FRHI Hotels & Resorts and its Three Leading Brands Announce Personnel Appointments around the Globe

SINGAPORE, 13 October 2014 – FRHI Hotels & Resorts, the leading operator of Raffles Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, is pleased to announce several management-level appointments at its properties and locations worldwide. Recent appointments include:

Fairmont Baku welcomes Pascal Leprou as general manager.  Leprou brings over 15 years of professional experience as a general manager and a wealth of invaluable and broad experience within the international luxury hospitality sector.  Most recently, Leprou held the position of general manager at Hotel Nikolskaya Kempinski in Moscow, Russia.

Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor and Raffles Hotel Le Royal appoints Pieter Van der Hoeven as general manager. With this promotion, Van der Hoeven will lead both the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor and Raffles Hotel Le Royal team and be responsible for the overall operations, performance and strategic direction for the hotels. Van der Hoeven has more than 25 years of hospitality experience, starting his career with The Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide. Most recently, Van der Hoeven was promoted as vice president, sales & marketing, Asia Pacific for the Outrigger Hotels Asia Limited.

Swissôtel Kunshan welcomes Jesper Vilsoe as general manager. Vilsoe joined FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2010 as the executive assistant manager, food & beverage at Swissôtel Kolkata, India. Prior to joining the company, Vilsoe was with Radisson Blu Hotel, Bucharest, Romania as its opening director of food & beverage. Vilsoe has held progressive positions in other worldwide locations such as London, Jakarta, Warsaw and Kuwait.

Fairmont Tremblant welcomes Éric Beaupré as executive chef.  Beaupré brings over 15 years of experience to this position, beginning his culinary career in 1997 as chef de partie, Hotel Vogue, Montreal. Since then, he has held chef de partie positions with Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, Casino Lac Leamy, Hull, Quebec, The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and The Fairmont Chateau Whistler.  Most recently, Beaupréwas the executive sous chef of Fairmont Tremblant.  

Fairmont Jakarta welcomes Andrew Zarzosa as executive chef.  Zarzosa will lead the culinary team to provide world-class gastronomical experiences by creating and maintaining a distinctive dining experience. He will oversee all culinary related operations and will provide strategic leadership towards a successful hotel opening. With more than 12 years of experience in culinary, Zarzosa is joining the company from The Address Dubai Mall Hotel where he held the position of executive chef since 2012.

Craig Nazareth is appointed to executive chef at The Fairmont Palliser. Nazareth brings over 18 years of experience to this position. Prior to joining the company, Nazareth held the position of chef de cuisine with Rude Native Bistro and Lounge in several locations in Ontario and later relocated to Nevis, West Indies as chef de cuisine, Four Seasons Hotel and Resort prior to returning to Canada as the owner/operator of the Rude Native Bistro & Myka's Catering. In 2011, Nazareth joined The Fairmont Winnipeg and most recently held the position of executive sous chef at the Fairmont Palliser.

Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel The Stamford welcomes Robert Stirrup as executive chef. Stirrup will be responsible for all culinary operations of both hotels as well as Raffles City Conventions Centre and will also have full oversight of stewarding operations in both properties.

Stirrup has more than 20 years of professional culinary experience. He has consistently gained his experience in five-star hotels and Michelin Star rated restaurant establishments including Le Manoir Aux Quatre Saisons, Dorchester Collection, La Belle Otero, and most recently as senior executive sous chef at Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford.

Swissôtel Kunshan welcomes Stephan Tseng as executive chef. Tseng joined FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2012 as executive chef at Swissôtel Sydney. Prior to joining the company, Tseng was with Gastronomy Australia as head chef from 2010 to 2012. Prior to moving to Australia, Tseng gained experience in several high end hotels and restaurants in the USA, including Mandarin Oriental Hotel Miami, Japanese Village Steak House and Sushi Republic Japanese Restaurant.

Swissôtel Sydney welcomes Thomas Heinrich as executive chef.  In this role his team will be producing both buffet and A la Carte meals for a 120 seat restaurant, 130 seat lounge and an extremely busy in-room- dining and conference facilities to maximize revenue through the production of quality food items. In addition, he will be responsible for financial administration of the kitchen. Heinrich's most recent position was prior to joining Swissôtel Sydney was executive chef with the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Vancouver, Canada.

FRHI Hotels & Resorts welcomes Terence Tan as director, global accounts, Asia Pacific. Tan joined FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2007 as director of sales for Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel the Stamford and in 2010, Terence transferred to the global sales organization. Tan returned to Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel the Stamford as director of sales & marketing in 2013. Prior to joining the company, Tan was director of sales at Furama RiverFront Singapore.

Raffles Hotel Singapore welcomes Cheryl Ong Su Lyn asdirector of sales & marketing. Ong Su Lyn's past experience includes The St. Regis Singapore in the roles of director of marketing communications and director of sales and marketing; Tiger Aviation Pte Ltd in the roles of marketing executive, assistant brand manager and communications manager; World Sport Group in the roles of event executive and client services executive. Ong Su Lyn has worked extensively with many of the key markets and partners both in Singapore and around the world and has a proven leadership record.

The Fairmont San Jose welcomes Benjamin Shih as director of sales & marketing.  Shih brings over 20 years of hospitality experience to this position, starting his career at Marriott International. Shih began his career with FRHI in 2004 as sales manager, the Fairmont San Francisco. In 2012, Shih was appointed to his most recent position as director, sales & marketing, The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa where he has played a critical role in the hotels success during a multi-million dollar restoration.

Fairmont Peace Hotel welcomes Annelin Ni as director of sales. Ni joins the company with several years of experience in sales. Her past work experience includes director of business development, Regal International East Asia Hotel, Shanghai; sales manager, Eton Hotel, Shanghai.

Fairmont Peace Hotel welcomes Rosa Lei as director of sales & marketing. Lei joins the company with over 20 years of hotel experience, and has been in the role of director of sales & marketing since 2005. She has worked for some of the major international hotel groups, such as Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, mainly in Hong Kong, Macau, Beijing and Xian. Prior to joining the Fairmont Peace Hotel, Lei was the director of marketing at JW Marriott Hotel Beijing.

About FRHI Hotels & Resorts

FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) is a leading luxury hotel management company that operates more than 110 hotels globally under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel brands. The company's distinctive portfolio of luxury and upper upscale hotels features celebrated icons, world-class resorts and stylish city center hotels. Some notable hotels include the Raffles Singapore, Swissôtel The Bosphorus, The Fairmont San Francisco and London's The Savoy. Focused on growing its distinctive hotel brands, the company is also developing new hotels in key locations around the world including exciting projects in China, Russia, India, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The company also manages Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel branded luxury private residence clubs, whole-ownership residences and serviced residences properties. For more information or reservations, please visit frhi.com.

Media enquiries and further information:

Susie Lim-Kannan                                                  Low Shi Ping

Director, Public Relations, Asia Pacific                      Manager, Public Relations, Asia Pacific

FRHI Hotels & Resorts                                           FRHI Hotels & Resorts

+65 6496 1236                                                     +65 6496 1234

susie.lim-kannan@frhi.com                                     shiping.low@frhi.com