French hotelier Arnaud de Saint-Exupéry has been appointed general manager of the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill and area vice president for Hyatt Hotels in the UK & Ireland, filling the vacancy left by Michael Gray following his retirement in March.
The arrival of de Saint-Exupéry at the five-AA-star, 434-bedroom hotel on Portman Square marks a return to London for the hotelier who held his first general manager role at the Andaz London Liverpool Street for five years from 2008. Since 2013 he has been involved in the opening and running of the Andaz Tokyo as general manager. As well as looking after the management and strategic development of the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, de Saint-Exupéry will also oversee the Andaz London Liverpool Street, Hyatt Regency Birmingham and the recently opened Hyatt Place London Heathrow/Hayes.
He said that it is “a pleasure” to be back to London after three years in Japan and to continue “with great humility” the work of Michael Gray, who spent 34 years with Hyatt. “Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill has an amazing reputation around the world, one which we will continue to strengthen in the years to come,” he explained. “It is an exciting time to be back and I look forward to supporting Hyatt hotels in the UK, a place which I consider as my second home.” De Saint-Exupéry, who holds a master degree in management and marketing, originally worked for BMW and Avis before moving into the hotel industry as director of marketing at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, in 2001. Four years later he was promoted to area director of marketing, before becoming hotel manager in 2006.