Saturday Briefing

By Mel Kaneshige

I join the Human Resources department in congratulating Darren Edmonstone on his new position as Senior Vice President-Asia. In this newly-created position, Darren will lead Outrigger’s expansion into Asia and will oversee Outrigger’s newly-established Asia regional office in Phuket, Thailand. He will continue to report directly to me.

Darren Edmonstone

Darren has been at the forefront of Outrigger’s expansion into Thailand and Bali and will guide Outrigger on its Asia expansion — something he is highly qualified for, with his extensive previous experience within the region. Prior to joining Outrigger in 2005, Darren worked with Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited, the owners of The Peninsula Group, in a number of senior management positions in Vietnam and Thailand, as well as in a corporate regional role based in Hong Kong. Before The Peninsula Group, Darren worked in Europe with the hospitality arm of The Kuwaiti Investment Office, as well as with Sheraton Hotels, NCR Australia Pty, Ltd., and Hilton Hotels in his native Australia. We are delighted to have someone of Darren’s caliber and tremendous experience in our ‘ohana.

As I have shared before, Outrigger’s expansion into select resort destinations in Asia — especially beachfront leisure resort areas — will enable us to parlay our deep leisure hospitality know-how and experience in one of the fastest growing regions of the world.

The fast-changing, highly-competitive leisure hospitality market requires specialized expertise and understanding, which Outrigger brings. We have already been approached by a number of leading Asian hotels and resort owners and developers who have expressed an interest in partnering with Outrigger to create highly successful, leisure-oriented hotels and resorts in key Asian markets.

It’s exciting to think that we will be sharing the “Outrigger Way” of delivering award-winning hospitality throughout Asia, especially with guests who want to experience our unique brand of service and aloha, no matter where on earth we’re doing business.

It’s good to know too that Outrigger is committed to making this strategic, long-term investment in the company’s future, despite the current challenges in the global financial markets.

Congratulations, Darren.