Hilton Worldwide has appointed John McAree the new General Manager for Hilton Windhoek.
“We are very pleased to announce John’s appointment,” said Jan van der Putten, Vice President Operations, Hilton Worldwide, Africa and Indian Ocean.
“John’s 30-year background in hospitality, coupled with his extensive experience in Africa, will bring distinct advantages to his new role and will serve us well as we continue to establish Hilton Windhoek as Namibia’s number-one hotel,” said Van der Putten.
McAree joins the 150-room Hilton Windhoek after working as General Manager at Hilton Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. He started his career at Hilton Kensington in 1983.
He replaces Roman Kopacek, who opened Hilton Windhoek in May 2011 and helped build the hotel into one of the leading hospitality providers in Namibia.
The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Friedrich Schaefer as the group’s Regional Director for sub-Saharan Africa. Schaefer will replace Han Oldenburger, who will officially retire from the group in April after 21 years’ service.
Schaefer has worked in Africa for the past four years. Prior to his appointment at Carlson Rezidor, he was Area Manager of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in South Africa. He was also employed by the Hilton group for 10 years, with his last position at the company being Area Manager of Hilton, Ireland.
“I am delighted to be joining such an exciting hospitality group and am honoured to be taking over from such a respected hotelier as Han Oldenburger. The sub-Saharan operations of Carlson Rezidor are currently expanding at a rapid pace and I look forward to the future, with the company’s scheduled openings and interesting developments in Africa, in addition to leading such a dynamic team,” says Schaefer.
Further to this appointment, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group regional office, which is currently based in Cape Town, will be relocating to Johannesburg in January.
“Being physically positioned in the economic capital of South Africa, with its airport serving as the major hub for the African continent, the regional office will be ideally situated to accelerate Carlson Rezidor’s development on the African continent,” said a statement by the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
