Starwood Taps Coca-Cola Exec. As CEO

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide today named as CEO Steven Heyer--previous president and COO of Coca-Cola Co.--effective Oct. 1, when Barry Sternlicht will relinquish his CEO responsibilities. Sternlicht will continue in a dual role at Starwood as executive chairman and chief design officer.

The choice is consistent with Sternlicht's stated intention to bring executives into the company with a non-hospitality background in a bid to position Starwood as a lifestyle company more than a strictly lodging provider. Starwood in recent months, for example, has acquired the Bliss chain of spas and accelerated the marketing of luxury bedding and related goods through online catalogs and its hotel retail outlets. An earlier example of Sternlicht's recruiting strategy was the choice of Ross Klein from Polo/Ralph Lauren to be head of marketing for the W Hotel brand.

Prior to Coca-Cola, Heyer was president and COO of Turner Broadcasting Systems. He also has held senior positions at Young & Rubicam Advertising Worldwide and managed the marketing practice at Booz Allen & Hamilton consultants. He left Coca-Cola, however, after being passed over to become chairman and CEO

Wall Street analysts reacted favorably to the Heyer selection. "The announcement reinforces our positive view on Starwood, given Heyer's background as a strong brand manager," said JP Morgan Chase's lodging analyst Harry Curtis. Curtis also was positive about Sternlicht's continued involvement in the company, saying Sternlicht's input on brand development and asset sales would be beneficial. UBS analysts Keith Mills and William Truelove noted that it had taken Starwood many months to fill the CEO slot, having publicly announced in October 2003 that Sternlicht was stepping down.