Madrid on September 14, 2011. NH Hoteles modifies its organizational structure in order to align it with its needs and objectives, as well as to provide it with technical and commercial capabilities to develop its future strategy. To this end, the Company has implemented the following relevant initiatives:
Organizational alignment enhancing commercial areas and cost control
The Board of Directors of NH Hoteles has approved a new Group organization based on the following concepts:
(a) Trade strengthening:
The Strategy and Commercial Development Directorate is created, headed by Francisco Alejandro Zínser, until now Director of Operations of the Group. This Directorate integrates the Commercial Area (Marketing, Revenue Management, Distribution and Sales) at the head of which is Mikael Andersson, the Business Development Area in charge of Frank Veenstra, the Quality Area, directed by Javier Carazo, and the newly incorporated Product and Brand Area, whose head will be appointed in the coming days.
At the head of the Operations Directorate, Ramón Aragonés is appointed, until now Director of the Business Unit of Spain and Portugal, a professional with long experience in the hotel business, who in turn is replaced by Rufino Pérez Fernández, until now Commercial Director of the Business Unit.
The current organization reflects the result of the Company's internal promotion policy and the incorporation of professionals in the sector such as Mikael Anderson, from Expedia, with extensive experience in the commercial area and Jeff Karlson, as Head of Sales, from Hilton and who has extensive professional experience in leading companies in the sector. In addition, within the internal promotion plan, Emilio Consigliere was appointed responsible for the Revenue Management area, from which he leads and establishes the optimal pricing policies in the Company.
b) Report to the first level of the business support areas:
Two areas of direct reporting to the President are created, the Media Directorate (HR, Works and Environment and Purchasing), in charge of Iñigo Capell, until now Director of HR and the Organization and Systems Management, being at the head of Javier Matas, recently incorporated and professional with extensive experience in the financial sector in companies such as Barclays Bank, Banco Zaragozano and Ferrovial. This management will be responsible for coordinating efficiency improvement plans both in their implementation in the short term and in the medium term definition, based on improvements in technological capabilities and process redesign.
(c) Multinational Profile:
A more integrated organizational model is adopted between the management of the different countries where the Group operates, similar to that of other large multinational companies in the sector.
Efficiency Improvement PlanThe Company has launched an efficiency improvement plan in all its processes with which it expects to reduce its costs by 10% over the next two years.
The plan also includes short-term measures. NH Hoteles wanted to go one step further, in line with the cost reduction initiatives launched in the first half of the year, with a more ambitious complementary plan. The company's management team assumes a voluntary commitment to austerity with the Group with reductions that will affect fixed remuneration and other social benefits in ranges ranging between 5 and 10% for the former and between 10% and 40% for the latter, according to different concepts, over the next year.
In the report to the Board of Directors of NH Hoteles, the President of the Company stressed that "with this decision, the management team conveys to the group's organization a message consistent with the environment and lays the foundations to achieve the objectives of efficiency and quality of service to our customers that we have set for ourselves in the medium term".
As a result of the efficiency plan launched for the entire Group, the President of NH Hoteles now assumes the Presidency of Sotogrande. This appointment will provide a greater integration of Sotogrande into the Group, will allow the elimination of duplications in its management and will facilitate improvements in the offer to the client. Likewise, the Board of Directors of Sotogrande, in a meeting held on September 12, wanted to thank the President of Sotogrande, Manuel Herrando y Prat de la Riba, for his dedication and effort during more than 20 years in charge of the Society.
With an unbeatable location in the south of Spain, Sotogrande is a residential reference in Europe. Sotogrande has high quality infrastructures, two beach clubs, luxury hotels, a marina and a wide range of services and sports facilities.
This set of measures are in line with the line announced by the Chairman at the General Shareholders' Meeting and are aimed at strengthening the Group's capacities both commercially and technically, reducing costs in order to be the most efficient group in the sector and concentrating on the Company's core business, that allows us to face the new challenges successfully for the coming years.
The new organizational structure of NH Hoteles
http://corporate-information.nh-hotels.com/wda/eng/pdfs/organigrama.pdf
About NH HOTELES NH Hoteles (www.nh-hotels.com) ranks third in the European ranking of business hotels. NH Hoteles has 400 hotels with 59,109 rooms in 24 countries in Europe, America and Africa. It has among others 41 Hotels in Madrid and 27 Hotels in Barcelona, NH Hoteles currently has 23 new hotel projects under construction, which will involve 3,000 new rooms.
NH Hoteles is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange.
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