StarCite Inc. has announced that Kevin Iwamoto, formerly global commodity manager at Hewlett-Packard, has joined the company as vice president of enterprise strategy. Iwamoto brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role at StarCite, where he will be a key figure in both client and industry relations, guiding StarCite's overall strategy for engaging with buyers and suppliers. He also has served as chairman and president of the National Business Travel Association board of directors and has been widely honored for his numerous industry contributions and leadership.
The Dow Hotel Company, a hotel ownership and third-party management company, has promoted two of its senior general managers, Michael Pitstick and Steven Falciani, to the newly created positions of regional vice presidents of operations. Both will be based out of Dow's corporate office in Seattle, each responsible for all operational aspects of the company-owned and managed hotels in their respective regions. Pitstick previously was general manager of the Bellevue (Washington) Hilton and DHC's vice president of sales and marketing. Falciani has been general manager and regional director of the 371-room Marriott Suites Anaheim.
TRX has promoted Shane Hammond to CEO, succeeding Trip Davis, who assumes the chairman role at the travel technology company. Davis succeeds Joop Drechsel, who is the CEO of BCD Holdings, TRX's largest shareholder. Hammond, a six-year veteran at TRX, most recently was in charge of management, product development and delivery of RESX, the company's self-booking tool for corporate travelers.
Acquis Consulting Group, a boutique management consulting firm headquartered in New York City, has appointed Greeley Koch its director of strategic development. Koch, who will be based in Chicago, most recently served as vice president of corporate solutions at TRX. He has also held positions at TQ3 Navigant, Bank of America and Abbott Laboratories. Koch is chairman of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) Centre for Research & Education. He also served as President of ACTE from 2005 to 2007.
Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, has realigned the company's senior leadership. Brad Tilden, previously Alaska Air Group's CFO and executive vice president of finance and planning, has been elected president of Alaska Airlines. Glenn Johnson replaces Tilden as chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance. He formerly was Alaska Airlines' executive vice president of airport services/maintenance and engineering. Ben Minicucci was named Alaska Airlines' chief operating officer and executive vice president of operations. He previously was vice president of Seattle operations. Andrew Harrison was named vice president of Alaska Air Group's planning and revenue management. He had been managing director of planning. As part of the changes, Gregg Saretsky, formerly Alaska Airlines' executive vice president of flight and marketing, left the company.
American Marketing Group (AMG — the parent company of Travelsavers, NEST, Travel Helpline, agent24 and others) has hired Cheryl B. Weldon to head its new travel agency group under The Affluent Traveler Collection. Previously vice president of major accounts at Worldspan, Weldon will have among her new responsibilities the development and management of travel agency and preferred supplier relationships, as well as marketing and technology efforts for the organization.
Atlas Travel Internationalhas hired Kelly Christner to oversee development of its new western division, which was opened in St. Louis on December 1. Christner comes to Atlas from American Airlines, where she was directly responsible for year-over-year sales increases of more than 20 percent, and managed more than $40 million in revenue per year. Atlas plans to increase the number of customer service agents and operational support staff in the new Western Division as well as to expand its IT and finance departments.
United Airlines has named Gregory Kaldahl vice president of resource planning, responsible for route planning, network development and capacity planning. Since August 2006, Kaldahl has served as managing director of international planning and scheduling.
Amadeus has announced that José Antonio Tazón, the company's president and CEO since 1990, has stepped down, effective January 1, and become chairman of the board. David Jones, who has headed up global commercial operations at Amadeus since 1992, takes over as CEO. Also effective January 1, Luis Maroto, Amadeus' chief financial officer, has been appointed to the additional role of deputy CEO, with responsibility for Amadeus' corporate strategy. Philippe Chérèque, currently senior vice president of corporate strategy, will replace Jones as head of commercial operations worldwide. Chérèque has been with Amadeus since the creation of the company in 1987.
American Airlines has named Doug Herring vice president of operations finance and strategic planning. Herring had been president and CEO of American Beacon Advisors up until American sold that subsidiary to Lighthouse Holdings earlier this year.
Dolce Hotels and Resorts, a hospitality company specializing in meetings and events, has named Steven Rudnitsky president and CEO. Rudnitsky stepped down as president and CEO of Wyndham Hotel Group in September.
Frontier Airlines has announced that Cameron Kenyon, the company's vice president of flight operations, has been named interim president of its Denver-based regional airline Lynx Aviation. Lynx is a subsidiary of Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc., and operates feeder service for Frontier. Kenyon replaces Tom Nunn, who resigned in early November.
Hilton Hotels Corporation has appointed Paul J. Brown as president of global brands and shared services, responsible for leading the company's brands and its shared services platform. He will be based in Beverly Hills. Brown joins Hilton from Expedia Inc., where he served as president of both Expedia North America and of the Partner Services Group. Prior to that, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, based in London and leading the firm's global travel and hospitality practice. He has also help positions at InterContinental Hotels Group and The Boston Consulting Group.
Oneworld airline alliance has named Gerard Arpey, chairman and CEO of American Airlines, to be chairman of its governing board. He succeeds Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon, who has held the post for two years. Arpey was elected chairman of American Airlines and its parent AMR Corporation in May 2004 after serving as president and CEO of both since April 2003. He had been president and COO of both companies from April 2002. Dixon is retiring as Qantas CEO at the end of November.
