The latest industry appointments

JANE MACKIE has been appointed vice president of Fairmont. She brings 20 years of experience to the luxury hotel brand, including an 11-year spell with Starwood which included a stint as vice president of marketing. More recently she was vice president of revenue for Club Quarters.

CONRAD CLIFFORD has been appointed to lead IATA in Asia Pacific. He will become the association’s regional vice president for Asia Pacific from February 2014, based in Singapore. Clifford has 30 years’ aviation experience, including spells with Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates.

HANS EBELING has become a senior consultant for Hong Kong-based travel recruitment company, ACI. Ebeling has a strong background in the aviation and travel technology sectors, and previously held a number of managerial positions with Galileo in the UK and Travelport in Hong Kong.

PAUL SOULSBY has been appointed to the newly-created position of vice president of shared services for Costa Crociere. A UK national, Soulsby is a qualified chartered accountant.  He has been with Costa since 2001, including a spell as chief financial officer for the AIDA Cruises brand.

ALBERT CHEONG has been appointed group general manager of the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa in Malaysia. He arrives at the resort complex with 35 years’ experience, having managed hotels across Asia. Prior to joining Sunway, Cheong spent three years as area GM of the Landmark Lancaster Hotel Group.

SATHIRA JAMROENRUAY has become the new group director of leisure sales – central region, for Mercure and ibis Erawan Thailand. Ms Sathira has 10 years’ experience in the Thai hospitality industry, and moves into the new role following a spell as assistant director of key accounts for Accor.

TYRONNE RAJAPAKSE has been appointed as the new director of revenue management for the Six Senses Laamu resort in the Maldives. He arrives at the resort having held similar positions at other luxury properties in the Maldives, including Coco Island by Como, Huvafen Fushi and Niyama.

DAVID THOMPSON has been named as the new executive chef for Aqua Expeditions’ new Aqua Mekong river cruise, which is scheduled to launch in September. The Michelin-starred chef gained fame for headed up Bangkok’s Nahm restaurant, and will bring his Southeast Asian-style cuisine to the new vessel.

THITISORN AMATASIN has become the new executive chef at the Shangri-La Dalian. A Thai national, Chef Bic, as he is better known, has been with Shangri-La since 2008. He started at Shangri-La Bangkok and most recently served as executive sous chef at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hong Kong.

SUE DOYLE has taken up the role of director of partnership programmes for Destination NSW. The move marks a promotion for Ms Doyle, who previously worked as the state tourism board’s manager of partnership programmes. She was also director of marketing for Eastwest Airlines.