IH&RA Announces New President & Board of Directors

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) is honoured to announce a new slate of IH&RA Board of Directors effective 1 November 2006, following the Association's Annual General Assembly held in Nice, France, on 28 October.

Congratulations to new IH&RA President Dr. Ghassan Aïdi, President, Cham Palaces & Hotels.

Dr. Aïdi takes over from Mr. Dieter Huckestein, President, Yellowstone Club World, former Chairman & CEO, Conrad Hotels and former President, Hilton Global Alliance - USA.

'This is a tremendous honour,' says Dr. Ghassan Aïdi, 'I embrace the challenge and privilege of being IH&RA President and look forward to serving IH&RA members worldwide.'

Dr. Ghassan Aïdi is a long-time IH&RA member and served on the IH&RA Board of Directors in the year 2006 as Vice President for Hotels. As President of Cham Palaces & Hotels and Royal Regency International Hotels, a US-based Hotels Management Company, Dr. Aïdi embodies the global hospitality industry. He maintains offices on three continents, and manages Cham Palaces & Hotels' luxury properties in USA, France, Lebanon, UAE, Syria and Jordan.

The new IH&RA Board is comprised of a distinguished group of international hotel and restaurant chain leaders, chief executives of national hotel and restaurant associations worldwide and a representative of independent hotels, with two representatives appointed to represent IH&RA Worldwide Partners . The new Board of Directors takes office immediately and will direct the Association from now and throughout the year 2007. The new IH&RA Board of Directors includes:

The IH&RA Executive Committee

President
Dr. Ghassan Aïdi
President
Cham Palaces & Hotels

Past President
Mr. Dieter Huckestein
President & CEO
Yellowstone Club World

Vice President - Hotels
Mr. Yannick Rouvrais
COO & Member of the Management Board
Orbis S.A. (Accor)

Vice President - Restaurants
Mr. Bruce Cotton
Director Emeritus
NRA - National Restaurant Association of America

Treasurer
Mr. Joseph Spinnato
President
Hotel Association of New York City, Inc.

Secretary
Mr. Alain-Philippe Feutré
Vice-President
Royal Regency International Hotels

Also on the Board of Directors:

Regional Vice President: Europe
Mr. Joan Gaspart Solves
President
Grupo Husa, SPAIN

Regional Vice President Asia-Pacific
Mr. Hiran Cooray
Vice-President
Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka

Regional Vice President Middle East
Mr. Fakhri Twal
Jordan Hotel Association

Regional Vice President Latin America

To be appointed

National Association Chief Executives Council

Mr. Timur Bayindir
President
Touristic Hotels & Investors Association -TUROB - TURKEY

Mr. Robert Cotton OBE
Chief Executive
British Hospitality Association - UNITED KINGDOM

Dr. Florian Hew
Director
GastroSuisse - SWITZERLAND

Mr. R.K. Puri
Secretary-General
Hotel Association of India (HAI) - INDIA

Mr. Xi Yanping
Vice-Chairman
China Tourist Hotels Association - CHINA

Chains Council

Ms. Nancy Johnson
Executive Vice-President, Full Service Hotels
Carlson Hotels Worldwide

Mr. Reas M. Kondraschow
SVP & Managing Director
Wyndham Hotel Group

Independent Operators Representative

Mr. Mats Östblom
Managing Director
Hotell Liseberg Heden, Sweden

Worldwide Partners Representatives

Mr. Frank I. Wolfe, CAE
Executive Vice President & CEO
Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals (HFTP)

Mr. Robert Grimes
Chairman & CEO
Accuvia

Also serving as a member of the Executive Committee on the IH&RA Board is Mr. Avi Rosental, who has been appointed IH&RA Director-General effective 1 November, replacing David McMillan who served in this position for the past two years (2005-2006).

The next meeting of the new IH&RA Board of Directors will be held in January, 2007. The next meeting of the Chains Council will be held in March 2007 and the next meeting, the IH&RA NACE (National Association Chief Executives Council), in June 2007. (Dates & locations to be announced shortly)



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