This week a number of major hotel companies and cruise lines made new executive appointments.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts named John Davison its president and chief executive officer of its board of directors. He has spent almost 18 years with the company and had been working as interim CEO since the end of last year. Prior to joining Four Seasons, he worked for 14 years at IMAX Corporation.
Also this week Timbers Resorts appointed Sean McLaughlin its chief financial officer. He joins the company from SunGate Capital, LLC, a single-family private equity and investment office where he served as the chief investment officer responsible for developing and implementing investment strategy for the firm.
A number of individual properties also made new leadership appointments this week:
- Emery, a downtown Minneapolis hotel in Marriott’s Autograph Collection, named Kelly Snyder its new general manager.
- The Murray, Hong Kong, appointed Adriano Vences its general manager.
- La Quinta Resort & Club, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, appointed Robert Hickam as general manager of The Citrus Club, the property's members-only golf club.
In cruise news, this week Crystal Expedition Cruises appointed David Sinclair expedition leader for the upcoming Crystal Endeavor, which launches in August 2020. A seasoned explorer, he has hosted expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Sea, Adelie Coast, South Georgia, Macquarie Island, the Falkland Islands, Greenland, Svalbard and the Canadian Arctic.
Silversea also made a new appointment to its expedition team this week, hiring Bill Davis as vice president, expedition operations and development. Based in Miami, he will oversee the luxury line’s expanding expedition destination operations and manage its expedition field staff. In addition to leading and participating in more than 200 expeditions on more than 40 vessels since 1993, Bill has gained an MPhil in Polar Studies from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University.
In business travel news, this week RoomIt by CWT, the global hotel distribution division of CWT, announced the appointment of Shannon Hyland as senior vice president of global supply. In this role, Hyland will provide overall leadership and execution of the supplier strategy and effectiveness, and market management, the company said. Prior to joining RoomIt, he was the CEO and executive vice president of Radius Travel, and he also worked as CFO at Groople and The Mark Travel Corporation.
Finally, in air travel news, this week JetBlue announced a number of changes to its commercial leadership team. Scott Laurence has been promoted to the role of head of revenue and planning, reporting to JetBlue President and Chief Operating Officer Joanna Geraghty. Don Uselmann has been promoted to vice president, loyalty and personalization, with responsibility for the TrueBlue loyalty program. The airline also announced plans to conduct a search for a new senior leader responsible for marketing and loyalty, who will report to Geraghty and oversee teams led by JetBlue’s vice president, marketing and the new vice president, loyalty and personalization. Finally, Marty St. George, the airline’s chief commercial officer, announced plans to leave JetBlue later this month after 13 years with the airline.
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