Auberge Resorts, Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Main Street Hospitality, Aimbridge, Highgate and Hotel Equities have appointed new executives this month.
Auberge Resorts Collection
Auberge Resorts Collection made four new leadership appointments to kick off the month, promoting Tijs Klerx, Marco Bustamante, Bryan Woody and Caitlin McConnell to vice president in their respective fields of operations, food and beverage and marketing.
Klerx is now VP of operations, openings and transitions. Klerx joined the brand in 2022 and helped open Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection (Hudson Valley, N.Y.). Over the next few years, Klerx will help lead several of the brand’s new openings, including Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection (Fort Worth, Texas), The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection (Kiawah River, S.C.) and Shell Bay, Auberge Resorts Collection (Greater Miami, Fla.), in addition to providing oversight to Auberge's three other Northeast hotels. Before joining Auberge, Klerx opened several hotels with Viceroy Hotels & Resorts and was GM of The West Hollywood Edition.
Bustamante, who started his tenure with Auberge Resorts Collection in 2016, was promoted to VP of food and beverage. Throughout his seven years with the brand, he has led the opening teams of the Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection (Los Cabos, Mexico) and Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection (Austin, Texas). He also was interim general manager of Mayflower Inn & Spa, Auberge Resorts Collection (Litchfield County, Conn.) and group director of operations at the brand’s home office in Mill Valley. He oversaw the openings of Lutie’s at Commodore Perry Estate and COMAL at Chileno Bay. Bustamate also worked with three Michelin Star restaurants in New York City and has a culinary education from The French Culinary Institute.
Woody was promoted to regional VP of Auberge Resorts Collection. In this new role, Woody will oversee the brand’s destinations in the Rockies, including Goldener Hirsch, Auberge Resorts Collection (Deer Valley, Utah), The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection (Park City, Utah) and Sleeping Indian Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection (Ridgeway, Colo.). Woody will remain located at the Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection (Telluride, Colo.), where he has been general manager since 2021. Over the last several years, Woody stewarded an extensive renovation of the resort, including the launch of Timber Room. Woody joined Auberge Resorts Collection after many years in New York City, where he held several senior leadership roles with Spring Place, The Waldorf-Astoria, Morgans Hotel Group, The Ritz-Carlton and Chef Gordon Ramsay.
McConnell was promoted to VP of marketing, openings and transitions. Since joining the brand in 2020, McConnell has opened seven Auberge hotels, including Hacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Resorts Collection (Costa Rica), Etereo, Auberge Resorts Collection (Riviera Maya, Mexico), Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection (Napa, Calif.), Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection (Hudson Valley, N.Y.), Susurros del Corazon, Auberge Resorts Collection (Punta de Mita, Mexico), The Inn at Mattei's Tavern, Auberge Resorts Collection (Los Olivos, Calif.) and Domaine des Etangs, Auberge Resorts Collection (Massignac, France). Before joining Auberge, McConnell was director of marketing at The Standard Hotels, overseeing the portfolio’s existing domestic hotels as well as its international expansion in London, The Maldives and Ibiza.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas
The upcoming Fontainebleau Las Vegas has set leadership appointments ahead of its December opening. The long-delayed project is a joint development by Koch Real Estate Investments and Fontainebleau Development, founded by Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Soffer and led with President Brett Mufson. Mark Tricano is the new president of the resort, assuming the role provisionally held by Mufson.
Tricano has worked with Hong Kong-based Galaxy Entertainment Group, Caesars Entertainment, Station Casinos and Jack Entertainment. Most recently in Macau, Tricano was SVP of gaming development and optimization services, labor planning and hotel revenue management for Galaxy Entertainment Group. In Las Vegas, Tricano led Station Casinos’ Red Rock Resort, Casino and Spa as vice president and general manager. He also held executive leadership and finance roles for Caesars Entertainment, including VP and assistant GM and director of finance in multiple jurisdictions domestically.
Michelle Reda, a 25-year veteran of luxury hospitality and casino marketing for Las Vegas resorts, is the new chief casino marketing officer for Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Reda has 13 years of experience in multiple roles at Wynn Resorts, including vice president of casino marketing. She was on the opening team of Encore Las Vegas in 2008, developing the company’s domestic independent agent program while overseeing its domestic branch office. Before joining Wynn Resorts, Reda spent seven years with Caesars Entertainment as director of national casino marketing.
Kimberly Virtuoso, who joined Fontainebleau Las Vegas last year as VP of people, was promoted to SVP of people, overseeing the resort’s human resources strategy. She recently launched the online recruitment portal that will lead to the hiring of future Fontainebleau Las Vegas employees. Virtuoso is a certified HR leader who previously was executive director of corporate human resources for MGM Resorts International.
Main Street Hospitality
Main Street Hospitality made key appointments to its leadership team, both at home office and in the field with the promotion of Greta Kipp as the new chief operating officer, Brian Smith joining as regional director of operations and Suzi Darre as VP of human resources.
Kipp joined the group upon its founding in 2014 and has held leadership roles in operations, revenue management, sales, marketing, finance, and IT. As COO, Kipp will implement strategies to support Main Street’s growth by providing property teams with the resources they need to achieve business goals and making sure infrastructure is built strategically to support expansion.
Smith joined as regional director of operations, reporting directly to Kipp. Smith has held previous management positions with Kimpton Nine Zero Boston, Hilton and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. He will manage the overall operations of a dedicated group of Main Street Hospitality hotels and restaurants.
Suzi Darre joined the company as VP of human resources. Darre has worked as director of talent across 11 states for The Carlyle, a Rosewood hotel; The Surrey, a Relais & Chateaux hotel; and the Auberge Resorts Collection.
Aimbridge Hospitality
Aimbridge Hospitality appointed marketing and communications executive Stephanie Peterson to its newly created senior executive role of head of marketing and communications. Peterson will oversee all marketing and communications duties at Aimbridge Hospitality, including working directly with President and CEO Michael Deitemeyer.
Peterson has more than 20 years of experience in consumer and corporate communications, marketing and B2B strategies. Most recently, she was head of communications – North America for Kraft Heinz, where she designed the communications strategy and led all internal communications, corporate communications and brand public relations for the U.S. and Canada.
Highgate
Highgate appointed Mike Uwe Dickersbach chief digital officer. In this newly created role, Dickersbach will be responsible for identifying and implementing technologies for the company. Dickersbach also will support Highgate's growing hotel portfolio by developing technology and intelligence initiatives.
Dickersbach is re-joining Highgate after working as the company's chief technology officer from 2015-2017. Since then, he held numerous leadership roles including director of technology projects at HEI Hotels & Resorts and EVP and chief strategy officer at RipplePoint. Most recently, he was VP, global hospitality services at Infor.
Hotel Equities
Hotel Equities promoted Marissa Little to talent manager and Michaelanne Colarelli is promoted to marketing manager. Little previously was talent coordinator where she managed the various aspects of talent acquisition and development. In her new role, Little will be responsible for facilitating talent development and retention strategies across HE’s expanding portfolio of hotels. She holds a degree in hospitality administration from Georgia State University and is a graduate of HE’s 2018 Manager in Training program. She was also named among Hotel Management Magazine’s Thirty under 30 rising stars in the Hotel Industry.
Colarelli previously was office and events coordinator where she contributed to cultivating key relationships and attracting new business. Colarelli will spearhead the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies. Her entry role with HE was assisting in launching a successful new brand within the company’s portfolio of restaurants/entertainment venues.