Top story of 2015 originally published on August 13, 2015:
Mr. Rakesh Sarna, will join Indian Hotels Company Limited as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on 1st September, 2014. Mr. Sarna will take over from Mr. Raymond Bickson. In this role, Mr. Sarna would be responsible for steering the growth of the organization as it continues to be positioned as a strong India based hotel group with strategic presence in chosen markets outside India.
Mr. Sarna brings over three decades of experience across various leadership roles with Hyatt Hotels Corporation. He was the Group President – Americas with a portfolio of 146 Full Service hotels, 233 Select Service hotels and 15 Vacation Ownership facilities across North America, the Caribbean and Latin America with around 40,000 employees. In this role, Mr. Sarna was responsible for the development and management of all owned, managed and franchised hotels across all Hyatt brands.
Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer – International from June 2007 until his appointment as Group President – Americas in October 2012. During this time, he was responsible for the development and management of all owned, managed and franchised hotels across all Hyatt brands and for overseeing the Divisional Offices in Hong Kong for Asia Pacific; in Zurich for Europe Africa & Middle East; in Dubai for South West Asia and in Mexico City for Latin America. In addition, during this time, Mr. Sarna was also responsible for co-authoring the brand attributes of Andaz (Hyatt’s boutique brand) and leading the launch of this new brand.
Mr. Sarna has had an international upbringing. He moved to Canada as a young adult and completed his Diploma in Hospitality Administration from Ottawa.
Indian Hotels is an iconic part of the Tata group and representative of the group legacy. The current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Raymond Bickson has been instrumental in expanding this legacy globally. Mr. Bickson has also been responsible for the expansion of the brand to include luxury, upscale, mid-scale and economy hotels.
