By BW Hotelier SUNIL GUPTA has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer of WelcomHeritage Hotels with effect from December 2015. He brings along an experience of 30 years in the hospitality industry and is associated with ITC Hotels since 1995. He has served at various positions at ITC Hotels in the span of 20 years. For the past seven years, he was the General Manager at ITC Rajputana, Jaipur.
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By BW Hotelier ABSOLUTE HOTEL Services India has appointed Sangay Rinchen as General Manager of Eastin Easy Kurseong Darjeeling first International brand in Kurseong, Darjeeling opening in March 2016. In his new role, Sangay will be responsible for overseeing the pre- opening and operation of the hotel, ensuring the optimal level of guest and employee satisfaction and achieve the budgeted profits. Sangay Rinchen, amiable Bhutanese National, brings along with more than 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry, his last assignment being Hotel Manager of Hotel Migmar in Thimpu, Bhutan. He holds a Diploma in Hotel Management from HWZ University, Zurich. Food & Beverage is his core competency and has worked closely on tourism projects with the Government of Bhutan. Shalil Suvarna, VP - Operations & Pre-Opening ’ Indian continent & Middle East, Absolute Hotel Services India, said, ’We are delighted to have Sangay lead the team at Eastin Easy Kurseong Darjeeling. Along with his ability, attitude and experience his strengths include working in a mountainous habitat, proficiency in Nepalese language, which is the local language. This together would be key in moving the pre-opening phase into operations, thereby showcasing Eastin Easy Kurseong Darjeeling as first International Brand, creating a new destination in Darjeeling, West Bengal.’
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By BW Hotelier BERNARD MARTYRIS, Chief of Human Resources of VFS Global, has been appointed as the Group Chief Human Resources Officer of Kuoni Group. Kuoni Group is VFS Global’s parent company. In his new role, Martyris is responsible for the overall Group’s HR strategy, leadership development, and talent and performance management. Martyris joined VFS Global in 2004 and led the corporate HR function of Kuoni Group on an interim basis from 2013 till the beginning of 2015. He will be based in Dubai from where he will concurrently continue in his current VFS Global role. This move comes as part of amendments made to the management structure of the Kuoni Group as part of the accelerated implementation of the Group’s strategy. As part of this strategy, the three divisions of Kuoni Group will be made more autonomous and accountable for their respective businesses. Martyris has over 35 years of experience in handling human resources and over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry. He has held long standing senior management positions at the Oberoi Group and at the Taj Group of Hotels. Through his association with the Tata Group, Martyris also served as an independent Director on the Board of Tata Coffee in 2003. On the international front Bernard was the first Indian HR professional to be invited to join the HR Council of the Conference Board of USA, which includes the top HR professionals of Fortune 500 companies. Additionally between 2007 and 2009, Martyris held the position of Chairman of the HR Committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce. Martyris graduated from Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in 1976.
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By BW Hotelier ZUBIN KARKARIA, CEO of VFS Global, has been appointed as the CEO of Kuoni Group ’ VFS Global’s parent company effective November 5, 2015.- He is the first Indian to be appointed as the head of the 109-year old travel services company, and will concurrently continue in his function as the CEO of VFS Global. He will continue to be based in Dubai, UAE. Kuoni is in the midst of implementing a strategic directional shift whereby it has exited from its traditional tour operating business and is increasing its focus on three core activities ’ global travel distribution, destination services and visa services ’ in all of which it holds leading positions. After exiting the tour operating business, Kuoni is aiming to accelerate the implementation of its new corporate strategy, and that will be one of Karkaria’s key priorities in his new role. Karkaria founded VFS Global in 2001 and expanded the company successfully as global leader in visa services for governments worldwide. Within the Kuoni Group the VFS Global Division has shown the strongest growth and profitability. VFS Global serves 32 client governments, with 314 visa application centres across 19 cities in the country. The company has served the Government of India since 2008, in 8 countries.
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DHIREN SAVLA, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of VFS Global and SVP & Head of Global IT (Shared Service Centre) for Kuoni Group, has been appointed as Group CIO of Kuoni Group. In his role, he is responsible for providing strategic leadership to the IT function and strengthening the company’s global IT delivery model across geographies.
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By Rashmi Pradhan WITH 25 years in the business, 13 of those with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Anuraag Bhatnagar is looking forward to his new role as Area General Manager India, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and General Manager of St. Regis’s first South Asia hotel recently opened in Mumbai. Speaking on the transformation process for the hotel, which used to be the Palladium before, Bhatnagar said, ’We had three to six months to plan and prepare before starting full-fledged operations under the St. Regis brand. Since the hotel was already operational when Starwood took over the management, there were multiple challenges. We had to upgrade and enhance the kitchen and ensure that back areas and food production didn’t suffer. While enhancing associate lockers, we also had to ensure that associates didn’t suffer. We have made significant changes not only in terms of design but also things that matters to guests. We invested and created a butler pantry on each floor to ensure quick service for our guests. We also created the also infrastructure to support the service. Then we changed the lobby to a drawing room and changed the supporting kitchens to support the drawing room.’ Bhatnagar shared his marketing strategy telling us that the hotel was focusing on selling its 39 residential suites. ’It is a unique product; a hotel within a hotel. We have a separate sales strategy for each of the segments including MICE, corporates, weekend travelers, and weddings,’ he added Bhatnagar told us that St Regis as a brand was a first in India, and that they were working hard to change the mindset of the customer. ’We had a high pre-opening budget of which 20 per cent was kept aside for training and orientation. All our associates including myself underwent a brand immersion training. Investment on associates’ training, brand emersion and educating the associates on St. Regis rituals is crucial so that it becomes the part of our DNA,’ he said. When asked about his journey with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Bhatnagar said, ’It has been an amazing journey. I am primarily from the F&B department and it’s been a great learning curve for me. My last assignment was as the Area General Manager for Westin Mumbai--another enhancement in terms of how to compete with other established global brands in a tough competitive set up where you have the best international brands all in a 5 to 10 kilometre radius. I believe that journey has lead to this. Starwood entrusting me with the responsibility of leading the first St Regis in South Asia, which is a fantastic opportunity.’ The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
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By BW Hotelier HILTON BANGALORE Embassy GolfLinks has appointed Parag Sawhney as General Manager. Sawhney has over 15 years of experience in hotel operations including general management, food and beverage management, front office management and guest relations across the Middle East, United Kingdom and India. Most recently, he was General Manager for Hilton Chennai. Sawhney began his career as a management trainee in Pune, India, at Hotel Kundan Palace and then at Holiday Inn. After stints at Grand Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai and Renaissance Hotel in Dubai, he joined Hilton Worldwide in 2006 on being appointed Front Office Leader at Hilton St. Anne's Manor, United Kingdom. He proceeded to take charge as Front of House Manager at the hotel, before moving on to Hilton London Green Park as Deputy Hotel Manager. Parag relocated to India in May 2013 and joined Hilton Chennai as Director of Operations. Parag earned his Bachelor's Degree in Hotel Management and Catering Technology from Dr. D Y. Patil Institute of Hotel Management, Pune, India, and Master's Degree in Business Administration from Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom.
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By BW Hotelier EREVMAX INTERNATIONAL,-provider of hospitality technology and distribution solutions has appointed Jyoti Kumar Saraf as Chief Financial Officer to spearhead its international financial operations. Saraf joined the company as VP ’ Finance in August this year and has now been promoted as Chief Financial Officer following his exceptional performance over the last few months. He is a highly accomplished finance professional and brings over 22 years of relevant experience across multiple sectors. He will be overseeing all financial management and reporting, including corporate accounting for the company globally. Reuel Ghosh, Founder and CEO, eRevMax commented, ’I am delighted to announce Jyoti’s appointment as Chief Financial Officer for eRevMax International. Jyoti has shown a high level of professionalism, dedication and strong business analytical skills over the last few months in his VP ’ Finance role. He is ideally suited to take on the role of CFO for our global operations. I look forward to continue working with him closely through the many opportunities ahead that will utilize his strong leadership abilities.’ Prior to joining eRevMax, Saraf was associated with Reliance Communications Limited as Assistant Vice President, Finance & Commercial Head. He has also worked with Usha Martin Limited and PricewaterhouseCoopers.-Saraf has completed Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
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