Effective May 14, 2020, Douglas Kessler is resigning as president and CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust, as well as resigning as senior managing director of Ashford Inc. The Board of Directors has appointed J. Robinson Hays, III, to the role of president and CEO. Hays has been serving as the company’s chief strategy officer since May 2015.
Hans Jenni, president of General Hotels Management (GHM), is retiring from the company. Jenni had helped found the company in 1992, and since then, Jenni has been a leader for the company and it has grown with independent hotels and resorts across the globe.
Troy Alstead is joining the Board of Directors for OYO Hotels and Homes. Alstead will hold a supervisory role and provide guidance on business decisions. Alstead spent 24 years with the Starbucks Corporation and is founder, president, and CEO of Ocean5 and Table47.
Lore Group has appointed David Taylor to chief operating officer. In this role, he will assist in growing Lore Group’s portfolio and hospitality concepts. Before joining Lore Group, Taylor was vice president of operations for Intercontinental Hotels Group, where he looked after the Principal Hotels portfolio.
OTO Development has named two new executives to lead its Residence Inn by Marriott Long Island Garden City: Allison Mitchell is general manager, and Samira Clarke is director of sales. Mitchell was previously general manager of the SpringHill Suites La Guardia, and Clarke was most recently director of sales for the AC Hotel New York Times Square.
David Chester has been named senior managing director of distribution and technology for PROVision Partners International. In this new position, Chester is working with the executive leadership team to provide positive results for the company’s clients.
Tim McMinn is design principal of KAI Enterprises, where he will lead creative direction, solution development, and quality of architecture design. McMinn will also recruit and develop talent for the firm. Before KAI, McMinn owned DesignSix, a consulting practice in Illinois, for nine years.
The Alliance for Downtown New York has selected Josh Katz as the winner of the Lower Manhattan’s Explore in Chief Summer Dream Job Contest. The assignment that Katz will be working on is aligning with the new public health and safety guidelines in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
