NATIONAL REPORT—From new positions created to drive growth to shifts in leadership, here’s a look at executives on the move.
Dream Hotel Group Names COO
Dream Hotel Group has promoted Michael Lindenbaum to chief operating officer. He has been with the company for nine years.
As COO, Lindenbaum will oversee the operations of all Dream Hotel Group-owned and managed hotels worldwide, including its Dream Hotels, Time Hotels and Unscripted Hotels brands. Lindenbaum will maintain responsibility for the alignment and prioritization of new property openings and ensuring operational excellence across the portfolio. He will continue to oversee the technical advisement teams working on newly signed projects and seeing those hotels through to opening. He will also work closely with the hotels’ general managers to ensure guest experience standards are met and to maximize the return on investment to their respective ownership groups.
OLS Hotels & Resorts Names VP of Revenue Management
OLS Hotels & Resorts has appointed Gary Stringham as VP of revenue management and distribution. In his new role, Stringham will be responsible for maximizing revenue across all channels, including rooms, meeting space, restaurants and ancillary services.
Stringham joins OLS during a time of growth, as the independent hotel management company added properties in Hawaii, California and Arizona to its portfolio in the last year with more additions on the horizon. Stringham’s goal is to increase properties’ Net RevPAR by utilizing OLS’s innovative technology and analytics solutions, in addition to taking advantage of the company’s independent nature, which allows the ability to quickly adapt to changing market conditions, according to the company. With the industry’s ever-changing cost dynamics and industry sophistication, in addition to rising expenses, Stringham’s focus on developing high profitability channels and segments will allow OLS to deliver a better return to hotel owners and investors.
Benchmark Names Senior Director of Total Rewards & HRIS
Benchmark has named Chad Moon as senior director of Total Rewards & HRIS. Moon’s responsibilities include oversight and development of Benchmark’s compensation and benefits strategy as well as the administration of the company’s human resources information systems.
Chad Moon previously served as VP, total rewards & HRIS for Two Roads Hospitality of Denver. Prior to this, he has held HR leadership positions, including as the director of Total Rewards for Intrawest Resort Holdings of Denver.
Resorts World Las Vegas Builds Leadership Team
Resorts World Las Vegas, which is being developed by Genting Berhad, has named five new executive team members to help spearhead the opening of the $4-billion luxury casino-resort.
The newly appointed Resorts World Las Vegas executives include the following:
Chris Nordling joins the Resorts World team as EVP & CFO from MGM Resorts International, where he served in a variety of senior leadership roles for 20 years.
He began his career there as CFO of The Mirage Hotel & Casino and later Bellagio Resort & Casino, contributing to a significant time in Las Vegas history for the hospitality industry. Following the Mirage Resorts acquisition by MGM, Nordling was an integral part of the team that merged both organizations into one company, which today is MGM Resorts International. Nordling also served as CFO of CityCenter, a $9 billion mixed-use development, where he was responsible for the construction, soft cost and pre-opening budgets.
In his role as SVP of operations, Max Tappeiner oversees all resort operations for Resorts World Las Vegas including hotel, security, facilities, sales, marketing and revenue management. A hospitality veteran, Tappeiner previously spent 12 years with Mandarin Oriental, opening two hotels in New York and Las Vegas.
As the new VP of food & beverage, Bart Mahoney brings more than 25 years of experience in food and beverage operations for internationally recognized resorts including Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International. In his new role as VP of food & beverage, Mahoney is responsible for managing the development and operation of the resort’s premier portfolio of restaurants, bars and lounges to ensure the ultimate guest experience.
As the new SVP of human resources, Michael Peltyn manages all facets of human resources for Resorts World Las Vegas, while also leveraging his many years of experience leading strategic recruitment initiatives, mass business processes and logistics optimization. Prior to joining the team, Peltyn worked in HR leadership roles planning and executing large-scale opening activities within the HR space for numerous premium brands including Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel & Spa.
Bill McArthur is the new chief information officer at Resorts World Las Vegas. He brings more than 20 years of international IT leadership experience to the Resorts World Las Vegas team. As chief information officer, McArthur is responsible for the strategic execution of operations, as well as aligning all areas of the business to ensure innovative and effective IT solutions.