Albert Cheong, CEO of Sunway Hotels & Resorts, has announced the appointments of Augustine M. Silva as Sunway Putra Hotel’s Senior General Manager and TS Cheah as Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing for the 650-room 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
A Singaporean national, Augustine brings over 25 years of international hospitality management experience and robust asset and fund management exposure. Having managed international groups of hotels in diverse operating environments like New York, Seoul, Bangkok, Sydney and Singapore, his hospitality career spans a multitude of operational and strategic positions, including General Manager of the Ascott Group; General Manager, Regional Director of Operations and Chief Operating Officer under Fraser Hospitality; and Vice-President of Property Sales Optimization for the Millennium & Copthorne International based in New York, USA where he was responsible for the financial performance of the Group’s 15 hotels in the United States during his 16-month stint.
Before joining Sunway Putra Hotel, Augustine was Head of Asset Management and Fund Manager for Ascendas Hospitality Trust in Singapore. Based in Sydney, he oversaw the Trust’s portfolio of hotels in Australia, China, Singapore and Japan. In this role, he was responsible for the appointment of hotel operators to manage the hotels coupled with negotiation of the Hotel Management Agreements, providing strategic directions to hotel General Managers and their senior leadership teams, evaluating performances, analysing and approving budgets and capital expenditures, reviewing space planning for maximisation of leasable space, and assisting in business development for the growth strategies of the Trust. Ascendas Hospitality Trust is a public listed REIT of Ascendas Group. Ascendas Group is a member of Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), which is a statutory board of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade & Industry.
Augustine’s appointment to Sunway Putra Hotel is his first foray into the Malaysian hospitality industry. His immediate role is to lead the market launch of the newly refurbished Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur. He will play a pivotal role in the hotel’s vision and strategic repositioning by inspiring a culture of uncompromising service excellence, driving market-leading guest experiences and financial performance. Augustine reports directly to Albert Cheong, CEO of Sunway Hotels & Resorts.
Also new to the team is TS Cheah, taking on the helm of Cluster Director of Sales & Marketing. Most recently, TS was the Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Shangri-La Hotels in Tianjin, Tangshan and Qinhuangdao in China where he successfully led the individual hotel’s pre-opening Sales and Marketing teams in driving positive business results within a year of operations.
The Malaysian national started his career with Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts in 1983 where he was attached to the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort in Penang, Malaysia until 1991 before moving to Park Royal Hotel and Mutiara Beach Resort, both in Penang. In 1999, TS re-established links with Shangri-La Hotels when he took on his first China posting in Shenzhen, and subsequently in several other cities like Dalian and Chengdu. He moreover assumed two (2) separate stints at the brand’s flagship property, the 716-room China World Hotel in Beijing, where he dealt with countless State and Government Official Missions into Beijing. He also met and managed many senior diplomatic and senior officials of various ministries from Malaysia and the region. In China, TS held several senior Sales and Marketing positions, focussing on leadership, business mix and strategy, new business development and lead conversion.
TS’ emphasis now at Sunway Putra Hotel will be on raising the hotel’s business profile and awareness following its multi-million Ringgit Malaysia refurbishment. His immediate focus is to drive business performance, create revenue-generating strategies for guestrooms and MICE / catering and position the hotel in key markets and segments – all as a cohesive means of launching the hotel to the market.
TS will also spearhead the launch and opening of the 355-room Sunway Velocity Hotel in Kuala Lumpur in late 2016. Beyond that, TS will oversee sales and marketing of all other Sunway Hotels & Resorts, aside from the flagship Sunway Resort City’s cluster of hotels. Based at Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur, TS reports to the Senior General Manager of the hotel, Augustine M. Silva. He collaborates closely with Sunway Hotels & Resorts’ Group Director of Business Development, Wilfred Yeo.
