The latest industry appointments

DHIREN SAVLA has been named as the Kuoni Group’s new chief information officer. An Indian national, Savla moves to Kuoni from the company’s visa services unit, VFS Global, where he also worked as CIO. He also previously served as Kuoni Group’s senior vice president and head of global IT.

JAMES RILEY has been named as Mandarin Oriental’s new group chief executive, effective 1 April 2016. He replaces Edouard Ettedgui  who will step down after 18 years in charge. Riley is currently the group finance director of Jardine Matheson Holdings and sits on Mandarin Oriental’s board.

RICHARD MORGAN has been appointed as Sabre’s new regional director for the South Pacific, overseeing the Sabre Travel Network business in Australia and New Zealand and the company’s joint venture in Indonesia. Morgan most recently served as Sabre’s managing director of global accounts.

SANDRA McLEOD has been confirmed as the new CEO of Locomote, the Australian corporate travel technology company that was recently acquired by Travelport. Ms McLeod has 25 years’ experience, most recently as Travelport’s group vice president of global accounts & corporate development.

FREDERIC SAUNIER has been announced as Amadeus’ new head of corporate IT for the Asia Pacific region. Saunier is no stranger to Amadeus, having served as sales director for Amadeus France for a number of years. Prior to that he worked for Air France-KLM in France and the UK.

DAN WESTBROOK has become the new vice president & general manager for Travelport’s Air Commerce Technologies business.  An experienced airline industry executive, Westbrook joined Travelport in April 2009. He previously held senior roles at Sabre and American Airlines.

SIMON McKEARNEY has been announced as Stella New Zealand’s new executive general manager, ahead of helloworld’s move into the New Zealand market. McKearney has more than 15 years’ experience in executive roles, most recently as managing director of corporate for Flight Centre NZ.

CHRISTOPHER BIRT has been named as Hong Kong Airlines’ new general manager of in-flight services. He joins the airline with almost 20 years of aviation experience, most recently as head of cabin crew at Thomson Airways in the UK. Prior to that he worked for Virgin Atlantic Airways.

DAVID TONKIN has been appointed general manager of the Parkroyal Melbourne Airport. He joins the property with 20 years of hospitality experience in Australia, the Middle East and the UK. Most recently he was regional director of operations at Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific.

SHAENAZ VOSS has been promoted to the position of executive general manager of Fiji Link and group corporate, international & government affairs with Fiji Airways. A Fijian national, Ms Voss was most recently general manager of international, industry & government affairs.

GLENN DANIELS has been appointed general manager of the LUX South Ari Atoll in the Maldives. He joins LUX with 26 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including spells in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and the Maldives. LUX is planning to launch another resort in the Maldives in 2016.

KEVIN JEAN FAWKES has been named as the culinary director at the new Nai Harn resort in Phuket, which opens in January. Fawkes has worked at restaurants run by several world famous chefs, including Gordon Ramsay, Jason Atherton, Albert Roux, including a spell at the Savoy Hotel London.