Hotel executive moves: Driftwood, Noble, Ohana, Peregrine

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

CHMWarnick hires EVP. Beverly, Massachusetts-based CHMWarnick has hired Jonathan Newbury as executive vice president. Newbury will provide strategic leadership to support enterprise-wide initiatives and lead the continued expansion and adoption of Proph+IT, the firm’s business intelligence platform for hotel owners, operators, and investors.

Longtime Coast exec stepping down. Vancouver-based Coast Hotels Ltd., a fully owned subsidiary of APA Hotel Canada, Inc., said longtime executive Mark Hope will step down from his role as senior vice president, development, effective March 2, after 32 years with the company. Hope has chosen to transition from his full-time role to focus more on family. Following his transition, he will serve as an executive advisor on a part-time basis. 

Concord names new SVP. Raleigh, North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality has hired Mark Fraioli as senior vice president of business development, as the company expands its West Coast presence and continues to grow its management portfolio. Fraioli will support Concord's targeted growth strategy, focusing on development and third-party management opportunities in the western United States. He has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and real estate, with a background in hotel acquisitions, investment sales and strategic advisory services. He previously held senior roles at Peregrine Hospitality Group, JLL and Marriott International.

Dovetail names new VP. New York City-based Dovetail + Co has named Shawn Cioto as vice president of operations.  Cioto joins Dovetail + Co from Maverick Hotels, where he served as regional vice president of operations – Northeast. He brings more than 15 years of experience in restaurant and hotel operations, including multiple GM roles in major markets such as New York City and Boston.

Son takes over at Driftwood. Miami-based investment firm Driftwood Capital has elevated Carlos Rodriguez Jr. to CEO, succeeding his father, Carlos Rodriguez Sr., who co-founded the company with his son in 2015. Rodriguez Jr. previously served as president and chief operating officer. Rodriguez Jr. will lead Driftwood Capital’s investment strategy and firmwide execution, while Rodriguez Sr. will continue as executive chairman and remain actively involved in setting the firm’s long-term strategy. The owner, operator and lender has some $3.5 billion in hospitality assets under management, more than $1 billion in projects under construction/development, participated in over $2 billion in loan originations, and has more than 80 hotels under management through its subsidiary, Driftwood Hospitality Management.

Fulcrum promotes executives. Jersey City, New Jersey-based Fulcrum Hospitality has made several senior leader promotions, led by the promotion of Jonathan Korr to managing director, Fulcrum also promoted four long-term leaders to executive vice president: Michael Erlingis, Richard Levins, Michael Reiss and Michael Torres. The senior executives average nearly a decade of service each with the company.

Rothman new COO at HotStats. Rachael Rothman is joining U.K.-based HotStats as COO. Rothman was previously vice president and Global Head of Hotels Research & Data Analytics for CBRE. She previously worked for Apple Hospitality REIT, Playa Hotels & Resorts, Susquehanna International Group, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

New board chair for IHG Owners Association. The IHG Owners Association has appointed Prakash Maggan, principal & CFO of Rainmaker Hospitality, as chair of its global board of directors for 2026. Maggan's background as a second-generation hotelier has shaped both his entrepreneurial roots and leadership approach. He has played a central role in transforming his family's business into Rainmaker Hospitality, which has grown from eight to 29 hotels across two states.

JLL adds in Australia-New Zealand. JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group is expanding its broader Advisory & Asset Management platform in Australia and New Zealand to meet evolving client demands. Effective immediately, Wesley Milsom will assume the role of executive vice president, Asset Management & Strategic Advisory, Australia and New Zealand. He will be based in Sydney and joins the company from Salter Brothers, where he was a portfolio manager for its retreat resort assets across Australia. He also brings experience from Elanor Investor Group and has over 20 years of expertise in a variety of hotels and real estate advisory capacities.

Latitude hires new exec. London-based Latitude Asset Management has hired Anthony Del Gaudio as chief business development officer. Del Gaudio was most recently a consultant and previously worked at IHG as regional vice president of commercial. He also worked at Loews Hotels.

Noble names new VP. Atlanta-based Noble Investment Group has promoted Emily Feeney to the position of vice president. She is a key leader on Noble’s Capital Markets and Transactions team and in her expanded role will continue to drive workstreams across financing and refinancing initiatives, lender engagement, asset sales execution and transaction closings.

Ohana promotes founding member. Austin-based Ohana Real Estate Investors has promoted Eddie Yu to partner and head of acquisitions. In this expanded leadership role, Yu will oversee the firm’s acquisition strategy across hospitality and residential investments. He joined Ohana in 2018 as a founding member of the Investments team, helping institutionalize the firm’s investment approach while executing new equity and debt strategies.  Before joining Ohana, Yu served on CIM Group's investments team.

Peregrine names new COO. Denver-based Peregrine Hospitality has named Heather Stege as COO and three additional executives to its leadership team. Stege joins Peregrine Hospitality from KBP Inspired, where she served as brand president overseeing the Arby’s brand across four states and 120 locations. Previously, she was President of Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria and also worked at Paper Source, McKinsey & Company and A.T. Kearney. In addition, Peregrine named Anthony Gaeta, senior vice president of Technology & IT Operations; Christina Gregg, senior vice president of People & HR Operations; and Jeff Gross, senior vice president of Asset Management. Gaeta has over 20 years of experience in technology leadership. Most recently, he served as vice president of IT at Benchmark Hospitality International. Gregg most recently served as senior vice president of Global Human Resources at Hornblower Group. Gross most recently led the Managed Hotel Division at Choice Hotels International and held senior roles at Host Hotels & Resorts, Hilton, Bank of America, The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott International.

Premier names new CEO. Dallas-based Premier has promoted COO Johannes Michalsky to CEO. Michalsky brings more than 12 years of leadership experience at Premier to the position. He most recently served as COO since 2024. His appointment follows the promotion of Premier’s former CEO, Hector Sanchez, to the role of president of Ashford Inc. late last year. Premier is a privately owned subsidiary of Ashford Inc., and in his new role, Michalsky will report directly to Sanchez.

Trilogy names new exec. Australia-based Trilogy Hotels has named Paul Pratt as director of Finance and Development. Pratt joins Trilogy with more than two decades of senior leadership experience across finance and operations, including key regional and vice president finance roles with Accor in both Australia and Asia, as well as prior senior positions with TFE Hotels.  

Vision promotes the president. Chattanooga-based Vision Hospitality Group has promoted Patrick O’Neil from COO to president. In his expanded role, he will oversee day-to-day operations across the company’s hospitality portfolio. O’Neil joined Vision in 2022 and was promoted to COO in 2023.