New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Marriott International
Marriott International has announced that Rajeev Menon, currently area vice-president – South Asia, will take over as the chief operations officer (COO) for Marriott International in South-East Asia & Pacific. In his new capacity as COO, he will be a key member of the continent’s senior leadership team and will function as the operational business leader for the region. He will also help drive key initiatives and ensure implementation of brand discipline programmes. He will be based in Singapore. For the past 7.5 years, he was area vice president for South Asia, as well as Pakistan, Malaysia and Australia during various periods of his assignment. He joined Marriott in 2001 as the general manager of Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Center and Marriott Executive Apartments, Mumbai. In 2004, he moved to Sydney, Australia where he served as the general manager of Sydney Harbour Marriott and country general manager for Australia.
ITC Grand Chola
Anil Chadha has been appointed as area manager south & general manager for ITC Grand Chola. In his new capacity, he will oversee the hotel’s operations and also provide insight about the nuances of the ITC Grand Chola Dynasty, its Responsible Luxury and to elevate the hotel to a world class luxury hotel. In addition to this he will also oversee operations of other ITC Hotels in Bengaluru, Kerala, Hyderabad and Chennai. With over 22 years of hospitality experience, his previous roles spans successful terms with other ITC Hotels including ITC Maurya, New Delhi, ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru, ITC Windsor, Bengaluru, ITC Mughal, Agra and ITC Sonar, Kolkata. Prior to this appointment, he spent three years as the general manager of ITC Maurya in New Delhi.
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon
Roger Wright has been appointed as general manager of Hyatt Regency Gurgaon. With over 30 years of international hotel experience, Wright has led 12 five-star and five-star deluxe business and leisure Hyatt and internationally branded hotels across the Asia Pacific region. Wright’s knowledge of hotel operations, positioning, financial and strategic focus, combined with a deep personal commitment to the Hyatt brand, will play a vital role in further developing Hyatt Regency Gurgaon’s position as the city’s ‘logical first choice’ for anyone seeking a top quality large five-star hotel for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
Sheraton Bangalore Hotel
Sheraton Bangalore Hotel has appointed Mohammed Khan as director of food and beverage. He has been associated with the food and beverage industry for over 12 years starting 2002, serving in various hospitality positions pan India. From his most recent and successful stint at Marriott as the director of food and beverage, Khan has also been part of pre-openings in various capacities in Marriott Chennai, Pune and Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Convention Centre, etc. He graduated doing his course in Hotel Management & Catering Technology from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology.
Hilton Jaipur
Rahul Joshi has been appointed as general manager for Hilton Jaipur. In this position, Joshi will report to Daniel Welk, vice president, operations – India, Hilton Worldwide. He brings over two decades of experience in the hospitality sector. Most recently, Joshi was general manager for Holiday Inn Pune Hinjewadi. Prior to that, he has held general managerial positions at Radisson Blu Agra Taj East Gate; The Park Turon, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Goa. He also has extensive experience in serving as the front office manager at Radisson White Sands Resort, Goa; Cidade de Goa and The Imperial, New Delhi.
The Orchid Mumbai
Raj Panda has joined as the food and beverage manager of The Orchid Mumbai. Before joining Orchid he was working in the same capacity at Ramada Gurgaon Central, Gurgaon. His key skills include pre-opening of various restaurants, administration and operations of food and beverage, staff training, troubleshooting and implementing improvement procedures as well as documenting operating procedures and financial management. He started his career at Marriot Welcom, New Delhi. He also worked for Soy, Dubai as an assistant manager. He was also involved with the opening of Feast india, UK. Later he joined The Imperial, New Delhi. He was also a part of the pre-opening team at Radison Blue, Dwarka.
Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad
Chef Yogender Pal has been appointed as executive chef at Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad. He has nearly two decades of culinary experience and has worked with leading Indian and international luxury hospitality brands. He has helmed several pre-opening teams, has been instrumental for commissioning kitchens and is known to create innovative dining experiences.
Alila Diwa Goa
Alila Diwa Goa has appointed Chef Shubhendu Kadam as executive chef. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge with over 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry. At Alila Diwa Goa, in the capacity of the executive chef, Chef Kadam will spearhead the kitchen operations across the various food and beverage venues at the property. His area of expertise lies in Teppanyaki, western banquet fare, fine dining and seafood specialties along with a core competency in refurbishing food and beverage and specialty menus.He began his career at Hyatt Regency, Delhi in 1996 as a Commis II, going on to play key roles at luxury hotels and cruise liners such as Carnival Cruise Liners Miami Florida (USA), Goa Marriott Resort, Marriott Cebu City (Philippines), Radisson BLU (Goa), Courtyard by Marriott City Centre (Pune).