Massimiliano BindaThree days after the departure of Thomas Kochs as general manager at Claridge’s hotel, sister property the Connaught has announced the appointment of a new general manager. Massimiliano Binda took over the reins of the five-red-AA star, 121-bedroom hotel in Mayfair two weeks ago, replacing Natalie Seiler-Heyez, who left the property in July. He joins the hotel, owned by the Maybourne Hotel Group, from the Mandarin Oriental Pudong in Shanghai, where he has been hotel manager since 2012. Italian-born Binda has worked in the luxury hospitality sector for 24 years, spending the majority of his career with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. He previously worked in London at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in reservations roles from 1998 to 2002 before going on to work in Munich, Geneva, Marrakech, Hanoi (at the Sofitel Legend Metropole), Hong Kong and most recently, Shanghai. In his new role, Binda will be responsible for 121 rooms and suites, the two-Michelin-starred Hélène Darroze restaurant, the Connaught Bar and the Aman spa. The departures of Seiler-Heyez and Kochs have taken place since the Coroin, the holding company of Maybourne Hotel Group – owner and operator of the Connaught, Claridge’s and the Berkeley hotels – was acquired by Constellation Hotels, owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding, in April. The sale marked the end of a four-year legal battle over the three hotels between the Barclay brothers and Northern Irish property investor Paddy McKillen.