Crains New York - November 19, 2012 - (Page 9)

PEOPLE BUSINESS No. of interpreters and translators, including Michael Bloomberg’s sign-language signers Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 58.4K EXECUTIVE MOVES Mercer: Orlando Ashford, 44, was promoted to president of talent at the humanresources and consulting firm. He was previously head of the leadership and organization performance segment in the talent business. Marcelo Modica, 43, joined as chief people officer. He was previously general manager at JPMorgan Chase. Milla Krasnopolsky, 42, joined its financial strategy group as senior consultant and lead strategist for dynamic de-risking solutions. She was previously managing director for fixed-income markets and strategic solutions for the General Motors pension plan. AdLarge Media: Eric Ronning, 51, joined the advertising sales company as executive vice president and chief revenue officer of its digital division, a newly created position. He was previously executive vice president of emerging media at TargetSpot. KPMG: P. Scott Ozanus, 53, was promoted to deputy chairman and chief operating officer at the audit, tax and advisory firm. He was previously vice chair of its tax practice. The New School: Joseph R. Gromek, 66, was elected chairman of the board. He was previously president and chief executive of Warnaco Inc. Getzler Henrich & Associates: Bert Weil, 61, joined the turnaround and restructuring firm as managing director. He was previously vice president and treasurer at Holmes Protection Group. Hudson Realty Capital: Geoffrey Smith, 40, joined the real estate company as managing director. He was previously managing director at Natixis North America. Skanska USA: Frank Forcino, 57, joined the construction management company as vice president and account manager of interiors. He was previously project executive for Turner Construction. BuzzFeed: Nancy Newman, 52, joined the media company as vice president of sales marketing and learning. She was previously vice president of sales communications and training for the Americas at Yahoo. Jonathan Perelman, 31, joined as vice president of agency strategy and development. He was previously global lead for industry relations at Google. St Giles Hotels: Cesar Avery, 39, joined as general manager for the Tuscany and the Court. He was previously general manager of the Roger Smith Hotel. The Waldorf Astoria New York: Christopher Eagle, 42, was promoted to restaurant chef at the hotel. He was previously executive sous chef. —eva saviano GOTHAM GIGS No reservations about this job Essex House GM has hectic start to his tenure When making small talk, ‘I’ll tell people that John F. Kennedy rode this elevator’ Many New York City hotel managers had to make do without electricity, heat and hot water after Superstorm Sandy. Stephen Batta, general manager of the JW Marriott Essex House, had an enviable problem: He had to find rooms for more than a dozen displaced Victoria’s Secret models. ¶ “It was a tough job but someone had to do it,” the hotelier said. ¶ Hosting catwalk models was a cakewalk compared with his first week on the job in late September. Not only was he overseeing the luxury Central Park South hotel’s conversion from a Jumeirah property to one managed by Marriott, but he was also busy hosting former heads of government (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Tony Blair). Marriott’s top brass, including Bill Marriott himself, arrived a few days later for another dinner. CNBC was there, too, for a documentary on the company, following Mr. Batta and Mr. Marriott as they walked around the 80-year-old property greeting employees. ¶ “I guess I didn’t realize all of that would happen in my first week,” said Mr. Batta, 43. ¶ The hotelier, a sports nut who played rugby until he was 28 and competes in softball and basketball leagues, approaches his job managing 610 employees like a professional athlete gearing up for a big game. ¶ “My management style is not just to get to know my staff but also to know their children and their batting averages, so they are buying into me and the direction I need to take the hotel in,” he said. ¶ Each day by 4 p.m. he is in the hotel lobby greeting VIPs. (The 1970s band Kiss and the actor Morgan Freeman were recent visitors.) He small-talks guests with stories of the hotel’s history. “There’s downtime in the elevator when you need to make conversation with people, and I’ll tell them John F. Kennedy rode this elevator,” he said. “I call that my shake.” —lisa fickenscher November 19, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 9 buck ennis BATTA BOOM: Essex House GM Stephen Batta has hosted notables ranging from Bill Clinton to Victoria’s Secret models stranded by Superstorm Sandy during his first few weeks running hotel.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - November 19, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
SMALL BUSINESS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
OWNED COMPANIES
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - November 19, 2012