Venice, 20 February 2020 Kempinski Hotels has appointed Richard Appelbaum as General Manager San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice. Richard joins the urban resort palace on its private island in the lagoon of Venice from Istanbul, where he held the position as Chief Executive Officer Divan Group.

Richard’s international career spans over 30 years of experience, holding leading management positions with international luxury hotel operators and owners in the Middle East, South East Asia in Singapore, Jakarta, Mauritius, and the USA as well as in Europe within Germany and the United Kingdom.

Starting his career in the hospitality industry in 1991 at the Mainz Hilton, Germany, Richard has a strong Food & Beverage background working his way up from F&B Manager over Director of F&B to General Manager with Moevenpick, Shangri-La, Mulia, Jumeirah and to CEO. 

“It is a great honour to join San Clemente Palace Kempinski team as General Manager and it is truly one of the most interesting properties I’ve been working at so far. Words are definitely not enough to fully describe this unique and charming resort on its private island”, commented Richard Appelbaum on his appointment. “Everyone who visits this top luxury hotel for the first time will definitely agree. It is an island that needs to be experienced to indulge the cultural heritage surrounded by breath taking gardens overlooking the lagoon of Venice and San Marco square. San Clemente Palace Kempinski nestles perfectly into the picture and is the ideal location to unwind and to start exploring Venice.”

A German national, Richard speaks French and English in addition to his German mother tongue.