SCOTTSDALE, AZ— Miraval Group has appointed eight executives to oversee the growth and development of Miraval Arizona, Miraval Life in Balance Spas and all future brand expansion including Miraval Austin and Miraval in the Berkshires.
Formerly the VP and general manager of Miraval Arizona, Carl Pratt has been appointed VP of programming. In this role, he oversees the development of signature Miraval experiences, classes, workshops and lectures that uphold the brand’s core values and position the company as a thought-leader in the health and wellness industry. Prior to his role at Miraval Arizona, he served as an executive consultant for premium hotel, destination resort and health and wellness brands. Before becoming an executive consultant, Pratt served as the president and general manager of Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club, general manager at The Hanover Inn and managing director of Canyon Ranch Lenox.
Cecil Hopper brings over 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry to his role as director of revenue optimization. In this position, he oversees leisure sales and revenue optimization of all Miraval resorts and spas to enhance efficiency and maximize profits. For the past three years, he has served as the director of revenue management at Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa, where he was responsible for developing strategies to ensure the resort’s growth including planning budgets and analyzing sales and revenue data. Throughout his career, Hopper has worked as the senior revenue manager – West Coast for Wyndham Vacation Ownership and director of distribution and revenue optimization and online distribution manager at Shell Vacations Hospitality.
With more than 25 years of marketing, public relations and communications experience, Jill Harlow joins Miraval Group as director of brand and marketing. In her role, she is responsible for developing the brand identity and spearheading the marketing and communications efforts for all Miraval resorts and spas. She previously served as the director of marketing for Miraval Arizona where she created and implemented the property’s marketing strategy. She served as director of marketing for RED Development LLC, and worked with General Growth Properties for 13 years in a variety of corporate and regional roles including group vice president of marketing, marketing director and group marketing manager.
Jorah Anderson joined Miraval Group as director of sales. In this position, she develops and executes sales strategies across all Miraval resorts and spas. Anderson comes to Miraval Group with more than 17 years of experience in the sales division of the hospitality industry. Most recently, Anderson served as the director of sales at Travaasa Experiential Resorts. Prior to Travaasa, she worked at The Crossings as a sales manager, Tiamo Resorts as the sales, marketing and public relations manager and Chaa Creek Belize Resort.
Karen Rieker was named director of finance and administration of Miraval Group where she is responsible for day-to-day management of the finance and administration functions. She worked for Hyatt for nearly 26 years in a variety of roles in the finance, rooms and food and beverage departments. Before joining Miraval, Rieker served as the Regional Analyst for Hyatt’s Luxury and Lifestyle region.
With more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Marisa Galdi joins Miraval Group as director of talent and culture where she oversees all aspects of the human resources function with an emphasis on colleague engagement. Most recently, she was the regional director of learning where she was responsible for creating and facilitating development workshops for leadership of Hyatt hotels in North America. Throughout her career, Galdi served as the area learning and development manager with Hyatt and guest services manager at Hyatt Regency Bethesda.
Philippe Brenot brings more than 30 years of experience as director of retail procurement of Miraval Group. He spent most of his career working for Hyatt. Throughout his tenure with the company, he has filled a variety of roles including area director of purchasing and retail for Hyatt Resorts of Scottsdale, director of purchasing and retail for Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa. He began his career as the food and beverage manager of Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts.
After more than 20 years of experience, Simon Marxer joins Miraval Group as director of spas. At Miraval Group, he oversees all spas and will create new treatments and services. Prior to this position, he worked at Red Flower, a luxury beauty brand, where he was the VP of business development. Before joining Red Flower, he served as the spa director at Miraval Arizona. While working at the property, Marxer oversaw the spa’s renovation and rebranding and conceptualized the design and launch of more than 40 Miraval branded services. He has also served as the spa director of The Boulders Waldorf Astoria Collection, managing director of Cornelia Day Resort and the spa director of Canyon Ranch.