NATIONAL REPORT—Changes in leadership are happening across the hospitality industry. Here’s a look at the recent appointments from Park Hotels & Resorts, Global DMC Partners and Splitty:
Park Appoints EVP/CIO
Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. has appointed Thomas C. Morey as EVP/chief investment officer. Morey will replace Matthew A. Sparks who is no longer employed by Park. Morey most recently served as Park’s EVP/general counsel. He joined Park in 2016 as part of the executive team recruited by Chairman/CEO Thomas J. Baltimore to lead the spin-off of Park from Hilton.
Since the spin-off, Morey has led the execution of Park’s transactions, including Park’s merger with Chesapeake Lodging Trust and repurchase of common shares from HNA Tourism Group Co. Ltd. Prior to Park, Morey served as general counsel of Washington REIT, a diversified real estate investment trust. Morey will retain the general counsel role on an interim basis until his successor is appointed.
Global DMC Partners Names Catherine Chaulet President/CEO
Global DMC Partners (GDP) has named Catherine Chaulet president/CEO. With her new title and expanded role, she will continue to speak on global trends and educate the industry on important topics, ranging from over- to under-tourism, hospitality’s impact on local economies, group booking trends and top meeting and incentive destinations. In the year ahead, she will travel, connecting with DMC partners and clients while building upon the company’s foundation in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) category.
As president over the past six years, she has built and led the strategy, success and growth of GDP, which now has a global footprint of more than 65 DMCs. Prior to Global DMC Partners, Chaulet worked for Fidelity Investments where she managed two of their subsidiaries.
Splitty Adds Chief Commercial Officer
Gil Harel, a veteran of the hospitality industry, is joining the team as chief commercial officer at Splitty, a travel booking website. He previously played an important role in the Trip.com acquisition. Harel has worked in the travel industry for more than two decades and brings insight to the role from his experience as head of strategic partnerships, hotels & content, at Skyscanner.
Harel has been working as an advisor for Splitty for the past several years, while working for Skyscanner. He joined Skyscanner after the acquisition of Trip.com, where he was VP and SVP of business development.