Langham Hospitality Group Names New CEO With Expansion on the Agenda

Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group today announced the appointment of a new CEO.

Stefan Leser, the former group CEO at Jumeirah International, has been named CEO of the hotel company which has nearly 40 hotels worldwide under the brands Langham Hotels and Cordis Hotels. Leser left Jumeriah in June 2017, a little more than a year after he joined the company. He has more than 30 years of experience in the travel and hospitality industries, including his work at Swiss travel services provider Kuoni Travel Holding, as well as with Swissair.

"Langham Hospitality Group has a solid reputation with a fine collection of hotels in four continents," Leser said in a statement. "The company is definitely ripe for expansion into new markets and I look forward to leading the team to deliver highly personalized service and support the future growth of the group's outstanding portfolio of hotels and residences."

Leser replaces former Langham Hospitality Group CEO Robert Warman, who has served as CEO since 2014. Prior to becoming CEO at Langham, Warman was the president and chief operating officer of Capella Hotel Group. A spokesperson for Langham said Warman decided to move back to the United States from Hong Kong.

While it does have properties in major global cities such as New York, Chicago, Sydney, London, and Dubai, as well as a strong presence in Asia and greater China, Langham Hospitality Group still has a relatively smaller hotel portfolio than some of its peers such as Shangri-La Hotels or Rosewood Hotel Group. Whether Leser can manage to grow the luxury Langham brand, as well as the upper-upscale Cordis Hotels brand, will be key as he embarks on this new leadership role.

Skift Editor's Note: This article has been updated to note that former Langham CEO Robert Warman has not retired as previously reported. He decided to leave his position as CEO to relocated back to the United States from Hong Kong.