ARLINGTON, VA-Interstate Hotels & Resorts has tapped Jim Abrahamson to be its president and chief operating officer. He will assume the leadership mantle before year’s end, following a transition period with the current CEO Thomas F. Hewitt, who will remain as chairman.
Abrahamson, who was not available for comment to GlobeSt.com, was previously president, the Americas, for Intercontinental Hotel Group. He also served in top positions at Hyatt Corp., Marcus Corp. and Hilton Worldwide.
This experience brought Abrahamson in contact with Interstate over the years as a franchisor, he pointed out in a statement. "I appreciate the confidence IHR’s Board of Directors has in my ability to work with not only the US’s leading management company, but to play a pivotal role in pioneering third-party hotel management on a global basis," he said.
It is unclear why Hewitt is stepping down from his CEO post. He has been a director since the company was formed in July 2002 through the merger of Interstate Hotels Corp. and MeriStar Hotels & Resorts. He was named Interstate Hotels & Resorts' CEO in February 2005 and chairman in April 2009. Interstate went private at the end of 2009 when it was acquired in a 50-50 joint venture between a private equity fund sponsored by Annapolis, MD-based Thayer Lodging Group and Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels (Group) Co. Ltd., in Shanghai.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
