DALLAS, Texas – December 1, 2020 – Aimbridge Hospitality, the leading, global, third-party hotel management company, today announced the appointment of Michael J. Deitemeyer to chief executive officer. He will succeed cofounder Dave Johnson, effective January 1, 2021. Since October 2019, Deitemeyer has served as the global president of Aimbridge Hospitality, overseeing the successful merger with Interstate Hotels & Resorts, where he served as CEO.
Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson will assume the newly created role of executive chairman where he will focus on transformational growth, including capital markets, M&A, and new business opportunities. Since cofounding the company 17 years ago, Johnson has led Aimbridge to become a global powerhouse from its original portfolio of eight properties into the world’s dominant hotel operator with a premium portfolio of more than 1,500 branded and independent properties in 20 countries and over 60,000 employees.
“With the successful merger of Interstate behind us and Mike’s partnership in running the business over the past year, this is the ideal time to transition the role of CEO,” said Dave Johnson. “I have been so impressed with Mike’s ability to gain the trust and alignment of our leadership team and bring fresh new thinking to the business. The team, our current portfolio, and future projects will benefit from Mike’s extensive industry knowledge, proven instincts, and a straight-forward approach to the fast-evolving global hospitality industry.”
In his new role as President and CEO, Deitemeyer will be responsible for all of the company’s business segments and will report to both Johnson and the Board of directors. He brings over 25 years of hospitality experience to the role, where he will focus on streamlining operations and building new segments of business for the company, which has added 128 properties to its robust portfolio this year and is on track to add another 120 properties in the next 120 days. Deitemeyer continues to have a seat on the board of directors.
“It’s an honor to step into the role of CEO of this incredible company,” said Mike Deitemeyer. “Aimbridge has distinguished itself among the competition with its unparalleled breadth of resources, talented and committed people, and industry-leading ideas. I look forward to building upon this powerful foundation. I have known Dave for a long time and have been fortunate to witness his vision for the company. I am grateful to have his continued counsel as we write the next chapter for Aimbridge.”
Glenn Murphy, Chairman of the Aimbridge Board said, “Mike has demonstrated he has the strategic instincts, operational savvy and the proven ability to deliver results. That, coupled with his keen appreciation of our commitment to our owners and associates around the world, makes him the ideal CEO for Aimbridge. This textbook transition to our new CEO is the culmination of our succession plan that was endorsed by the Board earlier in the year.”
Murphy continued, “Mike is fortunate to still have access to one of the most talented and revered leaders in the hospitality industry, Dave Johnson. Aimbridge has enjoyed unrivaled success due to Dave’s vision, energy, and growth mindset.”
Deitemeyer was president and CEO of Interstate Hotels & Resorts for nearly three years prior to Interstate’s merger with Aimbridge in October 2019. He joined Interstate after a highly successful tenure with Omni Hotels & Resorts including 13 years as president, helping to grow Omni’s organization through management roles in operations, development, sales and finance. Under his leadership as president, Deitemeyer established Omni as a leading hotel brand and operator, with a reputation for delivering superior quality, award-winning service, and exceptional guest experiences.
Deitemeyer holds board memberships with AHLA and its executive committee (2014-present), AHLEF (2018-present), and MINA, representing the company as an at-large board member of Marriott International’s franchise advisory board (2018-present). He was a founding board member and served as chairperson of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands. In December 2018, he was named Person of the Year by Lodging magazine.
