food and Beverage Director.
Murray Aitken has joined Raffles International Hotels & Resorts
as Director of Food & Beverage of Raffles The Plaza and its sister
hotel, Swissôtel The Stamford in Singapore. He previously was with
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts for three years as Director of Food and Beverage,
first at the Dharmawangsa and then at Carénage Bay in the Caribbean
(which is no longer operated by Rosewood). Aitken had previously worked
with Raffles Senior VP MV Puri when the latter was the Vice President Food
and Beverage for Rosewood.
Tracy Ford has recently been named Director of Food and Beverage at
the Kapalua Bay Hotel and Villas Maui, Hawaii. Ford formally was the Director
of Food and Beverage at the Grand America Hotel, Hotel Hana Maui, Ihilani
Resort and Spa and The Grand Wailea Resort and Spa.
Director of Housekeeping Ariane Iken is semi-retiring after a stellar
twenty-year career in the Five Star hotel world (including the Excelsior
Hotel Ernst in Cologne, the Savoy in London, Noga Hilton Geneva, Four Seasons
and Berkeley in London and finally the Peninsula Hong Kong. She is
relocating to Sydney to spend quality time with her family and three-year
old daughter.
Sharon Garrett has been appointed Director of Communications at the
Grand Stanford Inter-Continental Hong Kong. She was previously responsible
for group Public Relations for Jumeirah International in Dubai.
Italian Chef Alessandro Colombis has been appointed Sous Chef of Mistral
the restaurant at Grand Stanford Inter-Continental Hong Kong. Colombis
was previously in charge of La Gondola restaurant at the Kempinski Beijing
and Rossini's at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok (which he opened).
Colombis' Asia Pacific career in fact started at the Sheraton Princeville
on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Mark Wesson has been appointed Director of Revenue Management for both
Grand Stanford Inter-Continental Hong Kong and Hotel Inter-Continental
Hong Kong. He previously held senior management positions at regional office
and hotel levels, in finance, marketing and operations with Starwood and
Pan Pacific Hotels in Australia, New Zealand, China, and Asia-Pacific.
Willy Luk has joined the Grand Stanford Inter-Continental Hong Kong
as Assistant Director of Sales, coming from was with the Westin Tai Ping
Yang Hotel in Shanghai. |
| Africa & the Middle East |
| - - - |
| Europe |
Peter Bennett has joined Le Méridien as Vice President Human
Resources, based out of the company's corporate headquarters in London,
Most recently, he served as Human Resources Director at Thomas Cook.
Prior to joining Thomas Cook in 1999, Bennett spent seven years with Boots
Company as Director of Personnel for Boots Healthcare International.
Former Sales and Marketing Director Geraldine McKenna, 46, was appointed
Executive Vice-President of the Savoy Hotel Group and is the Group's first
female boss. McKenna joined the Savoy Group in 1996, before which she spent
10 years with Inter-Continental. Jean-Jacques ("JJ") Pergant, the former
Four Seasons man who single handedly built the Berkeley into one of London's
finest and most profitable luxury hotels, has become Senior Vice President
of the Savoy Group, and is the Managing Director of three properties: the
Berkeley, the Connaught and the Lygon Arms. We know that Duncan Palmer
has resigned from the Connaught (after seven years with the group) Palmer's
successor is Anthony Lee, his former Deputy General Manager, who has been
at the Connaught for many years. All food and beverage at the Connaught
has been concessioned out to Gordon Ramsay. At the Berkeley Eric Père
has been promoted to Hotel Manager. He joined two years ago from Orient-Express'
La Samanna as Director of Rooms Operations.
John Wood has been transferred to Le Méridien Moscow Country
Club, as the new General Manager, having been General Manager at Le Royal
Méridien Chennai, India since January 2001. Before that he was the
General Manager of Le Méridien Limassol Spa and Resort on Cyprus.
Yves Giacometti is the Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons George Cinq,
replacing Julien Carralero. Giacometti has been with the company since
1984.
Dimitrios Zarikos has been appointed General Manager of the Four Seasons
Terre Blanche, effective July 2002. Since August 1998, he has been the
Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo First Residence. Zarikos
joined Four Seasons in 1997 as Hotel Manager at the Four Seasons New York,
after several years at the Essex House then under Nikko ownership and management. |
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