Hotel executive moves: Aparium, Essex, Noble, Spark GHC

Here is a compilation of the most important executive moves of the past week in the hotel investment world alphabetically (by company):

President at Aparium. Paul Devitt has been named president and COO of Chicago-based Aparium Hotel Group. He joins Aparium following 32 years with Hyatt Hotels Corp., where he most recently served as senior vice president of operations for the Americas. His leadership spanned Hyatt’s full-service, luxury, and lifestyle portfolios and he also played a key role in the integration of Two Roads Hospitality, expanding Hyatt’s presence in the lifestyle category.

New VP for Avison Young. Atlanta-based real estate advisor Avison Young has hired Cole Spain as vice president of the firm’s hospitality group, focusing on debt and equity financing. Spain previously served as director of business development at Twenty Degrees North. He also worked at Bull Realty.

Essex names COO. Rochester, New York-based Essex Hotel Management has promoted John Kattato to COO. He previously served as senior vice president of operations for the company. In his new role, Kattato will continue to oversee the operations team while expanding his responsibilities to include all departments. With more than 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Kattato joined in 2003. Previously, he was a general manager at MeriStar and Interstate Hotels Corp.

Germain Hotels names new leaders. Montreal-based Germain Hotels has appointed Marie Pier Germain and Hugo Germain as co-presidents of the family business, effective immediately. Founded by Christiane and Jean-Yves Germain, Marie Pier and Hugo have been with Germain Hotels for over 20 years. Both have actively contributed to its growth across Canada, gradually taking on leadership roles over the years.

Noble adds asset management execs. Atlanta-based Noble Investment Group has added Tim Bowes and Mark Klawitter to its asset management leadership team. Bowes brings over 25 years of experience in hospitality operations, revenue optimization and performance strategy. Most recently, he served at Hospitality Investors Trust, a Brookfield company, and previously held senior roles with Crescent Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International. Klawitter spent 25 years career at Extended Stay America.

Shangri-La adds HR exec. Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Group has appointed Yvonne Wang as the new human resources lead for the MEIA region. She brings over 20 years of diverse human resources experience and is no stranger to the Shangri-La family. Before rejoining Shangri-La, she served as the global director of rewards at Dubai Holdings. Her appointment marks a homecoming, as she previously spent more than a decade with Shangri-La and Traders Hotels.

Spark GHC names new SVP. Cleveland-based Spark GHC has named Sam Makani as senior vice president and head of asset management. He has 15-plus years of real estate investment experience in acquisitions, development, asset management and strategy. He has participated in $3 billion-plus acquisition, disposition, and development activity and led asset management of individual portfolios valued at $1 billion-plus. Most recently, Makani was vice president of strategic operations at Mission Hill Hospitality.

New COO, CFO at Virgin Hotels. Miami-based Virgin Hotels Collection, the parent brand of Virgin Hotels and Virgin Limited Edition, has appointed Chris Stevens as COO and Rayhan Arif as chief commercial and financial officer. Stevens has nearly 25 years of hospitality leadership experience and has held roles in operations, asset management and commercial strategy. Most recently, he served as senior vice president at Ashford Inc., where he ran asset management and commercial divisions for all asset classes, including the luxury and luxury lifestyle divisions. He also worked at BRE Hotels & Resorts and Hilton. Arif has a long-standing connection to Virgin Hotels as a board observer. His broader Virgin portfolio experience includes board roles with Virgin Mobile Latin America, Grove Collaborative and HiddenLight Productions, and prior oversight of Virgin Orbit, BMR Energy and both Virgin Group Acquisition Corps. He also worked at AEA Investors.