Adding another seasoned executive to its team of accomplished hospitality professionals, KSL Resorts has announced the appointment of Patrick Smith as its new vice president of information technology. In his new role, Smith heads up KSL Resorts' information technology department - designing, developing and managing the company's technological infrastructure and processes to achieve key corporate goals.
dailypoint™ (Toedt, Dr. Selk & Coll. GmbH), the leading global Central Data Management Company for the hospitality industry appoints Linda Vallner as Chief Operating Officer of the firm effective August 1, 2023. She will actively participate in driving the ambitious growth strategy of the company and oversee commercial and operational customer activities.With more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and technology, Linda brings with her deep knowledge of our customer's technology and operational landscape, making her the perfect fit for continuing to drive the strategic path of dailypoints's success. Linda has held senior roles in both MICROS Inc and Oracle Hospitality, notably as Director OPERA Product Suite and later as Sales ConsultingDirector for the enterprisemarket. Most recently she headed up all commercial and strategic activities at protel Hotelsoftware Gmbh, leading up to its acquisition and merge into Planet, where she continued as SVP of Distribution Sales.
Anna Scozzafava will be promoted from Senior Vice President and General Manager, Extended Stay Brands to Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President, Technology, overseeing Choice's corporate strategy, business analytics and technology functions. Ms. Scozzafava has been with the company since 2012 and, most recently, drove the growth and expansion of Choice's extended stay portfolio, helping to establish the company as a clear leader in the fast-growing, high-performing segment. She will continue to lead the segment through a transition period.
Leading hospitality management company Charlestowne Hotels announces the promotion of Maxwell Spangler to Vice President of Technology. During his 10-year tenure at Charlestowne, Spangler has overseen the strategic growth of the company's evolving tech stack and road map, developing and deploying new software and systems, and identifying continued opportunities for innovation.
Ireckonu, the industry leader in hospitality middleware, CDP, and digital guest relationship systems integration, today announced the appointment of 25-year hospitality industry veteran, Rupert Gutteridge, as their Chief Operations Officer (COO). Gutteridge comes to Ireckonu after successful appointments at Oracle, Guestline, and Oaky where he successfully demonstrated his ability to grow businesses with a hands-on approach by creating great teams to drive a successful sales engine. For Rupert, a key focus has always been building long lasting relationships that keep the customer's needs at the core of collaborative and productive partnerships.
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta), the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S., today announced the appointment of Jeff Knowlton as Chief Information Officer.
Wietse has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, with a focus on operations and technology. Previously, he led a successful technology strategy as Group Director Technology & Business Solutions at Sircle Collection, delivering curated guest experiences. The appointment strengthens Shiji's position as an industry-leading provider of innovative solutions for hotel professionals around the world - focusing on the company's next generation cloud-based PMS, Shiji Enterprise Platform.
Coast Hotels Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of APA Hotel Canada, Inc. and one of North America's fastest-growing and one of Canada's largest hotel brands, is pleased to announce the appointment of Grant McKegney as the company's new Director, Technology. In his new role, McKegney will be responsible for overseeing the daily IT operations, as well as leading the development and execution of the company's short and long-term technology strategy. He will be leading a team of talented professionals to drive innovation and support the company's growth objectives. With over 20 years of experience in developing and implementing strategic technology roadmaps and complex projects, Grant is an exceptional leader with a proven track record in infrastructure architecture, IT operations management, security governance and risk, performance analytics, and business process improvement.McKegney has an extensive background working for several airline and travel companies including Air Canada, oneworld Alliance Management Company, and Rocky Mountaineer. Most recently, he served as Director of Information Technology for Canadian North Airlines, where he oversaw the organization's technology strategy, and ensured optimal technology operations stability, infrastructure management, data and cloud technology operations, and security governance and risk.
Moving on from his previous position as Corporate Director of Information Technology at Rosewood Hotel Group, Barry Thomas is now responsible for defining and driving the tech strategy for Raffles and Orient Express hotels worldwide.
Peachtree Group announced the appointment of Jarred Bussert as vice president, information technology. In this newly created role, Bussert will be responsible for all aspects of the company's IT infrastructure, including all business applications, information security and data integrity.
Chief Technology Officer, John Pelant has been named EVP, Chief Experience & Technology Officer, effective April 1, 2023, with responsibility for a new function that combines Traveler Experience and Product & Technology.
Diederik has been appointed Director of IT at Zien Group to accelerate a digital-first approach to deliver a seamless hotel experience. Diederik, who has more than 23 years of experience in hospitality, will be responsible for the technology strategy at Zien Group, with the aim of increasing efficiency and automating processes. He brings a wealth of experience and passion from previous long-term roles with international hotel brands, including Hilton International, Radisson Hotel Group and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
Cloud5 Communications, a leading provider of communications and technology solutions for more than 5,000 hotels, MDUs, and commercial facilities across the Americas, has today announced the appointment of telecommunications expert, Jerry Gore, as company CTO.
Forty-year hospitality industry technologist Neil Schubert has joined Canada-based Hotel Communication Network (HCN) as Chief Product Officer. With 20 of those years spent spearheading the technology initiatives for Marriott International, Schubert brings to HCN a wealth of knowledge in application development, product management, systems integration, financial systems management, infrastructure, IT architecture, and field service. His goal is to strategically transform HCN into a global hospitality communications brand. HCN's Navigator tablets are quickly gaining traction in hotels as a two-way communication device that easily and efficiently replaces in-room phones, alarm clocks, voice assistants and other electronics. Schubert will perform this role from his office in Wilmington, N.C.
Relay Robotics, Inc., a leading supplier of service robots to the hospitality, healthcare, and real estate industries, announced today the addition of Matt Townsend as Vice President, Software Engineering.
Barrar joined Sandpiper Hospitality from InterVision Systems, where he served as the Vice President of Customer Experience. Barrar previously spent more than 17 years with Capital One, helping the company grow to become the 6th largest bank in the United States. He received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stephen F. Austin State University and serves on the Advisory Board for that department today. Barrar is charged with significantly enhancing the company's information technology platform while spear-heading several major projects that will greatly improve the services we offer to associates, guests and clients. He will head the integration of the industry's best business intelligence platform, ProfitSword, into the company this year.
Shane Husband joins Groups360 as senior vice president of technology, leading the company's technology and operations forward at its corporate headquarters. The hire follows Groups360's launch of real-time group rates and GroupSync™ Instant Booking across nearly 8,000 hotels, including Hilton Hotels, Omni Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International, and selected IHG Hotel properties.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated, a leading national vacation ownership company, today announced that JP Hurtado has joined the company as its Chief Information Officer. In this newly created role, JP will lead the company's various Information Technology (IT) teams. He will be responsible for leading, steering and accelerating the company's technology strategy and digital transformation.
John Laplante, Extended Stay America's new Chief Information Officer, also joins the company from G6 Hospitality, where he served as CIO and in other IT leadership roles for more than 10 years. John's experience includes nine years in Hospitality IT at Accor North America. He will be responsible for all technology-related functions.
Brian Yocam serves as the director of technology and security for WaterWalk. As a veteran in the industry, he brings more than 12 years of experience with various networking and IT security-focused programs and tools. Preceding his appointment at WaterWalk, Yocam served as the network manager at INTRUST Bank where he provided oversight and technical expertise to develop and implement cybersecurity programs and initiatives. Throughout his career, he has gained valuable experience and knowledge with various security tools, maintenance procedures and the safety of networks. Yocam graduated from Fort Hays State University with a bachelor's degree in information networking and telecommunications and then earned a master's degree in cyber security.