Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa appointed four key leaders to the hotel, which is expected to open in Paradise Valley in September 2016, and its executive chef.
The resort’s sales and marketing team will be led by Area Director of Sales and Marketing Terri Benich; Director of Business and Luxury Sales Kristen Neibergs; Director of Events Peach Duty and Director of Group Sales Rachel Jessop. Adam Sheff will be the resort’s executive chef.
Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa Sales and Marketing team:
Area Director of Sales and Marketing Terri Benich has spent the past two decades in various roles at the nearby Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch. With the addition of Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa, she has been appointed to an area director role, overseeing the sales and marketing efforts of both resort properties in the beautiful Sonoran desert. As a Michigan native who has lived in Arizona for 30 years, Benich began her hospitality career in Florida after graduating with a hotel and restaurant management degree from Michigan State University. She is active in many local community efforts and organizations and has served as the chairman for the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau Marketing Committee.
Director of Group Sales Rachel Jessop has worked at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale for the past 15 years, initially in operations management before transitioning to the sales team. Throughout her Hyatt sales career, Jessop has been recognized by Hyatt’s North America sales force as one of the top producers in the organization. Jessop, who is lived in Arizona for 16 years, is originally from Washington State and attended Gonzaga University.
Director of Business and Luxury Sales Kristin Neibergs brings more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and client services, including nine years with Hyatt, where she has managed corporate and luxury travel agency sales on behalf of Hyatt Resorts in Scottsdale. Throughout her Hyatt career, Neibergs has been recognized multiple times for her outstanding work in sales and was named Hyatt’s 2015 Sales Leadership Award Winner and Hyatt’s Transient Sales Manager of the Year in 2013. Neibergs is a Connecticut native and graduate of New York’s Union College.
Director of Events Peach Duty also has a long and successful history with Hyatt. Throughout the past 26 years, she has held various management roles in banquets, weddings and event planning at several of Hyatt’s luxury properties throughout the United States. Having recently relocated to Scottsdale, Duty spent most of her career at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa in Colorado before moving to Austin, Texas where she worked for two years at the iconic Driskill hotel. At The Driskill, Duty oversaw sales and service to the local community’s many long standing traditional events and affairs, while at the same time, building new business relationships and generating new revenue for the property. She is a graduate of Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in restaurant management. Duty has also received various awards throughout her career, including the 2014 Hyatt Leadership Award and Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association 2011 Employee of the Year.
Adam Sheff will be the resort’s executive chef. He has been a member of the Hyatt family since 2008, starting at the Blue Duck Tavern at Park Hyatt Washington, D.C.
During his six-year tenure at the hotel, he transitioned to sous chef and eventually culinary operations manager, overseeing both Blue Duck Tavern and banquet operations before relocating to Park Hyatt New York in an executive sous chef role for two years. He has worked in a number of esteemed restaurants across the country in locations like Washington, D.C., New York City, Massachusetts and Southern California.
Sheff graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 2005 after attending Northeastern University in Boston. In his new role as executive chef, Sheff will oversee the development and launch of the resort’ s signature restaurant, Weft & Warp Art Bar & Kitchen. The restaurant will be centered on a contemporary Sonoran menu concept, incorporating local and seasonal ingredients that will be heavily inspired by the culture and rich heritage of the resort’ s surroundings.
“The Andaz brand brings a new perspective to guests and immerses them in the very best of local culture, and I am honored to be working alongside such an impressive team in Scottsdale that will bring this philosophy to life,” said Scott Mason, general manager, Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa. “We look forward to opening our doors in just a few short months to guests who embrace culture, creativity, design and the arts.”
