Names in the News 9-6-23

Appointments and promotions at Avianca Airlines, Choice Hotels International, Baccarat Hotel New York, Meliá Hotels International and Sonder.

Written by:

Harvey Chipkin

Published on:

September 6, 2023

Avianca Airlines has named COO Frederico Pedreira as deputy CEO, effective immediately. He has held his current position since 2021. Gabriel Oliva will take over as COO, while remaining CEO of cargo for the airline. Adrian Neuhauser will continue as CEO of Avianca and deputy CEO of the Abra Group, the holding company of Avianca and Gol airlines.

Sonder, a short-term accommodations provider, has named Chad Fletcher as vice president of sales. He will lead the company’s corporate travel strategy — a subdivision Sonder formally introduced in 2021. Fletcher had been vice president of global sales with Choice Hotels International, where he worked for more than five years. Prior to that, he was vice president of sales at Avis Budget Group, where he worked for nearly eight years.

Choice Hotels International announced executive appointments that, according to the announcement, position the company for continued future growth following its acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas and the integration of that company’s nine brands onto Choice’s central reservation system. The changes include:
• Dominic Dragisich has been promoted to chief global brand officer. He joined the company as CFO in 2017.

Scott Oaksmith was promoted to CFO. He has been with Choice for more than 20 years.
Raul Ramirez was promoted to chief segment and international operations officer. He has been with the company since 2017, most recently as chief strategy and international operations officer.
Anna Scozzafava has been promoted to chief strategy officer and senior vice president, technology. She had been senior vice president and general manager, extended stay brands. She has been with the company since 2012.

Baccarat Hotel New York has named Rick Corcoran as general manager. With 30 years of hotel experience, he was most recently general manager of 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge in New York. He has held various general manager positions with luxury brands in the US, Canada and the Middle East. Baccarat is a Forbes Five Star AAA Five Diamond property.

Meliá Hotels International has announced that its recently appointed CFO, Sonia Jerez Burdeus, is stepping down from her role due to personal reasons. The Mallorca-based group has announced the appointment of Ángel Luis Rodríguez Mendizábal, currently vice president of joint ventures and portfolio management in the real estate area, as the new CFO. He joined the group in 2004.