Hilton Group announces new appointments for two Bengaluru properties

Hilton Group has announced the onboarding of senior hospitality professionals for Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn Embassy Manyata Business Park, Bengaluru, as the hotels prepare to scale up their operations. The team has been selected for its operational experience and history of delivering premium hospitality services to build capabilities for the dual properties.

The extended leadership and operations team includes Sonam Sharma - Cluster Director of Finance, Anubhav Lal - Cluster Director of Marketing Communications, Abhishek Roy - Director of F&B, Karishma Dutta - Director of Sales, Kunal Salooja – Director of Sales-MICE, Akanksha Katiyar – Front Office Manager, Payal Joshi - Executive Housekeeper, Vinod Nair - Director of Security and Sivan Muppedathy - Chief Engineer.  

Sonam Sharma has joined as Cluster Director of Finance and brings with her over 15 years of finance leadership and focussed domain experience in Accounting and Financial Management. She has expertise in strategic planning and execution, finance process transformation, supply chain management, compliance and controls, fund management and stakeholder management in a diverse cultural setup. Additionally, Sharma also heads the Finance department of the sister property Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks. 

Anubhav Lal has been appointed as the Cluster Director of Marketing and Communications. He has more than half a decade of experience in hospitality luxury sales and marketing. With a demonstrated ability to manage and build trusted relationships with the clients, Lal is also handling the responsibility of heading the marketing needs of the sister property Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks. In his last assignment, he was associated with Hilton Mumbai International Airport. In the past, he has worked with Cleartrip.com and Grand Hyatt Mumbai wherein he was actively involved in planning and executing the marketing strategies, based on business objectives and overall brand narrative.   

Abhishek Roy, Director of F&B, is a hospitality professional with over 17 years of experience in the F&B sector. With his ability to effectively manage operations in intensely competitive environments, Roy ensures high standards of customer service at all times. He has been recognised as the Best F&B Manager by FHRAI in the past. Roy is a well-rounded hotelier who has built a career in different locations with brands such as Accor, Leela, Taj and Marriott. 

Karishma Dutta has joined as the Director of Sales, in which role she will be responsible for Sales, New Business Development and Respective Account Management at the property. Over her more than 13 years of work experience, Dutta has been part of hospitality brands such as Shangri-La Hotels, The Leela Hotels and Marriott Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. 

Kunal Salooja has been appointed as the Director of Sales MICE. With close to two decades of hospitality experience, Salooja has been associated with brands such as Accor, The Oberoi and Hyatt in various capacities.  

Akanksha Katiyar, who has joined as Front Office Manager, has an experience spanning over a decade, specialising in areas like hiring, retention and training of front office teams. Prior to her stint at Hilton, she served in the capacity of Front Office Manager at Hyatt and has also worked with hospitality majors like St. Regis Doha and Marriott. 

Payal Joshi, in her position as Executive Housekeeper, has over 16 years of hospitality experience, having managed housekeeping and front office operations of hotel chains such as Taj, ITC, Fortune Park Hotels, Royal Orchid and Hyatt. She joined the Hilton group in 2018, with the Hilton Bangalore Embassy GolfLinks before being moved to the newly launched Hilton dual properties – Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn Bengaluru Embassy Manyata Business Park.  

Sivan Muppedathy has joined the hotel as Chief Engineer. At the Hilton Garden Inn Embassy Manyata Business Park, he focuses on implementing best practices that improve efficiency and reduce operating costs. He is a technical professional with over 26 years of experience in India and the Middle East during which he has extended his support to some hospitality majors like JW Marriott and Hyatt Regency amongst others.  

Vinod Nair has been appointed as Director of Security. Vinod has over three decades of experience in the domain of safety and loss prevention. As a former armed forces veteran, Vinod brings astute planning and detailing abilities and a strong understanding of law and safety regulations. Prior to this new role, he had worked as an Area Manager, Safety and Security for Hilton India.