WORLD PROPERTY CHANNEL ®

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) -- Carlson, the parent company of Carlson Hotels Worldwide, is on a fast track, both on the acquisition front and in the boardroom.

The Minneapolis, MN-based lodging company today named Carlson president and CEO Hubert Joly to personally lead the company's hotel business.

(Please see Real Estate Channel posting July 28, "Carlson's Second-Quarter Shopping Spree Nets 33 New Hotels in 13 Countries.")

Jay Witzel

Jay Witzel, who for 22 years has served in senior management positions, including president and CEO at Carlson Hotels Worldwide, will be leaving that position to serve in a consulting role within the hotel company.

Carlson also named Thorsten Kirschke as the Chief Operating Officer of Carlson Hotels - Americas. Kirschke will assume his new role on Sept. 1 and report to Joly.

Joly has been president and CEO of Carlson since March 2008. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Carlson's business travel management company.

Hubert Joly

Joly says the changes "support Carlson's strategy to revitalize the Radisson brand in the Americas, and continue to grow its global portfolio of hotel brands as vibrant and contemporary leaders in the industry."

Carlson recently announced that it has added 49 properties to its portfolio in the first six months of 2009, bringing its total number of properties to 1,048.

Kirschke comes to Carlson from The Rezidor Hotel Group based in Brussels, Belgium, where he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Carlson is the main shareholder of Rezidor, which is one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the world.

Thorsten Kirschke

Joly says, "Thorsten brings an exceptional background of leadership and management success in the hotel industry to this role.

"His extensive global experience includes management roles in Russia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, England, United Arab Emirates and China. We are delighted to have him join our team.

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