Photo by Jonathan L. Cellona sourced from BusinessWorld Weekender.

Congratulations to Vlademir Reyes Batch ‘73 who was appointed last 18th August as General Manager of the Peninsula Manila. He is the first Filipino to hold the top post in this hotel, and only the third Filipino ever appointed as GM of an international deluxe five-star hotel in the Philippines.

Vlad has been in the hotel industry for almost 30 years since he graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration and after pursuing his MBA at Michigan State University. His postings for the Hilton International hotel chain have taken him from New York to the Maldives, and to Beijing as General Manager of the Hilton for the last six years.

He was recently featured in the Philippine Star, Sep. 23 edition, as the “Homecoming King,” in the column by Joanne Rae M. Ramirez. In the article, he says he hopes to give back to the community and intends to do civic work in Manila.

In his interview with Johanna Poblete of BusinessWorld, he explained his decision to come back to Manila, “There are only eight Peninsula hotels around the world. Shanghai [opening in 2009] would be the ninth, and the tenth would be the one we just signed a memorandum of agreement in Paris. I applied because of the brand. When they said it would be the Peninsula in Manila, [it had] added value, because after 30 years, my wife and I felt it’s time for us to give back to our moms. My mother-in-law is 89 this year… and my mom’s sick, so it’s good to be closer.”

Welcome back Vlad!