The latest industry appointments – Asia
ALEX ALT has been appointed President and General Manager of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, effective April 2013. Alt, who has a Masters degree from Harvard Business School, joined Sabre in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer. He has also worked for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.
MOHD RAFIN has been named as the Park Hotel Group’s new Chief Corporate Officer. The move marks a promotion for Rafin, who previously served as Singapore-based Park’s Senior Vice President. He first joined the company in 2007 as Vice President and was promoted after two years.
JEAN-MARC GARRET has been appointed Vice President of Operations for Swiss-Belhotel International in Thailand. A French-Monegasque with 30 years’ experience, Garret will head up the company’s Thailand office, spearheading Swiss-Belhotel’s development in the country.
CHRIS MacLEAN has become Swiss-Belhotel International’s new Area General Manager for Bali, and General Manager for Swiss-Belhotel Bay View. MacLean is no stranger to the company or Indonesia, having previously managed Swiss-Belhotel properties in Medan and Jakarta.
PETER GABRIELSSON has been appointed as Finnair’s new Vice President of In-flight Customer Service, effective March 2013. Gabrielsson has several years’ experience with Finnair and Qatar Airways, and previously headed the Nordic carrier’s revenue management and pricing department.
SHANE KRIGE has been named as the new General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Bangalore, which is set to open in summer 2013. With over 15 years of experience, Krige joins from The Plaza New York where he was also General Manager. He previously worked for Ritz-Carlton in Washington DC.
JUSTIN HIGGINS has been appointed General Manager of the Stamford Grand Adelaide. An Australian national, Higgins has more than 20 years’ hospitality experience in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK. He arrives from Mirvac Hotels & Resorts, where he was a GM.
HARBHANS BURNS has been named as the new General Manager at the Swiss-Belhotel Lao Cai in northern Vietnam. Fluent in six languages, including English, Hindi and Hokkien, Burns started his hotel career in 1984 and has previously worked at hotels in Malaysia and Indonesia.
PETER GEE has been announced as the new General Manager of the Stamford Plaza Adelaide. Gee joins the newly-refurbished property from the Stamford Plaza Auckland, where he spent nearly 10 years as GM and was named New Zealand Hotel General Manager of the Year in 2005.
KAZUYO McDONALD has been appointed as Swiss-Belhotel International’s new Group Director of Global Sales for Australia & Japan. Fluent in both English and Japanese, Ms McDonald has 26 years’ experience in the travel and hospitality industries. She will now be based out of Sydney.
JULIE MARIE-ANNE BRULEY has joined the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has its new Executive Assistant Manager. The appointment marks Ms Bruley’s return to Asia from Paris, where she spent two years studying for her Masters degree. She previously spent time working in Bangkok.
ARLENE BENGER-TAN has been named as the Preferred Hotel Group’s new Senior Manager of Public Relations for the Asia Pacific region, based in Singapore. She joins the company having held senior positions with hotel brands such as Sheraton, Hyatt and Millennium & Copthorne.
DOMINIQUE BUGNAND has been announced as the new Executive Chef at the Mandarin Oriental Macau. A French national, Chef Dominique began his Mandarin Oriental career in Bangkok in 1998 and for the last six years has been Executive Chef at the Mandarin Oriental Chiang Mai.
ROBERTO CONRAD has been appointed Executive Chef at the new Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort, which opens on 15 March. Chef Roberto has a long culinary career that has seen him work as an Executive Chef at five-star properties in Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.