Van der Post joins Jumeirah
Jumeirah has appointed Frank van der Post as senior vice-president, Americas.
Van der Post will be responsible for all of Jumeirah’s activities and operations within the Americas, and joins the group after 20 years with the InterContinental Hotels Group in Europe and North America. Most recently he held the position of regional vice-president operations, Eastern US and The Caribbean, and general manager of The Barclay in New York.
Watson at InterCon
InterContinental Hotels has appointed Chris Watson as vice-president of human resources for the Middle East and Africa. With wide experience in the hotel industry, he will assist in the recruitment of international management teams and establishment of training and development systems.
Hasdell is Hilton’s VP operations
Hilton International announced the appointed of Simon Hasdell as vice-president of operations for Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. He previously held the position of general manager for Hilton Tokyo Bay. Hasdell, who joined Hilton at London Park Lane, has held senior positions around the world.
Pigeon is GM at Regency InterCon
Jean Baptiste Pigeon has joined the Regency InterContinental, Bahrain, as GM. Pigeon, who was mostly recently GM of Crowne Plaza Beirut, has held senior positions in the group around the world including Paris, Cannes, Lisbon and Athens. He was GM at InterContinental hotels in Brussels and Tunisia.
Changes at the top in Hilton
Hilton has appointed three new general managers. Kevin Brett joins as GM for the new-look Hilton Abu Dhabi, Kamel Ajami as GM for Hilton Baynunah and Hilton Corniche Residence and Andreas Bossard as GM for Hilton Kuwait Resort. Brett joins the Abu Dhabi property from the Hilton Bahrain where he was GM. Ajami was previously GM of the Hilton Sharm Waterfalls Resort in Egypt while Bossard was earlier GM of Hilton hotels in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Brisbane.
Klarer at Mövenpick Cairo-Media City
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Egypt has appointed Beat Klarer as the GM of Mövenpick Hotel Cairo-Media City. Klarer joins the Mövenpick Hotel Cairo-Media City with more than 25 years of experience in different international hotel chains in China, Singapore, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Burma. Prior to his current assignment he was GM of Mövenpick Resort Al Nawras, Jeddah.
InterCon Lusaka welcomes Smith
InterContinental Hotels has announced the appointment of Clive Smith as the new GM of the InterContinental Lusaka. Smith, who was previously resident manager of the InterContinental Jeddah, joined the InterContinental Hotels Group in 2000 as resident manager of the Holiday Inn Mayfair in London, UK.
Heuchenne joins Ritz-Carlton, Dubai
Olivier Heuchenne has been appointed hotel manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai. Heuchenne, who began his career with Ritz-Carlton in banqueting in Mauna Lani, Hawaii, has worked at The Ritz-Carlton hotels in Cancun, Mexico, Singapore, Philadelphia, Hong Kong and Doha. He moves to Dubai as hotel manager from Hotel Arts Barcelona.
Kirollos takes charge at Jolie Ville
The Management of Jolie Ville Hotels have promoted Azza Aziz Kirollos from resident manager of Jolie Ville Resort & Casino to the post of GM. Azza, who started her career in 1991 with Jolie Ville Resort & Casino, has worked her way up to her current position.
InterCon Al Ain welcomes Harouni
InterContinental Hotels has appointed Walid Nicolas Harouni as GM of InterContinental Resort Al Ain. He was previously GM of InterContinental Muscat. Harouni has also been part of the senior management team at the Al Jubail InterContinental in Saudi Arabia, Hotel Ivoire InterContinental Abidjan, Cote D’Ivore, and the InterContinental Abu Dhabi.
Moratto at Banyan Tree Desert Spa
Arno Nicolussi Moratto has been appointed as GM of the Banyan Tree Desert Spa and Resort at the new Al Areen project in Bahrain. Moratto, who started his career in the hospitality industry in 1988, was previously GM of the Swissotel Cairo, The Ritz, Taipei, resident manager of the InterContinental Hotel & VIP Villas, Riyadh, and executive assistant manager of Jumeirah Beach Hotel Dubai.
Saffy joins Al Areen
Al Areen Holding Company, developers of the mixed-use Al Areen development in Kingdom of Bahrain, has appointed Eng. Waleed Ishaq Saffy as the integrated project’s general manager. Saffy has experience in key project developments at the Bahrain International Airport. Before joining Al Areen, he was the acting director of the engineering and maintenance directorate at the Civil Aviation Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, Bahrain.
New faces at Four Seasons Damascus
Ghazwa Orfi has been appointed as PR manager at the soon-to-open Four Seasons Hotel Damascus while Christopher Stephens joins the hotel as executive chef. Orfi has worked with the Sheraton in Damascus, Le Royal Meridien, Bahrain, and Le Royal Meridien, Abu Dhabi. Chef Stephens, on the other hand, has previously worked in countries as far apart as Australia and the West Indies, as well as China, Thailand, Nigeria, Switzerland, England, India and South Korea.