- Wyndham appointed Amit Sripathi CFO.
- Sripathi joined Wyndham in 2021 and previously was CDO.
- David Wilner was appointed chief development officer for North America.
Amit Sripathi is now chief financial officer of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. He was the company’s chief development officer for North America and succeeds Kurt Albert, who has served as interim CFO since November.
The company also named David Wilner chief development officer – North America, Wyndham said in a statement. Sripathi and Wilner will report to President and CEO Geoff Ballotti.
“Amit’s combination of deep finance and capital markets expertise, coupled with firsthand operational leadership at Wyndham, make him the ideal candidate to lead our finance organization,” said Ballotti. “Amit is uniquely qualified to deliver on our shareholder expectations and has proven himself a champion of owners, as evidenced by Wyndham’s record openings, executions and development pipelines both here in the U.S. and internationally. We are confident in his ability to build on our sustained successes and capture opportunities that will drive increased profitability for our franchisees, while returning excess capital to shareholders in a consistent and sustainable manner.”
Sripathi joined Wyndham in 2021 and has held several leadership roles, according to the statement. He helped drive 20 consecutive quarters of organic net room growth and oversaw the divestiture of the company’s owned hotels. Previously, he was with RLJ Lodging Trust, where he oversaw capital markets and corporate finance and held investment banking roles at Deutsche Bank.
Sripathi said Wyndham has an asset-light franchise model that delivers for owners and shareholders.
“Our priority is to maintain our rigorous financial discipline and capital allocation strategy to ensure we achieve our long-term growth objectives and maximize shareholder returns,” he said. “I very much look forward to partnering with the entire leadership team to drive enhanced value creation and build on the ‘Count on Me’ culture that defines our company.”
A franchise sales leader
In his new role, Wilner will lead North American franchise sales and architecture, design and construction. During nearly eight years with the company, he has supported franchisees and helped launch ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham. Previously, he spent 20 years on the franchise sales leadership team at La Quinta.
“From leading development at La Quinta prior to Wyndham’s acquisition of the brand to driving growth across our new construction prototype brands, including La Quinta, WaterWalk, Hawthorn Suites, ECHO Suites and Microtel, David has tremendous expertise in translating owners’ needs into strategic growth,” said Ballotti. “Owners and team members view him as a sincere and trusted partner who is most focused on our owners’ success, while helping our teams accelerate domestic net room growth across all of Wyndham’s brands.”
Wyndham posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $60 million, compared with a net gain of $85 million a year earlier, reflecting non-cash impairment and other charges. Global RevPAR fell 6 percent in constant currency, driven by an 8 percent decline in the U.S.
