WARWICK INTERNATIONAL HOTELS

Key Personalities

Richard Chiu, President

Richard Chiu was educated in Great Britain where he graduated with Hounours from Cambridge University in 1974. Subsequently, he returned to Asia and immediately assumed important responsibilities in the family-controlled business in Indonesia. In 1977 he decided to build up his own business, investing his time and capital in the development and operation of hotels.

Today Richard Chiu is President of Warwick International Hotels and the proud owner of 11 first class hotels and resorts worldwide.

Joseph Tung – Senior Vice President and Managing Director

Joseph Tung started his career as Accountant with Price Waterhouse in Hong Kong and moved on to the Mandarine Group in 1976. Various promotions saw him assuming the positions of Senior Accountant, Controller and Group System Analyst. He joined Warwick International Hotels in 1981 as Group Financial Controller and was then promoted to Vice President Finance. He has since been appointed Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the USA, in charge of project management, renovations and development activities.

Ernst Mühle, Executive General Manager of The Warwick Champs Elysées and Senior Vice President, Warwick International Hotels

Ernst Mühle plays a dual and major role at Warwick International Hotels. He firstly holds the position of Executive General Manager at The Warwick Champs Elysées and has done since it’s opening in 1981. However he has also played a major role in the growth of Warwick International Hotels and thus oversees the operations of both Parisien hotels, La Reine Astrid, Lyons and The Warwick Geneva in his role as Senior Vice President.

A consummate communicator, commanding the respect of his staff, Ernst Mühle is a highly visible and approachable manager, still enjoying the daily life of his hotels.

In 1991, Ernst Mühle was honoured with the industry’s prestigious “Man of the Year” award. As board member of the Champs Elysées Committee, he actively participates in the rehabilitation of his neighbourhood and in recognition of his commitment, has received the Paris City Hall’s distinguished silver medal. (Longer length version available)

Gregory Habeeb, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales

Based in the group’s executive office in New York, Gregory Habeeb joined the company in October 2001as its youngest senior executive. He splits his time between the United States and Europe. His senior role was created to set up, refresh and implement ‘new’ sales and marketing strategies worldwide to increase awareness for Warwick International Hotels. He will also oversee the company’s new branding strategies and public relation activities. He oversees the entire global portfolio of hotels and resorts with respect to sales and marketing.

Being a ‘true’ native New Yorker, Gregory gets his energy, creativity, international style and ‘results driven attitude’ from this ‘Capital of the World’. His extensive formal education spans through the United States, London and Japan.

He started his working life on Wall Street at Shearson Lehman Hutton as a trader. After several years on Wall Street, he decided that he could not fight his ‘love’ of marketing, luxury hotels and international travel – family traits. His last position for over nine years was as Vice-President of SRS – WORLDHOTELS, a global marketing consortium of over 450 luxury hotels and resorts operating in 23 countries. He started there as a Director of Hotel Relations in New York and worked his way up the corporate ladder. Understanding the international markets, he was responsible for their explosive membership growth into luxury hotel groups and individual expansion in The Americas ands Asia.

Francesca Marchetti, Director of Sales and Marketing Europe

Based in the group’s head office in Paris, Francesca Marchetti’s recently created role has been to set up and implement a “new” sales and marketing strategy to increase awareness for Warwick International Hotels worldwide from all European markets. She also oversees the sales departments of the five owned hotels in Europe, The Warwick Champs Elysées and The Westminster in Paris, La Reine Astrid in Lyon, The Warwick Geneva and The Royal Windsor hotel in Brussels.

Born in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Francesca “caught” the “hotel” bug from her mother who owned a hotel in Florence and she spent part of her childhood between those two lovely Italian cities before following her family in Saudi Arabia and later in the Dominican Republic, where she started her hotel career as Receptionist of the Sheraton Hotel in Santo Domingo.

Fluent in English and Spanish, in 1980, she decides to move to France for a few years to improve her French, joining first Hilton Reservations Worldwide as Manager of the Paris office and then the Sheraton Sales Center in Paris. She rejoined Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1988 as Sales Manager for France, Spain and the Benelux; based in the London office, opening stand alone offices for them in Paris and Madrid. After almost ten years she left Hilton to become the Regional Director of Sales for Southern Europe for Six Continents Hotels and resorts, where she managed the Paris, Milan and Madrid offices for the group.

Jean-François Garnier – Director of Development

Mr Garnier, who orchestrated Warwick’s latest acquisition, La Reine Astrid in Lyon, France, began his career in the banking sector with BNP and Chase Manhattan. He then joined Pullmann International Hotels and subsequently became Director of Development in charge of Eastern Europe for Accor. In 1995 he joined Marriott International with responsibilities including international long-term investment and project financing for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In 1999 Mr Garnier joined Warwick International Hotels as Director of Development for the group and also assists the President in all his development related activities.