This week Hugh Riley, who has served as the secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) for 10 years, announced that he will be retiring from the role at the end of June. Neil Walters, currently the CTO’s director of finance, will take over in the role until a successor is appointed. As secretary general Riley acted as the public face and chief spokesperson for the CTO.
In hotel news, Accor appointed Heather McCrory as CEO, North and Central America. She will also serve as a member of the group’s executive committee. In her new position, McCrory will have strategic oversight for over 115 hotels and more than 28,000 employees across North and Central America. She has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently serving as EVP of operations, North and Central America region for Accor.
Also this week Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts named Ben Trodd its SVP, sales and hotel marketing, a position that consolidates the hotel marketing, hotel sales and worldwide sales office teams under a single leader. The new role will task Trodd with improving the alignment between the three teams, as well as creating opportunities to optimize revenue and develop leadership talent across the organization. He has been with Four Seasons since 1995.
A number of individual properties also made new leadership appointments this week:
- The Dream Hollywood named Vaughn Pierre Davis its new general manager.
- Fernando Cardoso took over as general manager of the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta.
- Richard Bexon was appointed managing director of Villa Buena Onda in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Finally, in business travel news, this week RoomIt by CWT, the hotel distribution division of CWT, named Geoffrey Waldmiller as vice president of revenue optimization. Waldmiller, who has also served as chief revenue officer for Schulte Hospitality Group as well as in several executive roles with MGM Resorts International, will be responsible for streamlining the shopping process for CWT’s travelers.
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