New directors for Association of Women Travel Executives

The Association of Women Travel Executives (AWTE) has confirmed its new team of directors following its 2015 AGM. 

Chair:   Debbee Dale (Debbee Dale Development, MD)

Vice Chair: Jayne Peirce (Jayne Peirce Recruitment, MD)

PR Director: Yolanda Stewart (Yolanda Stewart Communications, Director)

Secretary:   Susan Byrne (Collette, UK Customer Care Centre Manager)

Finance Director: Andrea Clayton (Holiday Extras, Insurance Ambassador)

Membership Director: Alison Jarvis (Totalstay Group, Regional Manager)

Events Directors: Tracy Sharp (Jetline Holidays, Head of Commercial & Product) & Simone Roche (Women 1st, Director)

Web/Comms Directors: Sarah Clayton-Turner (Travel Trade Marketing, Director) & Lindsay Garvey-Jones (Holiday Extras, National Partnerships Manager)

Partnership and Project Director: Kylie Mather (Travlaw LLP, Partner)

Benevolent Chair: Aphrodite Burton (Aphrodite Burton Associates, Sales & Marketing Consultant)

The first board meeting following these appointments will be held in mid May, after the farewell lunch at the House of Lords on 12 May for the outgoing Chair, Barbro McAusland.

Dubai-based hotel operator Jumeirah Group has appointed Renato Moretto general manager of London’s Grosvenor House Apartments by Jumeirah Living. British-born Renato Moretto has 39 years’ experience in the hospitality sector, having worked in hotels around the world. He takes up his new role on 3 May.

Renato Moretto joins Jumeirah from Al Bandary Hotel Management in Qatar, where he was group director of Operations, supervising the development of seven properties. He was previously pre-opening general manager at Nungwi Resort & Spa on Zanzibar in Tanzania, a five-star all-suite beachfront resort in the Indian Ocean, before which he was re-opening general manager at the Regency Hotel and Convention Centre in Kuwait.

His previous experience includes senior positions at the Sonesta Pharaoh Beach Resort in Egypt, the Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort on St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles and the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, United Kingdom.  His earlier career included assignments with Sonesta in Egypt, at the Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa in the UAE, with the Cliff Bay Resort Hotel in Portugal and the Holiday Inn in Muscat, Oman. He started his career with Intercontinental Hotel Group.

Welcoming him to the leadership of the property, Regional Vice President Europe Doris Greif said: “Taking on the management of the 130 luxury serviced residences that make up Grosvenor House Apartments is a perfect challenge for an experienced hotelier like Renato. The performance of the hotel has grown from year to year and I know he will build on this success to deliver an even more compelling proposition to our guests and business partners around the world.”

Travel technology specialist Sabre Corporation has appointed Dino Gelmetti vice president of Airline Solutions, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Gelmetti will lead Sabre’s airline business in EMEA, a key growth region for the company. He is tasked with growing the company’s revenue and customer base in EMEA, and maintaining partnerships with existing airline customers.

A technology industry veteran, Gelmetti brings almost 20 years’ experience from leadership positions within the IT industry, most recently as global sales director for technology services provider, Xchanging Plc.

Prior to this, Gelmetti also held senior positions at global IT solutions provider EMC Corporation and American-owned IT software and services organisation Unisys. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Greg Gilchrist, senior vice president, Sabre Airline Solutions, said: “Dino Gelmetti is an accomplished leader who has enjoyed a highly successful career within the IT industry.  He brings a wealth of experience to his new position from several global blue-chip technology companies. Airlines in EMEA are looking to boost revenue and create cost efficiencies to assist their expansion plans, and Sabre is increasingly selected to provide the technology that can support this. Gelmetti’s deep understanding of the IT landscape will be an asset to Sabre and will help accelerate our company’s own growth plans within this region.”