Hotel executive moves: Braemar, Hospitality America, Makeready, Oyo

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

Braemar adds Shah to its board. Dallas-based REIT Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. said veteran hospitality executive Jay Shah has joined its board of directors. Shah has been a senior advisor to Hersha Hotels & Resorts since 2023 and a trustee since 2006.  He served as Hersha’s executive chairman and was the company’s CEO for 17 years.

Hospitality America names new VP. Greenville, South Carolina-based Hospitality America has named Wes Cargen as vice president of business intelligence and former operations manager for the third-party management company. Cargen previously worked with Actabl as an implementation specialist and at Hospitality America.

New exec for Hotel Equities. Alpharetta, Georgia-based Hotel Equities has named Tim Ostrem as regional director of operations in Canada. Ostrem, who has three decades of career, will oversee the firm’s portfolio of Canadian hotels. Before joining HE, Ostrem was an area general manager at North America’s largest Residence Inn. He had previous general manager roles at The Algonquin Resort, Autograph Collection and the dual-brand Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn Calgary South.

HRI Hospitality names new SVP. New Orleans-based HRI Hospitality (HRIH) has named Adnan Virani as senior vice president of capital markets and investor relations. Adnan brings diverse and dynamic experience to the HRIH team, having recently served as the director of investor relations at FD Stonewater, LP. He also worked at Truist Financial Corp.

New COO for La Vie. Sydney-based La Ve Hotels and Resorts has named Marcus Hanna as COO. Hanna has more than 25 years of hospitality experience and joins La Vie after almost two decades with Accor hotels, most recently as vice president of operations Pacific for Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems. He has also worked for InterContinental and Sofitel.

Makeready names new VP. Dallas-based Makeready has named Eric Gavin as president of operations. He joins Christine Magrann, president of brand development and restaurants, in leading the company. Gavin has over 20 years of hospitality experience and most recently served as COO for Benchmark, which is Pyramid Global Hospitality’s independent, luxury and lifestyle division.

Oyo adds executives. Gurugram, India-based Oyo has changed its leadership team with five key appointments ahead of its IPO. Sonal Sinha has been named COO – international, while Rachit Srivastava steps into the role of COO for Oyo Vacation Homes in Europe. Shashank Jain has been promoted to head of technology and online revenue, while Ashish Bajpai has taken on the role of head of revenue and global OTA.

Radisson names regional director. Radisson Hotel Group has named Ayman Ezzeddine regional director of development for the Middle East, Northeast Africa, and Pakistan. Ezzeddine brings over a decade of experience in hospitality and development, having previously worked with leading brands across the region. He was most recently regional director of business development for Louvre Hotels Group. He also worked for Syden, WATG, Shaza Hotels and Kempinski Hotels.