Staff Appointments w/e 19 March 09

BRETT BUTCHER has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Langham Hotels International. Butcher takes the helm after seven years with Langham having held Senior Vice President roles in the Sales & Marketing and Brands departments, as well as being the Managing Director of Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong overseeing the hotel’s opening.

KENNETH KOMINSKI has been appointed to the role of Director of People Innovation and Education at the Pan Pacific Singapore. Kominski has held key HR positions at hotels in China, Thailand and Singapore. He was most recently General Manager of Siloso Beach Resort, Sentosa Singapore.

BEN MARTIN has been appointed General Manager of the Club Med Sahoro, Japan. New Zealand national Martin, who will start his new role in May, has been with Club Med since 2001, and is currently the acting General Manager of the Club Med Lindeman Island Whitsundays.  

FRASER ROSS has been announced as the new Director of Sales & Marketing for the Banyan Tree Phuket. Originally for Scotland, Ross began his hospitality career in Australia. Most recently he has served in sales & marketing positions for the Sheraton in Australia, China and Bahrain.

SARATH FERNANDO has become the first Sri Lankan to be appointed Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Catering Ltd in the history of the in-flight catering arm of the SriLankan Airlines. Fernando has more than 30 years hospitality industry experience in Australia, the US, India and Sri Lanka, encompassing sales & marketing, human resources and F&B.

GRANT JEFFERIES has been appointed General Manager of the Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives. Australian national Jefferies has over 20 years of hospitality experience in Australia, New Zealand, the US, UK, Singapore, Maldives as well as on the QE2 cruise liner.

MARC CHERRIER has been appointed General Manager of the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.  French national Cherrier joins the hotel after 19 years in senior management roles in Asia, most recently as General Manager of the Novotel Peace hotel in the Beijing and prior to that, General Manager at the Novotel Xinhua Wuhan.

JAKKI TEMPLE has also joined the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, as its new Director of Sales & Marketing. Ms Temple joins the Sofitel team from her role as Director of Sales & Marketing for the Accor Group’s Darling Harbour hotels, incorporating the Ibis, Novotel and Grand Mercure Apartments.

JULIEN THEVENOT has been announced as the new Executive Pastry Chef at the Indigo Pearl, Phuket. Thevenot worked in various three-star Michelin restaurants in France, before working for hotels in Thailand, Maldives and the UAE.

LINDA KENT has been announced as the Wyndham Hotel Group’s new Senior Vice President of Electronic Distribution. An industry veteran in GDS, reservations and account management, Kent previously served eight years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as Vice President of Electronic Distribution at the company’s head office in White Plains, New York.