The latest industry appointments

JENNIFER CRONIN has been announced as the new president of Marco Polo Hotels, following the retirement of Eric Waldburger. Ms Cronin, who is currently the group’s vice president of sales & marketing, will assume the new role in February 2016. She has previously worked for Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton and Dusit.

ALI TABBAL has been appointed chief operating officer of Kerzner International, which operates the luxury One&Only and Atlantis resort brands. Tabbal has served as Kerzner’s chief financial officer for the past three years, prior to which he worked with the Kingdom Holding Company.

FARHAT JAMAL has been appointed as the new senior vice president of operations (west), for the Indian Hotels Company, which operates the Taj Hotels brand. He returns to Taj from Shangri-La, where he oversaw the company’s Indian operations. He has previously managed several Taj hotels in India.

JIM BERRA has become Royal Caribbean International’s new chief marketing officer. Berra moves to Royal Caribbean from Carnival Cruise Line, where he served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. He has also worked in the hotel sector for Starwood and Hyatt.

POOMDECHA RATTANYOO has been announced as the new general manager of the Eastin Yama Hotel in Phuket. Poomdecha, or Nok as he is better known, is a Thai national and has nearly 25 years of hospitality experience. Most recently he was general manager of the Sea Sun Sand Resort in Phuket.

JOHNNY KIU has become the new general manager of Hyatt Regency Wuhan Optics Valley in China. Kiu has extensive hospitality experience, having worked for a number of international hotel chains, including Four Seasons, Marriott International, Peninsula, Shangri-La and InterContinental.

THOMAS BARGUIL has been named general manager of the Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa. A French national, Barguil joins the resort with almost 20 years’ experience in hotels across the world. He joined Minor Hotel Group in 2013 and has worked at Avani and Anantara resorts in Sri Lanka and Thailand.

ORHUN DENIZOGLU has been appointed director of food & beverage at the Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit. He joins the hotel following a career that has included spells in Turkey, Bahrain, the UAE and Maldives. Most recently he worked as director of F&B at the JW Marriott Medan.

ZAFER AGACAN has been named general manager of the soon-to-open Amari Havodda Maldives. Agacan has more than 20 years’ experience, including almost a decade in the Maldives. Prior to joining Onyx Hospitality Group he served as GM of the Ayada Maldives Resort & Spa.

THITI THAMMANATR has become the executive chef at 137 Pillars House, the luxury boutique resort in Chiang Mai. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Chef Thiti has held executive chef roles in Canada, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Most recently he was F&B director at the Baan Wanglang Riverside, Bangkok