CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Extended Stay America has appointed Jonathan Halkyard chief financial officer of Extended Stay America and its subsidiary, ESH Hospitality. Halkyard has served as both chief operating officer and interim CFO overseeing the company’s operations and finance organizations while the company initiated a search for a permanent CFO following the resignation of its previous CFO last July.
“Jonathan has done a terrific job leading our organization as we have made steady and significant gains in executing our multi-year strategic plan. He has also successfully led process improvements in operations that have rolled out over the last few months”, said Jim Donald, chief executive officer of the company. “Through Jonathan’s leadership as CFO we will continue to improve our financial disciplines and overall operations in support of margin improvement, EBITDA growth, and value creation for shareholders. During the course of the company’s search process, we realized that the CFO position was where the company could best leverage Jonathan’s talents and experience.”
Halkyard served as the CFO of NV Energy from 2012 to 2013 and Caesars Entertainment Corporation from 2006 to 2012.
The company also announced that Tom Bardenett is joining Extended Stay America and will be appointed chief operating officer. Bardenett is a seasoned hospitality executive with over 28 years of industry experience having worked most recently with Interstate Hotels and Resorts as president of Crossroads Hospitality, its select-service division comprising more than 250 hotels.
“Tom brings a tremendous amount of industry experience to the role including substantial focus on the operations, sales, and revenue management of select service properties. His reputation as a hands-on and results oriented operator is well known within the industry, and he will be a terrific addition to our executive leadership team,” Donald said.
The company also announced that John Dent will join the company as general counsel. Dent previously worked for Hilton Worldwide for 14 years, most recently as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. He will be responsible for the company’s legal and risk functions while also serving as corporate secretary.
“John is a seasoned hospitality attorney with deep experience supporting hotel operations, real estate, asset management, franchise development, and litigation who will add additional depth and vision to our executive leadership team,” Donald said. Dent fills the vacancy created by the recent resignation of Bill McCanless as chief legal officer and general counsel.
The appointments of Halkyard, Bardenett, and Dent are all effective Jan. 5, 2015.
