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 Newsmaker: Starwood Realigns Sales
By Michael B. Baker
SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 --
Starwood Hotels & Resorts this month altered the structure of its senior leadership, appointing a new hotel group president who will oversee the multibrand hotel company's global sales organization and creating a new position to oversee design for the company's brands.
Following the departure of hotel group president Matt Ouimet, Starwood announced that it would split the team co-managing its vacation ownership division to have one leader over each division. Matthew Avril (pictured), one of the co-presidents of Starwood Vacation Ownership, now is the president of Starwood Hotel Group, overseeing operations for all nine Starwood brands—Le Meridien, Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft and Element—as well as global sales. Fellow co-president Sergio Rivera, meanwhile, now has sole management responsibility for the vacation ownership business.
"In light of current economic conditions and as a result of our organic growth over the years, we are also working to streamline our organization, reduce costs, improve efficiency and ensure we are properly structured for long-term growth," Starwood CEO Frits van Paasschen said in a statement. "Today's management changes will streamline our senior leadership team, enable us to operate more efficiently, better serve our divisions and continue to maintain the level of service our customers expect from our global portfolio of brands."
Avril has worked with Starwood and Vistana, a vacation ownership company that now is a part of Starwood's group, for 16 years, including roles in operations, sales and marketing, management and shared services. He previously worked in public accounting for KPMG Peat Marwick.
Starwood this month also announced Mike Tiedy, former vice president of creative design for upscale department store chain Nordstrom, as its senior vice president of brand design and innovation, a new position. Tiedy will oversee the design of all nine Starwood brands worldwide.
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