Meeting News - June 16, 2008 - (Page 16)

People Making News Ross Klein, Lifestyle Czar, Exchanges Starwood for Hilton Ross Klein, formerly president of luxury brands at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has been tapped by Hilton Hotels Corp. to be its global head of luxury and lifestyle brands. Klein has been responsible for the success of Starwood’s W properties and the launch of aloft—the upscale motel retro brand. Hilton expects Klein to spearhead its assault on the competitors it currently trails in the “luxury cachet” segment. For this, he is emininently qualified, having previously served as senior VP of corporate marketing for Ralph Lauren and the Polo Jeans Company, where he was responsible for all aspects of marketing for Polo Jeans Company, Ralph by Ralph Lauren, and Lauren by Ralph Lauren, including the development of strategic marketing plans and creative communication programs for all three lifestyle brands. 18 years. His practice was focused on real estate transactions and litigation, primarily in the hospitality and senior living areas. For the past three years, Lucas has been an adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University Law School, where he taught a course on real estate transactions. Last year, he was named one of the top real estate litigators in Washington, DC, by the Washington Business Journal. s Kevin Jacobs, senior VP of corporate strategy. Jacobs joins Hilton from Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, where he was senior VP of mergers and acquisitions and treasurer. In that capacity, he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing potential mergers, acquisitions, or other strategic corporate transactions, and leading the company’s corporate strategic and business planning efforts. As treasurer, he oversaw the company’s corporate finance, capital markets, and treasury and cash management activities globally. Prior to joining Fairmont Raffles, Jacobs spent seven years with Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., most recently as VP of corporate finance and investor relations, in which capacity he led the company’s strategic planning and investor relations functions. Prior to joining Host, Jacobs held various roles in the Hospitality Consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. s Phil Cordell, global head of focused service brands. A veteran of the hospitality industry with a career spanning 25 years, Cordell held various positions with Promus Hotel Corp., both at the hotel and brand levels, with a variety of brands within the Promus portfolio. He has served for nine years as senior VP for Hampton Hotels, following the Hilton acquisition of Promus in late 1999. During that time, he was instrumental in helping grow the brand to its current portfolio of more than 1,600 hotels, partially the result of overseeing the Make it Hampton initiative in the mid2000s, the single largest brand revitalization in the hotel industry. s William Fortier, senior VP of development, Americas. An integral part of Hilton Hotels Corp. since joining the company in 1996, Fortier has been instrumental in overseeing a franchise development team that has contributed significantly to the current Hilton development pipeline of more than 1,000 hotels and 139,000 rooms—among the highest in the industry. He most recently served as senior VP of franchise development, a position he held from 2001, and first joined Hilton as VP of franchise development, where he worked with owners to develop Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn franchised hotels in the western U.S. Prior to Hilton, Fortier spent 10 years at Marriott International, where he was VP of development. Another Chapter for Bill Peeper Since departing the Orlando/Orange County CVB in 2006, Bill Peeper, its founding president, has co-published Managing Destination Marketing Organizations: The Tasks, Roles and Responsibilities of the Convention and Visitor Bureau Executive. “After writing the book, I realized how very complex the CVB business is and that I could give something back to the industry that has been so good to me.” And now he turns another chapter, joining with industry consultant OCG as a project advisor. I can think of no better way to cope with retirement than doing a little work,” said Peeper. Joe Lathrop, president and founder of OCG, said of Peeper, “Bill was the first CVB person I met many years ago; I am pleased he chose to bring his depth of experience and knowledge to OCG. I think people sometimes forget that Bill started the Orlando CVB with nothing more than a folding table and a Rolodex and led it to one of the largest and most effective organizations of its kind.” The admiration is mutual: “I have respected and appreciated Joe and OCG and the guidance he provided to me in the very beginning. I am delighted to team up continued on page 18 More Hilton Heads Simultaneously with Klein’s announcement came the following promotions at Hilton: s Amar Lalvani, who joins Hilton as global head of luxury and lifestyle brand development. Lalvani comes from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, where he was a senior VP responsible for the development of Starwood’s luxury brands, which include W Hotels Worldwide, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, and the Luxury Collection. Lalvani also served as global head of W Development, leading the expansion of W Hotels Worldwide, including successfully launching W Hotels in the Europe, Africa, and Middle East regions. Prior to Starwood, Lalvani worked as an associate in the Blackstone Group’s mergers and acquisitions practice. s Richard Lucas, executive VP and general counsel. Prior to joining Hilton earlier this month, Lucas was a partner in the law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, DC, where he had worked for E-mail your personnel announcements in the meetings and hospitality industries to William Ng, Managing Editor, at william.ng@nielsen.com, or mail them to MeetingNews, 770 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10003. 16 MeetingNews June 16, 2008 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - June 16, 2008

Meeting News - June 16, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Meetings Industry
Social Scene
People Making News
Technology
MN Webcast Report
Advertisers Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - June 16, 2008