By James Wilkinson
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s President of Asia-Pacific, Simon Barlow, has resigned from his position, with President of the Americas, Thorsten Kirschke, taking over with immediate effect.
Barlow has left to “pursue other opportunities”, according to Carlson, and his replacement is one of the most experienced in the organisation.
For the last four years, Kirschke has been Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s President of the Americas and in that time has led the repositioning of Radisson, launched Radisson Blu and led a significant turnaround with RevPAR and operating performance in the United States.
Carlson’s Chief Operating Officer, David Berg, said Kirschke was the ideal executive for the role.
“Thorsten brings an exceptional background of leadership and management success in the hotel industry to this role,” he said.
“His extensive global experience includes management roles in Central Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, China and the Middle East.”
Kirschke could not be moving to Asia Pacific at a better time for the company.
Through the work of the Singapore-based team, Carlson Rezidor has been rejuvenated in Asia-Pacific region over the past three and a half years.
Under Barlow’s leadership, the team doubled the portfolio, signed major joint ventures in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is in the midst of a Radisson refresh that has been praised by key owners right across Asia Pacific.
“The Asia Pacific region is a key growth market for Carlson Rezidor where we continue to expand our leadership position across emerging markets,” Berg said.
In the Americas, no replacement for Kirschke has been announced and the existing management team of Javier Rosenberg (Chief Operating Officer, Radisson, Americas and Executive Vice President, Owned and Managed Hotels), Scott Meyer (Senior Vice President, Midscale Hotel Brands, Americas) and Phil Silberstein (executive vice president, development, Americas) will now report to Berg.