New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
The St. Regis, Mumbai
The St. Regis Mumbai has announced the appointment of Saurabh Dube as director of Sales and Marketing. Dube brings over 14 years of rich experience in the realm of Business Development and Sales and Marketing within the luxury segment and hospitality industry. He will lead the dynamic sales team of The St. Regis Mumbai, creating and overseeing revenue plans and surpassing targets. Some of the leading brands that he has been associated with are The Oberoi Hotels, The Marriott International, Hyatt Intl. and The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts. Dube also has a distinguished accomplishment of successfully launching both a luxury brand & hotel with his stint as Sales Head for Sofitel Mumbai BKC. His key focus areas include Revenue Management, Business Development, Sales and Marketing with a keen interest in Hotel Management & Operations.
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways recently announced the appointment of Chris Kempis, currently general manager Flying, as director Flight Operations with effect from mid-2018. He will oversee all aspects of the airline’s flight operations. Kempis takes up the position after 25 years of service at Cathay Pacific; his last two years as general manager Flying, where he was responsible for managing the airline’s flying standards, including check and training activities. He is the Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holder for training at Cathay Pacific. Kempis joined Cathay Pacific in 1993 as a First officer on the Boeing 747 fleet, later becoming a Training First officer on the Airbus fleet and received his command in 2002. After joining the Flight Operations management team in a training management role in 2004, he was appointed Chief pilot (Airbus) in 2008, where he was responsible for standards, flight-technical and operational matters on the Airbus fleet.
Schenker India
Schenker India, part of DB Schenker, the transport and logistics division of the Deutsche Bahn Group, has announced that Vishal Sharma has been appointed as the new chief executive officer – India and the Indian sub-continent, with effect from May 2, 2018. He will be succeeding Oliver Bohm who has taken up a new role as Europe chief commercial officer after spending 20 years in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. With over 17 years of experience with Maersk, Sharma held various strategic leadership roles in Europe & Asia, and is also well versed in the 3PL and SCM Industry, where he in particular was Area CEO for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka of a 3PL. Apart from this, he also has a wealth of entrepreneurial experience in start-ups and business incubation. Sharma holds an MBA from Chicago Booth, and has a strong interest in technology solutions in fields such as analytics and SaaS.
The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali
The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali has announced the appointment of Oriol Montal as general manager. A seasoned hotelier with over 20 years of experience, he has arrived on the island direct from a four-year tenure as general manager for JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. With a solid background in hospitality services, Montal first entered the workplace in 1994 as Assistant Food & Beverage manager with Hotel Barcelona Sants. Upon joining The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Arts in Barcelona, he remained in his hometown for several more years fine-tuning his expertise across several different departments. He then relocated to The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai as executive assistant manager Rooms Division. Upon joining the Marriott brand as general manager for JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Montal successfully repositioned the property as a leading family resort in Asia. Having assumed responsibility for The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali and the adjacent Bali International Convention Centre, he now faces the challenge of maintaining award-winning status on a regional and global level.
Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield
Ranju Alex has been appointed as the Multi-Property vice president, Bengaluru & Kochi and general manager for Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield. After a 17 year tenure with The Oberoi Group, Alex moved to Marriott International. Prior to this new role, she served as the general manager of the JW Marriott Kolkata and Multi Property vice president for East India, Bhutan and Bangladesh. She is a true champion of the values and commitment towards service excellence which encompasses taking care of associates and their career development plans. She enjoys the diversity of dealing with guests, meeting individually with department heads, exploring opportunities for improvement, solving concerns and moving forward together as a team. She is very passionate about women empowerment and advocates it at her workplace. Her work towards gender diversity has resulted in her being invited by several countries like Sweden, Netherlands, UK and the US as a key note speaker on women related issues.
RoomIt by CWTÒ
RoomIt by CWTÒ, the hotel distribution division of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, the global travel management company, has appointed Jack Staehler as its new chief technology officer. Staehler will be based in RoomIt’s Chicago headquarters and join both CWT’s Product & Technology and RoomIt leadership teams. He has held a number of VP technology roles with Cendant Travel, Orbitz and Sears Holdings, and most recently with RR Donnelly, a global provider of marketing and business communication solutions and services, where he has been leading digital product & software development, investment strategy and process management. Staehler holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Wisconsin.
The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi
Rahul Puri has been appointed as the general manager at The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi. He is a seasoned hospitality professional with 20 years of international expertise having worked in India & China. He joined Marriott International in 2005 at Sheraton Hongkong Hotel and Tower then transitioned into the role of area director for Revenue Strategy for India, Australia and Malaysia in 2011, which culminated into his most recent assignment as senior area director of Revenue strategy South Asia leading more than 100+ hotel portfolio. In his career journey, Puri has held several senior roles both on & above property and at corporate offices across various International hospitality brands in Asia pacific such as InterContinental, Hyatt and Taj Hotels. In his new role, he will be focusing on the overall operations at the property, driving hotel performance, guest satisfaction, diversifying Food and Beverage experiences, focussing on strong brand positioning of the hotel while creating a positive workforce environment.
Lords Hotels & Resorts
Lords Hotels & Resorts has appointed Siva Kumar as its manager, Human Resources, Corporate. Kumar has over 22 years of industry experience and carries a generalist profile in Human Resources – Operations and Employee Engagement. A Post Graduate in Human Resources Management, he has previously served at The Trident Hotel – Chennai, Holiday Inn Group of Hotels, INOX Leisure Limited and Oakwood Premier & Residence and Accor. His immediate last profile was that of Deputy Head – Human Resources with Della Adventure and Resorts.
Hyatt Regency Ludhiana
Hyatt Regency Ludhiana appoints Manas Banerjee as general manager effective May 14, 2018. Following a distinguished career in hospitality and with over 20 years of experience, his most recent assignment was as general manager at Hyatt Bangalore MG Road. As general manager, his responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of property management in accordance with the company mission statement, including the maximisation of financial performance, guest satisfaction and staff development within established quality standards. Banerjee is also responsible for managing and developing a successful relationship between the owners of the property and the Hyatt management team. He is a hotel management graduate from the Institute of Advanced Management Kolkata and commenced his career with Holiday Inn, Krishna (now Taj Deccan). This was followed by a move to Holiday Inn Vadodara and then to ITC Fortune Hotels Chennai. Subsequently, Banerjee joined Radisson Hotel as the general manager, where he played a key role in the hotel’s opening and performance, followed by a general manager stint at Crowne Plaza Electronic City Bangalore.
Radisson Hotel Group
Radisson Hotel Group has appointed Saurabh Prakash as its new vice president, Commercial, Asia Pacific. Based at the company’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, Prakash is a member of the Asia Pacific executive committee and will oversee all aspects of the region’s commercial activities, including sales, revenue optimisation, distribution, marketing and loyalty. A highly-skilled hotelier and revenue management strategist with over 15-years of experience, Prakash has worked for industry-leading hotels across Asia Pacific. He spent a majority of his career with Marriott International, where he worked in India, Malaysia, China and Singapore. Prior to this role, he was general manager & vice president, Asia Pacific, with TSA Solutions, a hospitality consultancy and solutions provider, in Singapore.
Indore Marriott Hotel
Indore Marriott Hotel in Madhya Pradesh appoints Devesh Rawat as their new general manager. Rawat’s role includes overseeing and monitoring all departments, managing the commercial and operational strategy & performance of the hotel, ensure full compliance to Hotel operating controls, SOP’s, policies, procedures and service standards and safeguarding the quality of operations both (internal & external audits). He brings in 18 years of rich experience of working with luxury hotels & resorts. He began his career at The Oberoi Raj Vilas, Jaipur. In 2004, he moved to Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre and gradually climbed up the ladder as director of Restaurants and Catering. He was also promoted as asst. director of F&B at JW Marriott (Juhu), followed by The Leela Palace Kempinski, Bangalore, as the F&B manager. Prior to joining Indore Marriott Hotel, he was with Sheraton Grand, Bangalore, at Brigade Gateway where he was duly recognised as ‘the most Inspirational Leader’ in 2014.
Kochi Marriott Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott Kochi Airport hotel
Anoop Joseph joins as the new Multi Property director of Sales & Marketing of the Kochi Marriott Hotel and the Courtyard by Marriott Kochi Airport hotel from May 2, 2018. Joseph is a result oriented professional with over 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry with an expertise in the sales and marketing function in India and International markets. In his new capacity, he will lead in developing and implementing sales and marketing strategies for both the hotels in Kochi. Prior to his current role, Joseph has previously worked with International Brands like IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, The Leela Hotels and Resorts, Accor Hotels Group which included serving as the director Sales at Crowne Plaza Kochi. He holds Masters in Tourism Administration from Christ College Bangalore and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management from Pondicherry University.
Novotel Hotels & Resorts, Goa
AccorHotels recently announced the appointment of Yojan Das as the Guest Experience manager for Novotel Hotels & Resorts, Goa. With over seven years’ of experience in the hospitality industry, Das will be responsible for team management, business and skill development at the property. At Novotel Hotels & Resorts, Goa, her core responsibilities will include overseeing and coordinating for various hotel amenities. In her attempt to manage the visitors, Das is proactive in all the activities by making sure the travellers are content. Das was associated with leading hotel chains like Vivanta by Taj, Goa, Bangalore and ITC Sonar Kolkata.