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People on the move: Radisson | Fujita Kanko | Rosewood

Radisson Hotel Group’s Kristen Richter is now senior vice president and chief commercial officer in the Americas, a promotion from her previous role as vice president, revenue optimization for the Americas. In her new position, she’ll work to further improve performance and executional excellence for the Americas’ sales, revenue optimization, marketing and contact center teams, while focusing on the collaboration and alignment with operations, development and global revenue-generating teams. 

Before joining Radisson Hotel Group, Richter spent 11 years with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts where, in her most recent role, she led the global revenue management department overseeing revenue management for all brands. She’s also held leadership positions at Hilton and Avis Budget Group.

Read on for more people climbing the industry ranks. 

From left, clockwise: Kristen Richter, Georgios Kritikopoulos, Hisham Tawfik and Michelle Camacho
From left, clockwise: Kristen Richter, Georgios Kritikopoulos, Hisham Tawfik and Michelle Camacho

Safwan Abu Risheh was named managing director of Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This marks a return to the property for Abu Risheh, who was director of finance at the property in 2011 as part of its opening team. Most recently, he was corporate director of finance for Rosewood Hotel Group.

Orange Lake Resorts named Brad Baker vice president of brand development and content, in charge of strengthening the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand though strategic content creation and distribution. Baker previously was director of account management at Yellow Shoes Creative Group, the internal creative agency for the Walt Disney Company. 

Richard Bexon was named managing director at Villa Buena Onda, a villa-style hotel in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Bexon most recently oversaw sales and operations for Namu Travel Group, which owns Villa Buena Onda.

Benchmark appointed Michael Botha regional director of revenue management. Botha had been regional director of revenue management for Pyramid Hotel Group of Boston.

Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, California, appointed Vic Casanova executive chef. He joined the resort in tandem with his most recent endeavor as chef/owner of Gusto Los Angeles. 

Benchmark appointed Courtney Dall’Olmo director of marketing for The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark in Monticello, New York. She had been director of marketing and communications for the Topnotch Resort of Stowe, Vermont. Angel Quiles is director of facilities for The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark. Quiles most recently was director of engineering for the Great Wolf Lodge of Scotrun, Pennsylvania. 

Ahmed Elassy is now general manager for the AC Hotel Los Angeles South Bay, opening this summer in El Segundo, California. He joined from the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, where he served as director of operations for both the hotel and convention center. 

Hotel San Luis Obispo, slated to open this June in San Luis Obispo, California, appointed Ryan Fancher executive chef. Fancher most recently led the culinary team at Barndiva in Healdsburg, California. 

Following the completion of an extensive renovation, Civana in Scottsdale, Arizona, named Amanda Grant program director and Dana Wendell director of marketing. Grant most recently led values-driven work at the Living Peace Foundation, which included planning and hosting large-scale retreats. Wendell oversaw all marketing initiatives for Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia, also in Scottsdale. 

PM Hotel Group promoted Seon Heo and Fran Owen to vice presidents of sales and marketing, and Chris Macary to vice president of hotel operations. Heo and Owen previously held regional sales and marketing roles while Macary worked in operations for the past five years. 

Fujita Kanko appointed Yoshihiro Ise president, succeeding Akira Segawa. He previously served as senior managing executive officer. 

Santikos Collection welcomed Georgios Kritikopoulos as hotel manager of Marpunta Resort, Alonissos, Greece. Kritikopoulos is an operations expert with success in building teams, managing employee relations, overseeing large-scale projects and communicating product standards. 

Meliá Hotels International appointed Lati Naimi general manager of Meliá Lima in Lima, Peru. Naimi most recently was general manager at Gran Meliá Iguazú in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina.  

Grand Hyatt at SFO in San Francisco appointed Henning Nopper general manager and David Lambert director of sales and marketing. Nopper most recently was general manager of Andaz West Hollywood in West Hollywood, California, and Lambert joined the team from Hyatt Regency Monterey in Monterey, California, and Hyatt Carmel Highlands in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, where he also served as director of sales and marketing.

Loews Hotel at Universal Orlando named the executive leadership team for Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites, opening late June in Orlando, Florida. John Power is general manager, Jason Moss is director of rooms, Dan Parker is director of food and beverage, Robert Laurie is executive chef, Waldemar Lopez is director of housekeeping, Scott Blow is director of engineering, Michelle Camacho is director of human resources and Carla Simpson is director of finance. 

The Andaman, a Luxury Collection Resort, Langkawi, Malaysia, appointed Quinn Pu director of food and beverage. He hails from The Ritz-Carlton in Jiuzhaigou, China, where he was in charge of leading the pre-opening food and beverage team. The property also appointed Stefano Micocci executive chef. Micocci, an Italian native, has 20 years of culinary experience in various regions of Italy, the Middle East and Malaysia. 

The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua appointed Andrew Rogers general manager of the property in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Maui’s northwest shore. Rogers most recently was multi-property vice president and general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Beijing, China, and oversaw many Marriott luxury brands in northern China. 

Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts appointed five general managers and one hotel manager for properties in Egypt. Hisham Mohamed Saied is general manager of the Steigenberger Hotel El Lessan in Ras El Bar. Wael Aboelseoud is general manager at the Steigenberger Cecil Hotel in Alexandria while Ashraf Naguib is director of the Steigenberger Resort Achti, opening at the end of 2019. Meanwhile, Gunnar Wassong moved from the Steigenberger Golf Resort in El Gouna to the Steigenberger Aqua Magic in Hurghada. Hisham Tawfik succeeded Wasssong as general manager of the Steigenberger Golf Resort in El Gouna. Finally, Ali Mansi took over as hotel manager of the Steigenberger Pyramids in Cairo. 

Christoph Schmidinger is now general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Madrid, the first Four Seasons property in Spain. He had been general manager and regional vice president at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. 

Tyler Schroeder was named director of rooms at Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Schroeder has more than a decade of experience in the hospitality industry and has held leadership positions at multiple hotels across the Bay Area. 

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas named Rebecca Soloff director of sales and marketing at Six Senses New York in New York City, the group’s first North American property, which is currently under development. Soloff had been director of sales and marketing at The Mark Hotel, New York City. 

Northern Italian restaurant Panzano in the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Denver welcomed Logan Stephenson as executive chef. Stephen recently was executive chef at SaltRock in Sedona, Arizona.

The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel in San Francisco appointed Euan Taylor general manager. Taylor recently spent four years in New Zealand, managing three Super Lodges owned by Julian Robertson. 

McKibbon Hospitality named Drew Walls general manager of Aloft Asheville Downtown in Asheville, North Carolina. He previously spent 10 years at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, also in Asheville. 

Melody Warren is now marketing manager at C. Baldwin, a Curio Collection by Hilton Hotel with a planned soft opening in Houston’s Allen Center this summer. Prior to joining the property, Warren was marketing brand manager for Houston-based Landry’s Inc., overseeing projects for several hotels. 

Provenance Hotels appointed Andy Welsh general manager of Hotel Lucia, Portland, Oregon. Welsh joined Provenance Hotels in 2011, most recently leading the launch of two of the company’s newest hotels, Lora in Stillwater, Minnesota, and The Revolution Hotel in Boston. 

Ryan Wollman was named director of group sales at Los Angeles Airport Marriot in Los Angeles. Wollman formerly was senior sales executive at the JW Marriott Washington, D.C.

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