Lodging-focused real estate investment trust DiamondRock Hospitality Company announced a C-suite shakeup Monday, appointing Jeffrey Donnelly as CEO and launching a “simplified” organizational structure.
Donnelly takes over the REIT’s top job from Mark Brugger, who is departing the company after 20 years. Donnelly will also join the company’s board of directors later this year, DiamondRock Hospitality detailed in a release.
Briony Quinn, who served as DiamondRock’s senior vice president and treasurer, assumes Donnelly’s former role as executive vice president and CFO.
DiamondRock also announced that Justin Leonard, formerly EVP and chief operating officer, was appointed president. In the role, Leonard will maintain his role as COO and assume the responsibilities of Troy Furbay, EVP and chief investment officer, who is departing the company.
The appointments mark a new organizational structure for DiamondRock, which now has a reduced executive team from six members to four.
The “simplified” organizational structure aims to drive continued business momentum, the company said.
“[T]he Board believes now is the right time to implement these changes and establish a simpler executive structure that more closely aligns with the needs of the business,” William McCarten, chairman of the DiamondRock board of directors, said in a statement. He added that the new leadership team will “advance our strategy and propel additional value creation.”
In the fourth-quarter of 2023, DiamondRock saw its year-over-year comparable RevPAR and adjusted EBITDA declined 0.6% and 15%, respectively. For full-year 2023, the REIT saw adjusted EBITDA down 3.2%.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based REIT owns a portfolio of 36 hotels and resorts across the U.S., including a variety of Marriott and Hilton properties as well as a Margaritaville resort in Key West, Florida.
“I am excited to be CEO at the dawn of a new era for travel. With our high-quality portfolio of unique lifestyle properties, we are poised to capitalize on the long-term secular demand drivers in the travel industry and deliver sustainable, profitable growth,” Donnelly said in a statement.
