Former Colony Capital head of European investing Sébastien Bazin has been appointed to the role of chairman and CEO of Accor. The decision was made by the Board of Directors earlier this week.
Gerard Pélisson and Paul Dubrule, co-founders of Accor said: “We have expressed our support to this appointment during the meeting of the Board. We have known Sébastien for over 10 years. We have always had frank and direct relationship with him. He has proven his commitment to this group that we founded more than 40 years ago, and to its values. We are convinced that he will be able to give the fresh impetus Accor needs to continue to develop over time”.
Bazin began his career in the finance sector in 1985 in the United States. Back in France in 1990, he was appointed as director of the investment bank Hottinger Rivaud Finances and then, in 1992, chose to devote himself to the hotel sector by becoming CEO of Immobilière Hôtelière company, specialized in high-end hotel developments.
In 1997, he joined Colony Capital with an entrepreneurial roadmap: to install and develop from Paris the European branch of the private investment firm founded in 1991 in Los Angeles by Tom Barrack. Within 15 years, he successfully established Colony Capital among the European leaders of the industry, with more than €7 billion under management on behalf of French and international renowned investors.
At Colony Capital, he managed and participated in a number of investments in the hotel sector, including the buyout of the luxury hotel chains Fairmont and Raffles, acquisition and management of hotel assets from La Générale des Eaux, Club Méditerranée and Accor, acquisition of a stake in Lucien Barrière Group, and investment in Accor.
Along with the management of these hotel assets, he made the choice to position Colony Capital as a reference investor, active within listed companies including Carrefour, Accor, Edenred and Dia. He also developed an innovative investment strategy in sectors where Colony Capital was a pioneer such as the catering sector with Buffalo Grill, vineyards with Château Lascombes, sports facilities with Stadia Consulting, PSG and the Molitor swimming pool and finally, data centers among which Colony is now one of the leaders in Europe.
“I take on this new role with great ambition for the Group, to which I am deeply committed, and acute awareness of the challenges it currently faces,” said Bazin. “I want it to find the boldness, dynamism and desire which it has always been led by.”
