Appointments

Neil Foster has been appointed as Director of Technology at Coast Hotels

Coast Corporate Office is very pleased to introduce Neil Foster as our new Director, Technology. Neil comes to Coast Hotels with broad experience in technology and notable experience in hospitality technology. Neil has led and supported systems and technology since 1997. Along with his work above, Neil has been very involved in and is currently the Global Vice President of HFTP, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals.Neil has been consulting as well and spent the last few years in St. Helena Island connecting private sector businesses with new opportunities in the tourism industry. An avid marathoner and connector of people and organizations, makes Neil a great fit for our team.

Sunny Finnell has been promoted to Vice President of Digital Content at Concord Hospitality

Concord Hospitality Enterprises, an award-winning hotel development and management company, is pleased to announce that Sunny Finnell has been promoted to Vice President of Digital Content. In her newly appointed role, Finnell will be responsible for overseeing the digital functions and strategy for hotel openings and acquisitions. She will also lead the development and deployment of a digital webinar and training series that will be built from the ground up to enrich the digital knowledge base of Concord sales leaders across the company.

Rob Francis has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Booking.com

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Rob Francis leads Booking.com's full stack technology strategy to support the company's continued growth as a global technology leader in travel, working to create an even more seamless end-to-end experience for travelers. Having served as Booking.com's CIO and with a history at high-performing organizations in the e-commerce and consumer technology space, Rob's expertise in digital transformation, engineering, software development, corporate systems and evolving tech infrastructures helps to drive the Booking.com vision for products and technology that enable travelers to experience the world.

Kurt Knackstedt has been appointed as Chief Growth Officer at HRS - Hotel Reservation Service

HRS, the leading global corporate lodging platform, named internationally-renowned travel and payment executive Kurt Knackstedt to the new role of Chief Growth Officer, leading the company's expanding payment solutions business. An established payment innovator who led Troovo's growth from start-up to global prominence, Knackstedt is known worldwide in B2B payment and managed travel circles for his pioneering approach to the deployment of virtual credit cards and automated payment technologies.

Richard Wagner has been appointed as Director of Certification and Compliance at Nomadix, Inc.

Nomadix® Inc​., a technology leader in hospitality and multi-tenant industries, today announced the appointment of Richard Wagner as director of certification and compliance to drive the adoption of its technology portfolio in global and regional hospitality brands and ownership groups. With three decades of technology implementation and management, and large hotel brand expertise, he will lead Nomadix certification efforts for new products, provide technology guidance to customers, and ensure adherence to technological standards for individual brands.

Florian Daniel has been appointed as Chief Information Officer at H World International

Deutsche Hospitality is taking a further important step along its pathway to restructuring. Florian Daniel has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Information Officer with immediate effect. In his capacity as CIO, Mr. Daniel will be responsible for the areas of Commercial & Business Systems, Digital Customer Experience, Data Science & Analytics, Technology Innovation & Enterprise Architecture as well as Infrastructure & Data Security and Business Efficiency & Integration Capabilities, and advances the digital transformation of the company.

Roy Mellinger has been appointed as Global Chief Information Security Officer at Aimbridge Hospitality

Aimbridge Hospitality, the leading, global, third-party hotel management company, names Roy Mellinger to Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), responsible for data security. Before joining Aimbridge earlier this year, he was CISO and SVP of Risk and Security for Sabre GLBL, the leading technology provider to the airline, hotel, and travel industry."Adding Roy's caliber of expertise reinforces our commitment to enhance value for our owners and corporate support for our hotels, espec ially so during a difficult year," said Aimbridge Hospitality Chief Information Officer Andrew J. Arthurs. "Roy brings industry experience and leadership to our cybersecurity team at a critical time when information security is top of mind for our owners and industry partners."In his role, Mellinger is responsible for implementing baseline protection strategies, enhancing network security, and raising the bar on cyber protection and safeguarding measures. He prioritizes security initiatives and collaborates with the extended technology teams to consolidate initiatives for merging systems, infrastructures, and security solutions for the organization. Mellinger also establishes information security programs and safeguard measures for corporate and hotel properties. As part of merger integration and synergy strategies, he assumed responsibilities for Corporate Compliance, Risk and Privacy Management, including PCI, CPA, and GDPR programs.Mellinger has prev iously served in Principal, Senior Vice President, and Vice President roles at The Shield Group, SABRE GLBL Corporation, and ANTHEM ~ Blue Cross Blue Shield. Additionally, he has been recognized with many awards and achievements, including being named a Top 100 Global CISO by Hot Topics and F5 Networks; a top 50 CISO in the United States by ExecRank; and named Central Region Information Security Executive of the Year by Technology Executive Network. Government officials have also engaged him for multiple projects, including stints in cybersecurity advisory panels and task forces, and an invitation from the White House for cybersecurity work, which resulted in an Executive Order during the Obama administration. Mellinger currently serves on the HITRUST Member Board of Directors, is an advisor for New York-based Emissary and London-based AlphaSights, and provides breach consulting, corporate incident response, and board advisory services to multiple other organizations. He is also a frequent keynote speaker at security conferences.

Maxwell Spangler has been appointed as Corporate Technology & Systems Manager at Charlestowne Hotels

Leading hospitality management company Charlestowne Hotels announces the promotion of Maxwell Spangler to the newly formed role of corporate technology & systems manager. Max will now lead data and I.T. support for Charlestowne while expanding strategic portfolio-wide initiatives, including designing, developing and deploying new software and innovative technology systems.

Thanh Luu has been appointed as Strategic Partnerships Manager at RAIZUP

A talented hospitality professional with over 15 years of diverse experience in B2B sales, operations and passion for building a strong business relationship, has been named Strategic Partnership Manager for WHTT (Women in Hospitality and Travel-Tech). Thanh Luu's appointment to WHTT is further the organisation's mission to support, inspire and promote women and underrepresented groups within the hospitality and travel technology industry. With international tourist arrivals projected to plunge by 60 to 80 percent in 2020, there are as many 120 million jobs at risks. WHTT mission to enable professional growth for women and underrepresented groups via education, mentorship and career development. WHTT believes that by inspiring communities to enter the industry and organizations to leverage and retain in the sector, will create more diverse and inclusive leadership. Thanh has held a variety of roles in travel management, both operationally and commercially, for some widely respected brands such as STA Travel and Thomas Cook. Thanh then moved into hospitality SaaS and took up the position of Director of Sales EMEA with Revinate. In the last 15 years, Thanh has led all aspects of complex sales, market penetration, customer relationship management, team development, and strategic partnership management to penetrate the new market with new visions and products.

Dave Moore has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer at Aven Hospitality

Dave Moore has been named executive vice president, chief technology officer, overseeing Sabre's global product development team. Moore's team is charged with building world class software products for customers, embracing a unified approach to all product development efforts, as well as driving Sabre's technology transformation, including support for its Google Cloud partnership. This team structure is designed to unlock efficiencies in delivering global products and services while increasing speed to market by leveraging best practices, driving consistency and bolstering global alignment.

David Chestler has joined PROVision Partners as Senior Managing Director – Distribution and Technology

PROVision Partners International is pleased to announce David Chestler as Senior Managing Director - Distribution and Technology. Nicknamed "The Revenue Catalyst," the 30-year industry veteran is well-known for being a deeply engaged leader of sales strategy, sales operations, and people management process. Chestler joins the PROVision Partners executive leadership team of Co-Founder and CEO Greg Pesik, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director - Commercial and Revenue Matt Busch, and Senior Managing Director - Business Development and Marketing Gregg Hopkins.

Katherine Grass has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Optii Solutions Inc.

Optii Solutions, the provider of the most advanced labor optimization solution for hotel housekeeping teams, announced today the appointment of Katherine Grass as Chief Executive Officer. Grass has over 20 years in the IT and travel sectors. She joined Optii Solutions from their lead investor, Thayer Ventures, a travel-tech focused venture capital firm and has held senior-level positions with Amadeus IT Group and Amadeus Ventures.

Bryan Steele has been named Non-Executive Member of the Board at Nonius - Hospitality Technology

Bryan has extensive experience in the hospitality sector having held CIO/IT Director level positions at Thistle and Guoman Hotels and the Royal Automobile Club and as a consultant to a number of leading hoteliers and vendors in the sector over the past 14 years. He brings to the board a broad range of skills and experience including strategy, data privacy and technology.

Noelle Eder has been appointed as EVP & Chief Information and Digital Officer at Hilton

Innovation and technology have kept Hilton at the forefront of the hospitality industry. Eder's expanded role will deliver technology alignment across the business and continue the ongoing digital transformation benefiting Hilton's guests, owners and team members. Eder joined Hilton three years ago, bringing with her more than two decades of cross-industry business and technology experience. She has successfully led the consolidation of Hilton's technology architecture, creating a foundation that supports the company's continued global growth.

Daniel Blanchard has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer at InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) in Atlanta

Blanchard joins IHG with more than 25 years of experience in IT business management, strategy, transformation, architecture governance and program management. In his new role, Blanchard will oversee infrastructure and operations, enterprise architecture, IT security operations, application development, and corporate support. He will be based out of IHG's Americas headquarters in Atlanta, and report to George Turner, Chief Commercial & Technology Officer, IHG.