Hotel executive moves: Hilton, Meyer Jabara, Peregrine, Remington

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

Charlestowne names VP. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina-based Charlestowne Hotels has appointed Alicia Carr as vice president of finance. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the hospitality sector, Carr most recently served as vice president of finance at Collegiate Hotel Group. She also worked at Bunkhouse Management.

Carter names VP. Chris Dougherty has been named vice president of hospitality operations for Santa Ana, California-based Carter Hospitality Group. Dougherty has a nearly 30-year track record and was most recently with Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group, where he was regional director of operations. He has also worked for Island Hospitality Management, Evolution Hospitality, White Lodging Services and Marriott International.

Cote names two VPs. Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Cote Hospitality has announced two new leadership appointments: Kelly Puspoki joins the company as vice president of marketing, while Ryan Andersen has been promoted to vice president of revenue strategy. Puspoki brings over 25 years of marketing and communications expertise, and her career includes senior leadership roles at top global marketing and PR agencies. Most recently, Puspoki ran her own marketing consultancy and served as vice president of marketing and communications at Greater Twin Cities United Way. Andersen has more than two decades of hospitality revenue leadership experience and has held senior roles at Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG, most recently serving as area director of revenue strategy at Aimbridge Hospitality.

Hilton names CDO. Christian Charnaux will return to Hilton as executive vice president and chief development officer on July 1, with Kevin Jacobs relinquishing his CDO role and continuing as chief financial officer. Charnaux joins Hilton from Inspire Brands – the restaurant company that owns Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC – where he served as chief growth officer since its founding in 2018. Click here for more on this story.

New COO at Ithaka. Ryan Magnon has been appointed COO at Auburn, Alabama-based Ithaka Hospitality Partners. He has a background in operations, most recently with Chick-fil-A corporate, where he supported franchisee owner/operators. Before that, he worked for Capella Hotels and Resorts.

Lodgco names VP. Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Lodgco Hospitality has promoted Susie Nowakowski to vice president of operations. She has been with the company for six years, most recently serving as corporate director of operations.

First CTO for Meyer Jabara. Danbury, Connecticut-based Meyer Jabara Hotels has appointed Chris Clap as chief technology officer, a first-time position for the company. Clap has nearly 30 years of IT experience and previously worked as a senior systems engineer and professional services engineer for managed services providers. He started his career working for IBM.

New exec at Peregrine. Denver-based Peregrine Hospitality has named Karen DiFulgo as chief people officer. She succeeds Ed Eynon, who will retire as Peregrine’s chief human resources officer later this summer after a 45-year career. With nearly three decades of human resources leadership experience in the hospitality industry, DiFulgo most recently served as chief people officer at Hornblower Group, a global travel and transportation company.  Before Hornblower, DiFulgo worked at Benchmark Global Hospitality, Gaylord Hotels, The Brickman Group and TNS Healthcare.

Remington adds F&B exec. Dallas-based Remington Hospitality has promoted Stephen Wittman to vice president of food & beverage. Wittman has spent over a decade shaping the company’s food and beverage strategy, developing dining concepts, and streamlining operations to elevate performance across the portfolio. Before joining Remington in 2015, Wittman held key operational and management positions with The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Hotels, Omni Hotels and One Ocean Resort & Spa.