Wolfgang Neumann will take over as president in the new year

The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the appointment of Wolfgang Neumann to the positions of president and chief executive as long-serving chief Kurt Ritter steps down.

Neumann currently serves as chief operating officer for the organisation and will step up to the hot-seat on January 1st.

Ritter has been president and chief executive of the Rezidor Hotel Group since 1989.

“We are pleased to announce the planned transition of Wolfgang Neumann as incoming president,” said Trudy Rautio, chairman of the Rezidor board.

“He is an internationally experienced hotelier who will build on Rezidor’s strengths as an industry leader and valuable member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group - with a continued focus on revenue generation and profitable growth.” 

Ritter is one of the longest serving chief executives in the hospitality industry.

Under his leadership, Rezidor’s portfolio grew to more than 430 hotels with 95,000 rooms in operation and under development in 70 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In announcing his transition, Ritter said: “I was fortunate to live my dream.

“I always wanted to become an hotelier and, looking back on more than 35 great years. I met inspiring people, negotiated exciting deals, and always enjoyed working in the service industry.”

Neumann joined Rezidor in May 2011.

As he prepares to assume the chief executive role, he stated: “I am honoured to succeed Kurt Ritter, and look forward to leading Rezidor in our ambitious Route 2015 strategy.

“We will continue to focus on meeting the needs of our guests, owners and shareholders while building with our team members on the unique culture of this dynamic company.”

Through Route 2015 - a comprehensive programme launched in December last year -Rezidor aims to increase its EBITDA margin by six to eight per cent by the year 2015.

The strategy puts a strong focus on revenue generation including: global strategic partnership activities with Carlson, cost-saving initiatives, accelerated asset management programs and further growth of the fee-based hotel portfolio – with a focus on new and emerging markets such as Russia/CIS and Africa.