Starwood Hotels & Resorts has tapped
the head of Coors Brewing Co., Frits van Paasschen, to be its new
CEO. Van Paasschen, president and CEO of Coors, will take over as
Starwood CEO on Sept. 24.
Van Paasschen
succeeds Steve Heyer, who resigned in April after a no-confidence
vote from the board. Chairman Bruce Duncan has served as interim
CEO since April and will continue as Starwood's
chairman.
The 46-year-old van
Paasschen, has no background in the hotel business, but has more
than 20 years of experience with global consumer brands like Disney
and Nike.
Stephen Quazzo,
chairman of the governance and nominating committee of the Starwood
Board, said van Paaschen was one of 60 candidates -- and the only
one they offered the job to.
"We had a lot of
interest by very strong, experienced people," he said. "At the end
of the day, Frits really stood out."
During his two and
a half years as president and CEO of Molson Coors Brewing Co.'s
largest division, Coors Brewing Co. increased its volumes, sales,
and profits. He reversed nine quarters of decline in the flagship
brand, Coors Light, while growing market share and significantly
improving Coors' ranking in an independent survey of distributor
satisfaction, Starwood noted.
Prior to joining
Coors in 2005, van Paasschen spent seven years at Nike, Inc., where
he was most recently responsible for its business in Europe, the
Middle East and Africa, and increased revenues from $2.5 billion to
nearly $4 billion and doubled profits over a four-year period,
Starwood said.
"He is a creative,
dynamic and team-oriented executive with superb marketing skills,
an approachable style, and broad experience driving consumer demand
and delivering superior results across a number of marquee global
brands. We are very pleased with the search process and delighted
to welcome Frits to Starwood," Quazzo said.
Duncan said van
Paasschen's international experience is key for Starwood as it
continues it global expansion. The company has more than 100,000
new rooms in the pipeline, many of them luxury properties in key
international markets.
"Starwood has never
been in a stronger position," Duncan said. "With this foundation in
place, Starwood clearly has a bright future."
Van Paasschen said
leaving Coors was a tough decision, "but the opportunity to lead
Starwood at this stage in its evolution was simply too great to
pass up."
To
contact reporter Jeri Clausing, send e-mail to [email protected].