The latest industry appointments

BADLISHAM BIN GHAZALI has been appointed managing director of Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB). Bin Ghazali joins the state-run airport operator from another government-linked enterprise, the Multimedia Development Corporation (MdeC), which he served as CEO.

ITTHIPON MEESAWAT has been appointed general manager of the Eastin Hotel Yama Phuket. A Thai national, Itthipon started out as a guest service manager in Krabi in 2002 and has since risen through the ranks with Centara, before joining Absolute Hotel Services as GM of U Chiang Mai in 2012.

KANOKROS SAKDANARES has been elected president of the Hotel Public Relations Association of Thailand. Ms Kanokros, who is currently corporate director of marketing communications at Centara Hotels & Resorts, now embarks on a two-year term as president, ending in June 2016.

JEFF ROSS has been named as the new general manager of the Swissôtel Resort Phuket. Ross joined FRHI Hotels & Resorts as director of operations and in 2010 was named hotel manager at Swissôtel the Stamford Singapore. Prior to joining the company, he worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

YNGVAR STRAY has been appointed general manager of the Harbour Grand Kowloon hotel in Hong Kong. The Norwegian hotelier has 30 years of experience, including spells in mainland China, South Korea and Singapore. Most recently he was general manager of the Banyan Tree Shanghai.

PATRICK MANTHE has been named general manager of the U Sathorn Bangkok – Absolute Hotel Services’ second property in the Thai capital. A Swiss national, Manthe served with Movenpick and Hilton before moving to Thailand in 2012 as hotel manager of the Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn.

NICK PORTER has been appointed general manager of the Regent Beijing. A UK national, Porter has spent more than 20 years in Asia and speaks fluent Chinese. Previous roles have taken him to resorts in Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Bali, as well as city hotels in Shanghai and Beijing.

TANE PICKEN has been announced as the new resident manager at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa in Singapore. An hotelier with more than 13 years’ experience across China, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Picken was previously cluster director of business development in Thailand.

MARK CLARKSON has been appointed business development director for Asia Pacific at aviation analysts OAG. Clarkson was formerly OAG’s London-based commercial director and will now be based in Singapore. Prior to joining OAG he worked with consultancy firm Airport Strategy Marketing (ASM).

TIM XUE has been announced as the new director sales & marketing for the Raffles Hainan. Xue joins the luxury Chinese resort with more than 15 years of experience. He has held director of sales & marketing roles for several hotels in China, most recently at the Dalian New World Hotel.

CHRISTIAN SUTTON has joined Backyard Travel as the company’s new marketing manager. Sutton moves to the Bangkok-based company from London, where he served as product development manager for independent tour operator Railbookers. He was brought up in Asia as a child.

CLAIRE BRADLEY has been announced as the new trade marketing manager for Australia’s Complete Travel Marketing. Ms Bradley will now look after all trade-related activities including fam trips, industry rates, trade shows and trade campaigns. She has worked in the travel industry for 20 years.

MICHAEL SHAH has become the new director sales & marketing at the Langham Auckland. Shah has worked in both sales & marketing and operational roles at hotels in Auckland, and now returns to the country having been general manager at the Qualia Resort on Australia’s Hamilton Island.

EDWARD MAIR has become the new executive chef at the Fairmont Nanjing. Mair’s 15-year culinary career began in Scotland and has since taken him to the Middle East and China with Starwood. Prior to joining Fairmont Nanjing in early 2014 as sous chef, he was executive chef at the Westin Haikou.

GEORGE EDWARD WAHALATANTRI has been named chief butler at the new St Regis Chengdu. Wahalatantri will lead a team of 27 butlers and service staff at hotel. He arrives in Chengdu following a spell as chief butler at the St Regis Sanya Yalong Bay, and has also worked for One&Only.

GARY REED has been named as the new director of revenue at the Movenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket. A UK national, Reed worked for Thistle Hotels in London before moving to Malaysia in 2010 as cluster revenue manager for the Thistle Johor Bahru and Thistle Port Dickson.