People on the move

New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers

Lords Sasan Gir, Junagadh

Thomas Kocheri has been appointed as general manager of Lords Sasan Gir, Junagadh. In his new role, he will be responsible for the resort’s overall operations including its F&B. He brings with him 18 years of experience in different facets of hospitality with specialisation in F&B operations. Prior to his new role, he was a senior manager with Mahindra Holidays & Resorts, Sasan Gir. In the past he has worked with Wonderland Resort, Sasan Gir.

SIHRA

K Syama Raju, managing director, Hotel Maurya Bangalore has been re-elected as president of South Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) at the 63rd AGM held in Chennai recently. T Nataraajan, CEO, GRT Hotels and Resorts has been re-elected as honorary secretary for the year 2014 – 2015. K Murali Rao, Subir Bhowmick, Suresh Pillai and K Nagaraju were elected as vice presidents of SIHRA for the regions Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka respectively. The executive committee members include – R Srinivasan, Balakrishna Reddy, Prabhu Shankar, G V Krishnaiah, M Venkadasubbu, Venkataramana Babu, D Srinivasan and D V S Soma Raju.

Hyatt Place Gurgaon/ Udyog Vihar, Haryana

Sumit Kumar has been appointed as general manager of Hyatt Place Gurgaon/ Udyog Vihar, Haryana. Kumar has been an integral part of the Hyatt Hotels group for over eleven years, where he has acquired knowledge and experience in managing large F&B operations and has played a pivotal role in establishing the Hyatt Place brand in India by being the first general manager for Hyatt Place hotel in India, commencing with the launch of Hyatt Place Hampi, Karnataka.

Chef Deva Kumar has been appointed as executive chef of Hyatt Place Gurgaon/ Udyog Vihar. He will oversee all food operations throughout the hotel, from large scale events in meeting places to the 24/7 Gallery Market, Coffee to Cocktails Bar and Gallery Café. Previously, Chef Kumar was at the helm of the Park Hyatt Chennai kitchen since its opening in 2012.

Fairmont Jaipur

Rizwan Shaikh has been appointed as general manager of Fairmont Jaipur. In his current role, Shaikh will be at the helm of the complete management of Fairmont’s flagship hotel in India and will be responsible for the brand’s position in Jaipur. He comes with around 17 years of hospitality experience and has been associated with leading Indian and international hotel chains such as The Oberoi, Taj, and Four Seasons.

The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi

Chef Zhou Jian has been appointed as master chef at House of Ming in The Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. Chef Jian hails from China and brings to the table over two decades of culinary expertise. He has worked with various five star hotels in China over the last 20 years. Chef Jian started his career as chef de partie at Hongziji restaurant chain in Beijing.

JW Marriott Mumbai

Neha Saigal has been appointed as associate director of rooms at JW Marriott Mumbai. She has over 10 years of experience at various Marriott International properties. Prior to her current role, she was the associate director of rooms at Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. She was also the front office manager at JW Marriott Chandigarh, assistant front office manager at JW Marriott Mumbai and assistant front office manager at Melbourne Marriott Hotel, Australia.

Kempinski Hotels

Alejandro Bernabé has been appointed as chief executive officer of Kempinski Hotels. Bernabé started his career in F&B for the group, working in Switzerland, South Africa, France and Sri Lanka, before joining Kempinski in 1998 as a pre-opening F&B manager at the Kempinski Hotel Plaza in Jakarta. Bernabé continued in F&B at the Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg. He was soon promoted to resident manager in Spain, then general manager in Malta, Kuwait and Jordan.

Marcus van der Wal has been appointed as chief operating officer at Kempinski Hotels where he will be responsible for translating the group strategy into operational initiatives and performance. Wal has been with Kempinski since 1998. His most recent position was SVP Europe, overseeing 22 properties, while serving as GM of Kempinski Hotel Airport Munich since 2010.

Markus Semer has been promoted to the position of deputy CEO at Kempinski Hotels. He has served as a member of the management board of Kempinski AG and member of the board of directors of Kempinski Hotels SA since 2008. He will be responsible for group development through portfolio and business growth.