A Roundup of US Hires, Promotions

In the Spotlight

Gary Gray, chief investment officer, Twenty Four Seven Hotels
23 January 2017
New hire
Gray previously worked as SVP of portfolio business development at TPG Hotels & Resorts.

Allen Fusco, chairman, IHG Owners Association
25 January 2017
Fusco, owner and operator of Anabra Associates and Plainview Associates, assumes the board’s chairman position and succeeds outgoing chairman Steve Ehrhardt.

Giovanni Beretta, VP of Swire Hotels in the USA, GM of East, Miami
18 January 2017
New hire
Beretta’s most recent position was managing director of The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel in New York City.

Rajiv Bhatia, CEO, FairBridge Hotels International
18 January 2017
New hire
Before joining FairBridge, Bhatia was a brand executive for Wyndham Hotel Group’s Knights Inn brand.

Alison Sansone, VP of marketing and communications, Twenty Four Seven Hotels
17 January 2017
New hire
Sansone has prior career experience with Marriott, Hilton, Embassy Suites and Motel 6.

Peter Vilim, vice chairman, Waterton
12 January 2017
Vilim will transition from co-chairman to vice chairman of the company as part of a planned semi-retirement. Vilim cofounded Waterton in 1995 with CEO David Schwartz.

France Langan, GM of Pheasant Run Resort; St. Charles, Illinois
24 January 2017
New hire
Langan spent the previous 12 years managing the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza in downtown Chicago.

Larry Bundy, GM of Hotel Granduca Austin; Austin, Texas
17 January 2017
New hire
Bundy’s most recent position was GM of the Crowne Plaza Northwest-Brookhollow in Houston.

Michael Hartman, managing director, Hotel Key West at Stock Island Marina; Key West, Florida
18 January 2017
Promotion
Hartman will receive new responsibilities in addition to his role as GM of Stock Island Marina Village. He joined the hotel in 2014.

James De Luca, GM of Harvest Inn by Charlie Palmer; St. Helena, California
17 January 2017
New hire
De Luca has past career experience with the Resort at Squaw Creek, The Standard LA and North Block Hotel.

Steven Hurst, GM of Salishan Spa and Golf Resort; Gleneden Beach, Oregon
16 January 2017
New hire
Hurst previously worked as GM at the Heathman Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Prior to that position, he worked for six years as assistant GM at the Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, Oregon.

Ayo Akinsete, GM of Dream Hollywood; Los Angeles
12 January 2017
New hire
Akinsete most recently worked as GM at Dream Downtown in New York City, and he also worked as hotel manager at SLS South Beach and director of front office at Gansevoort Park Avenue.

Leiya Cohen, director of operations, The Time New York; New York City
11 January 2017
Promotion
Cohen was promoted from director of front office at The Time New York. She has held prior management positions at The Premier and The London New York City.

Tim Herrmann, GM of the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina; San Diego
9 January 2017
New hire
Herrmann previously worked as GM at the Santa Clara Marriott in Santa Clara, California.

Megan Gilligan, director of sales and marketing, Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District; Omaha, Nebraska
25 January 2017
New hire
Before joining the Omaha Marriott, Gilligan worked as director of event sales at the La Vista Conference Center Complex in Omaha, which includes an Embassy Suites and Courtyard by Marriott.

Laurie Nielsen-Singer, sales account executive, Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District; Omaha, Nebraska
25 January 2017
New hire
Nielsen-Singer previously worked as senior sales manager at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel and the Hilton Omaha Hotel.

Kristy Phalen, sales account executive, Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District; Omaha, Nebraska
25 January 2017
New hire
Phalen’s most recent position was assistant GM at the Sheraton Omaha and GM of the TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Omaha.

Julia Elizabeth Edgerton, director of sales and marketing, Kimpton Cardinal Hotel; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
19 January 2017
New hire
Edgerton spent the previous 10 years at The Charleston Marriott, and her most recent position was director of corporate and group sales.

Carolyn McCammon, director of sales and marketing, Hyatt at The Bellevue; Philadelphia
18 January 2017
New hire
McCammon’s most recent position was regional director of sales, wholesale for Hyatt Resorts in Hawaii.

Tamara DeMars, director of sales and marketing, Mystic Hotel by Charlie Palmer (San Francisco) and Harvest Inn by Charlie Palmer (St. Helena; California)
17 January 2017
New hire
DeMars has held prior positions at San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California; Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California; and Bardessono in Yountville, California.

Kendall Viola, director of sales and marketing, Dream Hollywood; Los Angeles
12 January 2017
New hire
Viola previously worked as director of sales and marketing at Hotel Indigo Lower East Side in New York City.

Paige Carlson, director of sales, River’s Edge Hotel & Spa; Portland, Oregon
11 January 2017
Returning hire
Carlson returns to the hotel after working as director of sales at the property from 2013 to 2015. She has prior sales experience at The Nines in Portland and The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona.

SiuYin Ko, corporate director of sales, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
11 January 2017
New hire
Ko joins Rosewood after forming Chrysalis Development Group and she previously worked for more than 20 years at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts as regional director of sales.

Lasheeda Perry, pastry chef, Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta; Atlanta
11 January 2017
New hire
Perry previously worked as an executive pastry chef for Bon Appétit Management Company. She has past career stops at Four Seasons properties in Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Palo Alto and Hawaii from 2008 to 2013.

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