Atlanta-based Hotel Equities recently named James Hansen as its new EVP. Hansen will handle the state of Florida and support HE's business development team on strategy and daily direction. He will work with Chief Development Officer Joe Reardon to ensure all strategies are implemented throughout the North America and the Caribbean.
Hansen has more than 20 years of experience of leading hotels, management companies and ownership groups in top line sales, operations and asset/portfolio growth working with brands such as Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Marriott. Before joining HE, he was VP of sales and marketing at Kolter Hospitality. While there, he was responsible for the oversight of Kolter Hospitality’s sales and marketing efforts and top-line revenues which exceeded $125 million, while assisting with the company’s overall growth platform which included over $600 million in hotel real estate transactions.
Twenty Four Seven Hotels, meanwhile, has named Phil Norman as EVP of people, resources and development. In the newly created position, Norman will oversee and provide executive oversight for talent management, including leadership development, organizational capability and change management.
Most recently, Norman was chief human resources officer with Canyon Ranch where he operated human resources functions across geographically distributed locations and brands with 1,840 U.S. employees across hotels and cruise ships. He also held similar positions as human resources director at both the Homestead, America’s oldest resort property dating to 1766, and the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, overseeing 1,250 team members, while ensuring safety and building an inclusive environment.
“With 35 years of hospitality human resources experience, Phil is the ideal candidate to take over our people resources and development team as well as provide immediate support to our on-property teams,” Twenty Four Seven Hotels CEO David Wani said in a statement. “His performance at both the hotel and corporate levels has been amazing, creating workplaces where every associate is gratified by their work and where they feel they belong. Phil’s reputation of aligning systems and processes and his focus on workplace culture create the potential for exceptional stakeholder returns and in turn support the growth of the company.”