Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. today announced the start of a month-long relocation of its global headquarters from Stamford, CT to Dubai. From now until April 5th, Starwood President & CEO Frits van Paasschen and the company’s top executives will conduct day-to-day business from Dubai, an increasingly important global destination and travel hub. Following the company’s successful relocation to China in June 2011, this second leadership move reflects Starwood’s innovative management method to cultivating a more global culture by understanding, appreciating and leveraging different societal perspectives and approaches to business and hospitality.
“With 80 percent of Starwood’s pipeline coming from rapidly growing markets, it truly is simply unattainable to guide a very global business from a boardroom in Connecticut,” said van Paasschen. “Rising wealth and ever greater global connectivity are making a once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity for our business – by fueling new demand, changing travel patterns, and fully new travel markets. Dubai epitomizes this changing face of travel, and we predict this relocation will deepen our relations with partners, associates and customers. Just as with our one-month relocation to China in 2011, our time in-market will spark new ideas so one can fortify our position because the most global high-end hotel company.”
During the process the relocation, greater than 200 Starwood executives and GMs from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America will travel to Dubai because the company runs day-to-day operations almost 7,000 miles and a nine-hour time zone clear of its usual HQ outside Ny city. The team will meet with associates, customers, owners and prospective developers inside the UAE and likewise make the most of Dubai’s location for business travel to destinations including Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Jeddah, Dushanbe and Kuwait.
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