Richard M. Saul has taken office as the new general manager of JW Marriott Seoul.

Saul, 48, a native of Melbourne, Australia, joined Marriott International in 1996 as executive assistant manager in charge of housekeeping, sales and marketing at Renaissance Inya Lake Hotel in Myanmar.

In 1998, he was appointed general manager of the Renaissance Palm Garden Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, later serving as general manager of Melbourne Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott Surfers Paradise Resort Gold Coast, Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai, Renaissance Harbour View Hong Kong and others.

Saul majored in hotel management at Victoria University in Melbourne and took his first job in the hotel industry in 1978.

Accumulating a wide range of experience over the past 25 years, Saul won many prizes, including “Hotel of the Year,” “General Manager of the Year” and “Rookie General Manager” awards at the Marriott International.

“I am very excited to have taken up this post in Seoul, a dynamic Asian city,” Saul was quoted as saying in the hotel’s press release.

“In 2012, we will not only establish ourselves as Seoul’s best business hotel but also bring customer service of the highest quality that can only be found at JW Marriot Seoul.”

By Shin Hae-in  (hayney@heraldcorp.com)