Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the promotion of K.B. Kachru to Chairman of the hotel group in South Asia, and the appointment of Raj Rana succeeding him as Chief Executive Officer. Kachru and Rana will both report directly to Simon C. Barlow, President, Asia Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, who is based in Singapore. The changes will take effect on 1 July, 2013.
In his new role as chairman, Kachru will continue to drive the growth of the company’s hotels in South Asia, as well as mentor Rana in his new role as CEO. Rana starts his new role on 1 April, and will work alongside Kachru until 30 June.
“K.B. Kachru is the founder of Carlson Rezidor’s hotel business in India, and I am personally very pleased that he has accepted this very important and strategic position as Chairman of our South Asia business. He has been instrumental in building the company in India over the past 15 years, and it is very important to Carlson Rezidor that we maintain continuity and preserve our position as the number one International hotel company in India by number of hotels,” said Barlow.
Rana, a 22-year veteran of Carlson Rezidor, is a welcome addition to the South Asia management team. “I am very excited to welcome an executive of the caliber of Raj Rana. He has proven his ability to work exceedingly well with third party owners and possesses exceptional relationship skills. He has recently demonstrated a high level of skill in capturing market share and driving financial success across a large portfolio of hotels in the U.S., whilst at the same time delivering excellent guest experiences. Raj will be a valuable addition to our South Asia team and his appointment also marks the beginning of the next phase of growth for Carlson Rezidor in India, where we are on track to have 100 operating hotels by 2015,” added Barlow.
