Dive Brief:
- Reside CEO Lee Curtis will transition to the residential hospitality management company’s board of directors, and global real estate and investment management executive Gavin Morgan will succeed him at the company’s helm effective immediately, according to a Monday release.
- Morgan will take over as Reside CEO after most recently serving as a managing director at Canadian private equity firm Westbridge Capital, which acquired Reside in 2017. Morgan also previously held the title of chief operating officer for JLL's Hong Kong and China offices.
- Morgan’s “global perspective and strategic acumen” will position Reside to grow its recent alliance with Wyndham Hotel & Resorts, Westbridge CEO Mike Meekins said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
In his new role, Morgan will “propel” Reside forward, Meekins said, through the company’s 10-year development relationship with Wyndham, which it inked in October under Curtis’s lead.
Through the partnership, Reside and Wyndham are expanding their upscale extended stay offerings through the apartment-style hotel brand Reside, a Wyndham Residence. The brand already has several hotels open, including in Washington, D.C., and the partners are focused on growth in the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas, Curtis previously told Hotel Dive.
“I am honored to join Reside at such an exciting time,” Morgan said in a statement. “The company has an exceptional team and a strong foundation, and I look forward to building upon Curtis’s legacy of excellence while exploring new opportunities for growth and innovation.”
Morgan will focus on expanding Reside’s footprint, enhancing client experiences and “further strengthening its position in the corporate housing industry,” the company detailed in the release. In December, Reside appointed Walter “J.R.” Dembiec Jr. to head the development partnership with Wyndham, specifically.
In line with the chief executive change, Curtis will become Reside’s board director as well as take on the role of entrepreneur-in-residence at Westbridge Capital, providing strategic insights and guidance across the firm's investment portfolio with a particular focus on the hospitality sector, per the release.
