International Luxury Hotel Group Le Meridien, announces the appointment of Robert Riley to take over as Chief Executive from Stephen Alexander. Stephen has been acting as interim CEO of the company over the past nine months, pending the recruitment of long term management. Stephen and Finlay McFadyen, who has also been a Director of Le Meridien, will be returning to Terra Firma Capital Partners, the private equity firm, where they are Managing Directors.
Robert joins Le Meridien following a successful sale and restructuring of ResidenSea, where he was President & Chief Executive Officer. He has more than 20 years international experience in the real estate and hotel industries, including 10 years as CEO of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group based in Hong Kong.
"Robert's hotel industry experience, combined with his background in assisting companies going through financial restructuring processes, gives me great confidence in his ability to lead Le Meridien through the next phase of its development" commented Stephen Alexander.
David Maloney, Chief Financial Officer, has decided to leave the company at the end of December. His role will be taken by Iain Ferguson, currently VP Finance at Le Meridien. Iain has been with Le Meridien since the summer of 2002 and has worked alongside David in the refinancing process over the last year. Iain joined the company from Thomson Travel Group where he was Group Treasurer and Director of Corporate Finance.
Juergen Bartels, after 3 years' involvement with Le Meridien as CEO and then Joint Chairman, has notified the board of his intention to step down at the end of the year.
Stephen Alexander commented:
"Having been with the company on an interim basis, it is now clear that Le Meridien will benefit from having a leadership team in place who will see through the next phase of the financial structuring process to completion.
It has been a privilege to work with the dedicated team at Le Meridien. I am pleased to be able to hand over to someone as well qualified as Robert to take the business forward. I wish him and the whole team at Le Meridien all the best for a successful future."
Juergen Bartels said:
"I have truly enjoyed my time at Le Meridien and I would like to express my thanks to all those who have worked so diligently to support our drive for growth. I would especially like to thank Stephen and David for their untiring work and constant diligence during very challenging times.
Stephen has been an excellent Chief Executive for Le Meridien, managing the business through a difficult year. With agreement reached on the handover of the UK based RBS owned hotels, and talks with the lenders making good progress, Stephen leaves the business well prepared for the months ahead."
Robert Riley added:
"Juergen Bartels and Stephen have made major contributions to the Le Meridien brand, having led our company through a most challenging period. I am very much looking forward to leading Le Meridien through its next phase and beyond. We hope to bring about a resolution to our financial restructuring early in 2004."
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