Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced that Matthew Hart, its president and chief operating officer (COO), will replace retiring chief executive Stephen Bollenbach on 1 January 2008.
Hart, 54, joined the hotels giant in 1996 as chief financial officer. He was named president and COO in 2004 and was elected to the board in January of this year.
Hart will become only the fourth chief executive officer in the company's nearly 90-year history, following Conrad Hilton, Barron Hilton and Bollenbach.
Bollenbach, who announced last January he would retire on 31 December, will continue as co-chairman and a consultant.
He said: "With his nearly 30 years of experience in the lodging industry, and the breadth of his responsibilities here at Hilton since 1996, including driving our financial and operational activities, Matt is uniquely suited to lead our company into the future and strengthen our position as the premier global hotel company,".
Hilton Hotels sells 10 hotels to Morgan Stanley Real Estate >>
Hilton stands by its ban on Cubans despite protests >>
Hilton launches 10-year plan to open 1,000 European hotels >>
By Daniel Thomas
E-mail your comments to Daniel Thomas here.
| | Newswire
For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail news alerts. | |