WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Steven J. Heyer, chief executive officer of Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., announced today that longtime Sheraton
Hotels & Resorts veteran Joseph Gelchion has been named senior vice
president of owner relations, North America. In his new role, Mr. Gelchion
will work closely with Starwood's 35 largest North American partners who
own multiple hotels across multiple brands. Based in New York, he will
report to Lynne Dougherty, Starwood's senior vice president owner relations
and franchise.
"Joe is an industry icon, well known and well respected by our owners
and the development community," said Mr. Heyer. "In his new role, Joe will
serve as an advocate on behalf of our largest owners, and as liaison with
Starwood's myriad resources including our brand teams, design, food and
beverage and the like. As we continue to aggressively grow our footprint
worldwide and implement innovations within our brands, his operational
expertise and his passionate and intuitive understanding of Starwood and
our brands will be a tremendous asset."
Mr. Gelchion most recently served as senior vice president, Sheraton
Brand Operations, overseeing operations for Starwood's largest and most
global brand. He began his career in the hotel industry in 1978 as a front
desk agent at the Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel while still in college.
Quickly climbing the ranks, Mr. Gelchion served in a number of operations
positions within the Sheraton brand. He left the industry for a brief period
to serve as Executive Administrator of Gracie Mansion for New York Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani, returning to the hotel business in 1995 when he joined
the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, the brand's flagship hotel, where
he was ultimately named General Manager in 2000. During his tenure with
Sheraton and Starwood, Mr. Gelchion also served as Starwood's regional
vice president of operations for New York and New Jersey.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading
hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties
in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed
properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally
renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®,
Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Meridien® and
the recently announced aloft(SM) and ELEMENT(SM) Hotels. Starwood Hotels
also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers
and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts.
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