Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Announces Four Senior Appointments in the Americas

(November 1, 2017) – Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's largest and most dynamic hotel companies, today announced four senior appointments in the Americas across its Operations, Sales and Development teams.

Aly El-Bassuni, senior vice president, Franchise Operations

In this newly created role, El-Bassuni oversees all brands in the Americas and leads a newly restructured Operations team responsible for strengthening owner relations, driving performance, and bringing consistency to the go-to-market strategies for Carlson Rezidor. El-Bassuni is based in Minneapolis and reports to Ken Greene, president, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Americas.

Prior to joining Carlson Rezidor, El-Bassuni spent more than 17 years at Wyndham Hotel Group holding a variety of roles within the company. Most recently, he served as vice president of Brand Operations leading the Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham and Wingate by Wyndham brands. In this role, he oversaw strategic direction and financial and operations management, along with serving on the brand's Franchise Advisory Council.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have a talented leader like Aly joining this organization. With his proven track record of progressive growth and extensive operational experience, he will play a pivotal role in implementing our new operations model for the Americas," said Greene. "Aly's expertise in brand positioning and franchise operations will help deliver the best service to our current and future hotels in the Americas, aligned with our five-year plan, Destination 2022."

Ross Hosking, vice president, Sales & Distribution

Hosking is responsible for driving profitable commercial revenue growth across all brands, with responsibility for sales activities in the Americas. He is based in Minneapolis and reports to Charles McKee, senior vice president & Chief Commercial Officer, Americas.

Most recently, Hosking helped launch and was president of Meetings.com, which services the TMC, Corporate and Association markets for both group and individual travel. Prior to that he spent six years with Wyndham Hotel Group as executive vice president, Global Sales leading over 1,000 team members across North America, Europe, India, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. In addition, he was responsible for Global Call Center Operations and the Field Sales organization for managed hotels.

"Ross is a remarkable leader with deep experience spearheading transformational process change in the hospitality industry, which is what we are doing right now," said McKee. "He will be a critical player as we invest in our brands, digital and distribution channels, while building winning strategies for revenue growth, profitability, and customer-focused sales teams."

Dinesh Chandiramani, vice president, Development

Chandiramani brings more than 29 years of senior level leadership in the Construction and Real Estate Development industries. He is responsible for development of Carlson Rezidor brands in the Western region of the U.S. and Canada and reports to Terry Sanders, chief development officer, Americas.

Prior to joining Carlson Rezidor, Chandiramani founded TMC America, a non-institutional, boutique private equity firm and leading capital provider to the real estate industry across all categories, including residential, commercial, retail, and industrial. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer of Hyphen Construction Group, a national general contracting firm specializing in the hospitality industry.

Mark Williams, vice president, Development

Williams joins Carlson Rezidor from Red Lion Hotel Company, where he was vice president of Development and responsible for growth of the company's upscale brands. Prior to that, he was brand president for Vantage Hospitality Group, where he oversaw the development of Lexington and Jameson, the upscale and midscale brands, respectively, for Vantage. He is responsible for development of Carlson Rezidor brands in the Eastern region of the U.S. and Canada and also reports to Terry Sanders.

"We are delighted to welcome Dinesh and Mark to our team as we embark on our ambitious development initiatives under Destination 2022, and I am confident they will help grow and strengthen our brands' presence in their respective territories," said Sanders.