Craig Cochrane Named VP Human Resources for Movenpick Hotels & Resorts

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. July 27, 2012

July 27, 2012 - Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts announced the internal promotion of Craig Cochrane to the role of Senior Vice President Human Resources. Cochrane, who also becomes a member of the company's Executive Committee, has 12 years of Human Resources experience with hotel management companies in Asia and the Middle East.

Prior to his new appointment he had been Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts' Vice President of Human Resources, Middle East and Asia, a position that encompassed 32 operating hotels and 20 under development. Cochrane, a British national with a hotel and tourism degree from Sheffield Hallam University, is well prepared for his new role.

Prior to joining Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Cochrane held key executive Human Resources positions for the Jumeirah Group in Dubai and in Shanghai, including the post of Resort Director of Human Resources, Madinat Jumeirah, a role that encompassed 3,500 employees.

“Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has always attracted top professionals from high calibre hospitality companies, because we have a reputation for nurturing talent and promoting from within,” says Jean Gabriel Perès, president and chief executive officer of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. Perès continues: “Craig excelled in his previous regional role and I am delighted to welcome him to the Executive Committee as Senior Vice President in our Zurich head office.”

His successor is the Australian-born Frances Smith, a former Regional Human Resources Manager for the Mantra Group in Victoria and Tasmania, a position covering 12 hotels and 440 employees.

“Frances brings a wealth of valuable international experience to our company and I am looking forward to her playing an important role at a time of exciting expansion in Asia and the Middle East,” adds Andreas Mattmüller, chief operating officer for the Middle East and Asia.

Smith's previous positions, meanwhile, included National Training Manager for Choice Hotels Australasia across 282 properties in Australia and New Zealand. She held key Human Resources posts at Jumeirah Emirates Towers and Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the UAE, and the Marriott and Intercontinental hotels in Sydney, Australia.

“Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has grown to become a confident, successful player in the international hospitality business,” says Cochrane. “Much of this success is due to the company's retention of good talent and the way in which it develops people through a variety of training modules - such as its internal Academy programme that refines leadership and business skills for General Managers - to ensure they are consistently motivated. I'm looking forward to building on the success of this culture.”