Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) named Brian Young executive vice president, investments and chief financial officer. Young will lead HVMG’s finance, investor relations and financial reporting efforts for the group while supporting growth plans involving acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining HVMG, Young held multiple positions and received several promotions during his 18-year tenure with Interstate Hotels & Resorts and Aimbridge Hospitality, culminating in the role of senior vice-president of development and acquisitions. He oversaw platform acquisitions, individual hotel acquisitions, management contracts, dispositions and related activity, including raising equity. He also played a significant role in negotiating, closing and integrating companies such as Rim Hospitality and Noble Management Group, which helped Interstate expand its footprint.
“[Young] honed his knowledge and skillset through key leadership positions at Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the nation’s largest hotel operator, during the company’s high growth and transformational years,” said Robert Cole, president and chief executive officer, HVMG. “His experience, skillset and accomplishments are the perfect fit for what we were looking for. More importantly, he is a strong cultural fit with our existing leadership team.”
Midas Hospitality appointed Jena Ahlman area director of sales for its hotels in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Ahlman is responsible for the revenue production of both the Home2 Suites and Hampton Inn. Before joining Midas Hospitality, Ahlman held numerous positions in sales, business development and account management.
Annika Sofia Bjorka is spa director at Clinique La Prairie Aesthetics & Medical Spa at the St. Regis Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand. Bjorka joined Clinique La Prairie from Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas Spa on Kihavah Huravalhi Island, Maldives. A Swedish national, Bjorka has lived and worked across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection, Aspen, Colorado, named Patrick Davila general manager. Davila is a patron of the arts; he has been involved with the production of three Broadway shows and served as chairman of the Napa Valley Film Festival. Most recently, Davila was director of operations and served as interim general manager at Meadowood Napa Valley in St. Helena, California. Prior to this, Davila held leadership positions with Alden Hotels in Houston, Patina Group in Los Angeles, Postrio in San Francisco and Restaurant Daniel and Café Boulud in New York City.
The Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida, named Sunni Dupree general manager of Hotel Effie Sandestin. Dupree has experience in operations, food and beverage, event planning, hospitality management, customer service and coaching. She has worked at properties within brands such as The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Morgans Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels and Interstate Hotels and Resorts. Most recently, Dupree worked with Highgate Hotels, where she was responsible for managing hotel experiences and programming in addition to handling operations.
Josh Elliott is executive chef at Thesis Hotel Miami. Elliott has held positions at Eos Restaurant at the Viceroy Hotel in Miami, db Bistro Moderne in the JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Hilton Cabana Miami Beach’s L’echon Brasserie and was executive chef at the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Prior to joining Thesis Hotel Miami, Elliott was executive chef at Toro Boston.
Sean Flakelar is general manager at Kokomo Private Island, Fiji, reopening this April. Prior to this appointment, Flakelar spent nearly 20 years with Aman Resorts, where he managed properties including Amanjiwo in Java, Indonesia, and Amanoi in Vinh Hai, Vietnam. He was Aman’s country manager for Indonesia and most recently served as country manager at Aman in Galle Fort, Sri Lanka.
The AC Hotel Columbus Downtown, managed by Concord Hospitality and opening this spring in Columbus, Ohio, appointed Lisa Garner general manager, Maxwell Chick assistant general manager and Jennifer Myers director of sales and marketing. Garner joined Concord Hospitality in 2017 as dual general manager of the Marriott Columbus University Area and Residence Inn Columbus University Area hotels. She will continue to oversee these properties in addition to the AC Columbus as area general manager. Chick, a Columbus native, began his hospitality career with Marriott International where he recently opened the AC Hotel Charlotte SouthPark in Charlotte, North Carolina, as assistant general manager. Myers, who is a central Ohio native, has worked with properties across various brands, specializing in growing corporate brand awareness. She recently served as director of entertainment and travel industry sales at Hotel LeVeque, Autograph Collection, Columbus.
Outrigger Hospitality Group appointed Markus Krebs general manager of Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu. Prior to joining Outrigger, Krebs was general manager of Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, California. He has more than three decades of hotel experience, starting as a hotel management apprentice and working his way up through positions including front office manager, restaurant manager, food and beverage director, resident manager and general manager. He has worked in Germany, California, Chicago, Thailand and Mozambique.
Island Hospitality Management promoted Mark George to senior vice president of sales and marketing. George previously served as vice president of sales and marketing. He first joined Island Hospitality Management in 2005 as general manager of the Residence Inn Binghamton, New York, where he was recognized as the company’s general manager of the year. He has since held numerous leadership positions, including other general manager roles at properties managed by the company, including Marriott Gaithersburg Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Courtyard by Marriott Fort Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Forester, a Hyatt Place Hotel opening this April in Lake Forest, Illinois, appointed Marlena Karwowski general manager. Karwowski has two decades of experience and has served in roles including assistant reservations manager at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, reservations and communications manager at Hyatt Regency Chicago, director of sales at Hyatt House Evanston, Illinois, director of sales at Hilton Garden Inn Evanston, task force manager of sales at Hyatt Place Iowa City, Iowa, and task force manager of sales at Hyatt Place Milwaukee.
Ben Kim is vice president of operational finance, a newly created role at Aqua-Aston Hospitality. Kim will oversee the operational finance team providing financial oversight over the group’s portfolio of managed properties and restaurants. Before joining Aqua-Aston, Kim spent four years as area director of finance for Destination Residences Hawaii, where he led a team of 10 over a portfolio of 16 luxury properties throughout Hawaii. He also spent two years as director of finance and accounting at St. Kitts Marriott Resort and the Royal Beach Casino in Frigate Bay, St. Kitts and Nevis.
Benchmark named Robert Marusi chief commercial officer for Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii, scheduled to reopen this summer after a renovation. Marusi previously served as director of sales and marketing for The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California, and held the same position for the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, a Fairmont-managed hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda. Earlier, he was global account executive for Marriott International and also served in several positions of sales leadership for Marriott.
The recently opened AC Hotel Orlando Downtown in Orlando, Florida, named Robert Mason director of beverage and food. Mason has more than 35 years of hospitality experience, 20 of those spent in Central Florida. Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Mason started his career with a three-year apprenticeship under Ermes Paulin, an Italian master chef. His previous roles include director of food and beverage for The Westin Imagine Orlando and director of food and beverage for Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Florida.
Friday Harbour in Innisfil, Canada, named Hani Roustom chief executive officer. With more than 25 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, Roustom most recently was managing director at Hazelton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. He previously held leadership roles at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.
The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, will partner with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who will oversee the direction of all culinary operations at the hotel, including a new restaurant and café, set to debut this fall of 2021. Vongerichten is responsible for 39 restaurants in New York City; Miami; London, England; Paris, France; Shanghai, China, and more cities.
Solage, Auberge Resorts Collection in Calistoga, California, appointed Monica Zanotti wine curator. Zanotti brings 15 years of wine service expertise to her role, as well as sales and retail experience. She joined Solage, Auberge Resorts Collection from Meadowood Napa Valley, a Relais & Chateaux property in St. Helena, California, where she created an extensive education program, maintained the wine lists and worked with the events teams on pairing menus. She started her career in sales and marketing before transitioning into hospitality through a five-year position as wine director at Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, California.