Belmond steals Starwood Hotels' APAC brand director

Belmond has announced the appointment of Arnaud Champenois (pictured) as its senior vice president, of marketing and brand, effective immediately. He joins Belmond from Starwood Hotels and Resorts where he has held the position of vice president and brand director for Asia Pacific since 2011.The new role will also move Champenois from Singapore where he first arrived in 2009 to be based out of London. Champenois has over 20-years of experience in leading brands, marketing and communication in the luxury goods and services sector.Prior to his stint at Starwood, Champenois was regional ASEAN brand director for various brands such as Biotherm, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent at L’Oreal Luxury Products Division. Earlier roles also include working for Cartier in London for three years.Roeland Vos, president and CEO of Belmond said, “Champenois’s experience in building high-performance teams to drive fast growth and brand awareness in developed and emerging markets means he will be a fantastic asset to Belmond and help us to be better, special and different.”Champenois, who is heading back to Europe after eight years in Asia added, “It is a great honor to pursue my career in a global role and join Belmond and its iconic portfolio of hotels, trains, cruises and safaris, based out of London, one of my favorite cities in the world. I am excited to become part of Belmond at this exciting juncture in the company’s history and to help accelerate its growth and strengthen the brand equity and global awareness.”Belmond is a global portfolio of luxury travel experiences including hotels, trains, cruises and safaris. Established almost 40 years ago with the acquisition of Hotel Cipriani in Venice, the company now owns and operates 47 hotel, rail and river cruise experiences globally.