Starwood Appoints 35-Year Industry Vet Rick Segal as VP Owner Relations, Latin America

Newly Created Position to Foster and Support Member Hotels

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. August 06, 2012

MIAMI - August 3, 2012 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts, one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1000 properties in over 100 countries, has appointed 35-year hospitality industry veteran Rick Segal to the newly created position of Vice-President, Owner Relations for Latin America; marking a triumphant return to the brand where he spent the first 22 years of his career.

Working across nine brands under the Starwood umbrella, Segal will be responsible for liaising with the owners of nearly 80 existing hotels and some 20 more currently under development. The hotel owners are paramount to Starwood's business and Segal's extensive operational knowledge at both the individual property and the corporate level should help them maximize revenues while delivering a superior guest experience.

As most properties, whether a St. Regis, Westin, W, part of the Luxury Collection or otherwise, are franchises that carry the Starwood flag, Segal will serve as the main point of contact and as an advisor to the property owner and / or asset manager. While ensuring the various owners are getting the support they need, Segal will also heavily focus on ensuring the Starwood brand standards are being followed and the initiatives that Starwood creates throughout the year are carried through. Too often hotel brands concentrate on the end consumer when the member hotels are just as important, if not more so, to the brand and ultimately to the experience of guests.

There is likely no person better suited for this role than Rick Segal. Having started his hotel career in 1977 at the Sheraton Hotel Tel Aviv, he later moved on to the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Towers followed by the Sheraton San Cristobal Hotel & Towers in Chile, where he was General Manager until he was appointed VP, Director of Operations for the Luxury Collection. In addition to overseeing the collection, just a year later Segal was also appointed Managing Director of the St. Regis New York, the brand's iconic Manhattan property. After seven years on property at the St. Regis, Segal left Starwood to become Managing Director of Park Hyatt Hotels North America, in addition to overseeing the flagship Park Hyatt Chicago from 1999 to 2011. After a 12-year hiatus, Rick Segal is ready for his return to Starwood.

Segal's position will find him on the road most every other week and sometimes for weeks on end taking him through Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Argentina, Peru and Chile. No matter the locale, his goals are simple - to provide owners with the support they need to realize their full potential as operators and strengthen the Starwood brand throughout Latin America.