Choice Hotels made four leadership appointments to support its corporate priorities while driving growth. The company promoted Scott Oaksmith to senior vice president of real estate and finance; Raul Ramirez to senior vice president, head of international, and strategic and financial planning; Elizabeth Redmond to chief accounting officer; and John Lancaster to regional vice president, emerging markets, franchise development and owner relations.
Oaksmith will work with the franchise development and brand teams to accelerate growth by strategically deploying capital in the form of hotel development, joint venture investing and lending programs with a focus on major markets and destinations. He joined the company in 2002 and has held numerous positions, including controller, senior vice president of finance and chief accounting officer.
Ramirez previously served as senior vice president of international strategic planning and global head of financial planning and analysis, where he led the company’s finance, corporate development and business planning.
Across her 13-year tenure at Choice, Redmond has led enterprise-wide process reengineering efforts, implemented new complex accounting standards and improved internal control structures and procedures. She most recently was vice president of financial reporting and accounting.
Stepping into a newly created role, Lancaster will lead Choice’s efforts to extend the opportunity of hotel ownership to underrepresented populations through the company’s emerging markets franchise development program. He also will lead the company’s reinstitution of an owners’ council representing and supporting unrepresented hoteliers. Lancaster has held various roles at Choice since 2011, including regional vice president of franchise development, director of global sales sourcing and solutions, and director of franchise development for the mid-Atlantic, New England and emerging markets.
Philip Barnes is regional vice president, Southern California, and general manager of Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Barnes joined from his most recent position as managing director and regional vice president, The Savoy in London, a Fairmont Managed Hotel, where he has been since 2016. Preceding his role at The Savoy, Barnes held a number of positions with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, including regional vice president Middle East, regional vice president Pacific Northwest and general manager of Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, Canada, along with other regional vice president and GM roles in Canada and the Middle East.
Hyatt Centric Key West Resort and Spa in Key West, Florida, appointed Pietro Consorti executive chef. Originally from the Tuscany region of Italy, Consorti brings with him a knowledge of foraging and fishing along with 17 years of culinary experience. He most recently was executive chef at Andaz Wall Street, New York City.
The Castell Project promoted Deborah Cox to vice president. Prior to joining the Castell Project, Cox was principal of Interacting Dynamics, a full-service consultancy focused on strategic and influencer marketing, corporate communication and merger integration. Before that, she was co-founder and principal of CoMass Group, an organization that designed programs to address issues of incivility and lateral violence within the health care community.
Kevin Davis is a senior managing director of JLL’s Americas Hotels & Hospitality Group. Based in New York, Davis heads the debt capital markets efforts and collaborates with the America’s hotels and hospitality business and JLL’s capital markets loan sales and financing teams.
The AC Hotel Greenville, opening early 2021 in Greenville, South Carolina, appointed John Deck general manager and Else Miller director of sales. Deck most recently was corporate food and beverage director at Auro Hotels and held general manager roles at Marriott Greenville and Hyatt Regency Suites in Atlanta. Miller has more than 18 years of experience in Greenville, where she led sales efforts at SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn, Hyatt Regency and Hilton hotels.
Dina Fenili Niekamp is director of brand and marketing, Miraval, responsible for driving consumer awareness for the brand and spearheading the marketing and communications efforts for Miraval properties across the country. Fenili Niekamp brings 14 years of hospitality experience to her role, having most recently served as the director of sales and marketing at the Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago. Prior to this role, she served in sales and marketing roles for a number of brands.
Sonesta International Hotels Corp. appointed Steve Grant area director sales, marketing and revenue, managing the sales team and overseeing marketing and revenue efforts on behalf of The Clift Royal Sonesta San Francisco and Sonesta Silicon Valley in Milpitas, California. Prior to his role at Sonesta, Grant was complex director of sales at Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Park 55. He also held several key positions at Starwood including being a member of the development team for ISAC, Highgate as the area director for New York City, and director of sales and marketing for both the Westin Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, and Westin San Diego.
CBRE welcomed Bill Grice as executive vice president and co-head of hospitality capital markets. Based at the firm’s Atlanta office, Grice will focus on the origination and placement of debt and equity for hospitality-related transactions. He assumes the leadership role in partnership with Mark Owens, executive vice president and co-head of hospitality capital markets, to lead the development of the debt and structured finance team for CBRE Hotels. Grice joined CBRE from JLL, where he spent the past 13 years, most recently as managing director and co-head of hotel investment banking.
Red Roof promoted Matthew Hostetler to chief development officer from his prior role as senior vice president franchise development, a position he’s held since 2014. In his new role, he will lead a team responsible for driving franchise growth and entering new markets and geographies. Red Roof also promoted Fouad Malouf to senior vice president, franchise operations, overseeing locations in the United States and international markets. Malouf has been with Red Roof since 1982, most recently as vice president, franchise operations, in which he supported franchisees and the franchise operations teams. Alex Shamsuddin is regional vice president, franchise development, West Coast. He spent the past four years as director of franchise sales, driving brand growth in Texas and Oklahoma. Rick Schaeffer is now regional vice president, franchise development, East Coast, a promotion from his prior role as development director. A veteran of Red Roof since 1986, Glenn Galbraith is vice president of franchise operations. Galbraith has extensive management, operations and finance experience. Having served 34 years with Red Roof, Jane Palumbo was promoted to vice president of franchise operations. Since joining the franchise team, she has fine-tuned many of the company’s internal processes working across the company to enhance franchisee business.
Four Points by Sheraton Phuket Patong Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand, named Daryn Hudson general manager ahead of the property’s October opening. Hudson first joined Marriott International in 2005 as director of food and beverage at the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa in Surfers Paradise, Australia. After earning Marriott’s Asia Pacific General Manager of the Year – Select Service and Global Courtyard Diamond General Manager of the Year awards in 2016 while general manager at Courtyard by Marriott Seoul Pangyo in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Hudson went on to become general manager of The Stones Hotel – Legian Bali, Autograph Collection, in Bali, Indonesia.
Opening this November in Anaheim, California, The Westin Anaheim Resort named its core executive team. Carmine Iommazzo is general manager after most recently serving as general manager of The Kahala Hotel and Resort in Honolulu. Pennelope Wright is assistant general manager and has held a variety of leadership roles throughout her career, including general manager of La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham LAX in Los Angeles. Cynthia Ordyke is director of sales and marketing after recently serving as vice president of sales and marketing for the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City in Universal City, California. Jeffrey Chirinos is director of food and beverage after his previous role as general manager of the Villas at Pelican Hill Resort, Newport Coast, California. Matthew Smith is executive chef after recently moving from Hawaii, where he was executive chef for the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa and Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. Finally, Jenniffer San Pedro is controller. She previously held multiple executive director of finance positions for both decentralized and centralized accounting structures at Hilton and Interstate Hotels and Resorts.
Villa Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark, named Lisette Jönsson director of operations, Nini Andersen director of brand and marketing, and Annette Engmose director of people and culture. Jo¨nsson was hotel manager for Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport before joining Villa Copenhagen in 2019 as a member of the pre-opening team and head of its COVID-19 policy implementation. Andersen has eight years of experience working in progressive leadership positions within the design, lifestyle and retail sectors. She also joined Villa Copenhagen in 2019 and worked to convey the hotel’s identity as a sustainable wellbeing hub. Prior to joining the team, Engmose was head of human resources at Heinmann Retail Denmark and gained extensive management experience as a human resources consultant for SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
Luminary Hotel & Co., opening next month in Fort Myers, Florida, named Kiel Lombardo executive chef, Steve Adams director of food and beverage, Robert Nokley director of rooms operation and Lindsey Appelget director of finance. Lombardo most recently was with RL Hospitality Consulting in Tampa, Florida, where he consulted on restaurant design and concept branding. Adams, who has more than 30 years’ experience, joined Luminary from Callaway Resort & Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, bringing with him extensive experience in operations, and executive budget, sales and inventory development. Nokley has worked across the country as front office, operations and housekeeping manager at properties. He most recently was front office manager at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado. Appelget joined the team from the Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront, where she worked as director of finance. She previously worked as opening controller at Plunge Beach Hotel in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, and as complex director of finance at Doubletree by Hilton Convention Center Complex in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Anton Moore is general manager of Gansevoort Meatpacking in New York City. Moore brings more than two decades of hospitality experience to the property. Born in Ireland, Moore started his hospitality career at Ashford Castle in Mayo, Ireland, then later joined Hilton working with the Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand. He started working in the United States at Waldorf Astoria New York, where he became director of entertainment sales. In 2010, Moore joined Marriott to develop its Edition brand, then joined the Edition team as global director of entertainment sales, later becoming senior director of global sales. Throughout his time with Edition, Moore led the sales teams through the opening of five properties.
Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida, appointed Amaury Piedra managing director. Piedra has 25 years of sales and operations experience leading lifestyle hotels, convention hotels and multi-unit complexes in the United States and Caribbean, including properties for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Most recently, Piedra was general manager at the Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was part of the development team for the property’s renovation and expansion.
Hotel Revival, a Hyatt-managed Joie de Vivre hotel in Baltimore, named Ilemona Salifu director of sales, events and marketing. Salifu undertakes this role in addition to his current position as director of sales, events and marketing at Hyatt Regency Baltimore. Prior to this appointment, Salifu was the director of sales and marketing at the Hyatt Regency in Morristown, New Jersey. During his time in New Jersey, he also taught courses and mentored students in the Hospitality Management program at Montclair State University. Before that, he was associate director of sales at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta.
Felix Schaller is general manager, 1 Hotel & Homes Cabo and Hacienda Beach Club & Residences, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Schaller joined SH Hotels & Resorts in December 2019 as hotel manager and acting general manager at 1 Hotel West Hollywood in West Hollywood, California. Shadi Omeish stepped into the general manager role at 1 Hotel West Hollywood after four years as general manager at 1 Hotel South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida. Xavier Moulin became general manager at 1 Hotel South Beach after serving as general manager of 1 Hotel & Homes Cabo and Hacienda Beach Club & Residences.
One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, appointed Kelly Teo director of sales and marketing. Teo has worked with both domestic and international hotels for more than 17 years, leading sales and marketing teams of brands including Waldorf Astoria, St. Regis, Edition, The Ritz-Carlton and InterContinental on the West Coast, as well as across Asia-Pacific. Most recently, Teo was director of sales and marketing at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, California, after returning from Hong Kong where he spearheaded pre-opening sales and marketing efforts for The St. Regis, Hong Kong.
Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown named Ashish Thalakkat executive pastry chef. Thalakkat has more than 22 years of culinary experience and joined the property from Claremont Club & Spa in Berkeley, California, where he created signature desserts and confections. Before that, he was executive pastry chef for Fairmont Empress, Victoria, Canada. During this time, he developed four signature chocolates exclusively for Fairmont at the Cacao Barry Chocolate Laboratory in France.
Cabot appointed Kristine Thompson chief executive officer of Cabot Saint Lucia, Point Hardy, Saint Lucia, Lesser Antilles. Thompson will oversee all aspects of the resort, which is currently in development. Thompson has prior experience in chief executive officer roles in the Caribbean, most recently at Sunshine Snacks and Canboulay Energy Capital, a private equity energy fund. She is also a founding directory of Yay! Entertainment Ltd., the franchise holder and operator of the Chuck E. Cheese’s family entertainment restaurant brand in Trinidad & Tobago. She spent several years in management consulting at the Boston Consulting Group in the United States, Canada, Argentina and Australia, covering the areas of strategy, organizational development, acquisitions and process reengineering.
Rebecca Tillman is executive chef at Lon’s at the Hermosa, a restaurant at The Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Since 2017, Tillman has been executive sous chef at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she was named Manager of the Year. Prior to that, Tillman was executive chef at Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, and executive sous chef at Destination Kohler – The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin.
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, named Sean Verney area general manager. Verney comes to the resort after spending the last decade as general manager at various New York and New Jersey hotels, including Sheraton Parsippany Hotel in Parsippany, New Jersey, Westin New York at Times Square in New York City, and his most recently post at the 1,780-room Sheraton New York Times Square in New York City.