Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts announced today that after an illustrious 35-year career with the company, Antoine Corinthios will be leaving Four Seasons in the fall of this year. Christopher Norton will be appointed President Hotel Operations – Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) effective September 1, 2012. Norton joined Four Seasons in 1989 and has served as Regional Vice President of the company and General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris since 2007.

“There’s no doubt that Antoine is truly one of the pioneers of our great company – both in building our global portfolio of hotels, but also in championing the culture and spirit that make Four Seasons so special,” said Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Antoine has great intelligence, quick wit and incredible style. His highly sought after advice has guided countless Four Seasons careers and his extraordinary contributions will leave a lasting legacy on numerous current and future leaders.”

Succeeding Corinthios is Christopher Norton, a 23-year Four Seasons veteran. Norton joined Four Seasons in 1989 as an Executive Assistant Manager at Le Quatre Saisons, Montréal (formerly a Four Seasons hotel). Since that time, he has held progressively senior roles in every region in which the company operates in both urban and resort locations. Since 2007, Norton has been Regional Vice President and General Manager of one of the company’s flagship properties, Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris. As Regional Vice President, Norton has had operational oversight for a number of hotels and resorts in Europe, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean, working closely with employees, customers and hotel owners. In addition to his regional responsibilities, Norton has chaired the company’s Global Spa Task Force, overseeing Four Seasons spa efforts worldwide. Under his leadership, Four Seasons was recognized by the 2011 SpaFinder Reader’s Choice Awards as the Best Brand Overall and as the Reader’s Choice for Best Resort Spa Brand by Spa Magazine.

“Chris is a talented operations leader who inspires loyalty from his team, admiration from his peers and confidence from our hotel owners,” said Taylor. “He possesses not only tremendous business acumen but also great creativity and capacity for change management. His extensive leadership experience in Europe, the Middle East and Asia make him perfectly suited to take on this new challenge.”

Norton will join President Hotel Operations – Asia Pacific Chris Hart and President Hotel Operations – Americas Craig Reid in providing strategic leadership to the properties in each of Four Seasons diverse operating regions while maintaining the company’s passion for service excellence, unrelenting focus on enhancing the guest experience and fostering and promoting its globally recognized culture. A key part of this role is harnessing the imagination of employees in the region around exceeding guests’ expectations and working collaboratively with Four Seasons Executive Vice President, Global Product and Innovation Chris Hunsberger to ensure their ideas are syndicated and shared globally. All Regional Vice Presidents in the region will report to Norton and he will report to Taylor.

“When I joined Four Seasons, we had just one hotel in the region. Today, EMEA represents 30 percent of our global portfolio, and growing, with the opening of the landmark Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Azerbaijan and the much anticipated Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg this year,” said Norton. “I’m honoured to take on this role at such an exciting time in the company’s history. Four Seasons is regarded as the pinnacle of excellence and I look forward to cementing our leadership even further.”