On the move

Rosewood appoints Finamore

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has appointed Peter Finamore as managing director of Al Faisaliah Hotel and Hotel Al Khozama.  Finamore joins the Rosewood team in Riyadh with more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He was most recently executive vice president of operations for Echelon Resorts, in Las Vegas.

Trudy Cook is the new director of sales and marketing at Al Raha Beach Hotel. Cook has over 22 years of hotel and resort experience in Australia, Asia Europe and the Middle East, and has held senior management positions with many international hotel chains before moving to Abu Dhabi.

Raffles Dubai has appointed Dima Ayad as director of marketing and communications. Ayad’s role will be essential in implementing and maximizing the hotel’s marketing and communication objectives. Ayad was previously marketing manager for Dubai Holding and was previously the F &B marketing manager at the Madinat Jumeirah.

New role for Zein 

Le Commodore Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, has promoted Samer Zein as acting director of sales. Zein began his career with Le Commodore Hotel in June 2007 as a sales manager and became senior sales manager in January this year. He has been in charge of the sales department since May 2008.

Genson becomes chef de cuisine 

Gérald Genson is chef de cuisine of the steak restaurant Plums at the Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa. Chef Gérald now oversees the culinary team at this luxury resort. Prior to his new assignment, chef Gérald served as chef de cuisine at the Emilie French Restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

The Sheraton Kuwait has appointed Kurt Viehmann as resident manager in charge of its F&B department. He will oversee the hotel’s day-to-day operations and focus on driving service performance excellence. He has worked in various Starwood properties in Europe and the Middle East, including Sheraton hotels in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt.

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of Arabian Travel Market has bolstered its team with the addition of Adele Totterdale as regional account executive, hotels companies, car rentals & Africa. She joins from Reed’s World Travel Market, where she was sales executive for the Asian, African, Middle East and UK regions.

The Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi has appointed Lina Vasiloudis as director of marketing and communications. Vasiloudis brings with her over eight years of experience within the Gulf region, where she has worked with established companies including Jumeirah International, Heineken beer and Dubailand.

Chudasama to represent Travel Asia

Sanjay Chudasama, founder and managing director of Tiana Consultants, has been named official representative of Travel Asia, Hong Kong, China, Macau, Taiwan & Asia. Travel Asia (HK) is a ground handling travel agent for all Asian destinations. Chudasama has held various positions with the Hong Kong Tourism Board in the UK. 

Batha for MEA operations   

Amadeus has announced the appointment of Nasser Batha as regional business development director in the Middle East & Africa.  Batha has over 25 years of industry experience including with Emirates Airline, as area manager for Dubai and Northern Emirates and at KLM. Prior to joining Amadeus, he was COO at Al Shamel Holding, Dubai.

Chef Ajay Pant, executive chef, has joined the culinary team of Sharm El Sheikh Marriott Red Sea Resort. Chef Pant was previously at Doha Marriott where the hotel recently won an F&B excellence award. He brings with him experience from south east Asia, Caribbean and the Middle East with hospitality industry leaders.

Travelport GDS strengthens MEA team   

Travelport GDS has a new airline team in its Middle East and Africa region. It is headed by Khalid Alkhalidi (left) as new airline business development director for MEA, and Amanda Finch, Sadullah Dawray and Martin Herbert are all business development managers. Meanwhile, Chaminda Kumara joins team as operations account manager.

Etihad Airways has announced Hasan A Saleh Al-Hammadi as vice president special projects. Al-Hammadi’s role will be to undertake special liaison tasks and projects relating to protocol, the security services in Abu Dhabi, government departments and Emiratisation. His previous positions have included various roles within the UAE government.

Chef Rogelio Martin Mico has been appointed as head chef of Siji Hotel Apartments. In the last three years, he was executive sous chef of the Al Diar Siji Hotel.  Chef Mico brings with him over three decades of culinary experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, working with hotels in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Saipan, USA. 

Bahrain Air has announced the appointment of Bart Schellens as director of commercial operations. Schellens brings with him experience in both commercial, finance and general management from within the airline as well as from other industries. He has lived and worked in various countries in Europe, Middle East and Asia.