CEO Turnover: The China Effect

Hotel company CEO turnover has picked up in the past two years with 12% of the world’s 50 largest hotel companies now being led by a new Chief Executive. Given the world’s economic instability companies have become more conservative in their CEO selection with a rise in the number of internal appointments. It is perhaps unsurprising that hotel boards have increasingly sought ‘a safe pair of hands’ to lead their companies with fewer CEOs coming into the hotel world from other sectors.

50 of the largest hotel companies in the world, as published by HOTELS Magazine in September 2011, have been reviewed for this biennial study. 44% of the hotel companies included in this list are headquartered in North America, 34% in Europe and 22% in Asia. 44% are publicly listed and 56% privately held.

By far the largest company in this group is the InterContinental Hotels Group – both in terms of number of rooms (647,161) as well as by number of hotels (4,437). With only 17 properties, MGM Resorts International represents the smallest company by number of hotels; and privately owned Prince Hotels Inc., the smallest by room count.

Tracking CEO succession at these hotel companies for each year since 2004, Aethos Consulting Group™ analysed the profiles and demographics (age, gender, education) of the outgoing and incoming CEOs as well as their respective backgrounds in terms of industry sector, geography, function and position.

Download the complete CEO Turnover Study here.