 |
New appointments at Rezidor
Olivier Harnisch (right) takes charge at the Rezidor Hotel Group as executive vice president and COO from his previous role as VP, Northern and Central Europe at Hilton Worldwide while Elie Younes joins as senior VP, Head of Group Development. Younes moves from Dubai where he oversaw Rezidor’s corporate development department.
 |
Atlantis, The Palm appoints Smarrella
Atlantis, The Palm has appointed Vincent Smarrella as senior vice president, Hotel Operations. Most recently, he held the position of resident manager at Le Bristol, Paris and was responsible for sales in the Middle East and South East Asia as well as Japan and the emerging markets China and India.
 |
Brett moves to KSA
Jeddah Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Qasr Al Sharq announced Kevin Brett as cluster general manager. Prior to this new role, Brett led Conrad Cairo and has served as general managers of Hilton Abu Dhabi, Hilton Bahrain and Hilton London Islington as well as other global brands in Turkey, Oman, Malaysia and the UK.
 |
Franzen joins Grand Hyatt Doha
Hyatt International Corporation has appointment of Christoph K. Franzen as the new general manager of Grand Hyatt Doha. Franzen moves from the Grand Hyatt Muscat, where he joined in 2001 starting as front office manager, director of rooms and subsequently general manager since January 2009, the role he held last.
 |
Le Gray Beirut appoints new GM
Rana Al Khoury has been appointed as general manager of Le Gray, Beirut. Al Khoury joined Le Gray as business development manager in January 2011 and later as hotel manager. Her appointment as general manager makes her one of the first Lebanese women to hold this position at a five star hotel.
 |
New role for Khalil
Georges Khalil, executive chef at InterContinental Doha, has been promoted to director of food and beverage. In his new role, he will oversee all food and beverage operations while leading the culinary team. Khalil is a Certified Master Trainer with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA).
 |
Mövenpick Deira welcomes Purnima
The Mövenpick Hotel Deira has appointed Purnima KP as director of sales and marketing. She brings over two decades’ experience with previous postings in Oman and Yemen and UAE. In her new role she will spearhead the market segment development and building on the hotel’s reputation as a business hub.
 |
El Khoury joins Ibn Battuta Gate
Chris El Khoury recently took charge as executive assistant manager for the Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate. El Khoury joined the Mövenpick Hotels in 2005 as director of sales and marketing for the Mövenpick Hotel Doha and later the Mövenpick Bur Dubai.
 |
Pardo appointed as DOSM
Bonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers has appointed Laetitia Pardo as director of sales and marketing. Pardo began her career in London holding various positions with the Savoy Hotel, Dolce Hotel & Resorts, Sofitel among others. She moved to the UAE in 2011 as associate director of sales with Atlantis The Palm.
 |
Travelport appoints Laird-Smith
Travelport has appointed Stuart Laird-Smith as head of commercial strategy for the Middle East and Africa. Before joining Travelport, Laird-Smith spent four years with South African Airways (SAA) as head of commercial and operations finance. He was also chairman of IATA’s joint Travel Agency and Airline Group in Southern Africa.
 |
Paunescu at Grand Millennium
Mariana Paunescu has joined the Grand Millennium Dubai as executive housekeeper, coming from the Grand Excelsior Hotel where she was with the pre-opening team. Paunescu moved to the UAE as executive housekeeper with the Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi before taking up the challenge of opening the Concorde Hotel Fujairah.
 |
Salvatore Romano (right) takes charge as the new general manager of The Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa, Bahrain. Romano was previously with several luxury hotels such as Hotel Sacher Salzburg, L’Hotel Bahrain and the former Banyan Tree Hotel and Spa. The hotel also appointed Luc Bonnaz as executive chef.
 |
Habtoor expands its executive team
Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa, Dubai has announced some key appointments to their executive team. Peter O Connor (right) takes charge as general manager, Nicolas Villemin as director of business development, Massimo Bernardi as F&B manager, Ivica Ancic as recreation manager and Paul Hage as the new executive chef.
 |
Anantara appoints Riley
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas has appointed Viktoria Riley as cluster director of sales and marketing for Anantara Phuket Villas and the new Anantara Phuket Layan Resort & Spa opening in 2013. Prior to joining the Anantara team, she was director of sales and marketing at the Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel in Arizona.
 |
IHG appoints team in Asia
IHG has added two senior leaders to Asia. Moving from Denham, UK, vice president of Global Brand Marketing for the InterContinental brand, Simon Scoot (right) will now helm the brand out of Asia in Bangkok while Phil Broad takes charge as vice president, Food & Beverage, AMEA.
 |
Jumeirah Group welcomes Kiy
Jumeirah Group has appointed Graham Kiy as general manager for the five-star Jumeirah Vittaveli resort in the Maldives from his previous position as pre-opening hotel manager for Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai, UAE. Prior to this he worked with the pre-opening development team of Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel, Shanghai.
 |
Golden Tulip appoints Palacin
Christian Palacin joined Golden Tulip Galleria Hotel, Beirut as general manager. Palacin brings over 20 years of experience in operational and managerial positions including major renovation projects and hotel openings. Prior to his new role at Golden Tulip, he was general manager at the Sheraton Hotels in Tunisia and Algeria.
 |
HKTB appoints new GM
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has appointed Kenneth Wong as general manager of Mice and Cruise, overseeing the business strategies of the Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong Office and developing plans to grow the cruise business. Prior to this, Wong was head of product marketing at HKTB.
 |
New GM at Safir Hotel & Residences
Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait has appointed Saif Mohammed as general manager. Mohammed has worked in several countries including Dubai and Kuwait for international hotel properties such as Marriott International Hotels, Renaissance, The Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard by Marriott and JW Marriott.
 |
Dusit announces two appointments
Dusit International has announced new appointments to the sales team in Bangkok. Sergey Kutuzov (right) joins as director of sales, Russia and CIS moving from the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers and Dorinda Chua is the new director of sales, meetings and incentive travel moving from the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers.