Symon Bridle has been appointed chief operating officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. In this new position, Mr. Bridle will supervise the hotels' vice presidents to ensure optimal operational and financial performance among existing and opening hotels, as well as represent the management company to owners and shareholders.

He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Giovanni Angelini.

For the last two of his 15 years with Shangri-La, Mr. Bridle was a group vice president responsible for hotels in Australia, Beijing, Dubai, Fiji, Hong Kong and India as well as new hotel projects in India, Oman and the Maldives. Previously he was group director of operations.

Before joining the company, Mr. Bridle, a UK national, held management positions with luxury hotel groups in South Africa, including Southern Sun Hotels and Westin Hotels in Johannesburg.