Newsmaker: Starwood Names First Luxury Head

Starwood Hotels & Resorts this month appointed Kerry Hatch president of its luxury St. Regis Hotels and Resorts and Luxury Collection brands. The hotel company said Hatch, who reports directly to CEO Steven Heyer in the newly created role, is the highest-ranking woman in the company and "one of the most senior women in the travel industry."

Hatch comes to Starwood following a brief stint as CEO of New York-based home video distributor GoodTimes Entertainment. Prior to joining GoodTimes last year, Hatch spent 22 years at American Express, working in the travel, consumer card and small business units.

Starwood said Hatch assumes overall profit and loss responsibility for the two luxury brands, while overseeing operations, marketing, development and brand building.

Hatch joins Starwood during an active time for the two luxury brands. The company in the next few months will open two new St. Regis properties—one in San Francisco, the other in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.—bringing the total number of properties opened this year to seven. Meanwhile, Starwood said the brands are poised to expand into Latin America, with the first such property slated to open in Mexico City in 2007.

While Starwood has built its luxury brands in the hotels and resorts business, the chain is expanding its reach. Starwood is moving into the luxury residential real estate market with St. Regis Residences, which are under development in several markets including New York, San Francisco and Singapore, among others.

"Kerry is that rare executive who is both an exceptional operator and marketer," CEO Heyer said in a statement. "I'm delighted to have her at the helm of our luxury products, which have huge upside potential for the company, as we further define and differentiate our brands and rapidly grow our footprint around the globe. During her more than two decades at American Express, Kerry took her business units and made them market leaders and important contributors. Kerry knows how to work in a large organization, yet possesses an entrepreneurial drive and a passion for winning which is culturally on point with the Starwood we are building."

Hatch's American Express career began in 1982 when she joined the company's travel unit. Hatch then moved into the consumer card division, becoming senior vice president of customer acquisition and co-head of U.S. consumer card marketing. Hatch rounded out her tenure at American Express as president of Open: The Small Business Network.