The former CEO of Highgate puts on a new hat to lead global
expansion of the evolving luxury lifestyle brand.
NEW YORK – Highgate sees an opportunity to significantly grow its only brand, Viceroy Hotels & Resort, which is actually owned separately by a handful of the company principals. In the middle of 2025, when Highgate named Pete Sams as president to run operations, conversations started that made it clear Highgate CEO since 2021 Arash Azarbarzin had the skills and desire to steer the Viceroy growth opportunity. He was named CEO of Viceroy Hotels & Resorts on Tuesday.
Highgate stated that Azarbarzin’s leadership will be pivotal as Viceroy expands its international footprint, refreshes its visual branding and digital platforms, and revamps food, beverage, and wellness initiatives to reinforce the brand’s ethos.
The lifestyle brand currently has hotels and residences in Algarve, Portugal, Los Cabos, Mexico, Snowmass, Colorado, and St. Lucia, West Indies, as well as hotels in Riviera Maya, Mexico, Kopaonik, Serbia, Santa Monica, California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Viceroy’s latest expansion includes a sales and marketing affiliation agreement with African Bush Camps for three luxury safari lodges across Zambia and Botswana.
We’re going to to buy incredible real estate, from great city hotels to interesting resorts and some small little gems, as well.
Richard Russo
In the U.S., a Viceroy Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, is slated to open in Summer 2026. In addition, Viceroy said it is expanding to Mexico’s Playa del Carmen and Puerto Vallarta, Waikiki Beach, Puerto Rico, New York City, and the Hudson Valley of New York.
Highgate Principal Richard Russo told Hotel Investment Today that while they only manage the properties in the portfolio today, the plan is to become the biggest owner of the brand and they should be announcing deals in the next few months.
“We’re going to buy
incredible real estate, from great city hotels to interesting resorts and some small little gems, as well,” Russo said.
Russo said since they bought the brand about two and a half years ago, it has reconstructed the business
in a way where it will be the only owner minded and one that generates premium returns
“With Viceroy, we’ve been able to power it with Highgate and give it the distribution, scale and resource of a bigger company, but kind
of maintain the nimbleness of a smaller company,” he said. “We don’t want to roll it under the mothership because you’re going
to lose that authenticity and the ability to create new and interesting
products. So, we thought it critical to have have
somebody to really lead that business who has experience in it. And no better person than Arash.”
And Azarbarzin knows the segment intimately from his prior
roles as CEO of the 1 Hotels, Baccarat, and Treehouse brands, as well as his
experience as president and co-founder of SLS Hotels.
Russo added that Azarbarzin will also continue to serve as a principal of Highgate. In that
capacity, he remains actively involved in advancing the company’s global growth
initiatives, supporting key strategic ownership groups, and contributing to the
ongoing development and oversight of several of their most important luxury and
lifestyle assets.
Already at Highgate, Azarbarzin has helped grow the company’s luxury and lifestyle platform, overseeing design, programming, and execution. With the launch of TableOne, Highgate’s F&B division, and Scene and Heard, its in-house marketing and creative studio, Azarbarzin helped to steer the unification of culinary, storytelling, and experiential strategy under one roof.
“This transition reflects Highgate’s disciplined approach to
aligning leadership with opportunity and ensuring we maximize the value we
deliver to our partners and stakeholders,” Russo added.
Azarbarzin has already strengthened the brand’s executive bench with a series of strategic new hires to guide its next phase of growth and transformation. It has named Patrick Pahlke as chief commercial officer; Shel Buhler as vice president of Food & Beverage; David Solis, vice president of Global Luxury and Leisure Sales; and Megan Mulholland as senior vice president of Brand Marketing & Wellness.
“I am honored to take on this role and build upon Viceroy’s legacy as the premier luxury lifestyle brand,” Azarbarzin said in a statement. “Looking ahead, my focus will be on expanding Viceroy’s global footprint and setting new benchmarks for immersive hospitality, and ensuring every Viceroy destination creates lasting memories for our guests.”