Jean Cohen, the only General Manager The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman has had so far, left the island Wednesday to take up her new position as the chief operating officer of the Atlantis resort and hotel in the Bahamas.
Jean Cohen |
Mrs. Cohen leaves behind a hotel and resort she helped become voted the best Ritz-Carlton in the world and the #1 resort in the Caribbean. Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman owner and developer Mike Ryan publicly thanked Mrs. Cohen for her role in having the resort reach those two achievements, both of which were personal goals of his.
‘Many people doubted our ability to accomplish this level of success in such a short time, but together with the talented team of ladies and gentlemen, Jean proved to be the perfect partner to make this hotel the #1 Ritz-Carlton in the world and to earn the pride and respect of the entire Caymanian community,’ Mr. Ryan said.
Speaking at a farewell gathering last Friday evening, Mrs. Cohen called her time at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman the ‘pinnacle of her career’.
Mr. Ryan said Resort Manager Chris Sariego would take over as General Manager in the meantime.
‘That was part of the succession plan,’ Mr. Ryan said. ‘But we are advertising for the position and Chris is one of the candidates.
‘As tough as it will be, we’re looking for someone even better than Jean. We want to use this as a platform… to go forward.’
Mrs. Cohen left just two days after another prestigious event at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman – the Legends Championships tennis tournament – with which Mr. Ryan said he was very pleased.
‘You’re always nervous the first time because you don’t know what to expect, but the response was great,’ he said, adding that the event was costly to stage.
However, the tennis tournament will likely help promote the Cayman Islands for some time to come. Mr. Ryan said it will air on television to some 50 million homes on a variety of cable channels, including ESPN and the Tennis Channel.
‘The Tennis Channel will continue to run it well in the future,’ he said. ‘People will always tune in to watch McEnroe play Courier, so it gets a lot of mileage.’
Mr. Ryan said the legends tennis tournament was just a continuation of the many high-profile events that have been held at the resort, starting with Sheryl Crow’s performance at the grand opening.
‘Whenever people hear the word ‘Cayman’ we want them to associate it with some sort of fantastic event, whether its tennis, a concert, food or whatever,’ he said.
Additionally, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman is making an even more important contribution to the local economy. Mr. Ryan said it employs more than 1,000 people and works in partnership with dozens of businesses in the community.
The Ritz-Carlton is also forecast to provide more than CI$9 million of various taxes, duties and fees to the Cayman Islands Government. The CI$4.3 million it contributed in tourism accommodation tax in 2007 represented an estimated 45 per cent of all revenue derived from the sector, Mr. Ryan said.
‘At a time when the major world economies, and in particular the United States economy, are slowing down, demand for The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman remains strong,’ he said, adding that the 365-room hotel had an average occupancy rate of more than 70 per cent last year.
Mr. Ryan said the Resort and Residences would continue to build on the strong foundation laid by Mrs. Cohen.
‘I am saddened to see her go and wish her every success in her new life in the Bahamas,’ he said.
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