Executive Team

The Saleh Hospitality Group executive team is made up of international experts from the hospitality and luxury lifestyle hotel sectors with wide ranging expertise and established track records. The team is highly selective about the number and nature of projects it pursues - ascertaining that project fundamentals point to ultimate success and excellent prospects for profitability.
ONNO POORTIER – Director International Hotel Operations
Onno Poortier is a respected hotelier and professional with three decades of extensive international corporate business development, marketing and operational experience. He has a proven success record and recognition with global hotel owners, developers and international consortium of independent luxury hotels and resorts.

A Dutch national and fluent in five European languages, O. Poortier graduated from the Hotel School of Lucerne, Switzerland and has completed the International MBA Executive Programme at INSEAD (The European Institute of Business Administration) in Fontainebleau, France.

O. Poortier pursued his career with reputed luxury hotels starting with the Le Beau Rivage Lausanne and the Palace Hotel Gstaad in Switzerland; and the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

O. Poortier joined The Peninsula Group in Hong Kong in 1979. He was the General Manager of The Peninsula Manila. Vice President of The Peninsula Group in 1985 and was promoted to Executive Vice President in 1989. He was President of The Peninsula Group in 1992 until he retired in June 2000. He played a leading role in the group's expansion into the United States of America with the acquisition and development and opening of The Peninsula New York in 1988, The Peninsula Beverly Hills in 1991, and The Peninsula Chicago in 2001. He led the group's expansion in Asia Pacific with the opening of The Peninsula Palace Beijing in 1990 and The Peninsula Bangkok in 1999. He also led the negotiations and development of The Peninsula Sydney in Australia, The Peninsula Hanoi in Vietnam and The Peninsula Jakarta in Indonesia; properties which were discontinued due to political and economic problems in these countries. He also initiated the negotiations for The Peninsula Tokyo which will open in 2006.

In 1989 to 2000, O. Poortier served as Director to the Board of The Peninsula Group’s parent company, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited; and from 2000 to 2005, he served as Director to the Board of Peninsula International Limited. From 1986 to 1996, O. Poortier served as Director to the Board of Cathay Pacific Catering Services (HK) Limited. From 1989 to mid 2001, O. Poortier served on the Board of Directors of Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide (PHRW), an international consortium of over 115 independent luxury hotels and resorts and held the position of Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific. He served on the Board of Directors of IndeCorp, the holding company of PHRW, Summit and Sterling Hotels from 2001-2004.

In 2000, O. Poortier formed his own luxury hotel consultancy group called Rembrandt Management Services Ltd. Retainer clients include Preferred Hotel Group, The Badrutt’s Palace St. Moritz in Switzerland, and Fregate Island Private in the Seychelles, Swiss Deluxe Hotels and HongKong & Shanghai Hotels Limited. In 2003-2004, O. Poortier consulted with Preferred Hotel Group (previously known as Indecorp) as Acting CEO & President in Chicago USA and was instrumental in bringing in Mr. J. Ueberroth as the majority share holder which led to an Executive Director – Global Relations position.

O. Poortier also served as the Chairman of the Board of Fregate Island Private in the Seychelles and the Chairman of the Board of The Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz; and presently as Director to the Board of the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne.

As the recipient of numerous industry awards, O. Poortier was selected “Corporate Hotelier of the World” by Hotels Magazine in 1994 and was nominated “Personality of the Year” by the hotel industry in 1996. He was also voted “Foreign Hotels Person of the Year” in 1995 by Travel Agent Magazine.
ANNE AMADEO – Vice President, Communications
Anne Amadeo’s focus as a member of the Saleh Hospitality Group team is the invention, re-invention and fortification of luxury brands.

With over 20 years of marketing and communications experience, Anne has created and led business-changing work for businesses, brands and products. Notable clients include Bulmers North America, Green Company Builders, Dorfman Jewelers, The Winnetu Oceanside Resort and The Boston Harbor Hotel, member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Anne’s work spans several continents as she repositioned and marketed hotels and mixed-use facilities in the United States, Arabian Gulf and China.

Anne began her career in Boston at the Clarke Goward advertising agency. While there she strategically planned and managed client portfolios across several marketing channels and media platforms. She became brand ambassador to her clients as she addressed brands’ value propositions and created more responsive and meaningful customer experiences. Anne worked with Boston Hops to re-invent their chain of restaurants with a fresh concept that enveloped their core audience and attracted a new customer base. Additionally, she repositioned the Winnetu Resort to be the coveted ocean-side destination on Martha’s Vineyard.

Anne later became partner at Kaminsky Brand Group. Understanding the burgeoning growth and potential of social media platforms, Anne was charged with helping brands grow passionate communities and create new commercial opportunities on social platforms. Anne launched the Diamond Dazzle Stik to market with a social media strategy that garnered enough viral attention and community growth to facilitate distribution gains at the retail level.

Anne works closely with clients’ marketing and editorial teams to enable brands’ relevancy to sophisticated and savvy consumers. She champions the development of strong, and sustainable broadcast, social and online media strategies.

Over the years, Anne’s work has been featured in Advertising Age and Adweek.
KLAUS FUCHS – Interior Architecture Design

Klaus Fuchs is founder and President of Klaus Fuchs Incorporated (KFI), a full service, interior architecture design studio, offering all-inclusive design services for the global hospitality marketplace. The firm has completed hotel projects, luxury condominium public areas, luxury retail stores and banks in the United States, Germany, Egypt and Central America.

Klaus and his team maintain the highest standard of excellence, not only from a design/functional standpoint but also in terms of owner profitability and operational ease. The firm offers the full range of interior architecture design services from initial space planning and design through construction documents, construction administration and contract purchasing.

KFI’s design philosophy is very simple - design for the market. The firm creates a custom project for each client, incorporating not only the brand standards of the client selected hotel brand but also incorporating the unique geographical and cultural flavor into each project by use of local craftsmen, artisans and artists.

The firm’s motivation is very simple—problems demand "value-added" solutions. KFI provides enhanced solutions that strengthen the client’s identity, market position and brand equity, while maximizing asset value. Additionally, KFI maintains open communication and close collaboration with clients, not only to sustain good relationships, but also to optimize project execution, and meet and exceed project objectives and expectations.

The firm’s distinctions have led to longstanding relationships with exceptional clients and outstanding design projects. Awards include Second Prize in the International Design Competition for the Grand Hotel Adlon in Berlin and Travel Magazine 2009, ‘One of the Best 100 Hotels in the World,’ for the Eliot Suite Hotel in Boston. Additionally KFI is the Preferred Design Firm for the Marriott International Hotels and the Sheraton/ Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
RICHARD RUST – Vice President, Marketing

Mr. Rust has had a diverse and distinguished career in hospitality with senior-level operational and consulting experience in communications, international marketing, administration, project management, and business development. His focus as a member of the Saleh Hospitality Group team is property concepts and positioning, as well as strategic marketing.

During his 25+ years as an international travel and tourism industry leader, he occupied numerous important positions including Director of the Empire State Building Observatory, Executive Director of The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and Director of Marketing for the Caribbean Tourism Organization. He served for seven years as marketing chief for the US largest convention hotel booking services company. Mr. Rust has direct experience in many international markets including the UK, Europe, Japan, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Early in his career, Mr. Rust served in senior positions in national and state government. That experience led to his later success in developing innovative public/private marketing initiatives for a variety of destinations and travel interests.

Mr. Rust served on the boards of the Travel Industry Association of America and the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and won a variety of industry awards. He has written extensively about travel trends and taught college courses on tourism development and marketing. He currently divides his time between Boston and Buenos Aires.


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