Skift Take
This was quite a week for major hospitality executive shuffles, and their respective moves will certainly impact the future development of the companies and brands they've left and are headed to.
This week began with news that veteran hotelier Niki Leondakis was leaving her post as CEO of hotels and resorts at Two Roads Hospitality to become CEO of Equinox Fitness Clubs.
And it ended with news that boutique hotelier André Balazs, the founder of Standard Hotels, was leaving his post as the chairman of Standard International Management.
Leondakis & Equinox
On March 6, Equinox, the company best known for its fitness clubs, but one also planning to open its first line of hotels in 2019, announced that Leondakis would become CEO of Equinox Fitness Clubs.
In her new role, which officially begins in April, Leondakis will oversee the fitness clubs as well as head the executive leadership team, reporting directly to Equinox Holdings executive chairman and managing partner Harvey Spevak.
Equinox Holdings' brands include SoulCycle, Blink Fitness, Pure Yoga, and Equinox Hotels, all of which Spevak will continue managing, a press release announcing Leondakis' appointment noted.
Leondakis has more than 30 years of hospitality experience with brands that include The Ritz-Carlton, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, and Commune Hotels. She spent 20 years with Kimpton and before leaving in 2012, she served as its president and COO. In 2012, she became CEO o
