Sensei has announced appointments in key leadership roles at Sensei Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage, California ahead of its November 1 opening.
As Sensei’s second retreat and first United States mainland property, Sensei Porcupine Creek is converting a 230-acre private estate, nestled against the Santa Rosa mountains, into a luxury wellbeing experience. The property will offer a small number of hotel rooms in the former estate house, besides several private villas. Known for its golf course and tennis facilities, Sensei Porcupine Creek will offer similar programming as found at its sister facility, Sensei Lāna’i, A Four Seasons Resort in Hawaii.
Julie Oliff joins the property as general manager. She has a long history in luxury hospitality, having been with The St. Regis brand for 10 years, serving as general manager of The St. Regis Residences in Rye, New York, as well as director of operations and spa director in Aspen, Colorado. Prior to her tenure with St. Regis, she served as spa director and director of recreation for The Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands and St.Thomas.
Tiffany Li has been appointed as director of operations and is instrumental in crafting the overall on-property experience. Li has extensive leadership experience in luxury resorts, having served most recently as director of rooms at 1 Hotels. Prior to that, she worked with Montage International at the Beverly Hills location for more than six years in progressive leadership positions.
As director of wellness, Andrea Wieland works closely with Sensei’s Wellness Science team to curate and deliver wellness programming and experiences. Wieland is a licensed psychologist with a PhD and MBA and was formerly the President of Winning Systems, which provides individual, team and leadership performance and health coaching. She also has an extensive background in sports performance, serving as associate athletic director and director of sports performance at the University of Pennsylvania. Wieland was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Field Hockey team.
Cameron Petrelli joins as the F&B director, spearheading all operations including Sensei by Nobu, a collaboration between Sensei co-founder Dr. David Agus and Nobu Matsuhisa. Prior to Sensei, he served as the F&B director at Davidson Hospitality Group. Petrelli also has a long history working in the F&B space with Fairmont in Dubai, Hawaii and San Diego, besides The Ritz-Carlton in Dallas.
Seeun “Wezy” We is Sensei Porcupine Creek’s executive chef. A graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, she worked with some of New York’s well-known chefs including Jean Georges, Masaharu Morimoto and David Chang. About 13 years ago, We began her journey with Nobu at his Tribeca location, followed by roles around the world with the brand including Lana’i, Malibu, Malaysia, Palo Alto and most recently Spain.
As head sushi chef, Takahiro Masuno will run the Nobu Sushi Bar available as part of Sensei by Nobu. Masuno has over 20 years of experience and was previously with the Ojiya Corporation in both California and Hawaii, having served as general manager and executive chef at the brand’s numerous restaurant locations.
Related Articles
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco Hires Director of Sales
Michelin-Starred Chef, Four Seasons Veteran Launch Hotel Brand
The St. Regis Washington D.C. Hires Head of Sales & Marketing