Dominic Dragisich
Choice Hotels International has appointed interim CEO Dominic Dragisich as president and CEO, effective immediately, the company announced Monday.
Dragisich has been acting as interim CEO of the company since Patrick Pacious stepped down in May. The nearly 10-year veteran of Choice previously served as chief growth and strategy officer, chief global brand officer and EVP of operation and also held the post of CFO between 2017 and 2023.
Prior to Monday's announcement, Dragisich spoke to analysts during the company's recent earnings call about his vision for Choice's next chapter.
"Since stepping in, I spent most of my time listening to our franchisees and teams across the company," Dragisich said earlier this month. "Those conversations have reinforced three priorities for me: staying close to our franchisees and the guests they serve, moving with greater urgency across the business and being disciplined about where we invest our time and capital."
Dragisich referenced investments Choice has made in its commercial engine and technology platform—investments that the company now needs to turn into "stronger operating performance, improved franchisee profitability, better guest experience and ultimately greater long-term shareholder value," he said.
Some of Choice's investments and opportunities detailed earlier this year include Business Direct, a self-service digital booking and travel management platform aimed at small-to-medium-sized businesses; AI-enhanced request-for-proposals tools EasyBid and EasyBid Plus; and the integration of Amazon Web Services' AgentCore agentic AI platform across the enterprise.