Madrid, 7 February 2018. Today NH Hotel Group presented its new expansion team, which combines extensive experience in the hotel development and operation arenas with broad skills managing and engaging with hotel owners and investors. By bringing this value-added on board, the Company expects to leverage the prevailing market appetite for its brand segmentation proposal (NH Hotels, NH Collection and nhow) and operating model in order to boost growth in the years to come.
The new team will be headed up by Laia Lahoz, the Group's Chief Assets and Development Officer, who is assuming ultimate responsibility for the expansion and fine-tuning of NH Hotel Group's asset portfolio, reporting directly to the Company's CEO, Ramón Aragonés, and joining the Management Committee.
The Company has rounded out its growth team by hiring Luis Arsuaga as Senior Vice-President of Development. Luis will run the Group's business development strategy and coordinate its implementation around the world. In addition, Jesús Arnedo, the Group's new Development and Asset Director for Spain, France, Portugal and Andorra, will lead the expansion in these markets. These three executives top off an experienced international expansion team which also comprises Ascan Kókai, who is in charge of northern Europe, and Juan Carlos Reus, who looks after development in Latin America, both of whom boast extensive track record at the Group.
As a consequence of the extensive transformation work undertaken by the Company in recent years, the appointment of these three executives will enable NH Hotel Group to take advantage of the increased interest from investors and hotel owners in analysing joint growth opportunities and leveraging the business model and flexibility offered by the Group in its capacity as an international player.
The new expansion team is present in the main markets in which NH Hotel Group operates and will be tasked with capitalising on growth opportunities going forward, while working in parallel to reinforce the existing relationship of trust with the Group's current partners. In the short and medium term, the Company plans to increase its presence in consolidated European and Latin American markets as well as penetrating other new high-potential feeder markets.
Laia Lahoz, Chief Assets and Development Officer at NH Hotel Group
This senior executive boasts extensive experience at NH Hotel Group and accredited expertise in articulating value-added transactions around the Group's asset portfolio, framed by the criteria of maximising returns and sustainability over the medium and long term for the Company and its existing and potential partners. She has also lead successful agreements designed to boost the Group's strategic presence and positioning.
In addition to coordinating and supervising the strategy for fine-tuning NH Hotel Group's asset portfolio, Laia will devise the strategic roadmap for the Company's organic and M&A-led growth for the coming years. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Lahoz held the position of Senior Vice-President of Asset Management at the Group, from which she negotiated important agreements which have translated into the Company's current lease coverage ratios, which are significantly above the market average.
Laia holds a law degree from Pompeu Fabra University and a master's degree in international cooperation from Barcelona's Autónoma University. Before joining NH Hotel Group she worked in the company law department of Garrigues law firm and at several firms in the hotel sector. Her appointment reinforces the Group's ability to negotiate with and earn the loyalty of its real estate owners and partners.
Luis Arsuaga, Senior Vice-President Development at NH Hotel Group
Luis Arsuaga is a renowned expert in hotel development, an area he managed at the international real estate consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL), having previously done the same job at CBRE. At both consultancies, where he built a career dating back nearly 16 years, Luis coordinated and managed some of the key transactions in the hotel business in Spain and cemented himself as an expert in analysing and developing long-term hotel strategies.
He is a law graduate from Madrid's Complutense University, holds an MBA from ICADE and a Certificate in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Jesús Arnedo, Development and Asset Director for Spain, France, Portugal and Andorra
Jesús Arnedo boasts an extensive track record in hotel operations, having managed numerous hotels belonging to NH Hotel Group as well as other important players. He comes to his new position from that of Regional Director of Operations in Mexico ad Cuba. Before joining the Group, he ran the regional and openings/projects business units at other hotel chains.
Mr. Arnedo holds a master's in hotel management from Madrid's Polytechnic University and a diploma in the tourism business from Deusto University.
