Carlson Hotels Worldwide appoints new Asia Pacific president

SINGAPORE – Hospitality industry veteran, Jean-Marc Busato, has been appointed president and managing director of Carlson Hotels Worldwide – Asia Pacific (CHW-AP). Busato, who will take up his new position in January 2009, will be based at CHW-AP’s regional headquarters in Singapore. The appointment was announced today by Jay Witzel, president and CEO of Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

The Swiss national joins CHW-AP, one of the world’s largest privately-held hotel companies, from The Rezidor Hotel Group, where he was area vice president and managing director for the Middle East and Africa. The Rezidor Hotel Group is Carlson’s major partner in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Carlson is also the largest single shareholder in Rezidor.

“We are pleased to appoint Jean-Marc to this key leadership role in our global organization,” Witzel said. “He brings a broad range of experience and proven leadership skills to this position along with an understanding of Carlson Hotels Worldwide and its brands. His talents will play a vital role in the strategy to double the size of our portfolio in Asia over the next four years while increasing market share and building an industry leading organization,” he added.

At Rezidor, Busato was responsible for aggressively growing the group’s brands in key Middle East markets including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Egypt. Under his leadership, the company’s portfolio in this emerging region reached 23 hotels with more than 5,500 rooms in operation and further 30 hotels with more than 7,500 hotels under development. Upcoming projects include flagships such as the first Hotel Missoni (to debut in Kuwait in 2009) and The Regent Abu Dhabi (2010).

Prior to his role at Rezidor, Busato was managing director of Egyptotel SAE, a subsidiary of German tourism and shipping giant TUI. Busato helped set up Egyptotel SAE and clinched 14 new management contracts for the group’s Iberotel brand in Egypt. He was also responsible for recruiting and training more than 2,000 employees. In addition, he previously worked with Movenpick Hotels & Resorts in various positions for over ten years and holds a master’s in hotel management from the Swiss Hotel Association.