Pan Pacific Appoints New GM in Perth and Xiamen

Pan Pacific Hotels Group has appointed John Kockan as General Manager of the Pan Pacific Perth, and Eric Kee as General Manager of the Pan Pacific Xiamen.

After four successful years as General Manager of Pan Pacific Xiamen, John Kockan now moves to take charge of the 486-room Pan Pacific Perth in Western Australia.

Situated along the city’s Swan River, the hotel offers convenient access to the main dining, retail and entertainment precincts downtown. Pan Pacific Perth is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar refurbishment and will unveil remodelled guestrooms, enhanced technological connectivity and upgraded conferencing facilities within the next few months.

An U.S. citizen and Australian permanent resident with over 25 years of industry experience, John had also previously spent six years as General Manager of Parkroyal on Beach Road in Singapore, another hotel under Pan Pacific Hotels Group. In addition, he has managed Langham International’s Eaton Hotel in Hong Kong and InterContinental Hotel Plaza in Jakarta, Indonesia.

John has a strong background in F&B operations as well as catering, banquet and convention services, having held management positions with The Westin, Ritz-Carlton, Grand Hyatt and Sheraton hotels in Australia, Malaysia and the U.S.A.

Taking over from John at Pan Pacific Xiamen is Eric Kee, who joins the group from his role as Hotel Manager of the expansive 884-room The Excelsior in Hong Kong.

A seasoned Malaysian hotelier, Eric has close to two decades of Rooms, Front Office, Operations and general management experience in Greater China and Malaysia at luxury hotels such as The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Mandarin Oriental Macau, Wynn Resort Macau, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing and The Regent Beijing.

Located just 20 minutes away from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, Pan Pacific Xiamen offers 354 guestrooms and serviced suites with views of the city’s coastline. The hotel features a comprehensive range of amenities including a popular steakhouse, fine-dining Chinese restaurant, spa and eight flexible meeting spaces spanning over 1,000 square metres.

“We are delighted to announce the appointments of John and Eric to our expanding talent pool of General Managers,” said Bernold O. Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group. “John’s move to Pan Pacific Perth reflects the Group’s commitment to provide our high-performing associates with career development opportunities across our global portfolio. Meanwhile, we warmly welcome Eric to the team and look forward to harnessing the depth of his Greater China experience and networks to drive all-round growth and performance at Pan Pacific Xiamen.”