People moves – David Dent, Jeremy Downer, Helen Purnell…

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Hotels

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	Downer  Gavriel  Dent  Purnell

London's five-star Ritz hotel has a new executive assistant manager. The 133-bedroom hotel has welcomed Jeremy Downer to its team. For the past two-and-a-half years Jeremy has been deputy general manager of the Royal Automobile Club in London. The four-star, 500-bedroom Le Méridien Gatwick has appointed Costas Gavriel to the role of director of sales and marketing. Costas joins the hotel in the airport's North Terminal from the Melià White House Regents Park in London, where he held a similar position. David Dent has become executive chef of the London Marriott West India Quay, due to open in June. He previously held the same position at the company's Grosvenor Square hotel in London. Two new general managers have joined Express by Holiday Inn. Helen Purnell has joined the Bedford hotel, a new 80-bedroom property due to open in March, and Mark Walton has joined the 178-bedroom Milton Keynes hotel in Buckinghamshire. This is Helen's first appointment as a general manager, although she has worked for Express by Holiday Inn as a senior guest services manager at the Hammersmith hotel in London. Mark has seven years' experience with Express by Holiday Inn and sister brand Holiday Inn, most recently being involved in the closure and refurbishment of the Holiday Inn Ashford North in Kent. Corinthia Hotels International, which operates 23 hotels in Europe and Africa, has appointed Jo Gowie general manager of its five-star, 310-bedroom Aquincum hotel in Budapest, Hungary. Jo, who was formerly resident manager at the company's Towers Hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, takes over from Andreas Schuster. Andreas has left the Budapest hotel to move to Portugal to run Lisbon's largest hotel, the five-star, 440-bedroom Corinthia Alfa Hotel. ### Plus…

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	Breg

Former F&B director of Hilton UK Stefan Breg has joined forces with Keane Design, a brand design agency, to form The Nurturists, a company specialising in restaurant and bar management contracts. Stefan has also been appointed a director of Indian food brand Joshi's Kitchen and management consultancy Taste Revolution. The Norton Canes Touchbase, a new business and meetings venue in Cannock, Staffordshire, has recruited Shanni Kaur Sadhra as manager. Opening next month, the eight-room venue forms part of the Roadchef motorway service area. Shanni has experience in this sector of the industry, having been general manager of The Venue, a conference and banqueting centre in the West Midlands. Recruitment professionals Dominic Armstrong and Jan Russell have launched a new recruitment consultancy, Armstrong Russell, which specialises in sales and marketing roles in the hospitality and leisure markets. Dominic is managing director and founder of Indago, a hospitality recruitment specialist. Jan, who has nearly 10 years' recruitment experience, has previously worked at rival agency Berkeley Scott. Joining Dominic and Jan as director is Ian Russell, former operations director for market information company Taylor Nelson Sofres.