Puma Hotels boss says company is undergoing a leadership evaluation
Newly appointed chief executive of Puma Hotels has explained the recent exodus of general managers as being the result of "an evaluation of our structure and leadership".
Fredrik Korallus (pictured) was speaking after Nicholas Testa, who has joined the 143-bedroom Redworth Hall hotel in County Durham, was announced as the fifth new general manager appointment in the past fortnight for the company, which owns and operates 21 four-star hotels across the UK. Until recently, Testa was the general manager of sister hotel, the Imperial in Blackpool.
Korallus, who took over the helm of Puma Hotels in October 2012, said over the past year the company had undergone a transition, from being part of an international hotel company to a standalone British hotel group. Puma was operated by Barcelo Hotels & Resorts until April 2012, when the Spanish group pulled out of the UK after a demand for a rent reduction was not met.
"We should stress that less than a handful of general managers have left Puma since we started our review some five months ago," explained Korallus. "The recent announcements represent internal and external appointments made over the past several months and reflect our ambition to strengthen the organisation in line with our strategy to drive quality standards and strengthen our position in the market."
"As well as attracting some very talented and experienced general managers, we have also made a number of internal promotions and strengthened the central support team."
New senior appointments at Puma include Rosemarie Shill as sales and marketing director, who joins the company from Hilton Worldwide, where she was vice-president of business development at Hilton UK and Ireland, and Moz Shigdar as revenue management and distribution director, who until recently was group revenue manager for BDL Management.
"With a strong leadership group in place our focus is now dedicated to strengthening quality standards and growing our business," added Korallus.
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