Sonesta and VICI Properties have added new VPs to their leadership teams.
Sonesta adds two VPs
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation has made two additions to its leadership team. Jeanne Montgomery Smith joins Sonesta as VP, revenue management and Kaaren Hamilton has been promoted to VP of global sales.
“We are excited to welcome Jeanne to lead the strategic delivery of revenue management and distribution for our team and congratulate Kaaren on her new role in global sales where she will help drive growth across Sonesta’s expanding global hotel portfolio,” said Vera Manoukian, COO, Sonesta. “Jeanne and Kaaren are both seasoned leaders and we look forward to leveraging their industry experience to enhance revenue generation and sales.”
Smith brings more than 30 years of hospitality experience in talent development, change management, hotel transitions, process development and expertise in RMS/PMS systems and tools, as well as strategic revenue enhancement. Prior to joining Sonesta, Smith spent two decades at Marriott International and Starwood Hotels, where she held revenue leadership roles overseeing lifestyle, full-service and select brands. Most recently, she served as the VP, revenue for Peachtree Hospitality Management, where she was responsible for the revenue optimization strategies for its extensive portfolio of hotels.
Hamilton has 30 years of hospitality experience and joined Sonesta in connection with the RLH Corporation acquisition. She served as VP, global sales, franchise and development at RLH. Previously, she was the VP, global sales for Carlson Rezidor Hotels, where she led the North American-based global sales organization.
VICI Properties Inc. appoints two senior team members
VICI Properties Inc., an experiential real estate investment trust, has appointed Kellan Florio, SVP/chief investment officer and Moira McCloskey, VP, capital markets.
Florio is responsible for leading VICI’s expansion across experiential real estate investments with world-class operators, reporting to John Payne, president/COO.
“Kellan’s extensive experience and long-standing relationships in experiential real estate sectors makes him a strong addition to our team,” said Payne. “While at Goldman Sachs, he was an advisor to a wide array of clients in our industry, including VICI, and he used his strategic and financial expertise to help source, lead and close numerous client transactions. We are confident that his extensive expertise and strong familiarity with our business will be a key driver of our future growth.”
Florio joins VICI from Goldman Sachs where he spent the last 15 years in the real estate investment banking group advising public and private companies on more than $100 billion in mergers, acquisitions and capital raising transactions. His experience at Goldman Sachs spanned the real estate, gaming and lodging spectrum, and he most recently served as managing director/global head of lodging & leisure investment banking.
McCloskey is responsible for leading VICI’s capital markets initiatives and continuing to expand its relationships and access to capital across domestic and international debt and equity markets, reporting to David Kieske, EVP/CFO.
“Moira’s invaluable knowledge and experience across the capital markets makes her a significant addition to our team,” said Kieske. “While at Bank of America, she led numerous equity offerings for VICI and has a deep understanding of our business model, investor base and capital markets objectives. We firmly believe that her knowledge and industry reputation and connectivity will provide VICI with added expertise as we grow and access accretive capital in the future.”
McCloskey has more than 15 years of public markets and capital markets experience. She joins VICI from Bank of America Securities where she was a managing director in the equity capital markets group. In her role, she was part of the team responsible for equity capital raising advisory and execution for companies in the real estate, gaming, lodging and leisure industries, involved in more than $90 billion of equity and equity-linked transactions. She was also a trader and risk manager for Bank of America Securities’ equity cash trading group specializing in the real estate and financial services sectors. Early in her career, she was a trader at UBS AG in the foreign exchange derivatives group.
