Hotel executive moves: Ace, Coury, Jumeirah, Four Seasons

Here is a compilation of the most important executive moves of the past week in the hotel investment world alphabetically (by company):

New CEO at Ace Hotel. London-based Ace Hotel has announced that Chris Penn has rejoined the company as CEO. Throughout his 25-year hospitality career, Penn has operated independent hotels across a broad spectrum of markets, most notably in the lifestyle sector. Penn opened Ace Hotel London in 2013 and served as managing director. He founded the lifestyle brand Birch in 2020. The company also appointed Mostafa Abdella as COO. Abdella’s 25 years of experience in the hotel industry has seen him hold positions of increasing seniority in finance before moving into managing director roles. Abdella was the managing director of Ace Hotel London following Penn’s tenure. Ace also appointed Meriem Soliman as chief brand officer. Soliman first joined Ace in 2012 as general counsel and, in 2021, took on the role of president in addition to the general counsel role.

New president for Coury Hospitality. Dallas-based Coury Hospitality has promoted Andrew Casperson to president. Casperson joined Coury in the spring of 2023 and has led operations strategies for the portfolio of hotels, bars and restaurant concepts. Casperson will also lead Concert Hospitality, which launched in July to manage hotels in the full- and limited-service sectors.

Cycas names new COO. Amsterdam-based Cycas Hospitality appointed Philip Steiner as COO for the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal. Since joining Cycas Hospitality in 2018, Steiner has held several strategic roles, including director of accommodations and serviced apartments and later led the Moxy and Residence Inn by Marriott complex in Slough.

New CCO at Extreme. Philadelphia-based Extreme Hospitality has named Ryan Alpert as its chief commercial officer. He has 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry and previously served in several roles at GF Hotels & Resorts, most recently as EVP of commercial strategy. Before that, he worked at Interstate Hotels & Resorts.

New exec at Four Seasons. Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has named Keisha Smith as executive vice president and chief people and culture officer. With career spanning over two decades, he has held senior HR roles at public and privately held companies across the fashion, media, and financial services industries. Before joining Four Seasons, she served as the chief people officer at Tory Burch. She also worked at News Corp and Morgan Stanley.

New regional VPs for Highgate. Irving, Texas-based Highgate has appointed Randy Diamond and Angela Nolan as VPs of its portfolio across the Hawaii region. Diamond has been named VP of operations for the portfolio of independent hotels managed by Highgate Hawaii, while Nolan will lead as VP of operations for eight branded assets in the region.

New CEO at Jumeirah Group. Dubai-based Jumeirah Group has named Thomas Meier as its new CEO. Meier was previously COO of the company and was appointed as interim CEO in 2024. Before joining the Jumeirah Group, Meier held senior-level roles at Minor Hotels and Raffles Hotels & Resorts.

New SVP at Peachtree. Atlanta-based Peachtree Group has named Josh Rubinger as senior vice president of national accounts for its broker-dealer affiliate, Peachtree PC Investors. He has more than two decades of experience in financial services and previously served as senior vice president and head of national accounts for Ashford Securities. He also worked for Lightstone Capital Markets, Thompson National Properties LLC, Oppenheimer Funds and Columbia Funds.

Rembrandt names new group CEO. Rembrandt Asset Management has named Zaki Baz as group CEO. Baz is also CEO of Rembrandt Hotel Corp. and is a pioneer in Thailand’s hospitality and asset management sectors. He has over 20 years of experience managing hotels and previously worked for Kingston Hotels Group and RevPi.co.

New EVP for Remington. Dallas-based Remington Hospitality has named Adrian De Gortari as its new executive vice president of revenue. De Gortari joins Remington with more than 15 years of experience in commercial services and revenue management. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of revenue management for a private equity firm and has also worked for Magna Hospitality Group and Marriott International.

Standard Hotels CEO steps down. Amber Asher, CEO of Standard Hotels, has officially announced she will step down following the company’s sale to Hyatt Hotels Corp. She joined Standard International in 2011 before being promoted to president in 2017 and then CEO in 2021. Hyatt Hotels completed its acquisition of Standard International, the parent company of The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels brands, in October last year for $355 million.

Stonebridge names new EVP. Denver-based hotel management firm Stonebridge Companies has appointed Lee Palaschak as executive vice president of operations. Palaschak will also open a new company office in Dallas as part of his responsibilities. Palaschak brings 35 years of experience to Stonebridge. He previously served as senior vice president at Remington Hospitality and held senior-level positions at hospitality organizations, including Aimbridge Hospitality, Winegardner & Hammons and Commonwealth Hotels.

New execs at Westgate. Orlando-based Westgate Resorts has made several executive appointments. Mitch Less has been appointed COO and has over 35 years of industry experience, having served as a partner at Grant Thornton, where he specialized in the hospitality and real estate sectors. John Willman, a 30-year veteran of Westgate, has been promoted to CFO. Since joining the company in 1994, Willman has played a crucial role in transforming Westgate’s finance operations, including overseeing its financial reporting and loan portfolio. Jared Saft, an 18-year veteran of Westgate, has been promoted to chief business and strategy officer and will continue to lead marketing, hotel sales, product development and owner services while also overseeing the company’s long-term growth strategy.