New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Amadeus
Amadeus has appointed Cyril Tetaz as head of commercial for Asia Pacific – airlines. Jonathan Tong and Abdullah Ozkececi have also moved to Amadeus’ Singapore hub as head of airline IT solutions and head of airline IT sales respectively for Asia Pacific, Russia, Turkey and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). As head of commercial, Asia Pacific, airlines, Tetaz will direct all commercial relationships with Amadeus’ airline customers based in Asia Pacific. His primary responsibility is to deliver on Amadeus’ customer-first approach for airlines in the region.
Goa Tourism
Manohar Azgaonkar has been appointed as the new tourism minister for Goa. Under the leadership of Azgaonkar, Goa Tourism is planning to introduce new initiatives and infrastructure projects, promote the diverse cultures of the state and focus on improving all its products and services. Azgaonkar has travelled extensively and is set to infuse new concepts and ideas into the tourism sector in Goa.
At the same time, Nilesh Cabral as been re-appointed as the chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC). During Cabral’s previous tenure, the corporation achieved several milestones – GTDC became a profit making corporation, introduced new and attractive activities and initiatives, formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) cell to expedite tourism infrastructure projects, and procured funding from central government schemes. He has already lined up new project for construction and commissioning in the next two to three years.
Travix
Focusing on the optimisation of the customer services strategy and realising the best customer experiences possible, Mirjam van den Berg has been named vice president of customer operations at Travix. She will bear international responsibility for further optimising the customer services strategy of all Travix brands, including BudgetAir. Mirjam van den Berg has worked in customer operations during her time at organisations like TNT, where she successfully shaped the customer care strategy. In addition, she has previously headed customer services for other global players.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) has appointed Simon Nowroz as chief marketing officer. Reporting to Patrick Andersen, chief strategy and commerce officer, Nowroz will be based in Minneapolis, USA. He joins from Anderson Capital Advisors, a specialist advisory firm he co-founded to focus on maximising customer returns from creative digital strategies, independent of market directions. Prior to that he was head of new ventures at Travelport for two-and-a-half years, and he was president and managing director, APAC with the firm for nine years before.
Sabre Travel Network
Sabre Travel Network has appointed Rakesh Narayanan as vice president of supplier commerce – Asia Pacific. Reporting to Sabre Travel Network’s senior vice president of airline commerce, Chris Wilding, Narayanan will lead commercial activities serving Sabre’s Asia Pacific airline customers. He was most recently regional director for Sabre Airline Solutions in South East Asia and the Indian Sub-Continent with responsibility for sales and account management. Prior to that, he held various global management, business development and consulting positions.
Sarovar Hotels
Sarovar Hotels announced the appointment of S Karthikeyan as vice president of sales. Karthikeyan’s previous stint includes experience with ITC Hotels as director of sales and marketing. He has handled roles ranging from growing legacy hotels to opening new ones.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pune
Namdev Shinde has been appointed as the purchase manager for DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pune. Shinde has over eight years of experience in procurement and material management. He started his career with Kamat Hotels and then worked with Hyatt Hotels and the Mariott Group. He was last associated with JW Marriott in Bangalore. In his tenure with Marriott he has contributed significantly in reducing costs etc.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Dwarka
Chef Mahesh Sharma, who has culinary experience of over 25 years, has joined Radisson Blu Hotel, Dwarka, New Delhi as executive chef; and he will take the lead role for all food and beverage operations. Prior this, Chef Sharma has worked with luxury and five-star properties like Hotel Le Meridien Jaipur, Swallow Hotels UK, Rajputana Sheraton as executive chef and general manager.