Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Promotes Suzanne Riesterer to Chief Commercial Officer

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups, today announced the promotion of Suzanne Riesterer to chief commercial officer. In this newly created position, Riesterer will lead the development of the group’s global commercial strategy and direct the implementation within the Americas to ensure its alignment with the global commercial strategy and Americas’ business and brand priorities. Riesterer will continue to report to Thorsten Kirschke, president, Americas and chief operating officer.

“I am very confident Suzanne, in this newly developed position, will help us grow overall brand competitiveness, advance our profitability, and increase our value proposition and return-on-investment (ROI) for hotel owners.”

“By appointing Suzanne to this vital position, we have not only selected one of Carlson Rezidor’s strongest leaders, but also a strong business ally to lead our commercial activities,” explained Kirschke. “I am very confident Suzanne, in this newly developed position, will help us grow overall brand competitiveness, advance our profitability, and increase our value proposition and return-on-investment (ROI) for hotel owners.”

Riesterer will be directly responsible for strategy development and the overall integration and alignment of the following teams: Analytics; Loyalty and Online Strategy, including Social Media; Revenue Optimization; Sales; Distribution; and Channel Management. Technology Development will work closely with Riesterer and her team to support revenue generation initiatives. She will also oversee Marketing and loyalty funds.

Since 2009, Riesterer served as executive vice president, Finance and Administration, and was responsible for the finance, legal and strategic sourcing functions for the five brands of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group in the Americas. She is a member of the company’s Global Revenue Council and has served as a key advisor to the president in all aspects of the business, including strategic sourcing, organizational design and alignment, investment decisions, global partnership matters and board communications.

Riesterer joined Carlson in 2005 as vice president, Audit and Business Risk Management, where she spearheaded enterprise risk management, internal audit, business continuity and corporate security.

About Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group
Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group – born in early 2012 – is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic hotel groups. The portfolio of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group includes more than 1,300 hotels, a global footprint spanning 81 countries and territories, a powerful set of global brands (Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM and Hotel Missoni). In most of the group’s hotels, guests can benefit from the loyalty program Club Carlson^SM, one of the most rewarding loyalty programs in the world. Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and its brands employ more than 80,000 people.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., and Brussels, Belgium.

http://www.carlsonrezidor.com