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Appointment

Todd Sicolo has been appointed as Executive Chef at UCLA Meyer & Renee Luskin Conference Center

Todd Sicolo, C.E.C., has been named executive chef for the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center currently under construction in the heart of UCLA’s main campus. The university-based conference center, which will offer 254 spacious guest rooms and 25,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space, is scheduled to open in August of this year. Les Utley, general manager, made the announcement. As executive chef of the new Luskin Conference Center, Chef Sicolo will oversee the property’s entire culinary program, including the 162-seat restaurant & lounge, PLATEIA, serving Mediterranean-inspired cuisine with California-fresh, local ingredients and superb California wines. Todd Sicolo comes to his new position with more than 15 years of experience as executive chef for important hotels and resorts in multiple markets. Most recently he served as executive chef for The Shelborne Grand, a resort and spa in South Beach, Miami, Florida, where he worked directly with Celebrity Chef Morimoto. Previous to this appointment, Mr. Sicolo was executive chef for the Grove Park Inn and Spa of Asheville, North Carolina. Chef Sicolo has served as executive chef for such landmark properties as the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, the Boca Raton Resort and Spa of Boca Raton, Florida, and the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Earlier in his career he was executive chef for Little Dix Bay of the British Virgin Islands. Todd Sicolo is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, located in Hyde Park, New York. He is a member of the American Culinary Federation, and a Board Member of the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. Chef Sicolo has relocated to Los Angeles.

UCLA Housing & Hospitality Services
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Rene Clemente has been appointed as Director of Food and Beverage at Canary Santa Barbara

Canary Santa Barbara announced today the appointment of Rene Clemente as Director of Food and Beverage for Finch & Fork Restaurant and the Canary Santa Barbara. With an extensive background in hospitality, Clemente brings more than 11 years of experience with some of the finest restaurants and hotels across the country. In his new role, Clemente will oversee all food and beverage operations of the restaurant and Canary Santa Barbara. Prior to relocating to Santa Barbara, Clemente served as F&B Director at Colorado's Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa. His previous roles include serving as Director of Banquets at the 5 Diamond St. Regis in Atlanta, and as F&B Manager at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel, where his department ranked #1 in the company. Clemente was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. When he isn’t busy maintaining the level of service and reputation Finch & Fork and Canary Santa Barbara are known for, Clemente can be found spending time with his wife, son and cocker spaniel Sadie.

IHG
Santa Barbara, California, United States
Appointment

Miguel A. Garcia, Jr has been appointed as Executive Chef at The Scarlet Huntington

The Big 4 Restaurant at The Scarlet Huntington is delighted to announce the appointment of Miguel A. Garcia, Jr. as Executive Chef. For Garcia, the appointment is the culmination of an outstanding 25-year career in which he has led the food & beverage efforts for several leading destinations including the Four Seasons Hotel and The Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco.

Grace International Pte Ltd
San Francisco, California, United States
Appointment

Jason Williams has been appointed as General Manager at Hotel Zephyr

Hotel Zephyr, the first property within the new Pivot Hotels & Resorts lifestyle & luxury collection portfolio and one of San Francisco’s newest boutique hotels, today announced the appointment of Jason Williams as General Manager. In his role, Williams will lead all operations of the 361-room premier waterfront property, which opened after a transformative $32-million full redesign in summer 2015. Williams brings more than 13 years of hospitality industry experience to his position. He began his career with the Renaissance Agoura Hills & Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter and moved to Los Angeles where he managed multi-million dollar renovations at the Doubletree Atlanta-Buckhead and Doubletree Los Angeles Westside as hotel manager, and Sheraton Agoura Hills as general manager. Prior to joining Hotel Zephyr, Williams acted as interim general manager for Sheraton Iowa City Hotel, hotelVetro and Valley River Inn.

Davidson
San Francisco, California, United States
Appointment

Ian Robert McClendon has been appointed as General Manager at The Redbury Hollywood

sbe’s boutique luxury hotel, The Redbury Hollywood announces the appointment of Ian Robert McClendon as General Manager. McClendon joins The Redbury team following the fifth year of the property’s debut and will oversee all operations and continue the acclaimed industry standard of excellence, creativity and exceptional service that has become synonymous with The Redbury experience. With over thirteen years of hospitality expertise, McClendon brings a forward-thinking approach to an elevated guest experience and service. Prior to The Redbury, McClendon held the position of General Manager for Kimpton’s new lifestyle brand, The Goodland, establishing the brand’s distinct heritage and implementing innovative initiatives that opened new revenue streams for the property. Previously, McClendon had been the General Manager at The Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, CA, where he spent several years as Director of Rooms and Assistant General Manager. His experience ranges from working with urban hotel properties, luxury resorts, casinos and boutique hotels including Eldorado Hotel & Spa, Willows Lodge, Swinomish Northern Lights Casino, Clise Properties- Hotel Division and Silver Cloud Hotel- Seattle-Broadway. In his spare time, McClendon loves to explore new cuisines and cooking, considers himself a bourbon connoisseur and is a passionate car enthusiast. His personal love and desire for creativity and adventure creates a unique approach to his hospitality tactics.

sbe
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Hedy M. Varga has been promoted to Senior Sales Manager at UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center

Hedy M. Varga has been promoted to senior sales manager for the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center currently under construction on UCLA’s main campus. The university-based conference center, which will offer 254 guest rooms and 25,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space, is scheduled to open in August of this year. Cindy Gagle, director of sales & marketing, made the announcement. A highly accomplished sales professional, Hedy M. Varga brings to her new role previous success as sales manager in the important pre-opening phase of the Luskin Conference Center, as well as sales leadership experience at multiple signature hotels in California. These include serving as director of sales for the Loews Hollywood Hotel, and in sales positions for the Sofitel Los Angeles, the Canary Hotel Santa Barbara, The Beverly Hilton, the Westin Century Plaza, The St. Regis Los Angeles and the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. Ms. Varga's promotion is not her first successful experience with UCLA. As a child, she was successfully treated for a life-threatening illness at the UCLA Medical Center. "The doctors and specialists were wonderful and my family and I credit them for saving my life," said Ms. Varga. "So bringing health science groups to the new Luskin Conference Center is especially meaningful for me." Hedy Varga attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she achieved the Dean's Honor List. She also successfully completed the Hilton Customer-Focused Selling Sales College program, the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Training program and the Master Connection Association Sales Training Levels I and II. Ms. Varga is an active member of Meeting Professionals International and the California Society of Association Executives. A native of Los Angeles, Hedy Varga, her husband and their young son reside in Granada Hills, California.

UCLA Housing & Hospitality Services
Los Angeles, California, United States
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Appointment

John Yeadon has been appointed as Director of Sales and Marketing at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Award-winning Southern California hotel, Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, is pleased to announce John Yeadon as director of sales and marketing. In his role, Yeadon will oversee varying aspects of Grand Hyatt San Diego, including revenue forecasting, developing business plans, and owner relations. Additionally, Yeadon’s other accountabilities include the recruitment and hiring of the hotel’s sales team, training, managing and coaching sales managers in their selling process in order to meet company goals and maximize hotel revenues, business analysis, and community relations for the 316,000-square-foot, 1,628 room property. Prior to his new position with the executive team at Grand Hyatt San Diego, Yeadon held various management positions at Hyatt properties including the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, Hyatt Regency Denver and Grand Hyatt Denver. Yeadon’s vast experience with the Hyatt brand, combined with his love for beach living will act as a smooth transition from Maui to San Diego.

Hyatt
San Diego, California, United States
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Appointment

Georg Garnitschnig has been appointed as Director of Sales & Marketing at Fairmont Grand Del Mar

Fairmont Grand Del Mar welcomes Georg Garnitschnig as director of sales & marketing. Garnitschnig brings more than 20 years of experience to this role, beginning his hospitality career at the Hilton Vienna, Austria prior to relocating to the United States where he held several progress sales management positions. Garnitschnig later moved to Barbados as director of sales & marketing, Hilton Barbados until he joined Fairmont in a regional director of sales & marketing role. In 2014, Garnitschnig founded Hotel Sales Solutions, leading to his most recent position as president.

FRHI
San Diego, California, United States
Appointment

Yvonne Choi has been promoted to Chief Development Officer – Americas and Global Head of Residential at Cachet Hotel Group (CHG)

Yvonne Choi has been promoted to Chief Development Officer – Americas and Global Head of Residential. Over the past year, Choi successfully negotiated Cachet's entry into the America's with new projects in Los Cabos and Westlake Village, California. In this new position, Choi will oversee the development and expansion of CHG hotels, resorts and mixed-use developments throughout the Americas. Choi joins the Americas leadership team from Asia, where she was Chief Marketing Officer.

Cachet Hotel Group (CHG)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Meredith Gelacak has been appointed as President of Hotel Operations, Americas at Cachet Hotel Group (CHG)

Meredith Gelacak joins CHG in a newly created position, as President of Hotel Operations – Americas, reporting to CEO Alexander Mirza. A veteran of the hotel industry, Gelacak brings more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including 15 years with Hilton Hotels Worldwide, where in her last role she served as Vice President of Food and Beverage where she oversaw US$2 billion dollars of revenue for Hilton Hotels, managing celebrity chefs and third party operator relationships. Gelacak also served as General Manager for several full service Hilton Hotels with an average key count of 400 rooms. In addition, she brings substantial entrepreneurial experience, from serving as Chief Operating Officer of a luxury spa venture featuring LVMH brands that managed the Waldorf Astoria New York Spa, to participating in the launch of the award winning French restaurant, Millesime, at the Carlton Hotel in New York.

Cachet Hotel Group (CHG)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Irby Morvant has been appointed as General Manager at Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport is pleased to announce the appointment of Irby Morvant Jr. as General Manager of the Burlingame hotel, located just minutes from San Francisco International Airport. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience within Hyatt Hotels Corporation, including his most recent role as General Manager of Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina, Morvant is responsible for all operations at the 789-room property and oversees its various departments, programs and team. He will also lead the hotel through a full renovation planned for completion in summer 2016.

Hyatt
Burlingame, California, United States
Appointment

Kimberly Atkinson has been appointed as Director of Human Resources at Hotel Zelos

Benchmark Hospitality International, a U.S.-based hospitality management company, has named Kimberly Atkinson director of human resources for Hotel Zelos, a Personal Luxury property located in San Francisco, California. Sietse Nabben, General Manager, made the announcement.Kimberly Atkinson was previously human resources manager for the Villa Florence Hotel, located in San Francisco. She held the same position for the East Bay Hotel Collection and the San Francisco Hotel Collection of Joie De Vivre Hospitality. Ms. Atkinson is a graduate of City College of San Francisco. She resides in the Bay area.

Pyramid Global Hospitality
San Francisco, California, United States
Appointment

Jean-Jacques Reibel has been named Opening General Manager at InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles

Kenneth Macpherson, Chief Executive Officer of IHG, Greater China is pleased to announce that Jean-Jacques Reibel, a 32 year veteran of IHG, who has served as Managing Director of InterContinental Hong Kong for twelve years, will relocate to Los Angeles in April 2016 to become the opening General Manager of the new InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles, which is currently under construction. The new 900 room conference hotel owned by Korean Airlines is scheduled to open sometime in the latter part of 2017. Jean-Jacques’ last day at InterContinental Hong Kong will be 27th February 2016.

IHG
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Brian Taliaferro has been appointed as Senior VP Entertainment and Hospitality Practice at JLT Specialty USA

JLT Specialty USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc. (JLT), one of the world’s leading specialty-focused providers of insurance, reinsurance and employee benefits related advice, brokerage and associated services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Taliaferro as Senior Vice President for the Entertainment and Hospitality practice. Taliaferro, who will be based in JLT’s Los Angeles office, will lead the company’s Gaming and Hospitality Practice, in addition to developing and managing relationships with clients in the Entertainment Practice. He will also bring JLT his unique understanding of complex risk and insurance challenges of large, multinational gaming companies, regional casino operators, and tribal gaming entities. With 14 years of client expertise in the entertainment industry, Taliaferro joins JLT from Aon Risk Solutions, where he led the Gaming Practice as Senior Vice President. Prior to his role at Aon, Taliaferro served as a Process Analyst at Accenture.

JLT Specialty USA
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Rosewood CordeValle has been appointed as Spa Manager at Rosewood CordeValle

Rosewood CordeValle, a golf resort located in the Northern Californian city of San Martin, has appointed Kimberly Kuramuto as spa manager for the resort’s Sense, A Rosewood Spa. Ms. Kuramuto brings almost ten years of experience in luxury hospitality to her new role. As spa manager, Ms. Kuramuto will oversee high-level operations of Sense, A Rosewood Spa while continuing to guide and expand the spa’s programming.

Rosewood Hotel Group
San Martin, California, United States
Appointment

Avi Haksar has been appointed as Managing Director at Rosewood Sand Hill

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has appointed Avi Haksar as managing director of Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, CA. Mr. Haksar joins Rosewood Sand Hill with great experience in luxury hospitality management, including his most recent position as managing director of Rosewood Crescent in Dallas, Texas. In his new role, he will oversee all areas of Rosewood Sand Hill, including the luxury hotel’s 121 rooms and suites, award-winning restaurant Madera and Sense spa.Mr. Haksar brings over 20 years of hospitality experience to his new role, having developed his passion for the business at an early age at Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland. Prior to his tenure at Rosewood Crescent, Mr. Haksar was hotel manager for Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok and spent four years at Four Seasons Los Angeles. He also served as Director of Beverage at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas where he oversaw multiple dining outlets.

Rosewood Hotel Group
Menlo Park, California, United States
Appointment

Mario Chang Kin Kee has been appointed as Director of Finance at Hotel Zelos

Benchmark Hospitality International has named Mario Chang Kin Kee Director of Finance for Hotel Zelos, a Personal Luxury property located in San Francisco, California. Sietse Nabben, General Manager, made the announcement.Mario Chang Kin Kee was most recently assistant controller for the Fairmont Hotel, located in San Jose, California. He was previously accounting manager for the San Diego Sheraton Hotel & Marina. Prior to this, he held the position of accountant for the W New York Downtown Hotel in Manhattan.

Pyramid Global Hospitality
San Francisco, California, United States