On the Move: This Week’s Comings and Goings

On May 19, Jason T. Kalisman resigned from his position as interim chief executive officer of Morgans Hotel Group Co. He will remain a member of the board. While the board continues its search for a new chief executive officer, Richard Szymanski, chief financial officer, will fill the role of principal executive officer in the interim. Additionally, Morgans Hotel Group announced the appointment of Howard M. Lorber as chairman. He was already a member of the board.

Here are some more job moves that have occurred in the last week:

Exclusive Resorts announced that Cathy Ross has moved from chief operating officer to chief executive officer. Current CEO Phillippe Bourguignon will become executive co-chairman of the board. Ross joined Exclusive Resorts in 2003 as senior vice president of resale estate.

Laura M. Born and Sam Gilliland have been appointed as new board members of Carlson. Additionally, Scott C. Gage, who previously served on the board through 2012, has rejoined the board.

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Born currently serves as chair of the boards of trustees for Columbia Acorn Trust and Wanger Advisors Trust. She is also an associate adjunct professor of finance at the University of Chicago. Gilliland is an executive partner with Siris Capital Group and serves on the boards of Rackspace Hosting, Inc. and Gogo, Inc. Gage is currently co-CEO of Carlson Holdings, Inc. and is president and chief operating officer of Gage Outdoor Expeditions.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has also appointed Roger Chacko as executive vice president and chief branding and marketing officer. Chacko joined the company in 2014 on an interim basis and is responsible for all aspects of marketing and brand performance.

Joe Reardon has been promoted to Hotel Equities’ senior vice president of marketing and business development. Prior to joining the company in 2013, Reardon held the position of vice president of sales and marketing at Noble Investment-Interstate Hotels.

Varun Pathria has joined AssetAvenue as chief investment officer. Previously, Pathria was senior vice president at Colony Capital, a global real estate private equity firm in Los Angeles, for 11 years.

Susan Madsen has been named general manager of The Cornhusker, a Marriott Hotel in Lincoln, Neb. Previously, she served as general manager of the Embassy Suites Omaha Downtown/Old Market since 2008.

Caroline Dyal and Jimmy Blakeslee have joined Joie de Vivre’s The Hall hotel. Dyal has been appointed general manager. She previously worked as general manager for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, Calif., Hotel La Jolla in La Jolla, Calif., and sbe Hotels & Restaurants’ SLS Hotel South Beach and Raleigh South Beach.

Blakeslee has been named director of sales and marketing. A member of the Joie de Vivre team since 2013, he previously served as director of sales and marketing for the brand’s Washington, D.C. hotels.

Marc Taylor has been named catering sales manager of the Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/Del Mar campus. Taylor previously worked in a similar position at the Bristol Hotel in downtown San Diego, Freebirds World Burrito in Orange County, and Windmill Banquets and Catering in Carlsbad, Calif.

The Broadmoor announced the addition of Alison J. McDermott to the position of director of marketing. Most recently, McDermott was the director of marketing and public relations at Eden Roc Miami Beach Resort & Spa, A Destination Hotel.

Stephen Galvan and Kyra Oslund have joined the Portland-based Provenance Hotels as area director of sales and area human resources manager for Hotel Lucia, Hotel deLuxe, and Sentinel. Both Galvan and Oslund join Provenance Hotels having most recently held positions at The Heathman Portland.

Montage Deer Valley has named Victorio Gonzalez as resort manager and Afsi Behnam-Bird as director of rooms. Both Gonzalez and Behnam-Bird will contribute to enhancing the guest experience at Montage Deer Valley.

Dennis Hernandez, a hospitality sales veteran with 30 years of experience, has been named director of sales and marketing for the newly renovated Embassy Row Hotel, A Destination Hotel, in Washington, D.C.

Photo credit: Stairs to Success via Bigstock.

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