Nominations

🏨 Julie Renouvel appointed as General Director of hotel operations by Groupe Pichet, a leading French family real estate business. With a background in Enterprise Management and a Master's in Corporate Strategy and Finance from HEC Paris, Renouvel brings experience from Accorhotels, Sohoma, Belambra Clubs, and Centaurus Hospitality Management. Her role focuses on developing hospitality services, ensuring client satisfaction, service improvement, and profitability. Groupe Pichet has a 30+ year presence in the hotel market, including the All Suites three-star tourism and business residences.

🏨 Julie Renouvel joins Pichet Group as the General Manager of hotel operations, tasked with developing the hotel business and implementing policies for customer satisfaction, service improvement, and profitability. With an academic background from HEC Paris and experience in hotel project management at Accorhotels and others, Renouvel strengthens Pichet's 30+ year hotel market presence. The Group's current 4,450-room capacity, increasing due to popular demand and 13 ongoing projects, is projected to reach nearly 6,100 accommodations in two years.

🏨 Jumeirah, a luxury hotel leader and part of Dubai Holding, has appointed Thomas B. Meier as the General Manager to spearhead global growth and double its client portfolio by 2030. This move is crucial to Jumeirah's "Mission 2030" strategy. Meier, with significant industry experience and having served as the Operations Director since October 2021, and more recently as the interim General Manager, will focus on international expansion and enhancing the brand's position in luxury hospitality.

🏦 Thomas B. Meier, an EHL 1995 alumnus, has been appointed as the new General Manager at Jumeirah, a luxury hospitality brand and subsidiary of Dubai Holding. In his role, Thomas will spearhead the ambitious goal of doubling Jumeirah's portfolio by 2030, focusing on international expansion and reinforcing its position as a leader in luxury hospitality. Key achievements under his leadership include Jumeirah's entry into Africa with the launch of Jumeirah Thanda Island in Tanzania and Jumeirah Thanda Safari in South Africa. Thomas, who previously served as COO since October 2021, has a distinguished multi-decade career including global operations and expansion at Raffles.

🏢 Keisha Smith appointed as Executive Vice President and Director of Human Resources and Culture at Four Seasons, effective January 6, 2025. Based in Miami, with over 20 years of leadership experience, Smith previously held roles at Tory Burch, News Corp, Morgan Stanley, and serves as Director at Unity Software. Her focus will be on enhancing Four Seasons' culture to support strategic growth and employee engagement, reporting to President and CEO Alejandro Reynal.

🍴 Maxime Martin, with seven years of experience at Mandarin Oriental, Geneva, becomes Head Chef at Ottolenghi Genève. Trained under Neil Campbell in London, he co-created the Geneva menu, infusing Mediterranean flavors and Swiss touches, focusing on local, seasonal ingredients. Ottolenghi Genève offers an all-day menu with dishes ranging from small plates at around 11 euros to generous sharing platters up to 128 euros, emphasizing fresh, seasonal ingredients and designed for sharing.

🎓 Keisha, with a degree from the University of Virginia and certification from the Hudson Institute, joins Four Seasons' executive team to enhance company culture and people-centric approaches. She will oversee global strategies for people, culture, internal communication, and ESG efforts. Four Seasons, celebrating over 60 years of cultural-driven success, employs over 50,000 staff members and is experiencing a period of exciting growth.

🏨 Eliane Yun Wang, an established hotelier, has left the Hotel de Berri in Paris. She is now heading to Alsace to manage a prominent hotel in Strasbourg. Meanwhile, a new hotel director from Nice is expected to take over at the Parisian gem under Dokhan group.

🏨 Philip Steiner named COO at Cycas Hospitality for UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and Portugal. Previously GM at Bankside Hotel, London, leading it to TripAdvisor's top 10 and winning “Best of the Best” 2024 with 87% recommendation intention. Joined Cycas Hospitality in 2018, held strategic roles, managed Moxy & Residence Inn by Marriott in Slough with 244 rooms. Steiner graduated from the International Hotelschool in The Hague and has worked at Rome Cavalieri, Hilton, and Starwood hotels.

🏫 Lison de Caunes, a graduate of the Union centrale des arts décoratifs in 1972, revived her grandfather's marqueterie de paille (straw marquetry) craft, opening her studio in 1978. The resurgence of interest in Art Déco by architects and designers filled her order book. Notable collaborations include Vuitton, Guerlain, and Cheval Blanc in Paris, Bulgari Paris Hotel, the Woodward in Geneva, and renovations for the Hôtel Meurice and Cartier boutiques.