The latest appointments from American Express GBT, Etihad, Movenpick and more…

ELYES MRAD has been named as American Express Global Business Travel’s (GBT) new senior vice president & general manager of international, overseeing the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions.  David Reimer, who previously headed up Asia Pacific, has now left to lead GBT in North America.

RAY GAMMELL has been named as the interim group CEO of the Etihad Aviation Group, after it was announced that James Hogan will leave the company on 1 July. Gammell joined Etihad in 2009 and currently serves as chief people & performance officer. He previously worked for Intel and RBS.

ANDREW LANGDON has been named as Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts’ new chief development officer. He takes on the new role having led the Swiss hotel group in Asia for the past two years as senior vice president. Prior to that he was executive vice president of JLL Hotels in Asia.

JAIME FAUS ORELLANA has been appointed general manager of the Pullman Jakarta Indonesia. Originally from the Spanish island of Ibiza, Faus has spent the last 17 years with AccorHotels, most recently as vice president of operations in London, overseeing 13 properties.

OLIVIER LENOIR has been appointed general manager of Hyatt’s new Andaz Singapore, which is set to open in September. An experienced hotelier and Hyatt veteran, Lenoir most recently served as hotel manager at Grand Hyatt Singapore, and has also worked in Jakarta, Shenzhen and Taipei.

MARTIN HEINIGER has been hired as the new general manager of The Tongsai Bay, Koh Samui. A Swiss national, Heiniger has 30 years’ experience, almost 20 of which have been spent in Thailand. He has previously worked with large local brands including Amari, Centara and Dusit Thani.

BYRON KO has been appointed general manager of the new Hotel Vic on the Harbour, which is due to open on Hong Kong Island in the first half of 2018. A seasoned hotelier with more than 35 years’ experience, Ko most recently served as director of Hopewell Hospitality Management.

MARIO TAULIEN has been appointed general manager of the Centara Ceysands Resort & Spa in Sri Lanka. Taulien worked in his home country of Germany before moving to Malaysia. He then joined Centara and most recently served as resident manager of the Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui.

TAMSYN ALLEY has been announced as Destination NSW’s new general manager of communications. She joins the state tourism board having worked for some of Australia’s biggest travel companies, including Flight Centre, SkyCity Entertainment and Tourism Australia.

FRANKLYN D’COSTA has been appointed director of food & beverage at the Westin Resort Nusa Dua in Bali. He moves to the island from the UK, where he served as operations manager for the De Vere Cotswold Water Park, a luxury hotel and event venue. He has also worked for Fairmont.