La Quinta's Executive Shuffle Sets Up New Growth Strategy

Francis W. Cash, retaining chairman and CEO titles, hands over the president's role to David L. Rea, the EVP and CFO for the past four years. Cash tells GlobeSt.com that Dennis Boyer, an independent headhunter specializing in the lodging industry, will lead the search for a CFO replacement. Cash says it realistically will take "three to four months" to zero in on a prospect that meets the criteria of Wall Street experience along with a CFO background from a publicly held company, more specifically a lodging corporation.

In other management changes, La Quinta's board created two EVP positions for operations and corporate administration. SVPs Wayne B. Goldberg, who joined the company in July 2000, moved up on the operations side while A. Brent Spaeth, a 16-year employee, rose to the top admin job. Spaeth will continue as senior franchise operations officer. Rea, also securing a COO's title, will report to Cash, as will the chief development officer, president of the franchising organization, general counsel and CFO.

"We want to be sure we have the team in place that's going to be intact when I step down," Cash says. "I'm 63 years old and I'm not sure how long I'm going to continue working." He says the board each September reviews its succession plan, but admits there's more to the shuffle than grooming the future team. "What the board of directors wants me to do is focus on strategic issues and chasing the brands is part of that."

The Dallas-based La Quinta's appetite to buy more brands surfaced during yesterday's earnings call. Last year's acquisition of the Baymont Inns & Suites line is exceeding expectations, the hotelier's team reported. By the end of March, the 89 Baymont hotels will be fully integrated into La Quinta's management and reservations system.

"There are opportunities for us to look for other brands for us to add value," Cash told shareholders and analysts in yesterday's call. "We will be actively pursuing those."

Before the Baymont takeover, La Quinta's growth was focused on franchising. In fourth quarter 2004, the chain added 16 La Quinta franchisees and six for Baymont to take the totals to 125 and 93, respectively. La Quinta last year had 38 franchise openings and is holding 80 signed contracts for this year, Cash says. The expectation is at least 50 of the La Quinta hotels, which will be predominately new product, will open this year. Baymont's 2005 pipeline holds 25 franchise conversions.