Thomas begins his new role with immediate effect, and is based in the Singapore office reporting to Thorsten Kirschke, President for Asia Pacific. In his new role, Thomas will be responsible for the success of Carlson Rezidor’s new hotel openings in Asia Pacific.
This appointment follows Oakwood Worldwide's recent announcement to more than triple the number of Oakwood-branded corporate and serviced apartments around the world. Schreiber will report to Bill Foltz, Oakwood Worldwide senior vice president and chief financial officer, and will serve as part of the new regional leadership team designed to strengthen the company's ability to identify and pursue development opportunities for the organization. As managing director, he will play a pivotal role in further establishing the Oakwood branded presence and expanding the portfolio into new markets including the Middle East. A hospitality veteran, Schreiber brings nearly 30 years of global experience to his role, including assignments in Asia Pacific and the Middle East and has extensive experience in property development, new property openings, general management and hotel operations for five-star and luxury brands. Schreiber comes to Oakwood Worldwide from Pan Pacific Hotels Group where he was senior vice president of operations. Prior to Pan Pacific, he was group managing director of KOP Hotels and Resorts. Throughout his career, Schreiber has held key leadership positions at Intercontinental Hotels Group, Harbour Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Century International Hotels and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. He graduated from Höhere Lehranstalt für Fremdenverkehr in Krems, Austria where he completed a two-year diploma in hotel management. Schreiber will operate out of the Oakwood regional headquarters in Singapore.
InvoTech Systems, Inc. announced Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) – Singapore's first integrated resort – Implemented the InvoTech UHF-RFID Uniform System to streamline processing for more than 200,000 uniforms. The InvoTech system interfaces with the White Conveyors U-Pick-It System to automatically deliver uniforms to the staff of thousands with optimum efficiency.
Duncan Gray, newly-appointed Resident Manager of Marina Mandarin Singapore will oversee all operational and strategic aspects at the hotel.
A Swiss national, Reto has over 20 years of hospitality experience in Europe and Asia and was involved in the growth of the hotel brand in China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Oakwood® Worldwide, the global leader in corporate housing and serviced apartments, announces the addition of Alwyn Fitzgerald as director of sales for the company’s portfolio of 28 Oakwood branded properties located primarily within the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions.
Karen Chang has been appointed as Accor’s new communications manager for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. A Malaysian national raised in Australia, Ms Chang arrives at Accor from the Parkroyal on Beach Road hotel in Singapore, where she was marketing communications manager.
Previously overseeing MICE Sales and Attractions at Resorts World Sentosa. Jeffrey was part of the Pan Pacific sales team from 2006 until 2008 and later, part of the Singapore Sales team in 2009. A seasoned hotelier with a decade of experience, Jeffrey’s previous experience included working at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore and Marina Bay Sands. As Director of Events, Jeffrey will spearhead business developments and exploring new opportunities and markets.
Prior to joining Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Gino was General Manager of Millennium Hotel London Mayfair in the United Kingdom where he was tasked to prepare the property for an extensive refurbishment to upgrade its positioning within the city. Through his role as General Manager of Grand Millennium Beijing and the five-star New World Hotel in Dalian, Gino has also acquired in-depth operations knowledge and expertise within China’s competitive hotel industry. A born and bred Singaporean, Gino spent the first 15 years of his hospitality career building a strong Sales & Marketing foundation with Omni Marco Polo Hotel, Merchant Court Hotel and Raffles Hotel in Singapore, as well as Swissotel Beijing and Raffles Hotel Beijing in China.
Wayne will be based in the company's Singapore regional office and will oversee FRHI's Asia Pacific portfolio of 23 hotels. He will play a pivotal role in helping the company achieve its long-term objectives of growing its three distinctive hotel brands, maximizing performance and building long-term value for key industry partners and owners. In addition, Wayne will continue to identify strategic opportunities to leverage and bolster the group's momentum in developing world-class hotels and unrivalled luxury resorts in key gateway cities in Asia Pacific. Wayne brings over 20 years of senior hospitality experience across Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Prior to his new appointment, Wayne was the senior executive vice president for TCC Hotels Group, Thai Charoen Corporation, Bangkok, Thailand. He has also held several senior executive appointments at Starwood Hotels & Resorts including regional vice president for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and managing director for Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok.
Shelley will lead the human resources function for FRHI Hotels & Resorts in the Asia Pacific region. She joins the company with more than 20 years of global luxury hospitality experience. Shelley held various progressive positions commencing in the food and beverage division, moving into training and human resources with The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, in Hawaii, Australia, the Middle East and was appointed Vice President, International, where she was based in Washington DC for seven years. Most recently, Shelley held the position of group director of human resources for Shangri-La International Hotel Management, at the company's headquarters in Hong Kong where she oversaw its global human resources function.
Reporting to Wayne Buckingham, senior vice president, Asia Pacific, Tom will oversee several properties in the region and will work closely with the respective hotels' general managers on strategic and financial issues in his role as regional vice president, Asia Pacific. As managing director of Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford, he will lead the two iconic hotels which boast 769 and 1,261 rooms respectively. In addition, the complex also encompasses the 70,000 square foot Raffles City Convention Centre as well as 15 award-winning restaurants and bars. Tom has 30 years of hospitality experience, including more than two decades with InterContinental Hotels Group where he held several progressive positions including area general manager for the InterContinental Hotels Group in Bali, as well as director of operations and area general manager for InterContinental Dubai Festival City. Most recently, he was the managing director for Raffles Makati and Fairmont Makati, the company's second luxury multi- brand development in Asia Pacific.
Based in the company's Singapore regional office, Julian will work as a strategic business partner to the Asia Pacific regional operations team, providing financial leadership in achieving key performance objectives and driving growth. Julian brings broad, international experience and deep knowledge of hospitality and finance management to FRHI Hotels & Resorts. Prior to this appointment, Julian held the positions of regional director, finance, Asia Pacific and regional director, finance, South East Asia at Starwood Hotels & Resorts as well as regional financial controller for Aman Resorts Ltd in Indonesia. Julian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and CPA Australia.
Kaushik Vardharajan, a global veteran at HVS with 13 at the firm, has been promoted to Partner and Managing Director, Asia Pacific from Managing Director, South Asia. During his tenure, Vardharajan performed more than 1,500 market studies, feasibility analyses, and valuations in North America and South Asia, with a specific focus on large mixed-use projects and portfolio valuations. Vardharajan will oversee HVS’s growth in Southeast Asia and China from the Singapore office. He is a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and sits on its Valuation Board for the region, which is responsible for establishing professional standards for property valuations.
Rex Loh has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing of InterContinental Singapore by General Manager, Shantha de Silva. He joins from The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, bringing with him over 15 years of valuable experience helming sales, marketing and revenue functions in the hospitality industry.
Born in Ireland, Mark has held several management positions in Japan, the United States of America and Ireland in his 17-year hospitality career.
Courtenay Dundy has been appointed as director of Sales & Marketing of The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore by General Manager, Peter Mainguy. She will be overseeing the Sales & Marketing division which encompasses corporate sales, wholesale, MICE, catering, conference services, marketing and public relations, revenue management and reservations.
Helbling joins Capella Singapore from Dorado Beach, a Ritz Carlton Reserve in Puerto Rico where he has served as pre-opening General Manager through to the present. Originally from Argentina, Helbling has worked as General Manager at some of the finest resorts in Asia and Europe, including the Bvlgari Bali and Hotel Villa Padierna, a Ritz Carlton Managed Hotel in Marbella, Spain.
A 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Mr Mahmood will take on the helm at the 5-star Orchard Hotel, located in the heart of premier entertainment and shopping belt – the renowned Orchard Road. He will spearhead the development of this 656-room property, home to famous and celebrated Chinese restaurant Hua Ting and Orchard Café, along with other established food and beverage dining options.
Students from Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa (LEH), were declared winners of Accor Take Off Challenge 2013, held in Singapore. 'Novotel Reinvented 2020' – was the theme for Accor Take Off Challenge, this year. Participating teams had to imagine the next generation of Novotel hotels, in terms of products and services to match the expectations of the guests in 2020, keeping the brand positioning and brand vaues in mind. This competition comprised of three rounds - an online collage submission, a two minute video showcasing Novotel 2020 'services' concept and a finale in Singapore with a presentation to Accor Executive Committee. Students from LEH created 'NOVA' - Novotel's Own Virtual Assistant, where a guest can check in, ask questions, open doors and customise their experience as per their needs. The jury selected their project titled 'InNOVAte' amongst top 50 entries from 120 entries worldwide as they moved to the second round. The Accor jury then chose 20 entries for the second round where they had to express their ideas through a video. The students from LEH excelled in the second round too and were amongst the top five teams that were invited to present at the Finale. The final round was held at Novotel Clarke Quay Singapore where the students from LEH were declared winners. The team exhilarated by their performance said, "We are incredibly thrilled to win Accor Take Off Challenge 2013. The journey from first round online to the finale in Singapore has been really exciting. It was a great learning experience at every level. Competing on a global level was really inspiring and brought out the best of us. We are really grateful to Accor for giving us the platform to showcase our ideas. We think it's amazing that a hospitality leader like Accor is valuing ideas from students. We want to thank our college Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa for the immense encouragement and support they have given us."Rony Kurien, COO, Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa, said, "This award is a testimony to the talent that is being nurtured at Ecole Hoteliere Lavasa. Our students are not only trained for their chosen fields but they are also mentored to become accomplished individuals.'LEH recently celebrated the convocation of the first batch of its students. The four year hospitality management programme of LEH is a comprehensive hospitality education program. The students are exposed to best in class industry practices and the entire focus of the program is to develop students as hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs. The rigorous curriculum based on this unique pedagogy puts the students through a rigorous self learning process and lays emphasis on practical training.