Mandarin Oriental has announced that Raphael Lanfant has been appointed global VP channel sales, a newly created role responsible for overseeing the global revenue growth and the effectiveness of the newly formed global channel sales and distribution organization. Lanfant joins the group from Alibaba, where he served as the global head of international hotel partnerships. Lanfant joins with 20 years of experience in travel related businesses, including commercial and distribution leadership roles for Expedia Group. He is based in Singapore.
Geoffrey Webb has been appointed VP global sales partners and will oversee the five regional sales hubs responsible for driving revenue from the global travel agencies and tour operators. He joined Mandarin Oriental in 2019 as director of commercial strategy for the group’s flagship property, Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. Webb is a seasoned hotelier, with over 30 years of operations and luxury hospitality experience working with brands including The St. Regis, Peninsula, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Hilton and Sofitel in Australia, Canada, Middle East, U.S. and Thailand. Webb will relocate to London.
Celine Du has been appointed VP global industry partners and will be responsible for the group’s global corporate and key account revenue. She joined the group in 2015 as VP sales and marketing, Greater China before her promotion to VP regional sales, Asia Pacific. Du has 25 years of experience in luxury hospitality with senior roles at Shangri-la and IHG prior to joining Mandarin Oriental. Du is based in Hong Kong.
Lanfant will report directly to Joanna Flint, chief commercial officer of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group; Webb and Du will report to Lanfant.
“I’m delighted to bring together this diverse and accomplished group to bolster our global sales leadership, and to explore innovative ways to support and enable our sales and industry partners around the world. Collaborating with our travel industry partners is critical to business growth in the luxury hospitality sector, given the complex needs of the luxury industry’s discerning customer base,” said Flint.
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