Over the past few weeks, Hawaiʻi’s hospitality leadership carousel has been spinning at full speed, and we have a few new ones to report:
- Josh Hargrove is returning to Oʻahu as General Manager of the Moana Surfrider and Sheraton Princess Kaiulani after leading The Westin Maui Resort & Spa. He succeeds Thomas Foti, who, as we mentioned in our previous issue, recently became Managing Director of Hilton Hawaiian Village.
- Jennifer Batara was named General Manager of Ala Moana Hotel back in May, though we’re a little late catching this one. If it were not for Jennifer’s own humble LinkedIn post, many in the industry might have missed it. Jennifer spent more than a decade with Aqua-Aston Hospitality and is the first female General Manager in the history of Ala Moana Hotel. C’mon, Accor, this appointment deserved a little more fanfare.
- Tracy Stoltz was appointed Managing Director of Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort, bringing decades of luxury resort experience back to the Islands.
- Robert Ishihara was named General Manager of Ka Haku, Hilton Grand Vacations’ new luxury tower in Waikīkī, which is expected to open later this year.
- Brian Harris joined Halekulani as Director of International Commercial Strategy. Reporting to Halekulani General Manager Davide Barnes, Harris will focus on sales and broader commercial strategy across Halekulani and Halepuna Waikīkī. (Brian, you need to get on LinkedIn😉.)
- Kerry Brown is moving from Lights On to take on the Director of Revenue Management role at Prince Waikīkī.
- Sean Ganhinhin is departing Prince Waikīkī and, from what we’re hearing, returning to Maui. And there just happens to be a great new open role there on Maui (see Josh above).
Cue the LinkedIn posts about “exciting new chapters.” 😄
Editor’s Note: With so many executive appointments in this issue, we couldn’t give each one the attention it deserves. Be sure to follow Hawaiʻi Hotel Hui on LinkedIn, where we’ll be spotlighting many of these leadership moves individually over the coming weeks.
