Federico Gonzalez-Tejera named Rezidor CEO & president

The Board of Directors of the Rezidor Hotel Group has appointed Federico González-Tejera as president & CEO of Rezidor.

González-Tejera resigned as global chief executive officer of Carlson Hotels Group and succeeds Wolfgang M. Neumann who has resigned as CEO of Rezidor.

González-Tejera has served as global CEO of Carlson Hotels Group since February 2017, and is the former CEO of NH Hotel Group.  Prior to that, he was a senior executive at Disneyland Paris, most recently serving as deputy general manager. He also worked at Procter & Gamble in Madrid, Brussels, and Stockholm, and served as country head of Portugal. He majored in Economics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and received a Masters of International Trade and Finance from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris.

González-Tejera said: "Rezidor is in a strong competitive position, I look forward to building on the impressive results that Wolfgang and his team have achieved. I am pleased to be able to leverage my experience, and the collective strengths of the Carlson Rezidor organisation, for the benefit of Rezidor shareholders."

Neumann will remain on the Rezidor Board as a non-executive director, and said in a statement: "As Rezidor enters a new era under new majority ownership, now is the ideal time for me to transition from a senior executive operational role to advisory board mandates.

"I am grateful to have led Rezidor's fantastic team of 45,000 hoteliers across Europe, the Middle East & Africa over the past four years, and I am very proud of what we have achieved together. It is an honour to join the board of directors, and I will embrace the opportunity to further support this unique company's ambitious development."

Neumann served as Rezidor's president & CEO since January 2013. During his tenure, he implemented a turnaround plan focused on improving the group's profitability and increasing EBITDA margins. Under his leadership, Rezidor's EMEA network grew to 100,000+ rooms in operation or under development in more than 80 countries, with particular traction in the emerging markets, and expanded in the lifestyle select, luxury, and economy segments. He has also successfully strengthened Rezidor's responsible business programme – the group was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies in every year of his presidency.

Charles Mobus, director of the Rezidor Board, added: "On behalf of the Rezidor board of directors, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to Wolfgang for his engaged leadership, strategic management, and focus on profitability. We are pleased that he will continue to play a role in Rezidor's continued development as a member of the board."