Look at what just popped up in my in-box …
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STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS NAMES MATT OUIMET PRESIDENT, HOTEL GROUP
Former President of Disneyland Resort to Oversee Global Hotel Operations
WHITE PLAINS, NY – July 25, 2006 — Steven J. Heyer, Chief Executive Officer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), announced today that the Company has named Matt Ouimet as President, Hotel Group. Ouimet, 47, spent 17 years at The Walt Disney Company, most recently serving as President of the Disneyland Resort. In this newly created position, Ouimet will oversee hotel operations worldwide for the Company’s nine hotel brands consisting of more than 850 hotels in 95 countries. Reporting to Heyer, Ouimet will also be a member of Starwood’s Senior Leadership Team.
“Starwood is firing on all cylinders after having dramatically reshaped our company, and as we move to the next stage of our transformation, we looked for an executive with the depth in leadership that Matt can provide,” said Heyer. “With his background in resort development, marketing and operations, Matt can work across many different disciplines to help us efficiently and effectively execute upon our strategy.”
Heyer continued, “As our industry-leading results would suggest, our divisional operators are doing a phenomenal job and our leadership team is very strong. Matt bolsters our global team and strengthens our bench. This new structure streamlines our decision making process and speed of execution, enabling me to focus on what’s next, and our external network including shareholders, owners, developers, suppliers, and partners.”
“I am excited to be part of this team which has its sights set on nothing less than reinventing the industry,” said Ouimet. “With its commitment to innovation, new product development, service excellence and an aggressive global growth strategy, there is no question that Starwood is the company to watch in this sector.”
Starwood’s four Divisional Presidents overseeing hotel operations in North American; Latin America; Asia-Pacific; and Europe, Africa and the Middle East respectively will report to Ouimet, who will be based in Starwood’s headquarters in White Plains, New York.
Ouimet joined The Walt Disney Company in 1989 and began his career there in a variety of finance and business development roles. Rising quickly in the ranks, Ouimet ultimately led four separate business endeavors for Disney. During his tenure with Disney, Ouimet served as Executive General Manager of Disney’s Vacation Club; President of Disney’s Cruise Line and, of course, most recently President of the Disneyland Resort, where he oversaw two theme parks and three hotels with 20,000 employees. Ouimet earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in accounting from State University of New York at Binghamton.
The folks at Starwood clearly are thrilled to have Mr. Ouimet coming on board as head of their Global Hotel Operations. As is evidenced by this e-mail that was just sent out to all Starwood Hotel & Resorts employees:
Dear Colleagues:
Our work toward becoming a company that delivers memorable experiences to guests continues. With clearly defined brands, a robust growth strategy and pipeline and a solid financial outlook for the future, we already have a strong foundation for success. As you’ve heard me say countless times, now it’s all about execution – executing more quickly, more nimbly and more boldly than ever before. To make it all happen, we must continue to align our resources toward our evolving direction and priorities.
Today, we have taken another step in the next stage of our transformation. It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Matt Ouimet as President, Hotel Group. Matt joins Starwood after 17 years at The Walt Disney Company, most recently serving as President of the Disneyland Resort. In this newly created position, Matt will oversee hotel operations for all brands worldwide, with Starwood’s Divisional Presidents directly reporting to him. In this capacity, Matt will report to me and will serve as a member of our Senior Leadership Team.
With his depth in leadership and background in resort development, marketing and operations, Matt will further strengthen our already strong senior team and work across disciplines to streamline our decision-making and execute more efficiently and effectively on our strategy. Matt’s role will also bolster our ability to continue to innovate, to develop new products and to focus on service excellence.
Matt joined The Walt Disney Company in 1989 and began his career there in a variety of finance and business development roles. Rising quickly in the ranks, Matt ultimately led four separate business endeavors for Disney. During his tenure with Disney, Matt served as Executive General Manager of Disney’s Vacation Club; President of Disney’s Cruise Line and, of course, most recently President of the Disneyland Resort, where he oversaw two theme parks and three hotels with 20,000 employees. Matt earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in accounting from State University of New York at Binghamton. (See attached press release for further information.)
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Matt.
Best,
Steve
Given that Matt played such a big part in getting the Disneyland Resort ready for its 50th anniversary celebration, Ouimet was once thought to be Disney’s fair haired boy. The man who was being groomed for bigger things at the Mouse House. But now that Matt has suddenly moved over to Starwood, one wonders what Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Disney Parks & Resorts, is going to do next. Promote Greg Emmer, vice president of operations at Disneyland Resort, to serve as Matt’s replacement? Or look for someone else (I.E. Someone who would please Bob Iger) to serve as the next president of the Disneyland Resort.
First Nina Jacobson, now Matt Ouimet. Things have certainly gotten interesting around the Mouse House now that Bob Iger is the Big Cheese.
Your thoughts?