Hotel Investment Today debuts 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,
in alphabetical order.
DKN Hotels adds CEO. Irvine, California-based DKN Hotels has named Ana
Almada as its CEO. As part of the transition, DKN Hotels will be split into two
companies: DKN Hotels, which will be led by Alamada and will operate and manage
the company’s portfolio, and DKN Ventures, which will be led by founder and
former CEO Kiran Dahya, and will acquire, divest and develop hotels. Almada has
been with the company for 25 years.
Rotana names Barnes as new
CEO. Abu Dhabi-based Rotana
appointed Philip Barnes as its new CEO, effective March 1. Barnes spent almost
25 years at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts with several senior leadership roles,
most recently as regional vice president of Southern California. He previously
worked at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts and Shangri La Hotels &
Resorts.
Mainsail names new CFO. Lisa Conner has been named CFO of Tampa, Florida-based
Mainsail Lodging & Development. Conner spent over 10 years working for
accounting firms PwC and KPMG and more than 15 years with private equity,
public and privately held companies.
Danziger retires. Eric Danziger, CEO of Braintree Group and Resolute
Road Hospitality, has announced his retirement after a more than 50-year career
that started as a bellman at The Fairmont San Francisco. Danziger will remain
active on the Braintree Board of Directors to ensure a seamless transition and
to provide further insights. His hospitality journey included notable roles
such as CEO of Trump Hotel Group, president and CEO of Starwood Hotels,
president and COO of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, and president and CEO of Wyndham
Hotel Group. Danziger’s first executive role was with DoubleTree Hotels, where
he was part of the team that created the iconic DoubleTree cookie.
Hilton names VP of luxury
brands for Asia Pacific. Hilton
has named Candice D’Cruz as vice president of luxury brands for Asia Pacific.
D’Cruz, based in Singapore, is responsible for leading Hilton’s luxury brands —
Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts and Conrad
Hotels & Resorts — across the region.
New development exec at Whitbread. Whitbread PLC has added Owen Ellender to its UK and
Ireland development team to the newly created role of senior development manager
to support the company’s strategy of expanding its network of Premier Inn and
hub by Premier Inn hotels. Owen previously worked at CBRE and joined Whitbread
as an acquisition manager in 2011.
New CFO for Red Sea Global. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Red Sea Global has named
Martin Greenslade as group CFO. Greenslade has more than 30 years of experience
across the real estate, financial services, defense, and manufacturing sectors
across the UK, Europe, and Africa.
PPHE names co-CEO. Netherlands-based PPHE Hotel Group has named Greg
Hegarty as co-CEO of the company, effective immediately. Hegarty has been in
various leadership roles with PPHE for 18 years and has been COO since 2019. He
previously worked at Clermont Hotel Group and RBH.
Aligned Hospitality adds
new COO. Aligned Hospitality
Management has named Deborah Lahti as its new COO. She previously worked as
director of hotel and resort sales at Visit Phoenix and has also worked at
several hotel properties.