In preparation for the return of the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand to Melbourne, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street today announces three senior appointments ahead of its planned Q1 2021 opening.
Kruno Velican joins as director of operations, Dean Easton as commercial director and Taronish Pardiwalla as director of human resources. The newly appointed hotel leaders bring worldwide experience to the soon-to-launch hotel.
Adrian Teh, cluster general manager, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street and DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne – Flinders Street, said, “With the opening date swiftly approaching we are delighted to have an incredibly talented and experienced leadership team in place. We look forward to them joining us in our pre-opening office, and seeing them bring the Hilton experience to life for our guests.”
Kruno Velican, Director of Operations, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street
Bringing nearly three decades of hospitality experience to his new role at Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street, Velican is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the hotel’s operations, including front office, food and beverage, kitchen, housekeeping, engineering and security.
Hailing from Croatia, Velican first joined Hilton in 2015 as executive chef at Hilton Sydney, where he refreshed the food offering during the launch of the hotel’s conference and events space in 2017, and initiated and led the implementation of donations of surplus food through the WOWFood Innerwest Program. His extensive global hospitality experience and passion for innovative community and sustainability programs will see Velican well placed to deliver on Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals, which is to cut its environmental footprint in half and double its social investment.
Dean Easton, Commercial Director, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street
Easton brings more than two decades of extensive experience in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. He began his career as reservation sales agent, Ansett Australia Airlines, progressing to sales team leader, then operations team leader. From there, Easton stepped into hotels, dedicating seven years to working at Radisson Resort Gold Coast, the former Le Meridien At Rialto Melbourne, TFE Hotels and Seasons Apartment Hotel Group where he was appointed national group director of sales and marketing.
Most recently, Easton worked in corporate travel management companies Carlson Wagonlit Travel, FCM Travel Solutions, and Corporate Travel Connections. Easton’s wealth of experience makes him 
well placed to oversee the hotel’s commercial function and accelerate growth.
Taronish Pardiwalla, Director of Human Resources, Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street
A 10-year hospitality veteran, Taronish Pardiwalla, began her career in 2011 at Hilton Auckland in a number of human resources roles before moving to Hilton Sydney in 2013 as human resources advisor. In 2016, Pardiwalla was appointed assistant training manager, managing the learning and development training for over 450 team members. She was promoted to human resources manager at West Hotel as part of the pre-opening team in late 2017 before returning to Hilton Sydney as human resources manager in 2019.
At the new Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street, Pardiwalla will oversee culture and talent development as well as lead the hotel’s sustainability initiatives.
Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is located at 18 Little Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. For reservations, visit Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street at melbournelittlequeenstreet.hilton.com or call +61 (0)3 9654 6888.
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