The latest industry appointments

AGATHA LEE has been appointed as Abacus’ new general manager for Hong Kong. Ms Lee has served as Cathay Pacific’s country manager in Italy since 2011, and has also held various sales and marketing positions with the Hong Kong-based airline and its subsidiary, Dragonair.

ADRIAN HARDWICK-JONES has been named as IHG’s new regional director of design & engineering for Southwest Asia, based in Delhi. He brings to the role more than 20 years of experience in architectural design and most recently served as chief of design for the Indian arm of Emaar.

CHRISTINA BARTZ has become Ascott’s new director of sales & marketing for Thailand. Ms Bartz has extensive experience in Asia, including spells with Renaissance, Mandarin Oriental and Marco Polo. Most recently she was vice president of sales & marketing for Movenpick Hotels in Thailand.

RUSSELL DURNELL has been named general manager of the Next Hotel Brisbane – the first property under SilverNeedle Hospitality’s new brand. Durnell joins SilverNeedle with many years’ experience in the pre-opening, opening and managing of hotels, including spells with Starwood and Langham.

PARTRICK BECK has been appointed general manager of the Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel in Bali. A French national, Beck has more than 30 years’ experience including spells in Europe, the US and Middle East. This included 20 years working with Accor and Four Seasons Hotels.

IVAN CHIN has been appointed director of restaurants, bars & events at the Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur. With more than 28 years in the hospitality industry, Chin has worked with several major brands, including Shangri-La, Genting and Pan Pacific. He has also work in F&B for Star Cruises.

ALYSIA GILLIGAN has joined Destination Asia as the DMC’s new senior MICE manager. An Australian national, Ms Gilligan has worked in the Middle East for the last 10 years, organising major events and conferences, including with the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix. She will now be based in Bali.

KERENE CHENG has become the first female chef to lead the dim sum team at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore’s Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace. A Singaporean national, Chef Kerene has 15 years of culinary experience, including spells with luxury hotels and major restaurants.

KEN WONG has become the new director of revenue and e-business at the Langham Place Mongkok hotel in Hong Kong. Wong moves from another Langham-managed hotel, Eaton Hong Kong, where he served in the same role. He has 10 years’ experience, including stints with Regal and Novotel.