It’s been a big week for appointments in the convention and hotel space.
This week Steve Hill was named the next CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Effective September 1, Hill will succeed current CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, who is retiring. Hill has been a Las Vegas resident for more than 30 years, working in concrete and materials, as well as the first director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), where he guided the development of “Moving Nevada Forward,” a plan that aimed to diversify Nevada’s economy.
In other convention news this week, the Miami Beach Convention Center named Freddi Peterson as its new general manager. Peterson, who most recently spent two decades leading the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), will take the helm of the new venue as it wraps a $620 million renovation and expansion project.
In New Zealand, Te Pae, the Christchurch Convention Center, appointed Gillian Officer as its new director of sales, effective this week. She was previously the director of sales – conventions and outcatering at SkyCity based in Auckland, and has held similar roles with the Wellington Convention Centre and The Edge, Auckland Convention Centre. The move comes as the venue gears up for its opening in the second half of 2020.
In hotel news, The Castle Group, Inc., the parent company of Castle Resorts & Hotels, promoted Alan Mattson from president and chief operating officer to president and chief executive officer this week. He succeeds Rick Wall, the organization’s former CEO, who passed away this May. Mattson joined Castle Resorts & Hotels in 1999 as senior vice president of sales and marketing and was promoted to president and chief operating officer in 2005.
Also this week Teneo Hospitality Group named Susan Hinfey its director of sales, Western U.S. Most recently the director of national accounts for The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Hinfey will concentrate on the global representation firm’s West Coast territory.
A number of hotels also made senior leadership appointments this week:
- The Fairmont St. Andrews appointed Dan Naudo as its new director of golf.
- The W Kuala Lumpur named Nikie Mok its new director of sales and marketing.
- Mohegan Sun Pocono announced the appointment of Gary DeWitt Jr. as assistant GM.
- Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa in western Colorado named a new leadership team: Tim Johnson as GM and Mark Shine as director of sales and marketing.
- The Hotel Amapa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, named Alessandro Stifani its new GM ahead of its opening in early 2019.
- Carmel Valley Ranch named Giuseppe Lama its new managing director.
- The Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco named Joerg Rodig its new GM.
- Finally, Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club in Anna Maria Island, FL, made three additions to its executive team: Christopher Hunter as GM, Noland Dunnan as food and beverage manager and Vincent Isbell as director of engineering.
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