Gareth Caldecott has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. He has extensive experience in finance and hotels, and spent the last five years as Group Finance Director at the De Vere Group. He also spent seven years with the Westmont Hospitality Group where he helped to expand the hotel portfolio. Previously, Gareth spent four years with Intercontinental Hotels. Gareth has become a member of the Rocco Forte & Family Ltd parent board and also joins the Executive Committee.
Gareth replaces Alan Clark who is joining Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels.
Ivan Artolli, (pictured top) presently Operations Director UK, Belgium and Eastern Europe, has been appointed as Managing Director of the Verdura Golf and Spa Resort, set in 230 hectares of Sicilian countryside. The appointment of Ivan to this new Managing Director role, which includes responsibility for the construction, sale and operation of 87 luxury villas at the resort, reflects the scale of the Verdura complex and its importance to the company. Ivan continues as a member of the Executive Committee. He also retains his responsibility for the Hotel Amigo in Brussels.
Ivan joined Rocco Forte Hotels in 2000 following experience in several well-known luxury hotels in Europe. His first posts with Rocco Forte Hotels were successful spells as General Manager of the Hotel Savoy in Florence, the Hotel Amigo in Brussels and The Balmoral, Edinburgh.
Martin Elsner, presently Operations Director for Germany, Italy and New Developments, has been appointed to the new role of Vice President Operations. He continues to be a member of the Executive Committee and is responsible for the city centre hotels including The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Brown’s in London, The Lowry in Manchester, Hotel Astoria and Angleterre Hotel in St Petersburg, Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt, The Charles in Munich and the Hotel de Rome in Berlin. Martin will also be responsible for future openings including the Jeddah hotel and residences, which open a year from now.
Martin joined Rocco Forte Hotels in 2003, following a spell from 1998 as the Opening General Manager for Olga Polizzi’s Hotel Tresanton. On joining Rocco Forte Hotels, Martin successfully opened the company’s three German properties. He was also General Manager at the Hotel de Russie in Rome.