Executive Appointments at Best Western

Best Western has promoted Mr. Johannes Jahns to the position of Director of Operations Asia and Mr. Hartmut Noack has been appointed as General Manager of the Best Western Premier Creek Hotel, Dubai.

Mr. Jahns was formerly Best Western’s Group General Manager for the United Arab Emirates. Under his new assignment, effective June 1, 2009, he will transfer to the Best Western Asia Head Quarters office in Bangkok, Thailand, and report directly to Mr. Glenn de Souza, Vice President International Operations Asia.

Mr. Jahns has over 30 years of experience in the hotel industry, spanning Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to joining Best Western, he was Chairman of Watertree Hotels and Resorts in South Korea, overseeing the operations of over 2,500 bedrooms and serviced apartments, while at the same time holding a position as a Senior Vice President with Jeju Investment and Development Company, a hotel and real estate developer in South Korea.

Mr. Jahns started his career by becoming one of the industry’s youngest General Managers, at just 28, of the 500-bedroom Silahis International Hotel in Manila. Since then, he has held a number of Senior and General Managerial positions with Shangri-La, InterContinental and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, while picking up the award for General Manager of the year with Ramada International Hotels in 1989.

Mr. Jahns is also an avid enthusiast in working to develop ‘kids in sport’ and was instrumental in setting up the Philippine Football Federation’s Metropolitan Football League as well as the Philippine Junior Golf Tour. He also applies this enthusiasm to philanthropy and set up ‘Being human Foundation’, an NGO in the Philippines, which encourages companies to socially re-invest.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Jahns said, “Moving to Bangkok and taking over the reigns of Best Western’s operations in Asia is a wonderful opportunity. Best Western is a great and fast-expanding company to be with, and Asia is seen as the world’s most exciting and innovative hotel market, and one, that I am delighted to be a part of.”

Mr. Noack did his initial hotel training at the Professional College Hotel Industry Wuppertal, Germany. Today, he has over 30 years experience in hotel operations and is also a former holder of Ramada International’s Asia Pacific General Manager of the Year Award. He was most recently General Manager at the 252-room Hanoi Horizon Hotel in Vietnam. Previously he was general manager of Ramada Hotel, Dubai, UAE, and Okan Intercontinental Astana, Kazakhstan. He has also held senior positions with Crown Plaza, Shangri-La and Hilton.

Mr. Noack’s other distinctions include the fact that he is an ISO 14001 certified auditor and has particularly well-developed human resources management skills. He cites sports, computer, travelling and reading among his passions when not on the job.

Reporting to the Director of Operations Asia, Mr. Noack will assume his duties effective May 30, 2009.

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