Six Senses Hotels, Resorts, Spas, Bangkok, Thailand, has appointed Neil Palmer as chief operating officer.
Palmer will look after the brand’s growing portfolio of hotels, resorts and spas in 20 countries. There are 34 more properties in the development pipeline. He will also focus on translating the Six Senses vision of reconnection into emblematic resort locations, downtown addresses and new residential offerings.
Palmer has 37 years of international hospitality experience, most of which was with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. There, he was senior vice president operations Asia Pacific, developed the company’s hotel portfolio and oversaw the pre-opening hotel pipeline within the region.
Chief Executive Officer Neil Jacobs said of the appointment: “With his boundless experience, energy and integrity, Neil is an exciting new protagonist in the Six Senses story as we continue to unite our vision of hospitality and reconnection in our places and spaces.”
Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, announced a new Director of Finance, Andrée Bahan. Bahan most recently served as director of finance and accounting with Marriott International.
Mission Hill Hospitality, Denver, Colorado, has announced several executive hires. Tom Barber, Mark Faioli, and Mike Wilbert join as managing directors; and Carmen Almos joins as senior vice president, asset management. Barber previously served as global chief development officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts; Fraioli previously worked at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, London; and Wilbert joins Mission Hill from Tishman Hotels, Orlando, Florida, where he was a senior vice president. Almos was previously portfolio asset manager at Dubai, UAE-based Investra Capital.
The Adolphus, Dallas, Texas, announced Michael Bridges as general manager and Jin Lee as executive chef of culinary operations for the hotel. Most recently, Bridges served as area managing director of SIXTY Hotels, Los Angeles, California. Lee most recently served as the banquet and catering chef at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, California.
Rosewood Miramar Beach, Montecito, California, announced Rick Fidel has been promoted to managing director from resort manager. Previously, he was director of operations of the W Hoboken Hotel, Hoboken, New Jersey.
Kokomo Private Island Resort, Kadavu Islands, Fiji, announced Sean Flakelar as the property’s general manager. Flakelar most recently served as country manager at Aman in Galle Fort, Sri Lanka.
Aaron Foster has been appointed executive chef at the W Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee. Previously, Foster was executive chef at The Edition, Miami Beach, Florida.
The Ballantyne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Charlotte, North Carolina, announce a new executive culinary team, including Charles Gardiner as executive chef; Alan Grant as director of food & beverage; Christine Clancy as executive pastry chef; Tim Slezak as chef de cuisine; and Andrew Brandwein, sommelier and director of outlets. Gardiner most recently helmed the kitchen at The Club at Longview in Charlotte. Grant brings more than seven years’ experience with The Ballantyne brand through various leadership roles in operations. Previously, Clancy held the executive pastry chef role at Four Seasons in Vail, Colorado. Most recently, Selzak opened Chief Butcher, a Texas-based steakhouse. Most recently, Brandwein held the role of assistant director of food and beverage operations with Wolfgang Puck at CUT by Wolfgang Puck at Rosewood Hotel in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Huazhu Group Ltd., Shanghai, China, announced the appointment of Jihong He as chief executive officer for international business. Previously, he served as the chief strategy officer and CEO of Data Center Business of CapitaLand Ltd., Singapore.
The St. Regis San Francisco, San Francisco, California, announced the appointment of Roger Huldi to the position of general manager. Huldi joins after eight years as general manager of W San Francisco.
Kenneth Jarka has been named general manager of the Washington Hilton, Washington DC. Jarka most recently served as general manager of Hilton Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Palmaïa – The House of AïA, Riviera Maya, Mexico, appointed Markus Laahanen as general manager. Laahanen joins Palmaïa from Umay Resort, Melides, Portugal, where he recently led the development of the resort.
The Edgewater, a Noble House hotel, Seattle, Washington, has announced Jonathan Little as the new executive chef of Six Seven, the property’s signature restaurant and lounge. Before joining The Edgewater, Little was executive chef of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle.
EasyHotel, London, United Kingdom, has appointed Karim Malak as chief executive after the death of former lead Francois Bacchetta earlier in the year. Malak was previously chief executive at aparthotel group Adagio, Paris, France.
Dream Hotel Group, New York City, announced Paul Mensi as general manager of Unscripted Durham, Durham, North Carolina. Mensi most recently served as director of sales for the hotel, as well as business development director for SellMoreNow Seminars in Nashville, Tennessee.
Germany-based Steigenberger Hotels has appointed new general managers in Frankfurt, Berlin and Krems. The Steigenberger Airporthotel Frankfurt, the Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt in Berlin and the Steigenberger Hotel & Spa Krems will be headed up by Peter Mikkelsen, Daniel Hunger and Peter Martin respectively. Mikkelsen was previously in charge of the Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt. Hunger has worked previously at Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, Berlin, Germany; the Steigenberger Herrenhof Vienna, Austria; and the Hotel Palace Prague, Czech Republic. Martin previously worked as hotel director at locations including Meran, Bad Homburg and Konstanz.
Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, announced a new culinary and beverage team. John Mitchell is the new director of food & beverage operations. He has 16 years of experience in the food and wine hospitality industry. Igor Krichmar is the new culinary director. He has 14 years of experience at hotels in major markets, including The Standard Highline in New York City. Vlad Kogan is the new executive chef. His previous experience includes time at the Ritz-Carlton Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. Matt Serkes is the new pastry chef. He was most recently as the assistant executive pastry chef at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nicholas Karel is the new director of bars, lounges and beverage. Jillian Gonzalez is the new restaurant manager of the Grill Room. She has been at Windsor Court Hotel since 2016 as food & beverage supervisor and food & beverage outlet manager.
West Hollywood Hotels, Los Angeles, California, announced the appointments of Jason Moniz as area executive chef and Erin Reynolds as area director of food and beverage. Moniz has almost 30 years of experience as a professional chef, and has trained and worked alongside notable chefs all over the world. Prior to joining West Hollywood Hotels, Reynolds worked at The Parker Palm Springs, Palm Springs, California.
HEI Hotels & Resorts, Norwalk, Connecticut, announced that four employees have been made principals in the business: Karl Murphy, chief commercial officer; Dan Walworth, chief compliance & strategy officer; Rachel Moniz, chief operating officer and Marcus Harris, chief financial officer. Prior to HEI, Murphy held various corporate roles with brands including Virgin and The Body Shop International, both headquartered in London. Walworth has more than 25 years of experience developing and implementing processes, systems and strategies across multiple industries. Moniz previously worked in several executive leadership positions in independent, luxury and lifestyle hotels. Harris previously worked with Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International.
Timber Cove Resort, Jenner, California, welcomed Jason Reiplinger as managing director and Brendalee Vialpando as executive chef. Reiplinger was most recently managing director at the Bodega Bay Lodge, Bodega Bay, California. Vialpando most recently served as executive chef at Bodega Bay Lodge.
Due to open in November, Rosewood Le Guanahani, St. Barth, has appointed Riccardo Schievano as executive chef and Bob Louison as beverage manager. Schievano was most recently executive chef at Park Gstaad in Switzerland. Louison has previously worked in restaurants and bars in London, New York, Ibiza, Hong Kong and Seoul.
Brush Creek Luxury Ranch Collection, Saratoga, Wyoming, which includes The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch, Magee Homestead and French Creek Sportsmen’s Club, announced the appointment of Karli Sullivan to director of marketing. Sullivan was previously director of marketing at Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa in Tabernash, Colorado.