New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Taj Wellington Mews, Mumbai
Anmol Ahluwalia, executive assistant manager – accommodations, Taj Bengal, Kolkata has been appointed as general manager – Taj Wellington Mews, Mumbai. In his new role, he will report to Taljinder Singh, area director – Mumbai and general manager – The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. He joined the Taj family in September 2005 at Vivanta by Taj – Fort Aguada, Goa as an executive housekeeper. He rose to an accommodations manager position in 2008 at Vivanta by Taj – Panaji, Goa. Thereafter he moved to Taj Bengal, Kolkata as an executive assistant manager – front office and was subsequently elevated to the post of executive assistant manager – accommodations.
NYC & Company
NYC & Company has announced that industry veteran Abby Spatz has joined the company as chief marketing officer. In her new role, Spatz will lead the company’s marketing group and will oversee the in-house creative, digital, editorial, photography and video teams as she directs and implements the company’s strategic marketing plan. Spatz will report to Fred Dixon, president and CEO, NYC & Company. Spatz joins NYC & Company from the spa and beauty brand Bliss, where sheserved as the head of integrated marketing and communications. Prior to that she spent 20-plus years working across a range of marketing functions with global consumer lifestyle brands including as managing partner at MEC/ MediaEdge, where she led the channel business for the WPP-agency. She was also head of consumer engagement and integrated marketing at eBay and senior director of integrated marketing and advertising for Hilton.
Sabre
Roshan Mendis is senior vice president of Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific. His appointment began in July 2015 with Sabre Corporation’s acquisition of Abacus. He is responsible for growing the combined Asia Pacific business. The new role within the Sabre portfolio follows 12 years with subsidiary, Travelocity.com which he led as president of the Americas, until its 2015 sale to Expedia. He held various senior positions within the online travel agency, including as president of Zuji, Travelocity’s Asia Pacific brand, and as vice president of Travelocity’s B2B distribution business. Mendis is now based at the Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
Renée J James has been elected to Sabre’s board of directors, effective August 3, 2015. At Sabre, James will serve on the audit committee and the technology committee of the board of directors. She currently serves as the president of Intel Corporation, and is a member of the board of directors of Vodafone Group. In 2012, US President Barack Obama appointed James to serve as a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Earlier in her career, James was executive vice president and the general manager of the software and services group; vice president for developer programmes; and director and COO of Intel Online Services. She was also part of the team working with independent software vendors to port applications to Intel Architecture, and served as chief of staff for former Intel CEO Andy Grove. James holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the University of Oregon.
Kesari
Pramod Dalvi has been appointed as vice president- public relations at Kesari. He will be responsible for coordinating with tourism boards, airlines, government bodies, DMCs, conducting academy lectures once a week, future plans contributions, corporate travel management guidance, cruise tie-ups, assisting HR and admininistration for manpower selection, coordinating for road shows, and overlooking the Forex department.
Four Points by Sheraton Vishakhapatnam
Four Points by Sheraton Vishakhapatnam has appointed Aditya Shamsher Malla as general manager. He brings with him over 21 years of luxury and mid-scale hospitality experience. He returns to the Starwood family as general manager of Four Points by Sheraton Vishakhapatnam and has previously held Excom assignments with Starwood as director of sales and marketing of The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, as EAM – sales and marketing of The Westin Mumbai Garden City and as general manager of Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur.
Amadeus
Albert Pozo has been appointed as president of Amadeus Asia Pacific. Effective August 3, 2015, he will direct Amadeus’ corporate strategy for Asia Pacific, focusing on distribution and new business areas such as rail, hotel, payments and venture investments. Pozo has been with Amadeus since 1993 and has extensive experience within market, regional and global roles. He served most recently as vice president for global customer group, leading commercial activity, strategy, and business development for global multinational travel.
Bombardier
Bombardier has appointed John Di Bert as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective August 10, 2015. Prior to joining Bombardier, Bert spent the past 14 years at Pratt & Whitney Canada as vice president, customer service. Earlier in his career, he worked at Rolls-Royce Canada as manager, financial accounting from 1999 to 2001 and at KPMG as senior auditor for major clients including manufacturing, retail and distribution companies from 1997 to 1999. Bert is a chartered accountant. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy from Concordia University in Montréal (Canada).
Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways has appointed the current head of Air Mauritius, Andre Viljoen, as CEO and managing director. Viljoen will take up the position before October 1, 2015. Viljoen has 33 years of professional experience in the airline and tourism industry and has been the CEO of Air Mauritius since 2010. Viljoen joins Fiji Airways after its recent transformation, including its rebranding from Air Pacific and a fleet upgrade, and at a stage when it is exploring further commercial opportunities, including new routes.