Read the latest roundup of hotel industry hires and promotions in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Sara Brenner
Named general manager of the Boutique Hotel Alhambra and villa complex The Historic Villas, both of which are part of the Lošinj Hotels & Villas resort on Lošinj Island, Croatia. Other villa offerings at the Adriatic Sea resort include Captain’s Villa Rouge, Villa Hortensia, Villa Mirasol, Villa Hygeia and, the latest to open, Villa Sea Princess Nika.
Martin Schaller
Appointed to lead a new asset management unit at Frankfurt-based Union Investment. On Nov. 1, the firm combined its asset management overseas and asset management hospitality into one team, overseeing Union’s fund properties in 16 countries, including 91 hotels. Schaller is being assisted by Yvonne Brabant, head of asset management hospitality, Germany; Thorsten Purkus, head of asset management hospitality, international, and Ulrich Dischler, head of asset management, overseas.
Alana van der Merwe
Joined Sani/Ikos Group as sales manager, having previously worked as a project manager at events company Inconnection. Despite the hotel firm being based in Thessaloniki, Greece-based, she will be stationed at its U.K. office.
Stefan Fuchs
Returns to the United Arab Emirates to be general manager at the 351-room InterContinental Ras al Khaimah Mina al Arab Resort & Spa. His previous role was as cluster general manager at the Ayana Resort & Spa in Bali, Indonesia. Before that, he had an almost 10-year stint as general manager at the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Dubai.
Gaudéric Harang and Wael Soueid
Hired as general managers of the Anantara Plaza Nice, France, and Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort, Portugal, respectively. Harang has been at parent company Minor Hotels for five years, most recently as general manager at the Anantara Sir Bani Yas Resorts, United Arab Emirates. Soueid also is a veteran of the firm, arriving from its Anantara Tozeur Sahara Resort, Tunisia.
Michael Bonsor
Appointed managing director of the 144-room Chancery Rosewood hotel that is due to open in 2025 in the former U.S. embassy on Grosvenor Square, London. Bonsor has been at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts for the past decade, at the Rosewood London, where he was promoted in 2017 to managing director from hotel manager.
Kresimir Krezo
Hired as general manager of the 124-room Imperial Cork, Ireland, hotel, which was bought earlier this year by family office Louis Fitzgerald. His recent responsibilities have included roles at hotels Luttrellstown Castle Resort and Lough Eske Castle, both in Ireland, and for Irish hotel firm Dalata Hotel Group.
John Raffoul
Hired as general manager at hotel firm Cheval Collection’s 131-room Cheval Mansion-The Palm Dubai. Raffoul previously was a cluster manager for Whitbread PLC in Dubai, where he also had a role as director of sales and marketing at the Sofitel Dubai The Palm, among other hotels.
Rob Seabrook
Returns to business advisory CBRE in a role as executive director, hotels capital markets, arriving from peer business advisory Cushman & Wakefield, where he worked following an original three-year stint between 2014 and 2019 at CBRE.
Greg O’Hara
Elected as the new chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council. He is the founder and senior managing director of private equity firm Certares Management, and he has had management position in other investment companies, notably as chief investment officer at JPMorgan Chase’s Special Investments Group and managing director at One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan.