People moves – Gavin Smith, Brian Murphy…

All the latest appointments and promotions…

Hotels

Gesa Rohwedder has joined the five-star, 458-bedroom InterContinental London on Hyde Park Corner as manager. Gesa previously oversaw the opening of the InterContinental Köln hotel in Cologne, Germany.

The new 129-bedroom Donbass Palace hotel in the city of Donetsk, Ukraine, which is set to open in January, has appointed Bernard Micallef general manager. Bernard leaves his Kuwait-based position as corporate director for quality assurance and branding at Safir Hotels and Resorts.

Restaurants

Coconut Lagoon, an Indian restaurant chain owned by the Pearl Hotel & Restaurant Group, has opened its fourth restaurant in Birmingham. Heading the 140-seat restaurant as general manager is Giri Nallameni, who has been with the company for three years, latterly as general manager of Coconut Lagoon in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.

Frankie & Benny's, the New York Italian-style restaurant chain, is opening its 82nd restaurant in Dunfermline, Fife, in November. Managing the 144-seat restaurant will be Gavin Smith, who was previously deputy manager of the chain's Aberdeen outlet.

Brian and Odette Murphy have left the Horizon Hotel in Ayr to start up their own 40-seat restaurant, called Fouters, in the town. Brian previously held the role of executive chef, and Odette that of duty manager.

Pubs and bars

Greene King Pub Company will have a new managing director from mid-January. Mark Angela joins from Colgate-Palmolive, where he has worked for the past 10 years. His most recent position was general manager of the company's Hills Pet Nutrition business in Canada.

If you have moved jobs recently or received a promotion and would like to feature in this column, please e-mail your details to Sarah.Kaikini@rbi.co.uk