Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, has announced the appointment of Andrew Langston, a British national with over 34 years’ experience in hospitality management and development, to help execute its ambitious five-year expansion plan. Mr Langston will assume the position of Senior Vice President of Business Development in the company’s development team, reporting to Deputy CEO Markland Blaiklock.
Langston arrives with exceptional experience and a vast cross-discipline, global network. He has held senior management positions with major hotel groups such as Banyan Tree and Intercontinental Hotels group and most recently he held the position of Executive Vice President, Strategic Advisory & Asset Management, at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels & Hospitality Group, for whom he was based in Thailand and working throughout the Asia region.
It can certainly be said that Langston’s talents in the service industry were honed at the highest level, having earlier in his career served the British royal family as a footman at Buckingham Palace, a role which included looking after H.M the Queen of England, Diana the Princess of Wales and Prince William amongst others. This natural aptitude in hospitality saw him move into the hotel industry where his steady advancement included responsibilities in Singapore, Philippines, Korea, Macau, China, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand and Australia.
“Thailand has been my home for many years now so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a large, highly respected Thai hospitality group which has such exciting aspirations of significant and strategic growth, both within the Kingdom and globally. I’m looking forward to contributing to the continued rise of this esteemed organisation”, said Langston.
“Andrew’s extensive experience in hotel operations, asset management, investment and negotiation will be invaluable to the future expansion of Centara Hotels & Resorts” said Centara CEO Thirayuth Chirathivat. “We are delighted to welcome someone of Andrew’s calibre and track record to spearhead our domestic, regional and global development efforts and we are confident that together we will make great strides towards realising our plan to double Centara’s revenues and number of properties over the next five years”.
