Posted inOperations

Atmosphere welcomes a lineup of senior industry veterans

Joining the leadership team are Michel Politano as VP Revenue and Distribution, Sarah Walker Kerr as VP Communications, Ashley Goddard as Corporate Culinary Director and Silvia Collepardi as VP Sales and Marketing - COLOURS OF OBLU and By Atmosphere

Left to Right _Sarah Walker Kerr _Vice President Communications, Silvia Collepardi _VP Sales and Marketing for COLOURS OF OBLU & By Atmosphere and Ashley Goddard_Corporate Culinary Director
(Left to Right) Sarah Walker Kerr, Vice President Communications, Michel Politano, Vice President, Revenue and Distribution, Silvia Collepardi, VP Sales and Marketing for COLOURS OF OBLU and By Atmosphere and Ashley Goddard Corporate Culinary Director.

Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts has started 2022 by announcing four key leadership appointments to support its ambitious development plans. Coming from the finest hospitality brands across the globe, these accomplished leaders add to the company’s growth momentum. Helping to take its three brands, THE OZEN COLLECTION, COLOURS OF OBLU and By Atmosphere, to alluring leisure destinations in India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Taking up the newly created role of Corporate Culinary Director, Ashley Goddard will drive brand distinction and corporate reputation by refining dining experiences throughout Atmosphere’s portfolio of resorts. He will mentor and develop the company’s culinary teams, enhance existing Food and Beverage experiences, and contribute to the launching of our new openings and projects in the current pipeline. 

During his successful career spanning over 30 years, this Australian Chef and Culinary Entrepreneur has worked with some of the leading international hospitality companies, immersing in cultures across the globe. Having been a part of different cultures has enriched Ashley’s palette for life – allowing him to develop world-class culinary teams, in numerous countries and throughout reputed hotels and resorts. “I believe raising both the perception of our guests, as well the expectation of a truly memorable dining experience, we are lucky to touch so many people and bring the Joy of Giving”, Ashley said.

Silvia Collepardi, VP Sales and marketing for COLORS OF OBLU and Atmosphere, has been promoted to Vice President Sales & Marketing for the company’s recently launched brand COLOURS OF OBLU as well as By Atmosphere. In her new role, Silvia will focus on strengthening brand positioning in key feeder markets across the globe and developing new markets.

Hailing from Italy, Silvia joined AH&R in 2018 as Regional Director of Sales Europe. She offers a wealth of expertise acquired over 16 years of sales and marketing experience, including senior positions at international brands like Centara Hotels & Resorts. Her love for oceans has inspired Silvia to focus her expertise on promoting dream destinations and beautiful resorts in the Maldives, Thailand and Bali, with a passion for pre-opening and business development.

In the role of VP Revenue and Distribution, French national Michel Politano, vice president Revenue and Distribution will work towards maximizing revenue, enhancing channel connectivity and profitability, and optimizing online presence, traffic acquisition, and conversion.

An impactful leader with 15 years of hands-on experience, Michel excels in implementing unique and highly effective market strategies, successfully entering new markets and providing value-based leadership. He has most recently held senior leadership positions at Emaar Hospitality Group, where he set up and grew the entire distribution ecosystem (spanning 20+ hotels across 4 brands) and contributed to organizational growth by leading change management of cluster structure.

Recently appointed, Sarah Walker Kerr, Vice president of communications has hit the ground running – steering the company’s communication strategy with a focus on promoting brand distinction. With over 20 years of international experience, UK-born Sarah is adept at setting up and managing globally integrated communication programs that drive guest engagement, elevate corporate identity and build brand equity.

Sarah comes to Atmosphere from Marriott International, where she spent 3 years as VP Communications, achieving positive awareness (externally and internally) and brand distinction. As part of this role, she set up a fit-for-purpose communications organization across complex geography of 30 countries. She was ranked among the Top 25 ‘Most Influential Communicators in the Middle East’ by PR Week UK.

Salil Panigrahi, MD, Atmosphere Hotels, and Resorts said “As we prepare for our next phase of expansion, we are thrilled to welcome such outstanding talent to our senior leadership team. I am eager to see how their depth and breadth of collective experience will help us drive brand distinction, foster culinary excellence, elevate our reputation, reach new markets and unlock our immense growth potential.”

These appointments build upon the new additions last year of Ashwin Handa as Senior Vice President Operations and Abhijit Ghosh as Senior Vice President, Creative and Quality Assurance.

Ronan Fearon, General Manager, JW Marriott Bengaluru Prestige Golfshire; Uzma Irfan, Director of Corporate Communications - Prestige Group; Anuradha Venkatachalam, Captain (Hotel Manager), Moxy Bengaluru Airport Prestige Tech Cloud; Rezwan Razack, Managing Director, Prestige Group; Irfan Razack, Chairman and Managing Director, Prestige Group; Zaid Sadiq, Executive Director - Liaison & Hospitality, Noaman Razack, Director Prestige Group; Ranju Alex, Area Vice President- South Asia, Marriott International; Suresh Singaravelu, Executive Director - Retail, Hospitality & Business Expansion
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