Friday 16 January 2026 – Trinity Bridge Friday news briefing
Wishing you a very happy and successful 2026!
We hope you have had a great week. Here’s our roundup of senior people moves across the hotel sector to keep you informed and up to date.
** A round-up of this week’s people moves in the hospitality sector
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Yotel has announced several key leadership appointments as the company commits to opening 100 hotels worldwide by 2031. Rohan Thakkar has taken the expanded role of Chief Development & Strategy Officer from his previous position as Senior Vice President, Development & Strategy. Mark Henderson holds the role of Senior Vice President, Design & Construction from his past position as Vice President, Technical Services. And Olivia Donnan becomes Senior Vice President, Brand, Culture & Growth from her previous role as Vice President, Brand & Communications.
Airbnb has appointed Ahmad Al-Dahle as their new Chief Technology Officer. Ahmad previously held the role of Head of Generative Artificial Intelligence at Meta Platforms. Ahmad will be leading the company’s technology and engineering teams at a critical phase of growth.
Amir Golbarg has joined Minor Hotels as Chief Operating Officer, Middle East & Africa. He joined Minor Hotels in 2012 and has held roles including Director of Operations & Hotel Openings in Bangkok, and Vice President of Operations for Middle East and Africa.
IHG Hotels & Resorts has welcomed Wei Manfredi as Senior Vice President of AI and Architecture. She joins from McDonald’s where she held the role of Vice President, Global Architecture, Data & Generative AI and also has prior experience in leading global companies including Google Cloud, Lululemon and Visa as well as holding advisory roles with top tech boards.
Louis Bouchayer has joined Club Quarters as Vice President of Distribution. He joins from SAP Concur where he led Lodging Strategy and Supplier Management, and his previous career also includes roles with eDreams, Egencia (Expedia Group) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation has appointed Jeff Leer as Co-Chief Executive Officer, alongside Keith Pierce, effective from 1 April. , following the retirement of John Murray. Prior to this appointment, Jeff served as Executive Vice President at RMR Group and also served as President and CEO of AlerisLifeInc.
Belmond has announced the appointment of Laura Magnon-Pujo as the new Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Laura brings over 17 years of experience in HR leadership roles, previously holding the role of HR Director for EMEA at Moet Hennessy.
Hilton has announced that Rupert Hallam has taken the role of General Manager for the Conrad, Manila. Rupert has spent over two decades with Hilton, most recently serving as General Manager of Hilton, Singapore Orchard, the group’s largest hotel in Asia Pacific.
Normal Martinez has joined ONE GT, Grand Cayman as the new Director of Food & Beverage. The hotel, operated by Remington Hospitality and part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World network, is due to open in Spring of this year. Norman has previously worked with global brands including Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton and Wyndham.
Momentus Hotels and Resorts have announced the appointment of Chantel Lim as Director of Commercial for their flagship property, Momentus Hotel Alexandra in Signapore. She has previous experience holding senior commercial roles with brands including Hyatt, InterContinental and Pan Pacific.
Brittany Jernigan Hampton has been appointed Director of Sales, Marketing & Events for Andaz, West Hollywood . She most recently served as Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Hyatt Lifestyle West.
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Trinity Bridge is an Executive Search firm specialising in the hospitality, travel and leisure sectors.
We operate globally and build leadership teams for both multinational and domestic companies. We advise listed and privately owned businesses, as well as the portfolio companies of private equity funds and family offices.
Our mission is to help organisations and people succeed. We enable our clients to achieve their goals by giving them access to the best talent from across industries.
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