Congratulations to new IH&RA President Dr. Ghassan Aïdi, President, Cham Palaces & Hotels .
Dr. Aïdi takes over from Mr. Dieter Huckestein, President, Yellowstone Club World, former Chairman & CEO, Conrad Hotels and former President, Hilton Global Alliance – USA.
“This is a tremendous honour,” says Dr. Ghassan Aïdi, “I embrace the challenge and privilege of being IH&RA President and look forward to serving IH&RA members worldwide.”
Dr. Ghassan Aïdi is a long-time IH&RA member and served on the IH&RA Board of Directors in the year 2006 as Vice President for Hotels. As President of Cham Palaces & Hotels and Royal Regency International Hotels, a US-based Hotels Management Company, Dr. Aïdi embodies the global hospitality industry. He maintains offices on three continents, and manages Cham Palaces & Hotels’ luxury properties in USA, France, Lebanon, UAE, Syria and Jordan.
The new IH&RA Board is comprised of a distinguished group of international hotel and restaurant chain leaders, chief executives of national hotel and restaurant associations worldwide and a representative of independent hotels, with two representatives appointed to represent IH&RA Worldwide Partners . The new Board of Directors takes office immediately and will direct the Association from now and throughout the year 2007. The new IH&RA Board of Directors includes:
The IH&RA Executive Committee
President
Dr. Ghassan Aïdi
President
Cham Palaces & Hotels
Vice President - Hotels
Mr. Yannick Rouvrais
COO & Member of the Management Board
Orbis S.A. (Accor)
Vice President – Restaurants
Mr. Bruce Cotton
Director Emeritus
NRA - National Restaurant Association of America
Treasurer
Mr. Joseph Spinnato
President
Hotel Association of New York City, Inc.
Secretary
Mr. Alain-Philippe Feutré
Vice-President
Royal Regency International Hotels
Also on the Board of Directors:
Regional Vice President: Europe
Mr. Joan Gaspart Solves
President
Grupo Husa, SPAIN
Regional Vice President Asia-Pacific
Mr. Hiran Cooray
Vice-President
Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka
Regional Vice President Middle East
Mr. Fakhri Twal
Jordan Hotel Association
Regional Vice President Latin America
To be appointed
National Association Chief Executives Council
Mr. Timur Bayindir
President
Touristic Hotels & Investors Association –TUROB – TURKEY
Mr. Robert Cotton OBE
Chief Executive
British Hospitality Association – UNITED KINGDOM
Dr. Florian Hew
Director
GastroSuisse – SWITZERLAND
Mr. R.K. Puri
Secretary-General
Hotel Association of India (HAI) - INDIA
Mr. Xi Yanping
Vice-Chairman
China Tourist Hotels Association – CHINA
Chains Council
Ms. Nancy Johnson
Executive Vice-President, Full Service Hotels
Carlson Hotels Worldwide
Mr. Reas M. Kondraschow
SVP & Managing Director
Wyndham Hotel Group
Independent Operators Representative
Mr. Mats Östblom
Managing Director
Hotell Liseberg Heden, Sweden
Worldwide Partners Representatives
Mr. Frank I. Wolfe, CAE
Executive Vice President & CEO
Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals (HFTP)
Mr. Robert Grimes
Chairman & CEO
Accuvia
Also serving as a member of the Executive Committee on the IH&RA Board is Mr. Avi Rosental, who has been appointed IH&RA Director-General effective 1 November, replacing David McMillan who served in this position for the past two years (2005-2006).
The next meeting of the new IH&RA Board of Directors will be held in January, 2007. The next meeting of the Chains Council will be held in March 2007 and the next meeting, the IH&RA NACE (National Association Chief Executives Council), in June 2007. (Dates & locations to be announced shortly)
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For further information Contact:
Summer Jauneaud, Director of Communications
International Hotel & Restaurant Association - IH&RA
Tel. + 33 (0) 1 44 88 92 24 Fax + 33 (0) 1 44 88 92 30
E-mail: Website: ih-ra.com
Editor’s Note :
About IH&RA (ih-ra.com): Founded in 1946, the International Hotel & Restaurant Association ( IH&RA) is the only global business organisation representing the hospitality industry worldwide. Its members are national hotel and restaurant associations throughout the world, and international and national hotel and restaurant chains representing some 50 brands. Officially recognised by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of this industry, estimated to comprise 300,000 hotels and 8 million restaurants, employ 60 million people and contribute 950 billion USD annually to the global economy.
