On the heels of the news that nightlife and restaurant outfit Hakkasan Group is in merger talks with hotelier SBE, the former announced on April 17 that Nick McCabe will take over as CEO of Hakkasan.
Formerly the president and COO of Hakkasan, McCabe succeeds Neil Moffitt, who resigned as CEO in April. In a news release, the company said that McCabe will guide Hakkasan as it pursues an "aggressive growth trajectory" and through the proposed merger with SBE.
Former Hakkasan president and CEO Nick McCabe has taken over as CEO from Neil Moffitt, who resigned last month.
McCabe previously founded the nightlife website CoolJunkie.com, developed Bacardi's music festival series B-Live and formed his own music marketing company. He joined Moffitt's former Las Vegas-based nightlife company, Angel Management Group (AMG), where he served as vice president of strategy, before taking over the roles of president and COO for Hakkasan when Hakkasan acquired AMG in 2013. In that position, he worked with Moffitt on a major expansion of the Hakkasan portfolio, including launching new clubs such as Omnia in Las Vegas and San Diego and the acquisitions of Enlightened Hospitality Group, the H.Wood Group and the Light Group.
In 2017, the company is slated to grow further with 12 openings across four continents in places such as Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Jakarta, Indonesia.
"I couldn't be more proud to take on the challenge of leading the company that I've been both a fan of, and then a part of, for the past six years," McCabe said in a statement. "I also look forward to working alongside Sam Nazarian and the SBE team in an organization that promises to be the most exciting hospitality company in the world."