Here’s
a roundup of the top hotel executive moves of the past week.
Here is a
compilation of the most important executive moves of the past week in the hotel
investment world alphabetically (by company):
First
Hospitality promotes execs. Chicago-based First Hospitality has promoted within its
commercial strategy and hotel operations departments. Nick Johnson is now
senior vice president of full service and lifestyle hotels. Johnson, an
11-year veteran of First Hospitality, began as a general manager and previously
served as vice president of operations. Anthony Leitz is now senior vice
president of premium select hotels. A First Hospitality associate for 15 years,
Leitz most recently served as vice president of operations, first joining the company
as a general manager.
New exec
for Island Hospitality Management. West Palm Beach, Florida-based Island Hospitality Management
has appointed Mark George as senior vice president of commercial
strategy. Since joining Island Hospitality in 2005 as a director of
sales, George transitioned through several general manager roles before being
promoted to vice president of sales in 2014 and then to senior vice president
of sales in 2021.
New exec
at HDR. Omaha,
Nebraska-based engineering and design consultancy HDR has appointed Jessica
Leone as hospitality sector lead. Based in the company’s New York office, she
brings over 20 years of experience in construction, consulting, development and
hotel financing. Leone joins HDR from Ernst & Young, where she worked as a
real estate consultant within the strategy & transactions practice.
New
president for Starwood Capital. Miami-based Starwood Capital Group said Jonathan Pollack has
officially joined the firm as its president, effective April 1. Pollack brings
more than 26 years’ experience in real estate investing to his new role and
will work with Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht and the rest of Starwood
Capital’s senior leadership team to guide the firm into its next growth stage.
Before joining Starwood Capital, he most recently worked at Blackstone Group,
where he served as global head of the firm’s real estate credit business since
2016. He also worked at Deutsche Bank. Concurrent with Pollack beginning his
role and as previously announced, Jeffrey Dishner has assumed the role of vice
chairman and head of strategy and business development.