New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Alila Fort Bishangarh
Alila Hotels & Resorts has appointed Binny Sebastian as general manager of Alila Fort Bishangarh, located 1.5 hours north of Jaipur. With 20 years of global experience in hospitality, Sebastian brings with him a wealth of industry knowledge in the luxury hotel segment. He successfully ran prestigious hotels and resorts in senior management roles in the Caribbean and India.
Marriott International
Marriott International has recently announced the appointment of Bruce Ryde as the Asia Pacific vice-president for luxury brands and brand marketing. Ryde will be based in the company’s Asia Pacific office in Hong Kong. In this new role, Ryde will own the luxury brand strategy in the Asia Pacific, driving appropriate representation and brand preference for Marriott International luxury brands which comprises The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St Regis, EDITION, JW Marriott, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection and Bulgari. He will also be working in partnership with continent leadership to maximise guest experience through on-brand activations and build brand preference for both customers and investors.
AccorHotels
AccorHotels has announced the appointment of Gilles de Richemond as chief information officer. Gilles studied engineering at IPSA and began his career in 1998 as a journalist before setting up Archimetrie, a documentary website and publishing company. He moved to TPS then Canal Plus as head of distributed IT in 2004, then to Transavia France to head up its information system in 2007. He has been the managing director of Voyages-SNCF Technologies, running the voyages-sncf.com, group’s technical division and SNCF’s Digital Factory, since 2012.
Wharf Hotels
Wharf Hotels has promoted Thomas Salg, general manager, Marco Polo Hotels, Hong Kong to vice president of operations. Reporting to the president, Salg will be responsible for the hotel management company’s operational brand standards for rooms, restaurants, bars and events. This remit will also include establishing new revenue streams and further develop the standalone restaurant concept to hotel operations. On the other hand, Dalip Singh has been promoted from hotel manager to general manager for Marco Polo Hotels, Hong Kong. Reporting to the group’s vice president of operations, Singh will be in charge of the three popular Hong Kong Hotels located on the Canton Road: Marco Polo Hongkong, Prince and Gateway.
UNTWO
H E Eliza Jean Reid, the First Lady of Iceland, has been nominated as a special ambassador for tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNWTO launched the special ambassadors for tourism and the SDGs programmes as a legacy of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.
Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat and Spa
Abhijit Ghosh has recently taken over as the general manager of Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat & Spa. Ghosh has a vast experience of 17 years in the luxury wellness and hospitality industry, having headed operations at Soneva Jani, Maldives; Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam and Six Senses Samui, Thailand. He has held senior positions at Umaid Bhavan Palace (Rajasthan), Taj Exotica Resort & Spa (Maldives) and Oberoi Amarvilas (Agra). His key areas of expertise are retreat management, luxury hospitality, guest service, sales, business development, operations management, financial planning and revenue growth.
Treebo Hotels
Treebo Hotels has recently announced the appointment of Sonali Ramaiah, a former senior HR executive at Cisco and Boeing, as the head of people function. In her new role, Ramaiah will lead all people initiatives for Treebo and will work closely with the leadership team to further strengthen the company’s culture and solidify its position as an employer of choice. She holds 16 years of experience in the field of human resources. Prior to joining Treebo, Ramaiah worked at Boeing as the senior HR executive and was responsible for building the defense and IT teams at the organisation.
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the appointment of Vivek Bhalla as the regional vice president, South West Asia (SWA). Bhalla will be responsible for spearheading strategic growth for the company and operational performance of 31 hotels in South West Asia, across four brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. He will also play an instrumental role in driving IHG’s growth agenda to have 150 hotels open or in the pipeline in India within the next 10 to 15 years, starting with facilitating the opening of 33 hotels in India within the next three to five years.
Conrad Pune
Conrad Pune recently announced the appointment of Ishaan Malik as the new front office manager for the hotel. In his new designation, he will be responsible for supervising the daily operations of the front office team to maintain guest delight standards at the hotel. He has been associated with established brands such as Starwood Hotels and ITC Hotels in various capacities related to front office and customer relations management. He joins Conrad Pune from Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts, Maldives where he served as the manager – front office, sports and leisure, and transportation services.