More Management Changes At Hilton

Beverly Hills, CA— More executive shuffling is taking place at Hilton Hotels Corp., based here. In the latest round of management changes, Jeff Diskin, formerly COO of Hilton HHonors is moving over to be senior vp of Hilton brand management reporting to Tom Keltner, president, brand performance and franchise development, Hilton confirmed. Diskin is credited with starting the HHonors loyalty program back in 1989. The company is still looking at potential candidates to take over this responsibility. Meanwhile, Bob Dirks has been named to the newly created position of senior vp/sales strategies and development. In this new role he reports to Dieter Huckestein, executive vp and president-hotel operations, owned and managed for Hilton. Dirks will have responsibility for planning, developing and driving key sales strategies, the company told HOTEL BUSINESS®. As a result, Steve Armitage, senior vp/sales will now report to Dirks. In more regional moves, Michael Hirsch was appointed to area vp-mid Atlantic and will take over the additional responsibilities for the two Washington D.C. hotels— the Hilton Washington and the The Capital Hilton. He reports to Ted Ratcliff, senior vp/Northeast region. Also, Bill Edwards was appointed to the position of area vp-Hilton Alexandria Mark Center and will coordinate conference center activities. He will also be responsible for the Hilton Pittsburgh and the soon-to-come-online Hilton Baltimore. He too reports to Ratcliff. These moves come shortly after Hilton placed into effect at its annual meeting of shareholders held in May, previously announced management appointments and promotions at the company including. Stephen Bollenbach is now co-chairman of the board (along with Barron Hilton), and continues as CEO. Bollenbach has responsibility for the companys operations, finance, legal, human resources, information technology and corporate affairs/investor relations functions. Matthew Hart, is now president and COO after serving as executive vp and CFO. Hart reports to Bollenbach, and has responsibility for all operational aspects of the company, including owned and managed hotel operations, franchising and brand development, the companys timeshare business and its architecture and construction function. Robert La Forgia is now senior vp and CFO after serving as senior vp and controller. La Forgia also reports to Bollenbach and has responsibility for the companys financial activities, including the project finance, asset management, treasury, tax, financial reporting and accounting functions.