Choice Hotels International has accelerated its management-succession plan, appointing Stephen Joyce to the CEO position. Joyce, who replaces Charles Ledsinger Jr., was originally scheduled to take over as CEO in October.
Choice Hotels International has accelerated its management-succession plan, appointing Stephen Joyce to the CEO position. Joyce, who replaces Charles Ledsinger Jr., was originally scheduled to take over as CEO in October. Ledsinger remains as non-executive vice chairman of the board. Joyce, who joined Choice in May as president and chief operating officer, had been at Marriott for 25 years.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has promoted Paul Sacco to senior vice president of North America development. Sacco started his career with Starwood in 2003, as vice president of the managed and franchised team for all brands. Starting in 2005, he also was involved with the evolution of the Aloft and Element brands.
FCm Travel Solutions has appointed Gregory Lording president for North America. Lording has held senior management positions with FCm and parent company
Flight Centre Limited for the past eight years. He will now focus on growing FCm Travel Solutions' network of approximately 30 corporate travel centers and 500 employees across North America and Canada. In addition, John Beauvais has been named vice president of air contracting and distribution; and Cameron McLeod, business development manager, both for FCm Travel Solutions. Beauvais most recently was vice president of supplier relations for Flight Centre North America, parent of FCm. McLeod most recently was business manager at the global headquarters of Flight Centre Ltd. in Australia.
Hotel Sourcing Alliance has named John Lowry and Nicole Hackett managing directors of sales and marketing. Prior to joining HSA, Lowry was manager of meeting planning and the hotel program for Altria Group (previously Philip Morris Management Corp.). Hackett was Millennium Hotels' global director of business travel sales.
StarCite, a provider of web-based solutions for meetings, has named Gregory Dukat CEO. Prior to joining StarCite, Dukat served as CEO of Ventyx, a provider of service delivery management solutions for energy, utility and other asset-intensive organizations. Before Ventyx, he was CEO for 180Commerce Inc., a provider of reverse supply chain software; and vice president and GM for the southern region at J.D. Edwards World Solutions Company (later acquired by PeopleSoft).
Worktopia has appointed Joan Rothman as Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately, for its online meeting reservation service. In the new position, Rothman will be responsible for all inbound and outbound marketing initiatives and corporate communications. She will be based out of Worktopia's White Plains headquarters. Previously, Rothman was vice president of marketing at AuthentiDate Holding Corp., a security software and services company. Prior to that, she was vice president of global solutions marketing at IBM, and a senior vice president at Dun & Bradstreet, working in globalization projects at both companies.
Cornerstone International has signed on David Wardell as senior consultant in all aspects of general consulting, including providing application consulting for all Cornerstone tools. His past experience includes consultancy roles at the US General Services Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Republic of Ireland. Also joining the Cornerstone team is Pauline Jamardo, who will serve as business development manager, employing her 17 years of extensive sales experience in the travel industry. In the past, Jamardo has worked with NuTravel Technology Solutions, Orbitz for Business and VTS/Directravel.
JPMorgan Treasury Services has added Eduardo Vergara as its global commercial card executive, responsible for the day-to-day management of JPMorgan's global commercial card business and for setting and implementing the global strategic direction for JPMorgan's commercial card products. Most recently, Vergara headed global product management and marketing for global commercial card at American Express. He has also held similar positions at Bank of America and was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Co., where he focused on card and payment strategy for financial institutions.
Travelocity Business has appointed DeAnne Dale to lead its sales team and all sales-related functions. The move marks an expanded leadership role for Dale, who has managed the agency's account management and consulting teams since her arrival at TBiz in 2005. Her formal title is now vice president of sales and account management.
Advantage Rent A Car has appointed Robert Thunell as vice president of sales, responsible for directing local and national sales efforts, and developing strategic partnerships for the company. Thunell previously was with the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group.
The Denver Metro CVB has named Aretha N. Kelly its sales manager for the Washington D.C. region. Prior to joining the Denver bureau, Kelly was with Kimpton Hotels for six years where she started as sales manager and advanced to associate director of sales.
Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) has expanded its national sales team in the northeast and midwest with the addition of two new professionals: Valerie Parlo, now director of sales, working with meeting professionals and incentive specialists in the New York City area; and Daniel Lopes, as director of sales for the Midwest team. Parlo previously was director of national accounts with Marriott. Lopes most recently was director of regional accounts for the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA.
HelmsBriscoe has named Judi McLaughlin to its corporate leadership team as managing director for the greater New York area. In this role, McLaughlin will assist other HelmsBriscoe associates with sales initiatives, business planning and client retention efforts. Most recently, she was with Maritz Travel Company as the senior director of industry relations and sourcing.
PrivatAir has appointed Edgar van Schaik as vice president charter sales, based at the company's headquarters in Geneva. He will be responsible for overseeing the ongoing expansion of the charter sales division.
Pegasus Solutions has named Ric Leutwyler president of Pegasus' hotel representation services, including Utell Hotels & Resorts and Unirez by Pegasus. Leutwyler previously held various senior vice president and vice president positions for Best Western.
Frontier Airlines has promoted Edward (Ted) Christie III to senior vice president and CFO, succeeding Paul Tate, who recently resigned that post. Christie had been serving as senior vice president of finance.
Extended Stay Hotels has appointed Robert Micklash chief operating officer. Micklash will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Extended Stay Hotels as well as oversight of corporate support departments. Micklash joins Extended Stay Hotels following 11 years at Concord Hospitality Enterprises, a hotel management and development group based in Raleigh, NC, where he most recently served at chief operating officer.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced that Stevan Porter, president of IHG's Americas region, is undertaking medical treatment that necessitates him relinquishing his responsibilities. IHG's finance director, Richard Solomons, has been appointed interim president of the Americas region in addition to his existing duties.