Executive Chef Tim Mullen has rejoined the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel as Food & Beverage Director. Chef Mullen, who was Executive Chef of the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel from 1995 through 2004, left to become Executive Chef of the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, a sister property in the Marriott Hotels & Resorts family.
HEI Hotels & Resorts (HEI), the nation’s fastest growing private owner/operator of hotel real estate, today announced several general manager promotions, transitions and appointments resulting from the acquisition of four hotels earlier this year. Shannon Keaney was promoted to General Manager of the Marriott Hunt Valley. Keaney joined HEI in 2010 from Starwood Hotels and Resorts where he was director of food and beverage at the Sheraton Parsippany, N.J. There he earned top honors for meeting planner quality scores and achieved the highest associate satisfaction scores for Host-owned hotels. Keaney comes from a strong food and beverage background having been an executive chef before transitioning into hotel management with Wyndham International.
Mr. Norton comes to Maryland Live! Casino from the MTR Gaming Group, Inc., which owns and operates casino and racetrack facilities in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Prior to joining MTR, Mr. Norton spent 12 years in executive positions with Isle of Capri Casinos, instilling the brand with his dynamic leadership and guiding the company's profitability and patron satisfaction. MTR and Isle of Capri Casinos have combined revenues of approximately $1.5 billion. Mr. Norton is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration. He lives in Severna Park, Anne Arundel County, Maryland with his wife and four children.
Hospitality Management, a premier Baltimore based hospitality management and consulting firm has announced the hiring of Michelle Valvano as vice president of sales and marketing. Michelle brings over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry to the firm.
Mr. Wright comes to Bethesda from Charlotte, NC where he served in a dual role as Assistant General Manager responsible for both the Renaissance SouthPark Hotel and the Charlotte Marriott SouthPark. Upon graduation from Delaware State University, where he majored in Hospitality Management, Mr. Wright joined the Philadelphia Airport Marriott as Assistant Restaurant Manager. He has also worked as Front Desk Manager, Assistant Front Office Manager, and Director of Services at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott. Mr. Wright lives in Betheda, with his wife Charity, a chef, and two boys, Anthony and Devin.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. has appointed Michael Murphy to senior vice president for the worldwide lodging franchisor’s Cambria Suites brand. In his role leading Cambria Suites, Mr. Murphy will build upon the many powerful resources that Choice Hotels currently has in place to support the brand. As the current leader of the company’s global sales force, Mr. Murphy and his teams have already been providing outstanding support to the Cambria Suites brand, with teams focused on property level performance through the RevUP! Program and through national sales efforts that have increased visibility with and bookings from key national and local accounts.
Kanatas joins the award-winning waterfront resort after managing the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, the largest waterfront hotel in southern California. Kanatas was the general manager of the 1,625-room hotel for six years. Prior to his time at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, Kanatas served as general manager for Hyatt Regency Atlanta for nine years. Preceding Atlanta, he was general manager at Hyatt Regency Columbus (Ohio), Hyatt Regency Louisville (Kentucky) and Hyatt Regency City of Commerce (California). During his notable career, Kanatas has worked for nine Hyatt hotels and brings experience in a variety of operational capacities, including food and beverage.
Donohoe Hospitality Services LLC announced today Angela Cesaitis as the Director of Marketing for the 216-room Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda, Maryland www.Bethesda.Hgi.com . With more than 12 years experience in the hospitality industry under Hilton, Starwood and IHG brands, Ms. Cesaitis most recently served as Director of Sales for the Hilton Garden Inn Arundel Mills in Hanover, Maryland. Donohoe Hospitality Services LLC is an affiliate of The Donohoe Companies, Inc., established in 1884. Donohoe Hospitality Services manages full-service and focused-service hotels under the Marriott, Hilton and Intercontinental Hotels Group brands.
The Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys recently hired David Marion for the role of Executive Chef in its casually sophisticated restaurant, Crossroads. Chef David Marion received his Culinary Arts Associate Degree from Johnston and Wales Culinary Institute and brings over 10 years of culinary expertise to Crossroads. He has worked in all aspects of food preparation including garde manger, banquet events, café delicatessen, specialty restaurants, and in-room dining. He was most recently manager and sous chef for the restaurants of the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor. David is skilled in analyzing, critiquing, and implementing a fresh culinary style that is founded in traditional, structured techniques. He is also passionate about utilizing products that are gathered from as many local sources as possible which is a sentiment in parallel with the new farm-to-table menu at Crossroads. David believes in establishing working relationships with local businesses to create continuity among food sources and menu items and feels he has a responsibility to promote sustainable agriculture particularly with increasing challenges to environmental sustainability.
Johnson, a resident of San Diego, Calif., joined Sodexo in 2003 as a division vice president bringing more than 20 years of proven accomplishments in the management and leadership of large organizations. Johnson has built a high-performing team by keeping a strong focus on people, client retention, standards of excellence that focus on improving the patient and resident experience. Throughout his career; Johnson has demonstrated outstanding leadership, and strong customer focus. Johnson’s team has delivered almost $140 million in revenue while maintaining a 96 percent client retention rate. Johnson began his professional career with the U.S. Army, graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and attaining the rank of Captain during his military service. Mr. Johnson holds an MBA and a Master of Management from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
In her new role as account executive, Ms. Wang is responsible for strategically identifying, prospecting and growing new corporate accounts. Additionally, she is responsible for client relationships, retention and contributing to brand building and awareness. Ms. Wang earned her bachelor's degree from Boston University. Prior to joining ExecuStay, she worked for Oakwood Worldwide where she managed key sales accounts and pursued new business in the Los Angeles and New York markets. While with Oakwood, Wang also served as regional sales trainer in the Asia Pacific headquarters, educating the sales team on the company-wide customer relationship management tool and leading efforts to promote international cross market selling.
Tom Shepard, former EVP of Global Merchant Partnerships and Sponsorships at Visa International, and most recently CEO of Festival Network, has joined Partner Concepts, an innovative strategic marketing agency specializing in the representation of tourism boards, partnership marketing, offers promotion and event marketing. Shepard will assume the role of Chief Partnership Officer, based in San Francisco, and manage numerous partners and programs on behalf of Partner Concepts. Tom has received numerous awards over the years, including the 2008 Tourism Industry Leadership Award from the Niagara University College of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the 1998 International Partnership Marketer of the Year by SME International. In 2004, Sports Business Journal named Tom the 5th most influential person in the Olympic movement. Tom is a guest lecturer at Stanford University and serves on the boards of the STEP Foundation (Sustainable Tourism for the Elimination of Poverty), Global Wines, and the SCA (Student Conservation Association). Tom is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.
Coffey brings to Gaylord more than three decades of hospitality industry experience. In his new position, Coffey will focus on solidifying Gaylord National's position as the leading meeting and convention property on the East Coast and will oversee all aspects of the resort and its management team, including hotel and convention center operations. Gaylord National employs a staff of more than 2,000 full-time, part-time and on-call employees. Coffey most recently served for eight years as the general manager of Marriott's Orlando World Center Resort, one of the largest convention hotels in the Florida market. Contributing to his strong record of leadership, Coffey's previous senior management positions with Marriott International, Inc. include market vice president of Florida and market manager for all lodging brands in Tennessee.