New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Hyatt Regency Gurgaon
Roger Wright has been appointed general manager of Hyatt Regency Gurgaon. He joins the 451 room Hyatt Regency Gurgaon with over 30 years of international hotel experience. Wright has led 12 five-star and five-star deluxe business and leisure Hyatt and internationally branded hotels across the Asia and Pacific Region. A native New Zealander, he first joined Hyatt as pre-opening director of rooms of the Hyatt Regency Fiji.He then moved to various Hyatt Regency properties including the Hyatt Monterey in California followed by general manager positions at the Hyatt Kingsgate Rotorua, Hyatt Regency Mumbai, Hyatt Regency Cheju in South Korea and the Grand Hyatt Beijing in the P.R.China.
Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
Taljinder Singh has joined the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai as general manager and area director Mumbai. Singh joins the Taj Group’s flagship hotel after completing a six year stint as general manager at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. In his new role, Singh’s responsibilities would entail overlooking operations across all Mumbai properties including the Taj Mahal Palace, Taj Lands End, Vivanta by Taj- President, Taj Wellington Mews and Taj Santacruz.
Chef Amit Chowdhury has joined as executive chef. Chef Chowdhury joins the Taj’s flagship hotel after a decade of service at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi. He began his journey with the Taj as a trainee chef at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai and has moved steadily up the ladder becoming an assistant chef in 1986, junior sous chef in 1990, sous chef in 1994 and executive chef in 1996 at the erstwhile exclusive boutique hotel run by Taj, The Princeton, Dubai. Popular for his signature eclectic modern Indian cuisine, he has had the privilege of being trained by chefs from The Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu.
ITDC
Umang Narula has been appointed as chairman and managing director of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). He succeeds Girish Shankar, additional secretary, Ministry of Tourism who was also holding additional charge of managing director, ITDC. An IAS officer of 1989 batch, Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Narula was chief electoral officer (CEO) of Jammu & Kashmir prior to this role. As CEO of Jammu & Kashmir, he conducted the Lok Sabha Elections and the Jammu & Kashmir State Assembly elections in 2014. He was also deputy secretary in the Department of Culture under the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture in 1998-2002. He also worked as director in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Keys Hotels
Keys Hotels has announced the appointment of two new general managers. The group has appointed Somusundaram Thevar and Ajit Abraham as general managers to head its hotels in Mumbai and Ludhiana respectively. Thevar, who holds an MBA from the Institute of Technology and Management in Thane, has spent over 15 years in the industry. He began his career as a trainee cook with the Oberoi and has since worked with some of the most renowned names in the hospitality space such as the Taj and the Royal Caribbean, gaining experience in all aspects of F&B, hotel operations, administration, budgeting and statutory compliance processes. He joins Keys Hotels from Royal Palms.
Abraham’s experience in the hospitality space spans 13 years in which he has fulfilled several roles like front office operations, business development, operations management, customer relationship management and excellence in guest satisfaction. He began his career at the Pride Hotel, Ahmedabad and has since worked at the Flora Grand Hotel in Dubai, Hotel Inder Residency in Udaipur and the Lords Group of Hotels, Gujarat. He joins Keys from Ginger Hotels where he was general manager at Delhi NCR Hotels.
Le Meridien Mahabaleshwar Resort & Spa
Le Meridien Mahabaleshwar Resort & Spa has announced the appointment of Chef Arindam Bhattacharya as executive chef. He will be seen putting together and overseeing gourmet ensembles as a chef in this new resort launched under the Le Meridien banner. His 15 years of work experience comes with roles he essayed for other hotel chains such as the Hyatt International, Taj Hotels & Resorts, Carlson Rezidor Worldwide, The Park Group of Hotels. In his last assignment he was seen working as the executive chef at Hidden Valley in Saudi Arabia.
Vikas Sharma has been appointed as manager of F&B. His role with Starwood Hotels and Resort commenced a year back and he will be seen supervising the F&B space. His prior work experience includes his role essayed with the Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree as well as a Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology (DHMCT).
Accor Hotels
Gaurav Bhushan has been appointed chief development officer, Accor Hotels. In this capacity he will report directly to Sébastien Bazin, chief executive officer of AccorHotels, and will continue to be directly responsible for the development of the Asia Pacific region under Michael Issenberg, chief executive officer of HotelServices Asia Pacific. Bhushan has an MBA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investments from the Securities Institute of Australia. He began his career with Accor Hotels in 1995 in Australia. He was appointed chief development officer for Australia, New Zealand and Japan and extended his area of responsibility to become VP development for North Asia and the Pacific in 2004.
