MINNEAPOLIS—Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced the promotion of Suzanne Riesterer to chief commercial officer. In this newly created position, Riesterer will lead the development of the group’s global commercial strategy and direct the implementation within the Americas to ensure its alignment with the global commercial strategy and Americas’ business and brand priorities. Riesterer will continue to report to Thorsten Kirschke, president, Americas and chief operating officer.
“By appointing Suzanne to this vital position, we have not only selected one of Carlson Rezidor’s strongest leaders, but also a strong business ally to lead our commercial activities,” explained Kirschke, in an announcement. “I am very confident Suzanne, in this newly developed position, will help us grow overall brand competitiveness, advance our profitability, and increase our value proposition and return-on-investment (ROI) for hotel owners.”
Riesterer will be directly responsible for strategy development and the overall integration and alignment of the following teams: Analytics; Loyalty and Online Strategy, including Social Media; Revenue Optimization; Sales; Distribution; and Channel Management. Technology Development will work closely with Riesterer and her team to support revenue generation initiatives. She will also oversee Marketing and loyalty funds.
Since 2009, Riesterer served as executive vice president, Finance and Administration, and was responsible for the finance, legal and strategic sourcing functions for the five brands of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in the Americas. She is a member of the company’s Global Revenue Council and has served as a key advisor to the president in all aspects of the business, including strategic sourcing, organizational design and alignment, investment decisions, global partnership matters and board communications.
Riesterer joined Carlson in 2005 as vice president, Audit and Business Risk Management, where she spearheaded enterprise risk management, internal audit, business continuity and corporate security.
