It’s that time of the week again, folks! Put your hands together and give these fresh new faces a warm welcome.

Radisson Hotel Group appoints Hannes Bos as VP of commercial across APAC

Radisson Hotel Group™ has appointed Hannes Bos as its vice president of commercial for the Asia-Pacific region.

An experienced hotel professional and revenue leader, Bos was educated in the Netherlands and Sweden before embarking on his hospitality career with AMS Hotel Group in Amsterdam.

Specialising in revenue management, he also held senior management positions with Concorde Hotels in Paris and Millennium & Copthorne in London and Singapore.

Bos joined InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in 2008, initially as director of revenue management for the Middle East & Africa based in Dubai, and later as senior director of revenue strategy and operations support in Greater China, where he was responsible for more than 200 hotels.

Following spells with HotelBeds in Singapore and RateGain in India, Bos joined Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in Dubai as director of revenue management for the Middle East and Africa. Most recently, he worked for VinGroup, Vietnam’s leading tourism and hospitality conglomerate.

Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort welcomes Darren Shaw as GM

Darren Shaw

Darren Shaw has been appointed general manager at Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort.

No stranger to Fiji, Shaw was GM of the property which was then known as Outrigger on the Lagoon, Fiji from 2006 to 2009.

After leaving Fiji, he was appointed GM of the newly opened Outrigger Laguna Phuket Resort and Villas, Thailand in 2010.

For the last seven years, Shaw has been with Centara Hotels and Resorts in Thailand, first as general manager of Centara Karon Resort and Waterfront Suites by Centara in Phuket, and later as area general manager responsible for Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi, Centara Anda Devi Krabi, Centra Phu Pano and the new opening of Centara Anda Beach Resort & Spa.

In addition, Shaw was responsible for commercial bakery, laundry and host accommodation facilities.

Accor movers and shakers

Joshua Lusty has been appointed general manager at ibis Budget Wentworthville in NSW.

Joshua Lusty

Lusty started his career with Accor in 2012 as a front office all-rounder at Pullman, Novotel & ibis Sydney Olympic Park.

He also worked as a receptionist at ibis Budget St. Peters, Mercure Parramatta and ibis Sydney Airport before being promoted to assistant manager at ibis Sydney Airport.

Maria Seroukas has been appointed general manager at Mantra City Central in Melbourne.

Maria Seroukas

In her last role, Seroukas worked as a front office manager at Mantra St Kilda Road.

Over the past nine years, Seroukas has steadily developed her professional skills and experience since her commencement as food and beverage team leader at Mantra on Little Bourke.

Alison Baker has been appointed general manager at BreakFree Adelaide.

Alison Baker

Prior to this, Baker held the roles of GM at Mantra on Frome and hotel manager at Breakfree Director Studios in Adelaide.

Tate Manduku has been appointed GM at BreakFree on George in Sydney.

Tate Manduku

Manduku brings with him a wealth of experience, most recently working as operations manager at Fraser Suites Sydney.

Cameron Baker has been appointed GM at Mantra Lorne.

Cameron Baker

Prior to this, Baker was GM at The Sebel Melbourne Docklands and The Sebel Residences Melbourne Docklands, where he was managing 200 apartments across multiple buildings under Accor’s franchise agreement with Altitude Hotel Group.

Jumeirah appoints first chief culinary officer

Jumeirah Group has appointed Michael Ellis as chief culinary officer. The creation of this new role is an initial milestone in the group’s strategy to refresh and elevate its restaurant offerings throughout its luxury portfolio, and a first step in delivering his vision to put dining as a core pillar of the Jumeirah experience, and its strongest market differentiator.

Ellis joins from Michelin Restaurant and Hotel Guides, where he was global director for Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Ellis will focus on developing new restaurant concepts, attracting and upskilling culinary talent, and enhancing existing restaurants to industry-leading levels.

NSW gets new Bench face

Bench Africa has welcomed the latest addition to its team, as Bonnie-Sue O’Garey joins as new NSW/ACT state manager.

O’Garey has travelled Africa extensively after originally travelling to Africa to connect with her Malawian heritage and falling in love with the variety of experiences on offer.

O’Garey also previously worked for South African Tourism in London and worked with the UK/Irish Trade.

New chairman to head QAL through crucial expansion phase 

Experienced business executive and non-executive chairman and director John O’Neill has been appointed chairman of the Queensland Airports Limited (QAL) board following a national search.

O’Neill has been chairman of The Star Entertainment Group since 2012, and has an intimate knowledge of the tourism sector and a strong connection to Queensland after years of experience working in the industry and for companies with a focus on the state.

From 1987 until 2012, O’Neill held chief executive roles at The State Bank of NSW, Australian Rugby Union and Football Federation Australia. He has also been a non-executive director on other public company boards, including Tabcorp.

Crystal Expedition Cruises appoints Thomas Larsen to helm Crystal Endeavor

Crystal Expedition Cruises has announced that captain Thomas Larsen will bring out its upcoming luxury expedition yacht Crystal Endeavor, which will embark on her maiden voyage from Tokyo in August of 2020.

Larsen brings to the bridge decades of diverse nautical experience that began in his native Sweden and spans the cargo industry, Swedish Royal Navy, private super-yachts, and numerous cruise ships.

He joined Crystal in 2016 as Captain of Crystal Esprit before moving to Crystal Symphony, where he currently serves as captain.