New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Sabre Hospitality Solutions
Clinton Anderson has been appointed as the president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions. Anderson will succeed Alex Alt who has accepted an executive position at another company. Anderson joined Sabre in 2014, and he currently serves as senior vice president of strategy where he has been instrumental in key product, technology, business and investment strategy initiatives. Prior to joining Sabre, he co-founded Emerson/ Anderson, a private investment fund focused on small cap businesses. He was also a partner at Bain and Company where he served as a leader of consumer products and performance improvement practices and led consulting engagements across many industries to drive profitable growth, operational efficiency and strategic differentiation.
Cleartrip
Cleartrip has recently announced the appointment of Indroneel Dutt and Ankit Rastogi as its chief financial officer and vice president of hotels, respectively. Dutt will be based in Mumbai and will focus on optimising cost efficiencies and revenue streams for more resilient operations, while Rastogi will spearhead the company’s hotel-based business out of Bengaluru with a view of creating a more robust foundation of its core business. The recent high-profile appointments by Cleartrip are in sync with its long-term growth strategy of pushing for the next phase of its growth by bolstering its leadership team with industry veterans.
Korea Tourism Board
Korea Tourism Board has recently announced the appointment of Micheal Kwon as the new director of Korea Tourism Board – India. He will be heading the India office for next three years. Previously the director of International Tourism Strategy team at Korea Tourism Organization head office, Kwon has all-round exposure across different verticals of Korea Tourism Organization like human resources, planning and co-ordination, inbound marketing and performance evaluation. He was the deputy director of Korea Tourism Organization’s Chicago office between 2005 and 2007 and has successfully established the organisation office in Jakarta in 2011. Holding a major in tourism, Kwon has been associated with Korea Tourism Organization for 25 years. He is also a certified public labor attorney in Korea.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has appointed David Todd as its new senior director for new hotels in IMEA. Todd previously worked for IHG, both at the corporate office and at the company’s hotels in the Middle East. Prior to rejoining IHG, he served as vice president, operations – MEA at Millennium Hotels & Resorts. Based in Dubai, Todd will streamline and accelerate IHG’s new hotel opening process acting as a centre of excellence for the IMEA region. He will collaborate with various functions across the corporate offices in Dubai and Delhi as well as build on existing and new relationships with IHG’s owners and business partners to achieve successful hotel openings across the region.
Nordic Aviation Capital
Nordic Aviation Capital, one of world’s largest regional aircraft leasing and trading companies, has appointed Brian Ruben Pedersen as chief financial officer. Having held several senior executive positions in Maersk, Pedersen’s most recent position was as CFO for Maersk Global Shared Services in Mumbai, India. He has over 22 years of experience working in various financial and managerial roles and has gained substantial international exposure from working in a variety of countries including Hong Kong, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brazil.
Lords Hotels & Resorts
Lords Hotels & Resorts has appointed Anuj Srivastav as its new assistant marketing manager. An experienced professional in research and business development and account management, Srivastav will help the group in identifying business opportunities and ideating marketing strategies for topline growth. His active responsibilities include maintaining social media presence and online marketing and streamlining all forms of communications in line with the brand ethos. With proficiency and experience in branding solutions and research and analysis, Srivastav has diversified experienced in marketing and communications.
The Westin, Hyderabad
Rohit Dar has been appointed as the new general manager at The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace. Prior to joining The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, he was the general manager at Jaipur Marriott Hotel.
With a strong record, Dar brings over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked at properties like The Oberoi in Mumbai and New Delhi, The Oberoi Rajvilas, Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore and The Trident Kochi. Under his leadership, Jaipur Marriott and Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore displayed significant growth in sales. He was recently awarded the 2016 General Manager Award for his sales leadership.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts recently announced the appointment of Oliver Bonke as president and chief operating officer. Reporting to Shangri-La Asia chief executive officer Lim Beng Chee, Bonke will assume responsibilities on September 1, 2017 and will be based at Shangri-La’s headquarters in Hong Kong. In his capacity, Bonke will oversee the group’s executive vice presidents based in Asia, mainland China and the Middle East, as well as the operational division heads of food and beverage, sales, marketing, rooms, engineering, security, and quality improvement.