Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Expands its Development Team in the Americas

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's largest and most dynamic hotel groups, today announced the appointment of nine field directors within its development team. This new geographical structure allows the team to work more effectively with franchise owners and operators in addition to other business areas across the organization.

"The diverse backgrounds of the newly appointed directors will be an enormous asset to our Americas development team as we execute our new 5-year Plan," said Terry Sanders, chief development officer, Americas, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. "This new team and refreshed structure sets a firm foundation for our future growth as we work to not only meet, but exceed, our goals and expand our brands footprint in key markets across the Americas."

Mark Williams, vice president, Regional Development, will continue to lead development in the East regions, and Dinesh Chandiramani, vice president, Regional Development, will continue to lead the West regions. The new development field team includes:

Supporting regions in the West:

Ryan Foley has been with Carlson Rezidor for almost ten years in various field leadership positions throughout the U.S. Most recently, Foley was the general manager of Radisson RED Minneapolis, and prior to that, he was the general manager at Radisson Hotel Nashville Airport.

Charles Isola joins from Which Wich, where he was a franchisee owner and operator of three locations. His locations were consistently recognized by the brand as top-operated sites. Prior to Which Wich, Isola initiated contact and negotiated contracts with prospective franchisees for Sotheby's International Realty brand as their regional vice president of Brand Affiliation.

Amit Patel joins from Wyndham Hotel Group where he was a director of Franchise Sales, New Construction. At Wyndham, he was responsible for new construction sales and development in an eight-state territory in the Northwest.

Jamie Pomeroy joined Carlson Rezidor last year as manager, Transfers & Renewals, on the development team. He was responsible for the license agreement transfer and renewal process across all brands. Prior to that, Pomeroy was a financial advisor with Merchants Investment Services where he managed over 700 accounts and $21 million in assets.

Chris Stanley was a regional vice president of Development at Red Lion Hotel Corporation where he was responsible for full and select service franchise brand development growth in the Southwest. Prior to that, Stanley was a senior director of Development at Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Supporting regions in the East:

Bill Balletto comes to Carlson Rezidor from Choice Hotels Franchising, Inc., where he was a director of Membership Development for over 15 years. He also held various leadership positions throughout his more than ten years at Amerihost Properties, Inc.

Ray Bodnar joins from Wyndham Worldwide where he was the director of Franchise Sales & Development for 20 Wyndham brands in the South. Prior to Wyndham, Bodnar held various leadership and sales roles at Verizon.

Greg Burgett has been on the development team for three years, supporting the Midwest region. Prior to that, Burgett was a regional director of Membership Development at Best Western International.

Joe Stokes has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He comes from Wyndham Hotel Group, where he was most recently a director of Franchise Sales, New Construction, and prior to that a director of Business Development.