It’s been a busy week for hotel appointments in the travel industry.
Outrigger Hospitality Group in Hawaii appointed Julie Burbine as human resources senior director and Ryan Sanada as assistant general council. Previously, Burbine was HRIS product and solutions manager at ProService Hawaii. Sanada holds Martindale-Hubbell’s highest professional rating, “AV-Preeminent,” established through peer reviews from other members of the Bar based upon their knowledge of his work, reputation and integrity. Most recently, Sanada served as director of legal and government affairs as well as assistant general counsel at the Hawaii Employers Counsel.
Independent hotel investment and management firm Aimbridge Hospitality expanded its executive team with the promotion of Rob Smith to executive vice president of operations, ull service and resorts. In this new position, Smith is responsible for managing all facets of full-service branded and independent hotels and resorts in the Americas and the Caribbean, as Aimbridge Hospitality continues to grow its international luxury resort portfolio. Smith has been with Aimbridge Hospitality for seven years, serving as senior vice president of operations.
Tampa, FL-based Mainsail Lodging & Development appointed Jill Lemaster as the company’s first-ever chief financial officer and Tom Stoffo as director of technology. Lemaster joins from Hilton Grand Vacations in Orlando, where she worked after spending the first 15 years of her hospitality career with Marriott. For the past 13 years, Stoffo has worked in hospitality technology at several well-known hotel companies.
W Hotels named Leah Chisholm, who performs as LP Giobbi, as the brand’s music director, North America. In this role, Chisholm will work to shape how W guests experience music at the brand’s properties.
A number of individual properties also made key leadership appointments:
- Four Seasons Resorts Hawaii welcomed a new senior regional sales manager, Shane Namkung Hara. Based out of Los Angeles, she will represent Four Seasons Resort Hualālai, Four Seasons Resort Maui, and Four Seasons Resort Oahu.
- Romain Meiran was named general manager of La Réserve Paris Hotel and Spa.
- The SLS Baha Mar appointed Mabelle Catania as director of sales and marketing.
In destination news, the Martinique Tourism Authority (MTA) announced the appointment of François Baltus-Languedoc as its new CEO. He has 25 years of experience in travel and hospitality, having held roles with companies such as Ascott Limited, Prestige Hotels Group and Hospes Infinite Places.
Finally, in air travel news, American Airlines announced plans to realign its operations and commercial leadership teams following the retirement of Senior Vice President of Customer Experience Kerry Philipovitch, who is stepping down at the end of the year. The airline said it will realign the team around four key pillars: Operations, Network Strategy, Revenue and Customer Experience. The following four leaders will assume responsibility for these teams:
- David Seymour, senior vice president of operations
- Vasu Raja, senior vice president of network strategy
- Don Casey, senior vice president of revenue
- Kurt Stache, senior vice president of customer experience
Each of the four leaders will report to American Airlines President Robert Isom.
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