HYATT INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS

Bernd Chorengel, president of Hyatt International Corporation, is pleased to announce the following general manager and executive appointments:


Richard Stedman has been appointed general manager of Hyatt Regency Coolum. Stedman, a Lausanne Hotel School graduate, joined the team of Grand Hyatt Singapore as a corporate trainee in 1983. He subsequently held corporate and food and beverage management positions in Chicago, Riyadh, Delhi, Perth and Melbourne. In 1993, Stedman was promoted to general manager of Hyatt Regency Belgrade. After a general manager assignment for the opening of Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki, he became general manager of Hyatt Regency Sharm El Sheikh in July 1997.

Kamal Chaoui has been appointed general manager of Hyatt Regency Merida. Chaoui, a graduate of the Glion Hotel School and University of Nevada, joined Hyatt International in 1986 as assistant director of food and beverage at Hyatt Regency Casablanca. Following further food and beverage management assignments in Kuantan, Bali and Santiago, Kamal was appointed executive assistant manager of Hyatt Regency Tahiti where he was promoted to general manager. His other general manager assignments have included Hotel Aryaduta Jakarta, and, most recently, Hyatt Regency Coolum.

Richard White has been appointed Vice President - Global Sales. White is based out of the corporate office in Chicago and manages global sales activities for Hyatt International. White's career began with Hilton Hotels in Atlanta. He first joined Hyatt International in 1989 as Director of Sales and Marketing at Grand Hyatt Taipei and soon became director of sales - North America. In 1992, White relocated to Asia as director of marketing - North Asia and then returned to the United States to resume his position as director of sales - North America in 1994. White holds a degree in sociology from the University of Western Kentucky.

Gordon Tareta has joined Hyatt International as director of spa operations. Previously Tareta held the position of corporate director of spa operations for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts based in Alberta, Canada. Tareta is responsible for establishing the strategies which will encompass spas, wellness programmes, fitness centres and resort activities for Hyatt International properties. He has a diploma in recreation management from Lethbridge Community College in Albert, where he developed a resort spa operations programme. Tareta has lectured on Leisure and Tourism at the University of Calgary.

Nong Xia has been appointed director of development for Hyatt International. Xia has a background in finance and worked with both Nomura Securities in Tokyo, and Goldman, Sachs in Hong Kong. He has degrees from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, and Keio University in Tokyo.

Christian Urbat has been appointed director of operational planning for Hyatt International Corporation. Urbat, a graduate of the Munich Hotel and the Master Chefs School, consolidated his culinary studies with experience in Germany, including an assignment as pre-opening Chef de Partie for the Hyatt Regency Cologne. From there he joined the team of Grand Hyatt Hong Kong as Chef De Cuisine for the Grand Café. In 1996, Urbat transferred to Hyatt International's corporate technical services department as culinary coordinator, and was promoted to manager - operational planning. He returns to Hyatt International from a recent position as director of food and beverage for the Stanhope Park Hyatt in New York.

Alex Andrade has joined been joined the team of the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Villas and Resort as general manager. Andrade, a graduate of the University of Illinois, first joined Hyatt Hotels Corporation as a corporate management trainee at Hyatt Regency San Antonio and held food and beverage management assignments in Chicago and Fort Worth. He returns to Hyatt having gained extensive experience with Westin Hotels and Resorts in the United States and Fiesta Americana Hotels in Mexico.

Francois Dussart has been appointed General Manager of Hyatt Regency Belgrade. Dussart, a graduate of the Lausanne Hotel School, joined Hyatt International in 1991 as a corporate trainee at Hyatt Regency Tahiti. Following assignments as cost controller in Paris and Istanbul, he held various food and beverage posts at Hyatt Regency Paris, Charles De Gaulle. Subsequently, Dussart was E.A.M. - food and beverage for Hyatt Cancun Caribe and the executive assistant manager for Hyatt Regency La Manga.

Hannan Zanzuri has been appointed general manager of Hyatt Regency Cancun. Zanzuri joined the sales team of Hyatt Regency Jerusalem in1989 and was transferred to Hyatt Cancun Caribe Villas and Resort where he completed Hyatt International's corporate training programme. In 1992, he was appointed associate director of sales for Hyatt Coral Grand in Puerto Vallarta, and following further promotions as director of sales in Puerto Vallarta and Cancun, joined Hyatt International's regional marketing office in Mexico City as director of sales. Most recently he was regional director of marketing with responsibility for Mexico and Central America.